Chapter 33
chapter
thirty-three
NATE
“Special delivery.” I hoist the bag of Lucy’s takeout onto the counter, the smell of fries wafting over me.
Maren’s eyes light up as she finishes folding her apron in that quirky and totally non-serial killer type of way.
“I didn’t know Sapphire Creek offered DoorDash.” Tonya snorts.
“Only for one woman.” I wink.
She mumbles something else, but it’s lost when Maren yanks me away. “Bye, Tonya,” she says over her shoulder as we walk side by side toward the park.
Only a few joggers are out right now, plus a few dog owners, plastic bags hanging from their pouches and pockets.
It’s the perfect way to spend a perfect day, and it’s only going to get better.
“What are you doing here?” Maren asks as we take a seat on one of the many benches.
“I couldn’t wait for our date tonight before I saw you.”
She shakes her head, but I notice the twitch of her lips like she’s trying to hide just how much my answer pleases her.
I stretch my legs out in front of me, stifling a wince from the soreness in my calves.
This morning’s jog is already wreaking havoc on me.
“I got done with work early—shot a fun little honey bee outfit outside of town. Then had lunch with Austin, which is where the universe sent me a sign, and I saw your lunch was ready for pickup. Lucy didn’t mind my assistance to DoorDash just this once. ”
“How generous of her.” She pulls a fry from the bag, and I watch too closely at the way her throat bobs, like she’s anxiously awaiting the taste.
The crunch sounds between us as she takes a bite, and I lose my restraint.
I lean in and kiss her. “So glad I didn’t wait until tonight to do this.”
“Me too.” She sighs, brushing her nose against mine. “Thank you.”
“Anytime. Maybe I’ll even have lunch with Austin more often if it means I get to personally deliver for you.”
“Not sure it’s worth it. It can’t be too exciting sitting in silence with Austin that often,” she teases.
“You’d be surprised.” I chuckle back.
With a hum, she enjoys another fry, and my jaw tightens when she moans.
What I wouldn’t give to be that fry…
“So, Sabrina is…” Maren eyes me as she unwraps her sandwich, the parchment paper crinkling in her grasp and filling the silence.
I pause, essentially on the edge of my seat.
“Not what I expected,” she finishes.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s so nice.”
“Did you think she was mean?”
Maren’s eyes double in size, and she drops a fry into her lap. “No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just… Well, she said… The—”
“Relax.” I straighten until my back hits the bench, and I squeeze her hand. “I was only fucking with you.”
Her exhale releases with a whoosh. “I just didn’t expect her to be so friendly toward me, but it was actually really great talking to her.”
This piques my interest, to say the least. I just hope I’m not too eager when I ask, “What did you two talk about?”
“This town is rubbing off on you.” The coy sheen in her eyes makes me even more curious.
“How so?”
“You’re very nosey.” She pokes my chest. “What we talked about is none of your business.”
“What if I trade pieces of gossip for what you talked about?”
“Oh, that is a classic Sapphire Creek gossip tactic. There’s no turning back for you now.”
I jut my chin up with mock pride. “I learned from the best—the ladies at Bready or Knot.”
“Legends,” she whispers with an exaggerated awe factor.
“They had very fascinating things to share about Suzanne’s azaleas, Cheyenne’s botched hair-dye job, and Daphne’s new boyfriend. Pick your poison.”
Maren snaps her attention onto me. “What about Daphne’s new boyfriend?
Please tell me he’s more interesting than her ex-husband.
He used to come to the coffee truck all the time and tell me about his short game like I know anything about golf.
I even told him I have no idea what a pitching wedge is, nor do I understand what a duck hook is, but it never stopped him. ”
I throw my head back and laugh. I don’t know Daphne’s ex-husband, but his obsession with golf did come up during the ladies’ roundtable at the bakery.
Maren yanks on my arm, gluing the outside of her thigh to mine. “Out with it, McAllister. What’s Daphne’s new boyfriend like? Do I know him? Is he younger? I can see her with a younger man.”
“Look at you—who knew you were so interested in other people’s drama? You’ve changed.” I shake my head, my grin only growing wider by the second.
“I’m interested in Daphne, because like I said, she deserves someone fun.”
“I’ll tell you…” I lean in like I’m finally going to share the details, but instead, I say, “If you tell me first.”
“You are diabolical.” She scoffs. “Fine. I’ll tell you what Sabrina and I talked about, but you have to tell me first.”
“It is a younger guy,” I confirm, surprised that she guessed correctly.
“I knew it!”
“He’s from Savannah. Her Pilates boot camp instructor, which Annabelle finds inappropriate, but Carol says it’s the best thing that’s happened all season, aside from Wake’s engagement.”
Maren’s laugh fills the quiet afternoon, and her claps echo alongside it.
I’ve fucking missed this—joking together. No pressure. No expectations.
Just Maren and me, underneath the clear sky.
“Your turn—spill.” I level her with my best pointed stare.
“We talked about you.”
After a beat of silence, I wave for her to continue. “And?”
But she shrugs. “That’s all you get.”
“You play dirty, Lightning.”
Her tongue sweeps over her bottom lip, leaving a sexy sheen in its wake. “You have no idea.”
I dip my head and chuckle. Then I exaggerate a glimpse of my watch. “I’m surprised. It took almost twenty-four hours for you to bring up Sabrina. Much longer than I expected.”
“What can I say? I really have changed—I’m so grown up.” She slurps from her water bottle, sarcastically contradicting what she just said about growing up.
The truth is, I dreaded this moment for a long time—my two worlds colliding—but it happened, and the planet didn’t implode. Clouds didn’t fall out of the sky, and the streets didn’t flood.
Sabrina and Maren met, and now, it seems that we can openly talk about her, without her existing as a looming presence between us.
Which works out in more ways than one, since she’ll always be a significant part of my life.
It won’t be unusual or rare for her to drop in like she has this weekend, either.
It’s something she and I agreed on in the very beginning—neither one of us will keep the other from seeing Teagan. This has proven to be the most ideal arrangement for us, and above all, it’s what’s best for our daughter.
I can’t help myself. I reach over, wrap my arm around Maren’s waist, and tug her toward me for another kiss.
“You know…” I linger in her space, breathing her in one slow, savoring inhale at a time. “The gossip hounds could expand from Bready or Knot if you had more seating at Cream and Sugar.” I smile against her lips.
“Then it’s a good thing I don’t.” She nudges my nose with hers. “I cannot, in good conscience, provide any more space for rumors to emerge and take flight.”
“You’re probably right.” I rest my forehead to hers. “But I’m serious.”
“What do you mean?” She inches back.
“Have you thought about what you’d do with the prize money from the bake-off?”
“If I win, it would be a huge relief. I can finally give Judd his generator back and purchase a new one of my own. An updated oven for my kitchen too. A new paint job for the truck. I might even splurge for a new espresso machine. Have you seen some of the latest models? You can program shit from your phone.” She sways into me, abandoning her food on the bench.
Her fingers trace figure eights over my chest as she visibly loses herself in all the things on her wish list.
The items release from her lips like she’s drunk.
I jump into the fantasy with her, imagining the near future alongside her. “Have you thought any more about a bakery?”
Her fingers freeze over my heart, and the wistful lilt of her voice falters when she says, “I didn’t realize I should’ve been thinking about it at all.” The small laugh she releases is strained.
“You mentioned you’d thought about it before, and it reminded me of a café I visited in Maine once.
It had a flower stand inside the café. Took up one corner by the counter, so when you bought your coffee and pastry, you could stop by the stand for fresh flowers too.
It was decorated like you were outside. I have pictures of it somewhere—I’ll show you.
” Excitement thumps to the beat of my racing heart as I present my idea for her.
“I was thinking it might be cool if you moved your coffee truck inside your own place. It could serve as a photo-op, even. Or you could have a mural of the truck to pay homage.” I grin.
“I don’t know—I’m just thinking out loud. ”
“That would be… really cool.” She shifts to the side and then sits upright, facing away from me as she says, “But you’re talking about a major change, and the space would need to be huge. It’s a lot to take on, and it’s not exactly ideal for Sapphire Creek.”
“But with the prize money…” Instead of matching my energy, her frown deepens the more I say, and confusion trickles through me.
Maren slips out of my hold and stands to throw away her half-eaten sandwich, like she’s suddenly lost her appetite.
“It’s not about the money. It never has been,” she finally says.
“Oh.”
Maren still doesn’t face me, and it’s obvious I’ve struck some kind of nerve.
My heart pounds in my temple like a hammer.
I rise and gently turn her around to face me again, the air around us growing cool like we’re scaring away the warmth of the day. “If you don’t like the idea of having the truck inside, there are plenty of other ways to—”
“It’s not that.” She sighs, but it’s not the content, easy sound she’s been making around me lately.
This sigh is loaded. The weight of it settles over my chest, and just like that, the playful conversation we were having fizzles into something else entirely.
“I just don’t want a bakery. I never have, and I’ve already told you that. ”
“I’m sorry.” I hold my hands up. “I think I misunderstood.”
“It’s more than that, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“You want me to upgrade from my truck like it’s always been temporary until I can afford something better. Like what I have isn’t good enough.”
“Maren, no. That’s not what I’m saying in the slightest.”
“It’s what it sounds like you’re saying.” Her nostrils flare, and suddenly, it feels like there’s not enough air, even though we’re outside. I’m dizzy trying to follow the sharp turn we’ve taken in what I thought was the fantasy game we always used to play.
It was always innocent, and I believed this would be the same. Clearly, I misread the moment.
Maren frowns. “You once asked me to accept you as you are. Remember? I just want you to do the same for me.”
“Of course, I do.” I furrow my brows, reaching for her hand, but she slips through my fingertips. “Where is all this coming from?” I shake my head against the proverbial whiplash, and apprehension seeps into my veins.
This doesn’t have anything to do with the coffee truck. There has to be more.
Even though I’m not sure I’m prepared for it.
“This isn’t the first time I feel like I’m falling short with you.” Her eyes darken, and my hair stands at the back of my neck like it did the one time I entered a haunted house. “It’s why I wanted to break up with you after high school.”