24. Theo #2
“Nothing. Theo bought a cinnamon roll for me, and I’m paying that forward.”
“That logic is shaky at best.”
“Whatever.” Piper rolled her eyes and set down the cup. I watched as Freya tried it, just like I always did.
I put so much work into carefully making every single thing on the menu. I was still waiting for the one person who would hate it.
“Oh my God, this is great!” Freya said a moment later. “I see why you’re so busy now.”
“Right?” Piper replied with a grin. “It’s so good.”
“Amazing. I’ll be in soon. Now get through the rest of the market before people pack up. You don’t wanna miss anything.”
That was enough for Piper to remember where she was, and she told Freya she’d talk to her again before setting her sights on the next place she wanted to go.
Coincidentally, it was another one of my favorites—a homemade pasta booth. Once Piper got her feet wet with socializing, she dove in fully. She wanted to go to most of the booths.
But even though she appeared to be having a great time, I knew her fears weren’t erased. When we had to go around a group of people, she stuck closer to me, just like she always kept me in her sights. It was progress, but she still chose me to risk an accidental brush with, and no one else.
We ran into a few people from the town, and Piper was able to put some faces to names from the Facebook group. Word must have traveled about her aversion to touch, because everyone offered her a wave, not a handshake.
She needed that.
Finally, we ended up at the busiest booth in town—Mollie and Cain’s.
Ever since Mollie rejuvenated Bennie Grove Farm and brought the strawberry fields back, she’d been a staple of the farmers market. In true Mollie fashion, she’d not stopped at just strawberries, expanding to anything that she was interested in.
Strawberry season was dwindling, but she had loads of jams and frozen fruit from the year prior, plus the eggs Cain mainly worked on.
“How are you doing? I know you previously met Mollie in less-than-ideal circumstances.”
“That was her daughter, who’s just a kid.” Piper shook her head. “I want jam and to meet her in person. Then I’m done for the day.”
“She felt bad for the whole thing,” I said. “I have a feeling you’ll like her.”
“Me too,” Piper said. “So, let’s do it.”
I nodded and went first. Mollie waved while Cain was working on putting some of the goods into the truck. It was right at closing time, but Mollie would go forever if Cain allowed her.
“Hey, Theo,” Mollie said the second I got to her. “Want some eggs—wait, is that Piper?”
“Hi,” Piper said with a small wave. “I’m finally out of my cave.”
“Oh my God, I’m so happy to meet you in person. I’m sorry about Jasmine nearly taking you out. Are you okay?”
“I’m . . . Yeah, I’m good. I overreacted about that.”
“It’s easy to be scared off by that child running full speed toward anything.”
“Usually she runs full speed toward the road,” Cain muttered. “Nice to meet you, Piper. I’ve heard good things.”
“You too.” She eyed him. “You’re not in the Facebook group, are you?”
“I am. I just never have anything to say.”
“You and Theo are alike.”
“We are.”
Cain looked at me and gave a nod. That was usually the extent of our greetings, and I liked it that way.
“So, you two are friends?” he asked.
“We are,” I replied.
“Yeah,” Piper said quietly, gaze on me. “We are.”
Mollie’s eyes cut between us, and I thought she would mention how close we stood, but then she focused on Piper.
“How are you liking it here so far?” she asked. “I worry we all gave you a terrible impression since we haven’t seen much of you.”
“No, that’s just me. I was lucky to get out of the house today.” She laughed, and looked around the square. “But I’m glad I came out.”
Piper chatted with Mollie while Cain and I stood off to the side in companionable silence. We both wound up with eggs and plenty of jam before we were sent on our way.
“Are you tired of me yet?” Piper asked. “I might need help getting all of this upstairs.”
Both of us were loaded up, but she’d gotten far more than I had.
“Not tired of you yet,” I said. “I’ll help you with it.”
I didn’t think it was possible for her smile to get brighter, but it did. We walked up the metal steps.
There had been many times I wondered about the floor above me, but I’d only seen it in the listing pictures when it was for rent. Seeing it in person made me realize how much bigger it was than in the photos.
“Wow,” I said.
“It’s a little bare,” she rushed to say.
“You just moved in. And the decor is nice.” She had pictures on a few of the walls and a couch and chair in the living room. “It was a big project of Wren’s.”
“Oh, yeah. It’s so nice. With the price, I was honestly shocked it was available.”
“Not a lot of people move here. They visit now, but they don’t stay.” I shrugged. “Which is what I like about things here.”
“And then I broke that.”
“I can live with it.”
She smiled. “I sure hope so. The kitchen’s just over here, by the way.”
I nodded and set down the bags. I knew I needed to make my escape. Instead, I stayed and watched as she grabbed everything.
“Look at this!” she said as she pulled out the bread from the bag. “It looks so good.”
“Freya’s bread is incredible. You’ll enjoy it.”
“Do you wanna share some?” she asked. “I have nothing but time.”
I should’ve said no, but I didn’t.
“Of course I will.”
Piper’s smile made it worth it. She went to one of her cabinets and pulled out two small plates. Then, she cut the bread and grabbed butter.
“For you,” she said, handing me a plate.
“Thanks, but you get the first bite.”
She raised her brow. “Letting the lady go first?”
“I wanna see your face when you try it.”
Piper’s cheeks turned pink, but she nodded and took a bite. She moaned the second she did. “Oh, fuck. This is so good.”
I willed my body not to respond, but my shoulders tensed. I would be thinking about that later. “Told you.”
“It doesn’t help that this is the first thing I’ve eaten all day.”
I frowned. “You didn’t eat today?”
“I completely forgot. A bad habit of mine after my dad would punish me by not feeding me.” She sighed. “At least I’m eating now.”
She went back to her bread, but I couldn’t get what she said out of my mind. She mentioned forgetting to eat as if it were nothing.
But to me, it was not nothing.
I knew better than to comment on what a woman ate, so I kept my mouth shut and let her finish what she had. I didn’t want to solve all of her problems, but I wanted to make something a little easier for her.
She came into the coffee shop every day, but all I had to offer were drinks. A couple of people in town had mentioned adding other things to the menu. Maybe it was time to finally do that.
“Are you gonna eat yours?” she asked.
I pulled myself out of my thoughts. “Oh, yeah.” I took a bite and nodded. “It’s good. Like always.”
“You’ll have to take me again. It was way easier to do that when you were around.”
“I don’t get to go to the market as much as I’d like to. Today was an exception.”
“Maybe you should take days off. I hear it’s good for the mind.”
“And yet you’re in my coffee shop every day working.”
“I’m pretending to work. I mostly come in so I can see you. Take a day off and I won’t do that.”
My entire body felt hot, but I managed not to choke on my bread, which was a win. “Kelsey put you up to this.”
“She might have encouraged it, but getting you to blush is all my idea. Is it working?”
“No.”
“Let’s just skip the argument and get to the point where you give in.”
My face grew hot. “I-I don’t give in.”
Piper smirked. “You very much do. But you can tell yourself that if it helps you sleep at night.”
I hated that she was exactly right. I crossed my arms, willing myself not to give in on this one. She stared right back, which only led to me watching her for far too long.
Her hair fell in loose waves today. An errant strand was right in the middle of her eyebrows.