Chapter 4
Sullivan
“Thanks, man,” I say to local veterinarian Bryan Maxwell as I secure the crate in the back of my truck.
It was sheer dumb luck that he and his wife were at the animal shelter this early in the morning, but spotting their vehicle saved me a trip back to my place.
“I’ll have this back before the end of the day. ”
“I’d use a pair of gloves,” Bryan says. “In case the little guy wakes up and decides to take a bite out of your hand. Rabies shots are a bitch.”
That’s an unpleasant thought I could’ve done without.
“Right.” I open my driver’s side door, but hesitate getting in. “Could you please do Lila a favor and not say anything about this?”
“She’s worried her grandma will find out, isn’t she?” Haley chimes in, looping her arm through Bryan’s.
“Her grandma?” I repeat, replaying what Lila said earlier. It’s fuzzy, though, considering I was in battle ready mode when she was going on about keeping this a secret.
“Valerie Hamilton,” Haley says, as though that clears everything up.
Well fuck.
Of all the people who could be her grandmother, it has to be the one who hates my family—or what’s left of them anyway. That alone should be enough to stay the fuck out of this.
Because I shouldn’t fucking care. I should nod, hop in my truck, and head back to the bakery. The sooner this raccoon is dropped off at Great Aunt Edie’s place, the sooner I can get the hell away from the woman scrambling my brain. Distance is my only ally when it comes to Lila Hamilton.
But instead, like some glutton for punishment, I ask, “Why does that matter?”
“You didn’t hear about the rivalry?” Haley asks.
“She’s being dramatic,” Bryan says, looking at his wife as though she hung the moon despite his playful eye roll.
I envy the bastard. Love like theirs is rare, though.
And not meant for stubborn pain-in-the-ass men like me.
It’s a fate I accepted years ago. One night with Lila is not enough to change my mind, either.
No matter how much I can’t stop fucking thinking about the way she looked tangled in my sheets.
“It’s a friendly rivalry,” Haley clarifies. “But she and Audrey are competing for Valerie’s highly coveted lemon lavender cupcake recipe. You really didn’t know? It’s all anyone’s been talking about all week.”
“I haven’t been in town much lately.” Or at all since the day I handed Lila the keys to my building weeks ago.
“It’s a big deal,” Haley insists. “Whichever bakery performs better today gets the recipe.”
“That’s…nice?” I still don’t understand what the fuck this recipe has to do with anything.
Haley shakes her head. “You really don’t get it, do you?”
“Don’t be too hard on him,” Bryan says. “He doesn’t keep up on small town gossip.”
The word gossip directed at me should feel like a cold glass of water splashed on my face. But dammit if I’m not invested in this now, whether I want to be or not. So, at risk of sounding like a fucking gossip queen myself, I ask. “Why is this recipe such a big deal?”
“It’s like the golden ticket,” Haley explains. “The winner can expect a big wave of successful business for months to come.”
“And the loser?”
“Well, I’m sure Audrey would be fine either way. The Sweet Tooth is established.”
I finally hear what she’s not saying. Lila’s bakery has only been open for a couple of weeks. If her competition were to see such a spike of business, it might mean a drop in customers for The Boozy Bakery. She might struggle to keep her doors open should business dry up.
I should be at least mildly excited at the prospect of Lila leaving town, but I’d never want it to be like this—not at the hands of Valerie Hamilton. I’m not that fucking heartless.
Being around the woman might be maddening in more ways than I can describe, but I can’t slink off to my cabin in the woods to hide out and do nothing.
I’d hate myself for it. So at the risk of falling hard for this woman I’d really much rather hate, I decide I’m going to do whatever I can to give her a fighting chance.