Noah
I was a nervous wreck as I pulled into the parking lot of Sweet Beginning’s Bakery and turned off the rental car I’d snagged from the airport.
My heart was pounding and my hands felt clammy as I gripped the steering wheel like it was somehow going to save me. I felt like I was a greenie back in the SEALs about to go on my first mission.
However, compared to what I was about to face, that first mission seemed like a walk in the park. I didn’t know what danger awaited me, and I feared what was going to happen when I saw Emery again.
I’d done my best to keep thoughts of Emery to a minimum while I sat on her couch, watched her TV, and ordered food delivery to her condo.
Forgetting her was an unattainable goal when I was living in her world.
I managed to conjure her up every time I rounded the corner in her condo.
And I felt her presence every time her perfume wafted up around me when I adjusted the pillows on her couch.
She’d gone from being physically everywhere in my life to, now, being everywhere in my mind.
I was in hell.
I groaned as I tipped my head back and rested it on the seat behind me. I took in a few deep breaths, utilizing the relaxation techniques they’d taught us as SEALs. A calm mind was an accurate mind. If I was about to walk into enemy territory, I needed all my faculties.
Remaining platonic with Emery was the battle facing me, and it would behoove me to be prepared.
The sound of someone knocking on my window startled me. I whipped my gaze over to see Abigail peering in.
She frowned. “Noah?” Her voice was muffled by the glass.
My preparation window had officially closed. It was game time now.
I pulled on the door release. “Hey, Abigail,” I said and waited for her to move away before fully pushing the door open. I grabbed the wireless key fob from the center console on my way out of the car.
Now that I was standing outside, my gaze instantly snapped to Emery, who was walking across the parking lot with Timothy in tow. Her cheeks were pink and her gaze cautious as she approached. I hoped that she was glad to see me, not anxious like her body language seemed to indicate.
“Hey, Emery,” I said, my voice coming out huskier than I’d intended.
Embarrassment coursed through my body as I inwardly scolded myself to get it together.
It was going to be a long three years if I couldn’t say hello to my wife without having an existential crisis.
“Hey, Timothy,” I said, my voice normal as I reached out my fist for him to pound.
“Noah!” Timothy said as he wiggled his hand out of Emery’s before racing up to me. He leapt into my arms, and I wrapped my arms around him and straightened, tightening my grip to squish his entire core. I’d missed this kid.
His lungs let out a whooshing sound before he began to laugh and squirm against me. When he pulled back, he looked me dead in the eye. “I don’t want to wear a tie,” he said as he glared at me.
“A tie?” I asked as I racked my brain for what he was talking about. We were about to walk into a bakery. What did he need to wear a tie for?
“Auntie Abigail said that when you marry Mommy, I have to wear a tie.” He slapped both of his hands to my cheeks and then squished them together, making my lips puff out like a fish. “I don’t want to wear a tie.” His monster voice had me smiling.
I glanced over at Abigail and quirked an eyebrow. She just shrugged.
“You gotta wear a tie, bubba,” she said as she folded her arms. “What happened to our agreement? You said you’d wear a tie if I got you a cupcake from Hudson.” She marched over to me and held out her hands. “Are you going back on our deal?”
Timothy shook his head vigorously as he leapt into Abigail’s arms with such force that she staggered back. I held out my hands, ready to catch them, but she managed to right herself and gave me a weary smile before heading toward the front door of Sweet Beginnings.
He pressed his hands to her cheeks like he’d just done to me. “I wanna cupcake.”
“Then you gotta keep our deal,” Abigail said through her puckered lips as she pulled open the door and disappeared inside, leaving me alone with Emery.
My entire body felt frozen as I stood there, unable to meet her gaze. This was the first time since the charity gala that I’d been alone with her, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say. Did she want me to talk first? Should I wait for her to break the ice?
The decisions racing in my mind paralyzed me, and all I could do was stand there, rooted to the spot.
“How was your trip?” Emery’s voice was soft, and I almost didn’t catch what she’d said because the wind had picked up, taking her words with it.
Unable to stand the thought of missing what she might say next, I glanced up at her, which proved to be a huge mistake. As soon as my gaze caught hers, my entire chest squeezed. She looked so small. So fragile. So shy.
A protective surge rose up inside of me, but I forced it back down. She wasn’t mine to protect. I was here to do a job. That was a very important distinction.
“Good,” I managed to reply. Relief flooded through me that I’d remembered how to communicate. I didn’t want to just stand there like a bumbling buffoon while she waited for me to talk.
Her lips tipped up into a soft smile. “That’s good.” The breeze picked up around us. She folded her arms across her chest and rubbed her exposed skin with her hands as she looked around. Before I could stop myself, my fingers had found the zipper tab of my hoodie, and I yanked it down.
“Here,” I said as I pulled my arms out of the sleeves. I adjusted it so I could drop it onto her shoulders in one quick movement.
Emery looked as startled as I had been just moments ago. Her lips parted and her eyes were wide as she stood there. Her body seemed frozen in time before, slowly, her fingers found the edge of my hoodie as she pulled it closer to her body. “Thanks,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
“Yep.” I had so much nervous energy coursing through me, so I just shoved my hands into the front pockets of my jeans and rocked back and forth on my heels a few times, unable to meet her gaze.
Emery was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Every time I looked at her, it was like staring at the sun. It both hurt and mesmerized me at the same time. But seeing her in my hoodie—my clothes? It was making me feel a way towards my late best friend’s wife that I should never feel.
“You two lovebirds coming? Or are Timothy and I going to pick your wedding cake for you?” Abigail’s voice had us both snapping our attention toward the bakery.
“We—we’re coming,” Emery stammered as she glanced back at me before taking off across the gravel parking lot toward Abigail.
I waited until she was a good three feet in front of me before I started after her.
I didn’t want to overwhelm her by assuming that we would walk to the bakery together.
Sure, we were engaged, but in name only.
There was no one around to fake our love for.
To the rest of the world—and ourselves—we were just two people going to the same place. That was all.
Laughter surrounded me as I walked into the bakery and let the door swing shut behind me.
Abigail was standing near the register talking to a blond-haired man with a black apron tied around his waist. If he was the owner, he was not who I would have pictured.
He looked more like he belonged on a surfboard than covered in flour.
He laughed at something Abigail said before she turned to introduce Emery to him. They talked for a few seconds before they all turned to look at me. I hated feeling on display but fought the urge to slink into the shadows and out of sight.
I gave him a quick nod as Abigail gave a cursory introduction. “Hudson, this is Noah. Noah, this is Hudson.”
We both nodded at each other.
Abigail hesitated as if waiting for me to speak. When I didn’t, she turned her attention back to Hudson. “They need it by Saturday,” Abigail said with a wince.
Hudson sucked in his breath before his expression turned contemplative. “I mean, if it’s nothing fancy, I can whip something up. If you’re going for something elaborate that feeds a hundred, I don’t think I can do it.” He leaned in. “The Hamilton wedding is this weekend, and I’m the best man.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Abigail said as she tapped her forehead with her fingertips. “Shelby was telling me about it. She was stressing ’cause they’ve taken over the inn.” She gave Emery a sheepish smile. “It’ll be fine though.” She began to nod fervently. “We can take a simplistic cake.”
Emery had her focus on Abigail and began to match her nod. “Yeah, that’ll be alright.” She glanced at Hudson. “It’s a small wedding. Only, like, ten people.”
Hudson had started to nod along with them. “Awesome. Then I’d love to make your wedding cake.” He glanced back at the swinging door behind him. “I’ll have Natalie get together the sampler plate, and you guys can do a quick taste test.” He turned back to us. “Want to wait in the conference room?”
“Timothy!” Emery’s voice drew my attention over. She was walking toward her son, whose entire face was covered in blue frosting and crumbs. “I think that might be a good idea,” she said as she started pulling napkins from the dispenser on the counter.
I followed behind everyone as Hudson led us into a small room with a table and some office chairs.
Emery was the first to sit. She pushed Timothy into the chair to her right and started cleaning him up.
The only chairs remaining were the chair on her left and the one next to Timothy.
I started to move toward the empty chair furthest from Emery, but Abigail plopped down in and then glanced up at me.
She raised her eyebrows. “I’ll sit here,” she said.
There was something in her expression. A twinge in her gaze. It felt like she’d silently tacked on the word, idiot.