Dad’s the only one I can talk to about this because I know he won’t get excited. He’s definitely the kind of father who isn’t happy when his daughters bring home a boyfriend.
“Do you want him back?” Dad asks.
“I never want to see his face again.”
“Never?” Dad looks at me from the corner of his eye and smirks.
I sip my coffee. “He’s nice to look at, but right now, that’s about the only thing he’s got going for him,” I admit.
“What if he begs for your forgiveness and wants to get back together?”
Baby girl, if I thought getting you back was going to be this easy, I wouldn’t try because it’d mean I don’t know you at all.
Was he serious when he said it? Does Connor actually think there’s even a chance we’re going to get back together? This isn’t a movie where everything is going to be magically resolved in two weeks. Besides, he lives here, and I live in New York. Clearly, the man thinks long distance relationships can’t work otherwise he wouldn’t have disappeared from my life.
“I don’t know, Daddy,” I say. “He’ll have to get down on his hands and knees and beg like his life depended on it. Maybe then I’ll consider forgiving him.”
“Connor Hayes,” Dad says quietly, with disbelief.
“Bet you didn’t expect me to be the child who dated a professional athlete,” I say, grinning.
Dad laughs, signaling right to turn into the parking lot for The Honeysuckle.
“You’re the child I never expected to date,” he says honestly.
“Yeah, that tracks.”
I’m the kind of girl who never leaves the house and expects the love of her life to somehow find her. In my case, I didn’t find him. He found me in a crowd of thousands of people, while he was in the middle of a game, and I was on a date with another man.
“Don’t tell Mom I talked to you,” I say, as dad parked the car.
“Angel, I’ve been married to your mother for thirty-four years. I know when not to tell her things.”
I can’t stop the snort-laugh which erupts out of me. I hold my cup out in front of me so I don’t spill coffee everywhere.
“What’s so funny?” Dad asks, giving me a weird look and a curious smile.
“Connor is thirty-eight. It’s just weird to think that my ex-boyfriend is older than my parents’ marriage.”
Dad makes a horrified face which only made me laugh harder.
“Age is just a number,” I say.
“And hell is just a sauna,” he quotes, making me laugh harder.
The next day,while my sisters and mother go shopping, Dad stays back to take a nap, and I go make sure the wedding vendors are ready to have everything prepared on the Big Day. Which is only six days away.
My first stop is the Butter & Bloom, the bakery where we ordered the wedding cake. They’re reportedly the best bakery in town and as soon as I step in, I can see why. It smells like cinnamon and nutmeg and fresh coffee. My stomach growls at the scent.
All varieties of baked goods are displayed behind the glass, and I’m drawn to their holiday flavors, which feature a cinnamon roll cake, vanilla cake with nutmeg ganache, gingerbread cupcakes, peppermint cupcakes, and more. My mouth practically waters.
I miss our shop. This is our busiest time of the year, but my parents have chosen a great manager for the shop and Niles runs a tight ship. During the holidays, we always have to hire extra help, and our chocolate pies have a waiting list that starts in the summer because there’s only so many chocolate pies we can bake.
“Can I help you?” The teenage girl behind the counter asks.
“Can I get a peppermint mocha and an assortment of your holiday cupcakes? I also have a custom order for a wedding cake for next week and I want to check everything is fine with that.”
“Sure thing! Let me take care of your order first and I’ll get the manager,” she says.
