It’s hard to sleep, so instead of going to bed, like Cora and Lila do, I end up trying every new recipe I’ve saved for weeks. It’s only when the sky lightens just before dawn that I glance around me and see I have no more counter space.
But has it helped keep the storm inside me at bay? Not really.
I feel like I’ve been put into a ship and sent out into the ocean without a way to steer, or even paddle—like I’m adrift and hoping for another boat to come save me.
Not that that boat is Max, because I don’t need him to save me.
Even though he’s inspired me to make changes to my business and we shared many good memories the past couple of weeks.
Okay, so he kind of saved me when I was floundering.
Of course, I started to like a guy who was unavailable in more than one way.
I can’t believe I fell for someone who is in a complicated situationship directed by his father.
Did we do anything more than cuddle on the couch? No, but things were progressing, and I wanted them to.
A door opens down the hall, and footsteps come toward me. Why is Lila up at the crack of dawn?
She rubs her eye as she walks in. “Whoa, what happened in here?”
“I went on a baking adventure,” I say.
“You call this an adventure? It looks like an explosion.”
“Why are you awake this early?”
“Because I heard a lot of banging in here all night long, and I finally got up to see what you were doing.”
“I just decided to try out a few new recipes, you know, to see if I can put them in the coffee shop.”
“Avery, this is a problem, not a few new recipes. This is you getting mad about a guy.”
“It’s not,” I say with more force than I should have.
“I don’t believe you,” she says. “I heard you and Mom talking last night. Is he leaving today?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Is who leaving?”
“Come on, Avery. I know that something’s wrong between you and Max. You hung out with him the other night at his apartment. At least we know he’s not a serial killer.”
“But he’s a billionaire, and he’s supposed to be engaged to a woman named Victoria.” The words are out before I can think twice about them.
Lila’s mouth drops open. “Billionaire? And you’re just giving up?”
“Did you miss the part about his life being somewhere else? That he’s got a crazy father who wants him to marry a family friend?”
Cora walks out in a robe, yawning. “What are you all doing up so early?” She turns the corner to the kitchen and stops in her tracks. “Do we have any flour left?”
“Not much,” I say.
“Avery is worried over a guy,” Lila says.
I grimace. “You’re so helpful.”
“Let me get some coffee, and we’ll discuss everything all over again,” Cora says, putting coffee into the machine and letting it brew.
I feel bad since we discussed most of this for a few hours last night. Cora looks even more tired than I’ve seen her in a while. She’s pushing too hard, and I don’t want her to break.
