Ten minutes later, Rossy opened the shop door for me, sporting a kind smile. “Good morning.” His English accent was such a joy for me when I came here for a journaling session and coffee.
“Good morning,” I said, stepping inside. The cool air hit me, and in the middle of the bookshelves, Carrie’s snow-blond curls were bouncing as she ripped open a box. I looked back up at Rossy as he finished locking the door. “Thank you for letting me come in early. I won’t be long, I promise.”
His smile widened as he adjusted his glasses. “Darling, take all the time you need. Though I am sorry to say that Margo isn’t here to make you some coffee.”
Carrie huffed. “I can make us some, babe.” She carried a box of books to the counter. With a grunt, she set them down and met Rossy’s concerned look with a smile. “I told you I could handle it.”
“Yes, but when I’m here, I would much rather be the one lifting the heavy boxes,” he countered, putting his hands in his suede vest. He looked at me. “Excuse me, I have some work to do.”
Carrie came to stand beside me, and we watched Rossy disappear into the back. Then she grabbed my hand and led me to the small table by the window. “Now, the best I can do is start a pot of coffee. You good with that?” She wiggled her finger atthe beautiful maroon espresso machine on the far wall. “I’m not allowed to touch that, or Margo will kill me.”
I smiled. “That’s fine with me. I can’t stay long, though. I have a shift starting soon.”
Once the coffee was brewed, she brought two steaming mugs, cream, and sugar to the table. “All right,” she sighed, sitting down. “What’s going on?”
My eyes lingered on my coffee as I stirred in the cream, watching it change color. “Marg just asked me to be her successor.”
Carrie nearly choked on her first sip. “Whoa. Wh-what? That’s awesome,” she pushed out between coughs. She waved off my look of concern. “Sorry. Went down the wrong pipe.”
I plopped in two cubes of sugar and continued stirring.
“You don’t want it?”
My lips twitched as I thought about Ash’s conversation with me this morning. “No, I do. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a teenager.” I lifted my head, cradling the mug in my hands. “I was on the right path for it, but then…”
“Then your path was blocked by something you didn’t deserve,” she finished for me.
“You sound like you know what you’re talking about,” I noted softly before taking a sip. The coffee was bland, but it reminded me of my parents.
Carrie sat back, scanning the empty street outside. My gaze followed hers, lifting up to the light blue sky, oranges and pinks still lingering from the sunrise. “I never knew what I wanted to be because I didn’t have the freedom to think I could be anything other than a submissive woman.”
I jerked, my gaze snapping back to her. “What?”
She took another sip and stared into her coffee. “So Ash hasn’t told you about Grayson and me, yet?”
Tipping my head to the rock on her finger, I said, “I know you’re engaged. I know Grayson left you to go find Ash when he vanished into Devil’s Den.”
The movement was subtle, but I didn’t miss the way her shoulders straightened as the memory floated between us. “Grayson was hired to hunt me.”
My lips parted, my eyes widened. “What?”
“My father wasn’t a good man. In fact, he was evil. He did horrible things to horrible people. Eventually, his trouble caught up with him, and as a result, my ex-husband, may he burn in hell, was murdered in our home.”
“Jesus, Carrie,” I breathed, leaning forward.
She gave me a warm look. “My past is dark. Like yours. If you want me to stop, say the word.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
She set down her mug. “Because,” she set her hand on top of mine, “I don’t want you to miss out on something you’ve always wanted due to the voice inside your head telling you otherwise.”
“I just think I’ve lost too much time,” I said. “When I was in Canada, I had to lay low. Basically put my dreams on the shelf, and the days never slowed down.” Swallowing the lump in my throat, I pulled my hands back. “I’m thirty-four years old and I feel like I’ve lost so much time.”
“You’re still young. You have an entire life ahead of you, and once the guys take care of—” Carrie’s mouth snapped shut as her skin paled.
I didn’t like it. “Take care of what?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I said too much.”
