Page 63 of Shattered Hearts

“Are you ready?” I ask when customers start flooding the aisle, looking around at all of the stalls.

Laynie lifts her chin and nods, but I can’t ignore the way she’s shivering.

“I’ll get you a hot drink to warm you up.”

“Okay, but no coffee. It doesn’t mix well with me anymore, and I’m not allowed.”

I pout before nodding, shuffling my way out of the stall. “Hot chai it is then.”

Making my way down the aisle, I eye off a small coffee cart and order two large chai lattes. “Can you add in extra cinnamon? She likes hers with extra zing,” I tell the girl working there, who has hardly cracked a smile.

After collecting our drinks, I trail back to the stall before stopping. I watch Laynie interact with customers, the light on her face bringing a grin to mine. She’s so in her element, it’s like she was born to do this.

Placing the cups on the ground, I pull out my phone and take some candid photos of her smiling and laughing at some teenage girls before returning to her side.

“Here you go.” I slip her one of the paper cups. “You look like you’re enjoying yourself.”

“I am!” Her excitement bubbles over as she sips on her drink. She groans softly. “This is really good.”

I nod and pull my phone out of my pocket. “I got you some more photos to post. I thought these looked great.”

She flicks through them, her cheeks pinched, before saving them to her phone. “Wow, these are incredible. Thank you, Blondie.”

“Of course, Biscuit.”

Laynie squeals with delight as she wraps a hand around my waist, tipping her head to lean on my shoulder. I drape my arm around her shoulders, soaking in her closeness before more customers walk over and we are forced to disconnect.

After an hour of repeating my explanations and helping Laynie box up some desserts, we finally have a breather.

Laynie flicks through some of the notifications on her phone, which seem to be mainly from online, which is great news. I really hope that this helps Golden Hour take off a little more. Pausing, she reads through a text before groaning and shutting off her phone.

“What’s wrong?”

Looking at me, she gives a small sigh. “It’s just Mum. She’s being a little insufferable right now.”

She opens her phone and shows me the screen.

MUM: Do you think that I could move your bed closer to the wall to give Sadie a bit more room? I brought her a bigger blow-up bed, but it’s getting a little crowded in your room. You’ll have to watch for her when you get out of bed.

My eyes flare a little. Laynie shakes her head. “I can already barely move in there as it is. Why did she get a bigger bed?”

“Can’t Sadie sleep out in the living room?” I ask.

Laynie’s head shakes again. “Dad wakes up early for the shop, and so do I if I’m baking. It wouldn’t be fair to her.”

I hum, realising her predicament.

“And Sadie could find her own place, but I feel awkward asking her to move out. I like having her close by, but…”

“Yeah, it would be a lot.”

She nods, and I pull her into a small hug. “It’ll be all right, L.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Grayson

The bikes rev as we ride along the narrow dirt track. Trees and shrubs line either side, and I’m trailing after Knox, who has gotten a lot more confident since our first ride together. His speed matches mine, and while there’s been a few slides and scares, for the most part, he’s a really good rider.