Page 68 of Shattered Hearts

BLONDIE: I’m going to tell Mum. She’ll be impressed.

BLONDIE: So proud of you, Biscuit.

That last message makes me heat all over.

Grayson is proud of me? After what I did, he’s still proud of me?

He really is the greatest friend I could have asked for.

I move onto my family chat to update Mum and Dad on the news. Mum’s name appears on my screen, and I answer her call immediately.

“Laynie girl, this is awesome!” she squeals, almost deafening my eardrum. “I knew you would do well with this. You always had it in you to dream big and now you’re achieving that. This is amazing.”

“Thank you, Mum. I feel like this is the beginning of a whole new chapter for Golden Hour.”

“It might be. And who knows, maybe you’ll be one of those shops that appear on those sites for tourists. The ones that say the top ten places for an apple pie or whatever.”

I snort. “Yeah, maybe it will. I just feel like I have made another accomplishment, though. I mean, this guy Grant is massive. He’s even on one of those baking shows that he judges. He’s not just a random person.”

“And to think, if he’s seen it, then there must have been others too in his field.”

That makes me swallow.

I hadn’t thought about that. Maybe there are others who have seen the place too?

I feel the jolt of nerves beneath my skin and the phone shivers against my ear.

“Yeah, maybe,” I let out, trying to keep my voice steady despite my rushing pulse. “I should go now, Mum. Still have a lot to get done in the next hour. I need to finish Doris’s cake for tomorrow.”

“Oh, of course. We’ll see you at home, then. Your dad is making stew tonight,” she says airily.

The thought of strew makes my stomach churn the wrong way. I haven’t been able to eat soup, let alone look at it after my morning sickness, but I don’t want to change their plans.

I utter blankly, “Okay, great. I’ll be home soon.” I hang up the phone, my stomach gurgling.

“Is it really great?” Marigold teases, peering at me from behind the trays of desserts.

I look at her and sniff a laugh. “The last thing I want is some sloppy soup. It reminds me too much of my morning sickness.”

She pulls a face, and I nod, my face scrunched with slight disgust.

“That’s valid. Maybe you should make your own dinner, then?”

“Yeah, I might have to.” I wash my hands again before getting back to Doris’s cake.

The moment I step into the house, the suffocating feeling returns, like a scarf being tightly wound around my neck. Mum flutters down, taking things off me and nudging me towards the couch, when all I want to do is have a bath. Dad is at the stove, and the intense smell of beans and celery makes me feel queasy. But the delight in his face is everything. I think he’s enjoying looking after me, possibly because he missed this time with Mum when she was pregnant and now he’s making up for it, but neither of them have asked if there’s anything I can’t eat during this pregnancy. They don’t even know what I want. They just assume, even if it’s wrong.

Swallowing and fanning my face, Freddie trots over, brushing himself against my legs. At least Freddie is still acting normal around me.

Picking him up, I go to walk towards my bedroom when Mum stops me, “What are you doing? You should be relaxing before dinner.”

“I know, but I really want to have a bath.”

Dad’s ears prick up. “Dinner will be ready in only a few minutes. Can’t you have your bath afterwards?”

I sigh and drop Freddie on the ground, who promptly curls at my feet.

Mum asks, “Also, have you been taking your medication? You should have finished the bottle by now, and there’s still some in there. You need to take them, Laynie girl.”