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CHAPTER ONE – PIPER
RULE ONE: YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY SHOW UP.
“You missed your date.”
I handed the tray of baked goods to Felicity for her to take to the front of the store and flashed a look Kinsley’s way. “Really. I had no idea.”
“There’s no need to be snarky.” Her lips twitched. “I’m just here to moan that I’ve not had a break all morning. Your brother has been complaining about it since his friend called him last night.”
I shrugged and checked the oven with the bread. The rolls were ready to come out, so I grabbed my oven mitts and retrieved them. They were the most gorgeous shade of light golden brown.
“Piper.”
Sighing, I shut the oven door and looked at her. “Look, I told him I wasn’t going. I have to be here at four a.m. every morning. I don’t have the time to be out dating, nor do I have the inclination to be.”
“I know you told him that, and I know you want to franchise this place, but you’re allowed to have a life, too.”
“Queen of Tarts is my life,” I replied, putting the bread rolls on a cooling rack. They could go out when they were warm in about fifteen minutes. “Just because you guys are all loved up and getting married and moving in together doesn’t mean that’s something I want or need in my life right now. Is that so hard for everyone to understand?”
“I think it is. I get it, okay?” Kins held her hands up, her engagement ring flashing when it caught the light. “You’re focused on your career, and that’s absolutely fine. It’s not like I don’t know how hard it is to run your own business, but I run mine with two other people.”
Right. She’d bought the bookstore with Holley and Saylor years ago when the old owner had passed away and given her long-standing employees right of first refusal at a cheap price in her will. Their parents had cobbled together and, along with their own savings, they were able to purchase the store and mortgage the building.
“That’s the point. You run yours with two other people. You have two other people to pick up the slack. Felicity is amazing, but I’m still the sole owner here. All the finances and everything like that is on me.” I shrugged and got the ingredients together to make a batch of buttercream for the cake that was now cooled. “Besides, I like what I do. I don’t feel left out when we’re all together and you guys are all loved up. And any late nights I can take, I’d rather spend with my best friends than some random guy who probably isn’t right for me anyway.”
“All right. Well, at least now I can say I tried.”
“I solemnly swear that when Josh calls me to bitch, I will tell him you gave it your most valiant effort.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” She got up and hooked the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “Just don’t forget that in two weeks we’re looking at bridesmaid dresses.”
I touched my fingers to my temple and saluted her. “Don’t worry, I’ll be there. Two-thirty, Saturday, at White Peak Weddings, right?”
“Yes. Can I grab some stuff to take back for the girls?”
“If you pay for it.” I grinned.
“Hey! I’m marrying your brother!”
“I’m running a business and you already get everything for half price.”
“Good point.” She wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Don’t worry. I know that what happened in Vegas—”
“Me not wanting to date has nothing to do with what happened in Vegas.” I put the sugar in the bowl ready to turn on the mixer. “But thank you for the concern.”
“Okay.” She squeezed me lightly and left.
I shuddered out a breath. I wasn’t lying. My experience in Vegas—in which my boss harassed me and my company swept it under the rug until me and other members of staff went to the police—wasn’t the reason I didn’t want to date.
I was, genuinely, happy by myself.
That would probably change in the future, but for now, I was living the life I wanted. The settlement my old company had given me when I’d left had been little more than an apology for not listening to me, but it had been a very large apology, and it’d enabled me to move back home to White Peak and buy the bakery.
I was just thankful there was an apartment above the bakery that was now my home, because I’d bought the bakery outright and I didn’t want to buy a house. I needed all my money so I could franchise the bakery and create a Queen of Tarts chain across North America.
All right, I’d settle for Montana, but it was nice to have goals.
Thus, there was no room for dating in my life. Every waking second had to go into making the bakery a success. I couldn’t be beholden to the whims and wants of someone else while I was trying to build an empire.
