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I tensed. Thinking about the divorce always gave me a strong pang of guilt. I’d tried so fucking hard to make it work. The last thing I wanted was to split up and drag the kids through our mess. But ultimately, I’d decided they were better off with two happy single parents than two unhappy married ones. Still, there weren’t many days I didn’t beat myself up over the decision I’d made or wonder if it was the best thing for Billy and Molly.
“Well?” he asked.
“It’s not Katie. That’s in the past, and I don’t have feelings for her anymore. Not like that. Hell, I probably never did.”
Zack watched me. He was curious and likely wanting me to say more, but I didn’t.
“And if I wanted to date, I could.”
His amused grin came back. “Pretty confident. The world has changed out there. You sure you could still figure it out?”
I knew he was trying to stir me up, but it was working anyway. It didn’t help that I’d had too many of those free adult beverages already. I felt a flush of annoyed heat at what he was implying. “Easily. But I don’t want to date. If anything, I just need a little release. Something casual.”
Zack’s eyes lit up. I knew that look. One of my brother’s favorite things in the world was making ridiculous bets, and I could see he was about to propose the mother of all stupid bets. He licked his lips. “I bet…”
12
HARPER
My stomach flipped with butterflies. I desperately wanted tonight to go well. If the right person loved my cooking, it might just lead to a job opportunity. If the stars aligned, it might even mean a job where I could stay in Fairhope.
If. If. If. I was trying to build my future on a tower of flimsy little “if”s, but that wasn’t going to stop me from hoping.
I went inside mom’s bakery to wash my hands. I checked my reflection in the mirror. My lavender dress was ruffled from the heat of the kitchen. I’d spent time on my hair before coming, but you couldn’t tell anymore. It was a tangled mess, so I threw it in a sloppy ponytail.
When I stepped back into the kitchen, I saw Lin and Farrah huddled behind the counter as they peeked over at something outside. “What’s going on?” I asked.
"Shh, they're talking. They'll be here in a second."
“Talking? Who is?”
They didn’t respond. I could hear them breathing heavily, like they were trying not to laugh.
“Lin, what’s going on?” I asked. My tone was tense, and I could tell that they had something up their sleeves. I could hear their light giggling as they whispered.
“Okay, you ready?” Farrah asked.
“Yeah,” Lin said.
Both of them rushed to the other side of the room and walked out the door. They did it in one smooth motion and they left the door cracked open.
I leaned out, trying to get a better look. That was when I saw Greyson and Zack Ashford standing at my table with their eyes all over my muffins. I gasped, then felt panic grip me. I looked around and decided to do the totally rational thing. I dove headfirst behind the counter to hide. But my ass hit the shelves and what sounded like every single measuring cup my mom owned came tinkling down to clatter on the tile beside me.
I winced, teeth bared as I waited for the chaos to end. Then I heard the sound of people coming inside.
“Yeah,” Farrah said loudly. “She said she was hoping you’d come by. I swear, I’ve never seen her spend so much time getting ready. You must’ve really made a good impression on her.”
My eyebrows knitted together. I was going to kill her when this was over. I wanted to peek over the counter, but I also didn’t want to confirm my suspicion.
“What was that noise?” a deep voice asked. It was Zack Ashford.
All the footsteps came closer, and I decided it was now or never. I stood up suddenly, banging my head on the edge of the cash register and then crashing back to my ass, which meant scattering more of the fallen measuring cups.
The Ashford men and my “friends” walked around the counter to stare down at me. I cleared my throat. “Should’ve worn my non-slip shoes.”
“Are you okay?” Greyson asked. He was the first to react as he came toward me, reaching to help me up.
“The only wound is to my pride,” I said.
He looked me up and down. It was innocent, but I still felt a tremble of hot excitement run through me to have his eyes all over my body. “Well,” he said. “You look perfect…ly fine,” he added after a slight pause.
Zack grinned at Farrah and Lin, who nodded knowingly.
What was going on here?
