AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It gave me a start when I walked into the back and saw Martha rolling the cinnamon rolls instead of Linley. We were in that weird transition period just before fall when we’d switch to pumpkin and apple, but we were still making blueberry and peach. The fall flavors were my personal favorite.
“Hey, Charli, how’s it going?” Martha asked, beaming at me as she rolled an entire sheet of dough around a sweet blueberry mixture. She’d been making them even longer than her daughter and didn’t even need to look down at what she was doing.
“Good. I’m glad Linley is off with Gray, but that doesn’t stop me from missing her,” I said.
“I know. She’s been sending me lots of pictures and videos. I keep telling her to put down the phone and have some fun!” Martha laughed and then started slicing the rolls perfectly. No measuring required.
“I still have your donut,” Martha said, gesturing with her chin to a little box on the counter.
“Thank you,” I said with a sigh. Now I had my precious donut and I could start my day right. I poured myself a cup of coffee and chatted with my aunt about this and that while we tried to ignore the chaos out front that was the morning rush. Since we were in the summer busy season, Martha had hired on some extra help in the front so she could be in the back covering for Linley. I was glad she wasn’t trying to do it all anymore. Linley had been begging for her to hire more help, and the wedding had been a good excuse. Now with the new kitchen, we were going to be able to hire even more people.
“Okay, I need to get to work,” I said as I glanced at the clock and realized I’d spent too much time talking with Martha.
“Don’t work too hard,” Martha said. “You’re young, you should be having fun.”
“I do have fun,” I said. I’d had fun this weekend with Alivia, but I didn’t tell her that. Not everyone needed to know about whatever I was doing with Alivia. I didn’t need five hundred opinions on what I should do.
“You should have more fun,” Martha said, and it sounded more like a command than a suggestion. I knew what kind of fun she meant. Dating fun. That was another reason I didn’t want to tell her about Alivia; I didn’t want to get her hopes up.
* * *
My morning was spent doing a lot of photo editing and caption writing. I was searching for the perfect wording for a funny post about the switch to our fall flavors when there was a knock at the door.
Martha poked her head in.
“There’s someone here to see you,” she said, and she had a smug look on her face.
Right. Alivia had said she was going to stop by. I’d gotten so wrapped up in work that I’d forgotten.
Great. Now Martha definitely knew about Alivia. Even if I told her there was nothing going on, she was still going to write stories about us in her head.
“Okay,” I said, trying to keep my smile neutral as I got up from my desk.
I walked out to find Alivia looking around the kitchen.
“I’m going to see how things are going out front,” Martha said, her voice a little too loud. “It’s so nice to see you again, dear,” she said to Alivia. They’d already met and had chatted at the wedding on Saturday.
“You too,” Alivia said, looking over at me.
“Hey, how are you?” I asked, leaning on the counter because I didn’t know what else to do.
“Good, I wasn’t expecting to get let back here,” she said.
“I can make you something,” I said. “What did you want?”
“You don’t have to do that,” she said, trying to stop me.
“I mean, that’s your problem for coming here during lunch. I’m going to feed you. Sit.” I gestured at one of the metal stools that was tucked under the counter that took up most of the room.
Alivia looked like she wanted to protest, but she shut her mouth.
“Ham or turkey?” I asked, going over to the fridge where we kept the cold cuts and cheese.
“Turkey.”
“Cheese?”
“Provolone, if you have it.”
