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Chapter Two
Harper
“Knock,knock!Icomebearing music and friendship.”
“Madison, I gave you that key for emergencies,” I replied, sliding the display case back open to retrieve some vegan red velvet crinkle cookies.
“Prepping for a show likeLove in a Small Townisan emergency.” She slid onto a stool in front of my counter, brushing a braid over her shoulder.
“It is absolutely not,” I scolded her, then cut a smile in her direction. “But I appreciate the thought. Do you want this warmed?”
“You know the way to my heart.”
It wasn’t the cleanest baked good that I offered, but I still used as many natural substitutes as I could. Red velvet always seemed to see a resurgence around Valentine’s Day, which was right around the corner.
“I just know your inability to say no to cookies.”
“Always using my lack of willpower against me. Cookies and antiques, so rude.” She finished selecting a song on her phone—a folksy country ballad that filled the empty space of the café. Satisfied, she snatched a cookie off the plate I’d slid onto the counter, then watched me carefully.
“I like this,” I murmured, tuning the world out to immerse myself in the music. “It’s not your normal music selection.”
“It seemed like something you might enjoy.”
I opened one eye and looked at her. “Why are you buttering me up?”
Madison feigned horror, her mouth falling open. “I’m doing no such thing.”
Both eyes open now, I leaned on the counter.
“Fine. Are you doing okay with Flynn being the bachelor for this show?”
I’d successfully kept him out of my thoughts for the majority of the day, and suddenly there he was, front and center.
“I’m fine. It’s not like I’m going to see him.”
Denial wasn’t an attractive trait, but it was the best I could come up with.
“Harper, you’re going to have to go in there and spruce up flowers and stuff.”
“I can time it with dates, or whatever they do when they have to leave the house. Easy peasy.” I opened my hands dramatically, like I’d solved the biggest problem of all time.
Madison watched me with one brow raised as she grabbed another cookie. “You’re okay with him dating all these women?”
“He’s the one that signed up for the show. I hope he finds whatever he’s looking for.”
Wishing I could dive back into the mellow mood I’d previously been in, I pulled out a rag and the plant-based glass cleaner I used and scrubbed the display case.
“You can’t tell me you don’t have any feelings about it.”
“We weren’t ever athing, Madison.” I stopped and put my hands on my hips, my agitation growing by the minute. “I’m really regretting ever telling you anything.”
“But you guys—”
“Stop.” I took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then released it. In with the good, out with the bad. “It’s history, and he made his choice. We’re both living our lives.”
“And you’re both currently single,” she replied, almost in a whisper.
“He won’t be for long. How many weeks is the show again? By the end of it, he will have made a new choice, and that’s it.”
