AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’ll have to try one, then. They’re kind of my specialty,” she says, and I think I’ve died and gone to heaven standing here talking to this woman.
3
LACEY
“The oven looks so good,I can’t believe they installed it so quickly,” I tell Harper. “I don’t know how we’re going to thank Nathan for buying them for us.”
“Don’t you worry about thanking him.” She smirks. “I’ll thank him for the both of us.”
“Eww, but you go, girl. I might be jealous of you, but I’m so damn happy you’ve found your forever.”
“Thank you. Your time will come. The right man will walk into your life and sweep you right off your feet.”
“I’m not so sure about that, nor do I want to put myself or the kids through another failed relationship. We’ve already had enough heartbreak in this lifetime.”
“Lacey, please don’t close the door completely on falling in love. I know Neil did a number on you, but not all men are like him.”
“I make no promises,” I tell her before turning my attention back to the counter. Garrett and Paul are standing on the other side of our display case, and I hope they didn’t overhear Harper and me talking about my failed life and marriage. “What can I get the two of you?” I ask as I step right up to the case.
“I can’t pass up one of those fresh and hot cinnamon rolls,” Garrett says, pointing to the pan of cinnamon-sugar perfection.
“Do you want it for here or to-go?”
“Definitely here,” he says. “No way I can eat that safely while I’m driving, and I don’t want it to get cold on the drive back.”
“Fair enough.” I smile up at him as I place one on a plate. “Anything to drink?” I ask.
“I’ll take a cup of black coffee.”
“And for you, Paul?” I ask. I try and focus on Paul’s order, and not on Harper refusing Garrett’s money, while I pull out another cinnamon roll and pour a cup of coffee, this time with some room for cream and sugar.
“Thanks,” he says once I hand over the items.
“You’re welcome. The cinnamon roll and coffee are on the house today, just let us know if either of you’d like a refill on the coffee.”
Paul hesitates before he goes to sit down with Garrett at one of the tables not far from the register. They’re close enough I can overhear their conversation. “Couldn’t resist the cinnamon rolls, huh?” Garrett asks Paul.
“Not after Lacey put them in the oven while we were back there. That damn near killed me,” he says as they both dive into their rolls. I always love seeing people enjoy our sweets, especially for the first time. It fulfills me in a way that I can’t even explain.
“Are you staring?” Harper comes to stand next to me and follows my focus to where I’ve been looking.
“Of course not. I just wanted to make sure they liked what they ordered,” I try to lie.
“Sure.” She smirks, knowing that I‘m full of shit. There are perks to working with your best friend and cousin, and then sometimes, they are just a pain in your ass because they know you almost better than you know yourself and they notice every little thing that is different.
“What one are you staring at?” she asks.
“The one on the left,” I finally admit.
“He’s definitely cute,” she says.
“He was so nice, and I might have thrown myself into his arms when he told me everything was done with the oven. I didn’t even think twice about it, just launched myself. I think I shocked him into hugging me back, but Harper, when that man put his arms around me, I felt something. I felt protected. I felt…” I trail off, not even sure how to put into words what I felt during those brief seconds.
“Maybe he’s your Mr. Right,” she states simply.
I can only shrug. I have no idea if a Mr. Right is in my future anymore. I’m not sure I trust myself to know if a man is good or not. I thought I’d picked a good one when I met Neil. He was a charmer. Treated me like I was his queen, always buying me nice things just because. Was quick to propose and get us down the aisle. I was so young and drunk on love, I didn’t see any of the red flags until it was too late. Once the kids were born, our spontaneous weekends away turned into him gone, his phone usually turned off, or if I got lucky and it was on, he wouldn’t answer. Then came the head games he’d play. The day the feds showed up with a search warrant to check every inch of our house for evidence, I knew things were bad. The way people looked at me after that made me want to pack my kids up and run away, but I was just an innocent bystander. I had no idea all the things Neil had gotten himself into over the years we were together. Ponzi schemes, weekends filled with alcohol, drugs, and so many women it makes me sick just thinking about it. The worst offense they got him on was sex trafficking of a minor. That charge stripped him of his parental rights. Something I didn’t think to ask for, but was grateful for once it really sunk in he wasn’t going to be there for our children anyway, so if the courts said he no longer had any say in their well-being, it was probably for the best. He didn’t think of them before he made the choices he did, so why should he get that chance now that he’d be in prison for a long time.
“Can we get a couple of refills?” Garrett asks, and I startle at his question.
