AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“All right, sweetie. We’ll go get something to eat.” Leah smiles at me, a smile that seems slightly apologetic, unless I’m just imagining things. “It was nice to meet you, River. And for the millionth time, thank you.”
Goddamn it. The opportunity is gone.
“Take care, you two,” I say.
I watch them go, Leah’s tanned legs flashing beneath the hem of her dress as she walks to the sidewalk that runs between the beach and the road. Before she walks any further, she glances over her shoulder, and for a moment, I think she’s going to turn around and come back.
But she just smiles again. Then she turns back around and continues across the street.
A trolley passes by, and when it’s gone, I can’t see her anymore.
Fuck. I should have kept walking with her. Why did I let her leave? Even as I ask myself the question, I already know the answer: I’ve been single for too long, and I’m rusty when it comes to shit like this.
I head back down the beach, grab my board, rinse my feet at the public access spot, then head across the street to where I’ve parked my truck. As I toss my board into the bed, I curse myself under my breath for letting such a goddess slip right out of my life.
As I quickly change, I force myself to stop thinking about Leah and instead think about whether I need to grab groceries on my way home. Just as I’m about to drive away, though, I look up into the window of the shop I’m parked in front of.
And I see her. Leah. She’s standing behind the counter, with a pen tucked behind her ear, talking to a college-aged girl in a white apron.
I look up at the shop’s sign. Boulangerie Macaron. Not usually the kind of place I’d stop into, but right now, I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather go.
I shove my keys back into my pocket, walk up to the bakery, and pull open the door.
Chapter Two
Leah
“We’re going to need four dozen more of the chocolate and raspberry,” I say, pulling the pen from behind my ear and making a note on a pad of paper. “Might as well do some pistachio, too. Oh, and more sweet cream gelato.”
“Gotcha, boss lady,” says Gabby, one of the college students who works for me.
“Thanks, Gabby,” I say. As she gets to work, I look over at Anna, who’s sitting at one of the tables, absorbed in coloring as she eats a snack I brought over a few minutes before.
Thank God she’s okay.
If I ever lost Anna, I literally don’t know what I’d do. She’s my whole life, after all. Between raising her and running my bakery, I pretty much don’t do anything else.
And I’ve done it all on my own.
For most of my twenties, I thought my life would go the traditional route: date until I fell head-over-heels in love, marry the guy, start a family. Unfortunately, though, I found myself having bad date after bad date.
Year after year after year.
Eventually, I decided I was sick and tired of waiting for the right one. I knew I wanted to have a kid, so why not just have one? That’s what sperm banks were for, right? Fast forward six months, and I was pregnant, preparing to become a single mom by choice.
Raising Anna on my own certainly hasn’t been easy. But every single moment has been worth it.
Whenever people find out that it’s just Anna and I, they tend to assume that I’m still keeping my eye out for a guy—and for a father figure for Anna. That’s not the case, though. I honestly don’t feel the need to have a man in my life. I have a fulfilling life already.
If Iwasgoing to date someone, though…God. That guy who helped us out at the beach today? River?
Yeah, he’d be it.
Talk about hot.Bigand hot. With his wetsuit pulled down, his rock-hard abs were on full display. And even the parts of him that weren’t exposed…well, every bulge and firm muscle was outlined by the thick neoprene.
And I meaneverybulge.
My cheeks warm just thinking about him. My heart warms, too. Because not only was he blazing hot, but he was sweet to Anna, too.
