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Oh God, she was breaking it off with him. His shoulders relaxed. He wouldn’t have to be the one to do it. He wouldn’t have to potentially hurt her or cause an awkwardness between them at camp. Relief was the best feeling he’d had in days. But he also didn’t want her to know he’d been about to do the same.
He cleared his throat and nodded. “Of course. I understand.”
She smiled as she put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. “You’re a great guy, Mitch, but we both know this life is your one and only passion, and a girl just can’t compete with that.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, then left the tent.
Leaving him standing there feeling a gut shot, not at being dumped but at the harsh reality of her words.
Chapter Twenty-Five
December 30th…New Year’s Eve Eve…
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to choose a design—these are all so beautiful,” Amber Parsons said, sitting at the bakery counter, flipping through the wedding cake binder.
Jess smiled at the young twentysomething. She was happy for the beaming bride-to-be, despite her own conflicted heart.
Since Mitch had left Blue Moon Bay, they’d Skyped once, as his schedule and workload were already busy and the time difference made it difficult to connect. He said there was essentially no cell phone service, which was disappointing, and the internet connection wasn’t great, but Jessica had cherished the opportunity she got to see his face and hear his voice. Even for just a few minutes.
Things were different, though. He wasn’t the relaxed man on vacation she’d gotten to know. He was working long hours and stressed about the conditions and situations he faced on a daily basis. He was slightly distant, and despite him telling her that he missed her, she’d felt a little worse at the end of the call.
She wasn’t sure how much longer she could do it. She missed him so much, and unfortunately, “out of sight, out of mind” was not the case. Each day, the tightening in her chest grew more desperate whenever she thought about him. In her kitchen, she couldn’t stop reminiscing on the day he’d worked alongside her, and her freezer was an absolute torturous reminder of their passionate sex. Her Friday morning deliveries were plagued with the memory of their fun together. And the volunteer sign-up sheet still sitting on top of the offer from Not Just Desserts in her drawer was taunting her.
She didn’t regret her decision not to go with him. Whitney needed her. Sarah needed her. Blue Moon Bay was where she needed to be. For now. She just selfishly wished Mitch was here with her.
“This one! This is definitely the one,” Amber said excitedly, pointing to a three-tier, pink fondant wrapped cake with doves as the centerpiece on top. Her green eyes sparkled with excitement as she stared at it.
“You sure, because you said that about three others,” Jessica said with a laugh. It was the same with every bride—these decisions were important. “No rush, take all the time you need to be confident this is the one.”
In no time at all, Jessica had been confident that Mitch was the one…
But Amber was nodding. “Nope. I’ve made the decision. This one is perfect.”
“Okay. Great.” Jessica reached for an order form and filled in the appropriate information. “What is the date of the wedding again?” Her grandfather had said it was sometime in February, but Jessica had been too caught up in her feelings of jealousy that day to take note of the actual date.
“February 14th. Valentine’s Day. I’m not thrilled about a winter wedding, but I love the idea of getting married on the most romantic day of the year.” The wistful note in the young woman’s voice had Jessica longing for a special Valentine’s Day, too. Would she even get a Skype date with Mitch that year?
“It will be beautiful and very romantic,” Jessica said, adding the date to the form.
“Oh, and here’s an invite. We’d love to have you there,” Amber said, sliding a pale pink, embossed invitation across the counter as she stood.
Jessica picked it up and smiled politely. “Thank you.” She wasn’t sure she’d attend. Could her heart handle seeing any other blissfully wed couples right now? Or in the near future? Maybe weddings were ruined forever for her now. Not exactly wonderful when her business depended on her passion for wedding cakes.
“I have to run, I have a wedding dress fitting down the street…but thanks again, Jess,” Amber said, before leaving the bakery.
Jessica sighed, tucking the invite and the cake order form into her upcoming order drawer, then she went into the kitchen as her oven timer chimed. She took a tray of oatmeal raisin cookies from the oven and placed them on a cooling rack, and checked the time on the clock on the wall. Four fifteen. Her laptop was sitting on the counter and she had fifteen minutes before her next Skype chat with Mitch.
Common sense was telling her what she needed to say—that they shouldn’t talk anymore, because it just made things harder for her. She needed to start distancing herself.
Maybe when and if he returned, they could see what happened then, but chats weren’t enough for her, and it had painted a clear picture of what a relationship with Mitch would be like. Unfortunately, she wasn’t strong enough to do it. The timing wasn’t right for either of them.
Her cell chimed with a new text and her pulse raced, seeing it was from Mitch.
They never texted, since his cell service wasn’t great. Was something wrong?
Mitch:Sorry, I can’t chat today. Something important came up.
Something important. More important than her. Her gut instinct about where things were heading was right. Maybe he was realizing it, too. A lump rose in her throat as she fought for the right way to answer the text.
He was giving her an out. A great opportunity to say that maybe they shouldn’t chat for a while. Take a break and see how they felt if he ever came home again.
