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“What do you need from me?” Christopher asked, linking his hands behind his head.
“Tell me I’m on the right track.” I was desperate for someone to tell me what to do.
“No one can tell you that. What do you want to do?”
“I want to talk to her. To figure out where her head was at. I have some ideas, but I need to know she can grow to trust me.”
He nodded. “That’s reasonable.”
“She wants to talk.”
“Why don’t you set a time in a day or two? That gives you some breathing room, and she’s not left hanging.”
“I can do that.”
He dropped his hands to his thighs before standing with a groan. “Now that you’ve heard my stellar relationship advice, I have to get back to work.”
“Thanks, man. Not just for today, but for everything. I couldn’t have done this without you.” He’d helped me manage the renovations when I was still in Philadelphia.
“You’re welcome. Now get back to work.”
I laughed, shaking my head at his teasing. Then I shot off a text to Brooke, asking if we could talk in a couple of days.
I wanted to see her shop. I hadn’t even gotten past the front door, and I was curious about what she’d planned.
I stayed in my office the rest of the day to avoid customers’ questions. I wasn’t ready for them or questions about our relationship. Especially when I didn’t even know where we stood.
When Brooke finally returned my message, it was dark out, and I was just packing up to go home.
Brooke:Sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier. Do you think we can hold off on a meeting? I’m just not sure when I’ll be free.
I sucked in a breath. Had she changed her mind? Was she rethinking our relationship? I wasn’t even sure what to say to that. It felt like a brush-off. I wanted to talk like adults, but she was retreating into her shell.
I locked up and said goodbye to Christopher. While I meant to head toward my car, at the last second, I kept going. I wanted to see her. I needed to know what she was thinking. So, I decided to just walk past her shop, and if she were alone, maybe I’d go in. Maybe I wouldn’t. I didn’t know what I was doing, just that I needed to see her.
I was deep into an internal debate over how smart it was to walk down the street by Java Coffee—Market Tavern.
I paused at the front of her store. The window was covered with a tarp, and it was dark inside. I asked a few people who stood nearby. “Do you know what happened here?”
“I heard there was a break-in.”
“Do you know when it happened?” My chest tightened. Was Brooke present when someone broke in? Was she alone? Hurt? My mind was racing with the possibilities.
“Sorry. I don’t.” The man returned his attention to his phone.
I got out my phone, attempting to text Brooke, but my fingers felt clumsy. Instead, I called her. I needed to hear her voice. It rang, then went to voicemail.
I needed to be home with Cammie for dinner. I’d promised her I’d spend more time with her. I couldn’t cancel, but I needed to see Brooke. I racked my brain for our mutual friends, wondering which one would take pity on me and give me more information. I walked quickly to my car, dialing Max as I went.
He answered, and I heard the din of the bar crowd in the background.
“Can you tell me what happened at Java Coffee? Is Brooke okay?” My pulse was racing.
“You don’t know?”
“I haven’t talked to Brooke. We had a disagreement and…” I wasn’t sure how else to explain it.
“I was there last night. The girls were celebrating the reopening, and the alarm hadn’t been working. The company couldn’t come until next week, but someone broke in after we left.”
