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I gasped at hearing my aunt speak like that.“Aunt Laurie—”
“A man hurts one of my family, and he’s going to answer to me.Jess didn’t tell me everything, but she told me enough.I was fit to be tied, Maddie.Still am.May his internet forever cut out at the most inopportune time.”
I laughed in surprise.“That’s a good modern curse.”
“The best.”
She moved to work next to me, and for a good long time, we baked together, mixing and shaping and glazing and proving.The scents of chocolate and cinnamon hung heavy in the room with us, new and familiar at the same time.
The sweet tea was delicious and tasted of my childhood.Aunt Laurie and Jess used to come over for holidays and make huge vats of the stuff, some of which my mum would freeze.I could never quite make it the same myself, and oh Lord, had I tried.
“So,” my aunt ventured once I’d slid all the pain au chocolat into the fridge, “Rick picked you up from the airport?”
I eyed her.“Yes…”
She dusted her hands off on the apron.“He’s a good man.He dotes on his nephew.Took the little boy and Jenny in when her ex turned out to be an asshole.Anyway, it's her story to tell.”
I swallowed, feeling a pang of sorrow for a lovely woman I’d met briefly this morning.“There seems to be a lot of assholery going around.What’s your point?”
Aunt Laurie smiled and folded her arms, leaning against the closed door of the giant fridge.“I used to be young once, too.I’m saying that he’s not known for permanence, but ifIwanted a little fun to forget my own asshole ex, you could domuchworse than Rick Callahan.”
I sputtered out a laugh, mildly scandalized.“I wasengageduntil a few days ago!”
She shrugged.“It doesn’t mean you’re not interested.”
I laughed out loud.“I’mnotinterested.”
“Honey, I could bedeadand I’d still be interested.Have youseenhim?”
I shook my head, still laughing.“Thanks, but you go ahead.I’m not here to sleep my way around town.”
“Well, it’s lucky then that you don’t need to go around town.He’s right next door.”
I moved in for a hug.“You’ve really cheered me up.”
She grinned cheekily.“Then, I’ve succeeded.”
“Thank you.I’m looking forward to running this place with you.You’re sure I won’t be in the way?”
My concerns were legitimate.After all, I didn’t have a huge amount of shop management experience.I’d worked in a couple of bakeries as a teen in college, and I had years of hotel kitchen experience, but every shop was different.
It looked like my dream of owning or co-owning a shop would have to be shelved a bit longer.
All my dreams had been very loudly interrupted when my fiancé betrayed me.
Betrayseemed like such a small word for what he did, when he basically dumped our relationship in a bin and set fire to it.
I felt like I was in a sort of limbo, unsure how to move forward.
“Not at all,” my aunt assured me.“I’ll enjoy the company, and you could use a change.It’s as good as rest, they say, but nothing’s better than freshly baked cake for a broken heart.”She squeezed me tight.“Now, you got dinner plans?”
I winced.“Well, there’s another slightly out of date dinner in the freezer.”
She tutted in a very my-mum way.“You’re coming over.I’ve got some beef in the slow cooker and I always make too much.I don’t take no for an answer.”
Warmth bloomed inside me.“I’d love to.”
* * *
