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Does she not want me here at all? Is it because she’s worried about me or because she’s worried about the business?
Logically, I know Irene would want me here, but this whole mess has me thinking with my emotions first and any logic dead last. All I can seem to think right now is she doesn’t want me around, and I can’t blame her. After all, this is one heck of a mess.
“I’m sorry. I’ll leave. I know this is a giant mess. I wouldn’t want me here either,” I say, turning and ready to bolt out the door.
Jack seems confused about what’s going on and says as much. “Go. Go where? You wanted to work today. What did I miss?” he asks.
Irene scoffs, throwing one frustrated hand in the air while the other lands on her hip. “Work? You should be at home with Jack, where it’s safe!”
Where it’s safe. Becauseof courseshe’s worried about me. That’s all she’s been worried about this whole time. She’s never once shown any fear for herself, her business, or the customers. I don’t know where my head’s at right now, but I would imagine anyone would tell me to give myself a little grace.
Even if I think that’s the opposite of what I need for putting all these amazing people through this.
Still, I should probably avoid jumping to conclusions this early in the morning because my head is as much of a mess as my life is.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Jack asks as he takes my arm and pulls me into him.
I sigh, feeling a bit dumb. “I… I thought she didn’t want me here.” It’s a whisper so only he can hear me.
“Oh, sweetheart. She’s just worried about you. Like we all are,” he says as he hugs me.
Charlie rounds to the front, moving to stand in front of us. “Looks like you have a lot to catch me up on, bestie,” she says with a gleam in her eye.
She doesn’t even bother to hide the shifting of her gaze between Jack and me. Jack laughs and turns me around to throw his arm around my shoulder to hold me close.
“Andi insisted on working today. I think it’ll be good for her. She needs a distraction. Otherwise, I worry she might drive herself insane. I’m setting up an hourly patrol. Everything should be fine as long as she isn’t alone,” Jack says.
Irene is quiet for a moment, clearly thinking as her eyes shift between the two of us. “You know you’re always welcome, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to if you don’t feel safe. I understand and wouldn’t hold it against you.”
I smile broadly. “I want to work. Ineednormal right now. At least until we can get Christopher.”
Jack stiffens when I say Christopher’s name, but he seemingly tries to shake it off with a change of subject. “Irene, would you mind if I look around for a minute to scope the place out? I want to be prepared.”
“Sure, go ahead,” she answers.
As Jack readies to walk away, Charlie comes and grabs me away from him to squeeze me in one of her famous hugs. “Oh, I missed you, bestie!”
I laugh as I squeeze her back, “Me, too, Charlie bear.”
She snickers. “It’s cute, but I don’t know about that nickname. I sound like a two-year-old.”
We laugh before walking to the back as Jack goes off to inspect Irene’s office for the best places to hide cameras. I get my apron on, excited to get my hands dirty and back to baking.
I get Jack another cup of coffee, figuring he may need it today. I take it to him in the back where he’s looking at the storage room and back emergency exit.
“Here you go, Detective.” I hand him the hot cup of coffee.
“Hmm exactly what I needed. My girl and some sugar,” he grumbles.
I gasp at his use of “my girl.” Butterflies flare up, and warmth spreads throughout my chest.
“Your girl, huh?” I ask playfully as I toy with the buttons on his dress shirt.
He pulls me against him, placing a breathtaking kiss on my lips. “Well, I hope so, just like I want to be your guy. I can wait if you aren’t ready for that just yet. I know you might not be in the best place to start a relationship. But make no mistake, that’s where I want this to go.” His hands are gentle, but his tone is serious.
I look up into his eyes, weighing my response. It feels too soon. We don’t know each other, and while attempted murder was a pretty obvious punctuation to the end of my incredibly toxic relationship, I’m still trying to close that door completely. It doesn’t seem like the smartest move to jump into something new with Jack just yet.
But I also just promised myself I’d stop holding myself back from happiness. From going after what I want in life. Life is too short. It’s too precious. I wasted too many years making everyone else around me happy. I gave up my dreams of being an artist, I fell in line when my parents pushed me towards Christopher, and I bowed to Christopher and his career.
