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“Are you taking a date to Nicole’s birthday thing?” We step up on the other side of the road together. “Or going stag?”
“Undecided.” I reach back and snag my vibrating phone from my pocket. “I might take a date, if only as a buffer between me and anything Axel might try to pull that night.”
I check my phone and narrow my eyes when it’s Axel’s name flashing up at me. A text that readswe’ve gotta talk.
Cryptic, attention-seeking jerkwad.“What about you?” I shove the phone back into my pocket, message unopened. “Bringing a date?”
“Yeah. I might bring Gina.” He glances across with a sweet smile. “She’s nice.”
“She looks kind. Where’d you meet her?”
“Online.” His cheeks warm, like internet dating is something to be embarrassed about. Hell, swiping right is my primary source of meeting people these days. “She works at the coffee shop. It’s funny, because I’ve seen her around for ages. But neither of us said hello till we came across each other’s profiles.”
“Sometimes it works out that way.” I wrap my arm around his as my heart slows and my temper cools. “I hope she’s everything you want in a woman. You deserve someone sweet.”
And I… deserve not to have my phone vibrating against my ass because of a man who struggles with another’s boundaries.
“I’m going back to work,” I tell him. “I’m gonna close the place up in an hour, lock the doors, and get a head start on tomorrow.”
“Want me to hang around?” He walks me toward Juniper’s Bakery, knowing he’ll have to backtrack to get his van. “I can get us some takeout. Put on some music. You can teach me how to roll or cook or whatever, since more hands make for lighter work.”
“No, thanks.” I stop just outside Juniper’s and turn back to face my friend. He’s too sweet. Too kind. And if Gina messes with him, I might take out my pent-up anger on someone other than Axel Feeney. “Invite your lady friend out to dinner. Or better yet, have her over at your place. Cook something together. Save the music and good times for her.”
“I only have enough room for two.” He takes a step forward and holds my hand, sliding his thumb across my wrist. “What Gina and I have is new, Han. It’s nice, but it’s new. If I have to choose between the two of you, I’ll choose you.”
“I’m not asking you to.” Stepping in, I press a kiss to his cheek and sigh. “I’m happy for you, and I prefer to work alone. So it all works out.” Backing away, I grab the bakery door handle and yank on it, pulling the glass open wide enough to make room for me. “I’ll text you when I get home, so you know I’m safe.”
“Do that.” He furrows his brows, like his stern look will keep me compliant to his worrying nature. “What time do you expect to be done?”
I shrug. “Eight at the latest. I need to get to bed early enough to still get up in the morning. Anything later than eight, and I’ll be dragging.”
“So, balance.” His lips curl into a playful smile. “Balance for Hannah Sullivan.”
“That’s the name of the game.” With a small wave and a smile I don’tfeelbut offer anyway, if only for my friend’s benefit, I turn into the store.
Once the door closes at my back, Raul’s solid form meanders away. But my mind is already on my next task.
I have things to do in the late afternoon lull, and a belly full of anxiety I have no choice but to face. Being here meansriskingAxel’s presence, but knowing there’s nothing I can do about it, since it’s his sister’s shop, I hold my breath and start around the L-shaped counter.
I pass the display cabinet. The register. Then I cross the threshold that separates the front of the store and the back, only to exhale again when I find Nicole alone at her silver table, and Juniper sitting on another with a coloring book and a packet of pencils perched precariously on her knee.
No Axel.
Thank Christ.
“I’m back.” I head toward the stockroom in the corner and snatch a fresh apron out while tossing my phone in. A quick swap that’ll help with productivity.
With fast hands, I tie a bow at my back and wander to June, because she’s just a little girl stuck in the middle of a myriad of adult issues. I’m arguing with her mom, and hate her uncle. But I adore the girl, so I press a kiss to the center of her forehead, and grin when she glances up.
“Hey, Bug. Whatcha drawing?”
“A fireman jumping out of a plane.” She turns her page and shows off the beginnings of a plane with rainbow-colored engines.
Of course she is.
“Did you know that’s what Uncle Axe has been doing all year?” her eyes widen, comically big. “A fricken plane!”
“Don’t say fricken,” Nicole mumbles.
