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Liam
The second the door was unlocked, the crowd that had been culminating outside started to migrate indoors. I couldn’t help the triumphant grin that covered my face, even if it was actually only a small crack of a smile. Jackson controlled the crowd, keeping them from blocking the door for fire code reasons, and corralling them into a single file line. Or as best of one as he could manage.
My employees behind the counter started taking orders immediately. There were two girls that worked the register and another girl and boy in the pack fulfilling orders as they came through. So I walked through the line and thanked everyone for coming in today, stopping to chat with the few of them that initiated more conversation.
A few of my customers opted to stay in the store and enjoy their cookies while seated at either the black tables or the bar tables lined up against the wall. Their lively conversations overshadowed the gentle rock music playing from the speakers embedded in the ceiling.
Walking to the front windows, I noticed the line stretched far down the sidewalk. I walked through the open door, thankful that no one was blocking it. But the people were blocking something else.
Everyone was lined up in front of Emma’s bakery, blocking off the door and effectively preventing anyone from seeing that her open sign was on. I gave my thanks to those standing in line outside, shaking hands with a few of them as I moved down the line. I peered inside Emma’s store, seeing her employee at the register, but no customers inside. And no Emma.
“If I could have all of you wrap around to the other side of my building and line up through the alleyway, that would be great. We can’t block the exits of any buildings, otherwise, the fire marshal could fine us.” I waved my hands to point everyone in the direction of the alley on the opposite side of my building. It was lucky that I had a small alleyway that led around to the back of my store.
Everyone started slowly shuffling in the direction I asked them to, and I thanked them. “I’m so glad all of you came forMidnight’sopening! We are working as fast as we can to serve all of you!”
Just as I turned back to my building, Jackson came through the door with tiny samples of the orange creamsicle cookie that was on the menu today. We had seven cookies that changed each week. It was a trending business design working for other cookie companies, and I knew why. It created a sense of scarcity that made patrons want to bust the doors down so they could get it before it was gone.
The clients in the line gratefully took the samples that Jackson offered as he walked down the line as the group continued to move to the new line. It kept the people satisfied until we could serve them their orders. And it might just convince them to buy more.
When the line finally wasn’t blocking Emma’s store, I breathed in relief.
She surely hated me even more now. It wasn’t enough that I opened a competing business, but now, my customers had blocked her store and she didn’t have anyone in hers. Emma would definitely blame it on me, and I’d admit it was at least partially my fault. I’d been tossing around my options over the last few weeks, trying to decide what the best plan of action was. I’d replayed all of the best times I’d had with her over and over again until my heart ached with the longing for her that never truly went away.
There had been other women. Of course, there had been. I certainly wasn’t single for eight years, hoping that one day Emma and I would be back together. However, each woman I dated or had a fling with only reinforced my belief that no one could ever measure up to her. She was a ray of sunshine and everyone who knew her was deeply affected by her. Compassion was her middle name, and she never let anyone around her think that they weren’t important.
Our relationship obviously had its ups and downs, but through all of it, I knew I would marry her. What man would give up a woman that inspired him to be more for the world? To love others with an unconditional love that people had only heard about in movies.
She was that woman. And I’d given her up. All because it was something my father pressured me to do out of his own problems with Emma’s father.
These were the thoughts that kept me up at night, wondering if there was any way she would ever give me a chance again. But I knew the answer.
She’d been extremely reluctant to end our relationship when our fathers demanded it. For a few weeks, she would sneak out and meet me at McDonald’s so that we could talk in the parking lot. Our fathers eventually found out and did everything they could to keep us apart, but Emma still didn’t want to give up. In my young naivety, I let my father make the final decision for me, and I told Emma it was for the best that we parted ways. I took the new phone number that my father had forced on me, and lost hers so that I couldn’t obsess over her and wouldn’t be tempted to call her again.
That definitely burned her, and I wouldn’t forgive myself for it if I were her. She’d been willing to fight and scrape for every second together, and I’d let her down.
As the day finally came to a close and the last of the customers left the store, I found myself sad but unsurprised that Emma didn’t visit. I figured she would have at least tried to buy a cookie in the name of good sportsmanship, because that was a quality she liked to have. But I’m sure my line blocking her store was enough to destroy her good neighbor attitude.
I knew I wouldn’t have her love ever again, but I would take anything. So if I couldn’t have her love, I wanted her anger. I wanted her annoyance. I wanted her to scrunch up her perfect face at me in frustration when I did things specifically to annoy her.
Now, I didn’t want to ruin her business, but I would do everything I could to show her that I kept up with her.
With Jackson, I formulated a plan—one that he thought would only further dig me into a hole—to get Emma’s attention. Because I’d rather have something from her than nothing.
9
Emma
It wasn’t until that night that I returned to my bakery. I didn’t want to see the raging success that Liam was having, nor did I want to see the mass of people blocking my store. Anne messaged me and told me she was more than capable of taking care of the rest of the day, communicating that the store was slow and that it was a one-person job.
After I knew Liam’s store would be closed, I went to my store to start baking. I hoped that my plan would work, but I was still nervous.
A few hours ago, I posted to all of my social media that I’d been getting rave reviews on all of my baked goods, especially my cookies. Was it possibly an underhanded thing to do? Yes, but he blocked my freaking store. So I didn’t let myself feel too much remorse for it.
Naturally, I wasn’t very competitive. I was too much of a people pleaser to enjoy beating others at games or doing something better than them. It often kept me from success when I was younger, because I was so afraid to hurt others’ feelings. But now, I had a real reason to be competitive. This was my livelihood, and if Liam was going to allow people to block my store for his own success, then I would do what had to be done to ensure mine.
Even if that meant not-so-discreetly posting about how good my cookies were.
I decided to make a double batch of my chocolate chip cookies because, let's face it, no one could make them better than me. While Liam might have the recipe we used years ago, I have since learned how to make them even better.
