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We chat a bit more about his plans, but Bronson starts crying and Landon ends the call.
My phone has been vibrating with incoming calls and texts while I was talking to him, but I've got to focus on the store. Courtney and Glen have been filling the online orders, but we're running low on some stuff and I need to get in the kitchen and make more. If I'm going to expand, I'll need to hire a chef and more staff, but I don't want to move forward with any of that until I've got the money for it in the bank and a viable location in Denver.
I turn my attention to my laptop and an email from Mitchell about potential investors. I'm already frustrated with the one investor I've got. I'm not interested in allowing more hands and opinions into my kitchen, but I don't see that I have any choice.
The profiles he's sent look intriguing, but I need to meet these people in person and get a feel for them. I'm emailing Mitchell back to tell him just that when there's a knock on the door.
"Come in, but only if you have good news."
The door opens, and Cherry walks in, smiling nervously. "I hope it's good news."
My breath catches in my throat. She's like a ray of fucking sunshine. She's wearing jeans and a sweater, her hair loose around her face, mussed from the hat she probably took off along with her coat before she walked in here. Her eyes sparkle more than the glittery stuff she's dusted all over her face and her lips are a kissable red.
She's wearing holly berry earrings and has tinsel woven through her hair. It's a whimsical, sexy look that shouldn't look glamorous, but on her somehow does.
Before I can say anything, she holds up a full bag. "I brought lunch."
"I'd love to have lunch with you. But I'm slammed today."
"I totally get it." Her smile wobbles the tiniest bit. "The store is really crowded. I'll leave the lunch here with you, but do you have five minutes to talk?"
That's never a good thing to hear, and I prepare myself and my heart for bad news. "I always have five minutes for you."
She steps the rest of the way into my office and closes the door. She sets the bag on the table, then closes her eyes and breathes in so deep she rises onto her tiptoes before sinking back onto her heels.
"You okay?"
Her eyes pop wide and she looks like she might be sick. "I'm nervous. Really nervous." She shakes out her hands. "RJ came by the farm today and asked me out on a date. He wants to give us another shot."
My stomach sinks and nausea roils. This is so much worse than I expected. Still, I paste on a smile for her, even as my heart cracks. "Congratulations. You got exactly what you wanted." Shit. I didn't mean for that to come out sounding so bitter.
She frowns, her brows pinching together. "Right, except it's not what I want anymore."
I can barely take in what she's telling me over the sick feeling in my gut and the pounding of my heart. This is my fault. I let myself fall for her when I knew full well she wanted someone else. "Whatever you want, I'm happy for you." I turn back to my laptop. "I've got some phone calls to make. Thank you for lunch, but I should get back to work."
"Wait." She sounds more desperate than this situation deserves. "I'm not done. I need to tell you… Xavier, can you look at me? Please?"
I turn, but it hurts to look at her. She's so fucking beautiful, and she looks so sad and all I want to do is grab hold of her and beg her not to leave me. "How's your arm? Is it hurting?"
"What?" She glares like I'm the one with a problem. "I'm fine, Xavier. I'm trying to tell you something. Can you just shut up for a minute and listen?"
I mime zipping my lips and throwing away the key. I might do it with a bit of attitude, but isn't it enough that she's going back to her future husband? Do I really need to hear all the details?
"Thank you." She pulls in another deep breath. "I don't want RJ anymore, Xavier. I want you."
It's everything I want to hear and the exact worst thing she could ever say. "Don't say that."
"I mean it, Xavier. I want us to be a couple for real. I want to stay in Yuletide and help you take your candy shop international. I want—"
"Clearly, you don't know what you want." I'm being an asshole and I know it, but I can't seem to stop. "This morning, you thought you wanted James back to make your life perfect. But he said or did the wrong thing and you figured out he's not the right one for you, so you're moving on to the next employed, eligible bachelor."
I can handle her glare. It's the hurt in her eyes that makes my chest ache. "That's not what this is. What we have is so good. I want to give us a real shot."
"Or you're on the rebound and you're scared. You want a husband and kids and here I am, stuck in this town with nothing better to do, so you picked me as your next best option."
Her glare hardens. "If you're trying to scare me away with the asshole act, it's not going to work. I'll fully admit I'm scared, but I'm standing here putting myself and my heart on the line because you are my first choice. You are the best choice."
I shake it off. She can't mean what she's saying and even if she does… "It won't work. I don't have time in my life for a relationship. I've got the shop, Landon has just asked me to be mayor through at least the new year, and I'm trying to build a candy empire that requires my full attention. We've had a few good weeks, but my life is about to get even more hectic and impossible than it was before."
