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Every time I come into the bakery, I’m amazed to see the plant installation I created for Selena covering a whole wall. Tropical plants in every shade of green with pops of pink and white flowers fill white pots and hang off an old steel rack that I found on the side of the road. I still come in twice a week to check on it, prune, water, and fertilize the plants. And it looks perfect. Exactly what I imagined. I was so surprised when she asked me to do it. I’d never done anything like it before. And I still can’t believe that she wanted to use up an entire wall of the bakery for it. But it turned out fantastic, and I’m so freaking proud of it.
The bakery is so cute. It’s definitely the trendiest place in all of Western Springs. Ladycakes wouldn’t look out of place in Vancouver or Toronto. The exposed brick is whitewashed. Everything is glass and white and clean. The greens and pinks from my plant installation add some color to the place. What Selena did here, taking the old bakery that’s been here as long as anyone can remember and vacant for the past four years and turning it into something modern and beautiful—providing a service this town needs—is what made me think I could do the same kind of thing with my shop next door.
As soon as she’s finished ordering, she turns to face me, grinning. “So, you and Jameson, huh?”
“What? Jameson? What about Jameson? Me and Jameson? Huh? No!” I can feel seventy-six different expressions cross my face. Each one of them looking faker than the last.
“Oh, please. I saw how you blushed when Jackson asked him about who he’s been spending his nights with. And I saw he texted you the second we left, even if you tried to hide your phone. And if all that wasn’t enough, I saw you squeeze his hand behind the counter when you thought no one could see.”
“What the hell? What are you, a detective? How did you see all of that?”
She nods. “Aren’t all women detectives, really?”
Shaking my head, I’m in a full-blown panic. “Did the rest of them see any of that?”
“Of course, not. They’re men. They’re all idiots. Handsome, adorable, loyal idiots. At least when it comes to this stuff.”
“Even your fiancé?”
“On this topic, especially Jackson. Jameson’s his little brother. I know Jameson’s a grown man. You obviously know Jameson’s a grown man. But Jackson still sees him as the little kid Jameson was when he moved away. You know even better than I do that the Waters men have their issues. And that they never talk about anything.”
“Not Jameson. He’s kind of mature, actually. Sometimes I feel like he’s way more mature than me, which is honestly terrifying. I mean, he can be a brat one minute and say the dumbest thing and piss me right off. But then he’s like a wise old man the next.”
Selena grabs my wrist and leads me over to a little white bistro table in the corner, away from everyone else. “I love this. Marry Jameson, and then we can be sisters! I always wanted a sister. Ooh and we can have babies together! And our babies will be cousins!”
“You’re getting way ahead of yourself here.”
“Tell me everything. Start at the beginning. Leave nothing out.”
And… I do. I need to talk to someone about this. And I can’t talk to my other two best friends for obvious reasons. Or anyone else in this town. So, I tell Selena… everything. More than she needed or probably wanted to hear about any of the mess I’m in.
“So, the sex is amazing?” Selena bites her lip. “Does he… ummm, call you anything during sex?”
“He calls me lots of things during sex.”
“Does he call you a good girl?”
I nod. “And it’s so fucking hot. I don’t know why it’s so hot or what that says about me, but I am so freaking into it.”
“I know, every time Jackson says it, I just about spontaneously orgasm. But like, why am I like this?”
“Same. Daddy issues, probably? I really don’t want to think about it. He’s the… it’s the… the sex is better than I’ve ever had before. And you heard them. He hasn’t slept at home in ages. He makes me dinner every night. And then he fucks me like I wronged him in a past life and he worships me at the same time. I don’t know how to describe it, but I can’t get enough.”
“Lily! I love this! I love this for you! I love this for him! I love both of you. This is so perfect! Why the hell are you sneaking around?”
“You want me to tell Jacks and Gunnar and this entire town that I’m currently being exceptionally fucked every night by Jameson Waters? It’s a small town, Selly. And people talk. He’s only twenty-six. I’m six years older than him.”
“Who cares? I’m twenty-eight and Jackson is thirty-two.”
“You know as well as I do that it’s different for women.”
“Fuck that. Fuck the patriarchy!” Selena throws her left hand up in the air, fist clenched tight. The massive sapphire and diamond engagement ring Jacks put on her finger takes away from the message just a little. “Who cares what anyone else thinks?”
“Easier said than done. It’s not serious. We’re just having sex. That’s what we agreed to. We’re just having fun. A lot of fun, but still. I don’t know if he even wants it to be more than that. And even if he did, what would that look like? I’m six years older than him. And those years matter a hell of a lot more when I’m the older one. He’s twenty-six. I never thought about the future when I was twenty-six.”
“He’s not you. Have you tried talking to him about any of this?”
“No, of course I haven’t!” I admit with a pout on my face worthy of a toddler who dropped her ice cream on the sidewalk.
