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He laughed and stepped closer to me. “What do you think? About the nickname?”
Lettie.
I loved it. It felt more like me than anything had in my entire life.
“No,” I lied, feeling my cheeks blush.
“Well, I tried.” He smiled, his grin slightly crooked before he turned around and began to walk away.
“Wait!” I held my arm up like I was hailing a cab and quickly dropped it.
He moved slowly back around to face me. “Yeah?”
“I like it a little,” I admitted.
He walked back toward me slowly, and I felt my heart race watching him move. Those gray eyes were surrounded by thick, black eyelashes. He was mesmerizing and gorgeous, but there was something about him that sparked a sense of fear inside me. Not a fear that he would hurt me, but it was still as though there was an alarm going off, screaming, “Danger! Danger!” He was nothing like the kind of guy my parents would have wanted me to be with. He was clearly cocky and invasive, and hesmokedfor goodness’ sake, but instead of running, I felt myself being drawn toward him. I ignored every single signal in my mind and walked toward him, my hand stuck out for him to take.
“I’m Lettie.”
Baker Boy winked and took my hand in his, a firm hold.
“Nice to meet you, Lettie. I’m Tuck.”
TEN
2017
LETTIE
Darcy didn’t haveany information about Tuck coming home except that Lenora had told Rosie, who had told Jack Simpson, who had told Poe this morning at breakfast over a plate of biscuits and gravy and a piping cup of coffee. That was all the information I had to go on. I felt all the air get trapped inside my chest the moment she’d said “Tuck” and “home” in the same sentence, and if it hadn’t been for the desk behind me, I would have fallen to the floor.
Just about everyone in Aveline over the age of twenty knew about Tuck and me. They had either been privy to our whirlwind romance, or they’d watched me cry in various places around town for months afterward, or both. It had always come out of nowhere, and I’d just gone about my business thinking no one would notice the girl sobbing in the corner of the bookstore or in the back table at The Baking Tin, but I had to have been hard to miss. A walking broken heart. And the townspeople of Aveline didn’t do well with broken things.
They were fixers.
But they couldn’t fix me.
It hadn’t stopped them from trying though. Lenora had always baked something special for me each day, pretending she’d been trying new recipes when I’d known it was just to get me to eat something. Teddy had given me my own office in the clinic even though I hadn’t even started college. And Old Man Forrest had always thrown in a candy bar for free when I’d leave the market.
Their attempts had not gone unnoticed, and had become another reason I felt so close to Aveline.
I regained my composure and looked back at the chart as though the news had been nothing more than a hummingbird spotted outside the window. Scratch that, I would have shown more enthusiasm over the hummingbird.
“Darcy, can you bring Katy Purry back to Room Two? I’ll be right there.” I stepped into my office and closed the door behind me, leaning up against it and exhaling. I brought my hands up to my forehead and closed my eyes tight.
“Son of a biscuit,” I whispered to myself.
Tuck Anderson was coming back to Aveline.
I finished out the work day, never once mentioning Tuck. Darcy and Flo knew not to as well, and when it was over, I stepped into the back alley behind the clinic, took off my coat, placed it to my face, and screamed.
It felt good, releasing all the pent up emotions that had come after hearing he was coming back, and after I was finished, I felt much calmer and more at ease. I got into my car and took out my phone, dialing the one person I knew would have information.
Lenora.
Lenora knew everything, even if she always claimed to know nothing. You couldn’t get a toot past her in this town.
She picked up after the first ring.
