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“So I shouldn’t have brought my new cherry and dark chocolate muffins I baked for you to try?” I ask, lifting the bag in the air.
Kate’s attention turns to the bag, and I can see interest peak behind her eyes. “Dark chocolate, you said?”
“Mhmm… I guess, if youreallydon’t want it, I can take it home…”
I don’t get to finish before Kate snatches the bag from me. “Gimmie.”
Laughing, I watch as she opens it, pulls a carton out of the bag, and grabs one muffin, biting into it.
“Damn, this is so good.”
“Is it? I wanted to make something that’s not too sweet.” I shrug, the edge of the notebook digging into my arm. “Oh, and I brought you this too. I’m sorry I didn’t get it back to you the other day. I was planning to, but Mom wasn’t feeling well, and by the time I helped her to bed, it was already late.”
“It’s fine. We’re almost done anyway. How was the cake tasting?”
“It was…”
I look around, trying to come up with an appropriate answer, but Miguel’s face is the only thing that comes to mind.
Frustrating? Infuriating? Overwhelming?
There were so many feelings swirling inside of me at thatmoment, all tangled up together to the point I didn’t know where one begins and the other ends.
It was all too much.
Miguel’s scent was impossible to ignore since we were sitting so close together, his knee bumping into mine under the table. That little boy’s smile that spreads over his face when he tastes something he likes was like a kick to my gut because it threw me back to the past when I would bake something new, and he’d try it for the first time. It was like I was sixteen again and just wanted to see the boy I loved smile.
“Let’s go out,” I croak out, my voice tight. Not waiting for an answer, I start toward the sliding door. “We can sit on the back porch and…”
“Becky, don—”
I come to a stop when I see the two figures working under the setting sun right before the dock that leads out onto the lake stretching out behind Emmett and Kate’s house. The golds, oranges, and reds illuminate the golden skin that’s on display, his muscles flexing as he holds the arch while Emmett works on pinning it in place.
“I’m so sorry.” Kate’s hand falls on my shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts.
My throat bobs as I swallow. “He’s here.”
Of course it was him.
I should have known the moment I saw the car parked out front, and I should have run.
“I tried to tell you.” Kate nibbles at her lower lip. “Are you angry?”
I force out a smile. “Why would I be angry? He’s your friend and Emmett’s best man. Of course he’d be here.”
I just wish I knew so I could stay the hell away.
“He’s been helping Emmett at the ranch since he got back. Ithink he’s just looking for an excuse to stay away from his parent’s place.”
I could see how that would be the case, knowing how things turned out the last time Miguel and his dad were in the same room.
“You don’t have to give me any explanations, Kate. I just stopped by to return your planner and let you know the cake is taken care of, or maybe you know that already, considering Emmett sent Miguel to join me.”
Kate lifts her hands in surrender. “That was his brilliant idea.”
“Oh, I know, and he’ll get his soon,” I mumble, my attention once again straying to the men.
“And you have my full support.” Kate’s hand slides around my waist. “How did it really go, though?”
