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"Just teasing. But a trip to New York, that will be fun. You can go to the library and MoMA. The best part is you won't have to worry about your date getting handsy at the end of the night."
"Yes, it will be a good weekend with a good friend." I smile and hope that it appears genuine. I'm trying not to think about New York and spending so much alone time with Mason. It has been my dream to spend time alone with him since I was a young girl fawning all over him. Not that he ever noticed. But this will be different. We will just be friends and I have to remember that.
“It will be a good time. Maybe not as fun as a book discussion with a handsome lawyer." I wink at her as she sighs.
"He is handsome, smart, and funny. The way he laughs is all smoky…" she trails off and blushes.
"Do you need to be the one going out with him?" I tease her and she shakes her head.
"He's not my usual tattooed biker bad boy."
"Hard to find in Cottage Grove," I raise an eyebrow and she gives me a smile.
"Tell me about it. Hence my dating drought lately. I might have to take a trip to Sturgis this year and get my biker fix."
I shake my head as she heads into the back to start mixing the dough and getting tomorrow’s treat inventory ready. Not only is she my best friend and business partner, but she is the best baker in all of Cottage Grove—in my opinion, all of Maine. There are actual tourists that tell us they come back here specifically to taste her treats.
She studied at one of the best culinary schools in the world. But something happened there she refuses to talk about. She came home, we started the business, and all she said was that she missed me and home. I know there is more to that story, but I never have pushed her on it. She will tell me when the time is right. For now, I focus on running the store and a date with a handsome lawyer so I can keep a handsome firefighter out of my thoughts.
Chapter Four
Mason
"Hey there, Mason. Inoticed you've been spending a lot of time at the coffee shop. Are you thinking about switching careers again? I think you would make a cute barista," Jack laughs, slapping me on my back.
"I do make a mean cup of coffee, but no. I've been talking with Emily about the gala and the charity events we have to attend."
"She has to be loving that. I know she runs a small-town bookstore but she loves to get dressed up. She and Leah are always going on and on about this dress or that dress at the boutique."
"Spend a lot of time shopping at the boutique with your sister and her friends do you?" I smirk at him.
"No dude, but we do have a beer at least once a week together and I listen to them chatter about all that stuff, if you must know."
"Why haven't I been invited to this weekly beer session?" I pretended to be offended.
"Because you and Leah always end up arguing when we’re together and no one wants to spend their night listening to the two of you go at each other."
"Fair point. I can’t let Leah have the last word. I would never hear the end of it."
"The two of you should have become lawyers."
"Too much paperwork for me. The weird thing is that Emily wants to shop at the boutique. I was going to take her shopping in New York but she turned me down and said she would rather do her shopping in town. I didn’t know that they had formalwear like that."
"They probably don’t but Clarissa would have ordered some in for Emily. Emily wants to help her friend’s business, that is just the kind of person she is."
He's right, Emily has always been one to help out a friend. She is nothing like the women I've dated in the past. They were all too busy taking a selfie or putting something on Instagram to worry about helping someone else. It was always about building their brand or making sure the right people saw them in the right places. Emily doesn’t care anything about that. Not that it matters. I don’t have any intention of dating her. This is a friend date, a one off, and she is doing it to help a friend.
"People are going to start to talk if you spend too much time over there. The lines are already buzzing with the news that Stuart and Emily have a date Thursday night," Jack jokes.
Too late, it got out that I asked her to go to New York with me. Someone here must have overheard us talking about it.
“Wait, Emily has a date with the new lawyer?" I ask as I feel my stomach drop. Why do I care if she is dating the lawyer? We are just friends. Something about thinking of Emily out with him doesn't sit right with me and I don’t know why.
"You're not jealous, are you?" Jack teases me and I push him away. He knows I don’t have any interest in Emily at all. She’s like a sister to me.
"No, I'm not jealous."
"You won't be able to spend all your time at the coffee shop anymore. She‘ll be busy snuggling up with the lawyer."
