“This is perfect!” she squeals.
“The entire town is now going to be coming to me for free legal advice and that screams perfect to you?” The minute people find out you’re a lawyer, they all want free legal advice.
“Who says it has to be free? Celeste said that Anna hasmoney, she just needs your representation. Therefore, she has the ability to pay for said representation.”
“Representing clients is a full-time job, Emma. More than full-time, if we’re being real. And, as you might recall, I already have a full-time job.”
Not to mention, Mimi might blow an actual gasket if I break another rule. She straight up told me I’m not allowed to practice law anymore, lest I be settling for a career I’m not “passionate” about.
“I’ve been thinking about bringing on some extra help anyways, now that the building is mine, and with how busy we’ve been. Maybe this would be a good time for you to become just a part-time employee.”
We stop outside the bakery in question, the soft glow of the lights warming the pastel interior, the smell of fresh-baked goods seeping out through the front door and tickling my nose. Maybe working in the bakery isn’t my greatest life’s passion, but I’ve felt content here, and at home. There’s a certain sense of accomplishment that comes with a long day of hard, physical work that I never used to feel after eighty hours of sitting in front of my computer at the law firm.
“I’ll talk to Anna, but don’t you dare go cutting my hours and giving them to some pimply-faced teenager just yet.” I bend down to give Emma a hug, all on my own, without her urging at all. “You heading back inside?”
She nods. “Yup. I’ve got some prep to do for tomorrow.”
“Want help?”
She shakes her head, her eyes tracing over the soft purple letters on the door,Emma’s Eats and Treats. It all really belongs to her now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’sno actual prep needing to be done. I think Emma really just wants a minute to stand inside her bakery and relish the fact that it’s hers.
Some kind of warm goo flows through my body as I realize that none of this would have happened without my help. Emma put in the time to build her successful business, and I helped her take true ownership. For a minute, I let myself revel in the pride.
“Get on in there, then,” I say when the time for pride has passed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Emma just nods and unlocks the door, stepping into her domain like it’s the very first time.
25
I leave Emma at the bakery, tuck my hands into my coat pockets, and take my time walking back home. There’s a strange feeling in my chest, one I’m not entirely familiar with. It expands, warmth flooding through my frozen veins, as I smile and wave to everyone I pass. As they smile and wave to me.
For the first time, maybe ever, everything in my life seems to be going right.
It should bring on nothing but elation, but instead, it stokes a little niggling fear in the back of my brain. Because if everything is going so right, there’s only one possible way for things to go from here: down.
And with so much left unknown, I don’t even know what down looks like.
It’s an unsettling feeling, and the more I wallow in it, the more my brain runs away with itself. Sure, it’s easy to think about never going home, or going home and not remembering Ben. But what about all the ways things could go wrong with Ben, here and now?
What if he doesn’t actually love me? What if all of this has just been a ploy to get me to fall for him? I know Ben has no chance of getting out of Heart Springs without me fulfilling my tasks. Maybe he saw how hopeless things were with me and Noah and decided to swoop in and solve that problem for himself.
My stomach turns at the thought of Ben somehow duping me. I want to believe such a thing isn’t even possible.
And yet, when I see him waiting for me on his front porch despite the frigid temperature outside, I can’t help the doubt tornado that rips through first my head and then my chest.
I accept the glass of wine he hands me, but rather than sinking into my favorite porch chair, I push open the front door and escape into the warmth of his home.
“Everything all right?”
I collapse onto his sofa, tucking my feet underneath me. “I don’t know.”
He sits down next to me, extending his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his embrace. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”
“What if we just don’t go home?” I blurt the question without fully thinking it through. I’m grateful for my instincts though, because how Ben answers might give me the insight that I need.
Ben sighs, his fingers tracing soothing circles over my shoulder. “I’ve been thinking about that too.”
“You have?”
