“What?” he laughs out loud. “Don’t say it like that. Jesus. I’m not her father.”
I clear my throat, attempting to recover. “I’m saying it like it is. Evie and I can’t reconcile unless you approve of us.”
“You can’t be serious. Evie hasn’t left her bed in days, man. Why would I give you my blessing? Do you think I like seeing my sister like that?”
“I don’t like it either! I don’t want to make her feel like that.” I swallow, but my throat is dry—dehydration from the plane, or just nerves. “What I want is to fix this, but I can’t even try if you’re going to get in the way.”
“Never said I would get in the way. She’s old enough to make her own decisions.”
“Then why are you so mad at me?”
He throws his hands in the air. “Because you didn’t tell me! Neither of you told me. The last I knew, you promised to stay away from her.”
“I tried. Really, I did.”
“What made you fail? Huh?”
“You know what.” My jaw tenses. “I’ve never met someone I care about, not the way I care for her. I care for my friends, like you, and my employees. I take pride in the work I do. Feelings for others have always been fleeting, but I never cared enough to choose them over work. I would for Evie.”
“Doubt it.”
“If they asked me to choose her or my job, I would pick her—every time. I’d give it all up. She never gave me that choice.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” He rolls his eyes and groans. “None of that matters. Evie wouldn’t want that. She’s as driven as you are.”
“I know that.”
“And actions speak louder than words.” He lifts a brow. “I’m not the one you have to prove yourself to, but if you think you’reworthy of her… prove it. This is her choice.” He jabs a finger in my chest, more gently than I expect. “And don’t you ever make her cry again.”
It may be as close to a blessing as I’ll get.
I smile sadly. “I’ll do my best.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
EVIE
Idon’t have any trouble finding a job at a bakery. The hardest part is forcing myself to get out of bed and go to work each day. I never had an issue before, but things are different now. Everett tells me it’s normal to be sad after a breakup, but this is the first time I’ve ever felt this heartbroken.
It’s because our relationship ended too soon. I wasn’t ready for this. It should have been different.
Days have passed, and it’s too late to do anything about it now. I’m back to focusing on my future, including forcing myself to get up and work. Someday, it will get easier.
This is only my second day of work, and I’m still stuck working at the front desk. That’s the natural progression of things, or so I’m told, but it would be more motivating if I could dig my fingers into some dough.
When work is slow, they take me on a tour of the bakery. The beachside shop is cute. It’s smaller than where I worked before, but the pastel pinks and blues feel like a better fit for me. I stilllong to open my bakery, but that dream feels further away than ever…
Especially now that I may or may not be trying to save up to go to school in San Diego. It’s impossible. Even with my brother paying my rent, there’s no way I can afford the prices—but I want to. Oh, how I want to.
Not that I ever expect to get what I want. Life doesn’t work out like that.
It’s raining, too, on top of everything else I hate about today—and yesterday, and the day before. I haven’t seen it rain in San Diego since arriving, and it’s a little surprising to hear it pattering on the bakery rooftop. The gloomy skies should have given it away.
The gray skies remind me of something else now—another time, another place. I was in Finland with him…
I still haven’t heard from Theo, and I haven’t contacted him. I won’t. He’s back in the States now. I know he is, unless he decided to elongate his stay in Finland. His schedule is still ingrained in my mind.
No one has entered the shop in hours. I’m stuck cleaning the countertop and straightening the display—cakes, pies, cupcakes, every treat you could imagine in an American bakery.
