CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
WILLOW
Sliding the last container of syrup onto the shelf, I slowly take a few steps back. After breaking some the other week, I forgot I needed to put new ones in their place until this morning when I was doing a final walk through of everything in the store.
“What do you think?” I ask, spinning on my heel to look at Mia sitting on the counter near the front door.
She hops down, walking over to me, a smile drifting across her lips. “I think it looks good.” She throws her arm over the tops of my shoulders. “Look at this place, Will. It looks amazing in here and you are so going to prove your brothers wrong.”
“Special delivery,” Natalie’s voice calls out as the bell over the door rings. She walks into the store, smiling brightly as she carries a few pastry boxes of what has to be cookies. “I’ve got the goods.”
A laugh bubbles in my throat and Mia removes her arm as I take the boxes from Natalie. “I’ll send Noah over with a few bottles of syrup for you to put on the counter for Harvest Fest. That’s what we talked about doing, right?”
Natalie nods. “Yep. I can’t wait. I just know that everyone is going to love the cookies.” Natalie pauses. She turns to Mia with a smile and holds out her hand. “Hi, I’m Natalie.”
Mia shakes her hand, returning the smile. “Mia.” A car horn echoes outside, grabbing all three of our attention. “That’s Caleb,” Mia says softly as she looks at me. “I’ll be back for Harvest Fest, okay?”
“Okay.” I pull her in for a hug. Caleb dropped Mia off here earlier this morning while he and Tella wandered around town. “Love you.”
“Love you too!”
Mia heads out of the store, stepping out into the fall air and walks over to Caleb’s SUV. He’s already standing outside of it, pulling the door open for Mia. He sees me through the window and lifts his hand in a friendly wave before helping her in the car. That man loves her so much, sometimes it’s hard not to be envious of what they have.
“Do you want to grab a coffee?” Natalie asks as she walks over to me. “Aunt Maggie’s at the bakery now, so I should go relieve her soon.”
“Sure,” I say, nodding at her as I watch Caleb and Mia pulling away from the street. “What if I grab us coffees and I’ll just meet you at the bakery? I could use a bit of a break from staring at all the same things here.” Laughing, I shake my head at her. “I swear, I’m going to rearrange the entire place if I keep obsessing over how it looks.”
Natalie laughs, her lips stretching across her perfect white teeth. “That sounds perfect. I’ll see you in a few!”
She half skips out of the store, turning to head down the street toward the bakery. Sucking in a deep breath, I scan the shop once more, lingering on the rows of syrup as a memory flashes into my mind. Jace’s hands in my hair, the syrup on his pants.
My breath catches and I shake my head, pushing the memory away. A week has passed since I left his house after our last dinner. I’ve been busy tying up any loose ends with the shop andI’m sure he’s been just as busy. But just to be safe, I make sure my gaze doesn’t linger on the street for too long. I want to see him, but not like that.
I want to see him because he wants to see me.
When I dropped coffee off for Natalie, she ended up swamped with some orders for the festival, so I left her there and headed back home for the day. Not ready to be cooped up in the house yet, I sit in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch and let my mind drift while my foot keeps a steady rocking pace.
Noah comes walking through the yard with a bag hanging on his shoulder. His footsteps are heavy on the wooden steps as he makes his way up onto the porch, pulling the bag in front of his body. “Are these the ones I’m supposed to take to Natalie?”
He pulls two bottles of syrup from the bag to show me. My eyebrows tug together, the tension settling in the air between us. “I think she wanted to have a few extra there.”
Noah lifts his eyebrows, nodding. “I have five of each in the bag.” He shifts his weight on his feet, his brows returning to their normal place. “Does she know I’m coming? You told her, right?”
“Yes, I told her.”
“Okay, good,” he says, his throat bobbing as he swallows hard. He lowers himself onto the chair next to me. “We should talk.”
We haven’t spoken a single word about Jace since I found out he confronted him. It’s like a huge elephant that’s been following us around, occupying the corner of every room we’re in together.
Silence settles between us, the moment stretching before I finally break through the quiet. “I’m sorry, Noah.”
His eyebrows tug together as he whips his head to the side and looks at me. “No, no. You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”
I level my gaze on his. “I got involved with your best friend. I shouldn’t have done that.” I exhale softly, thorny vines wrapping around my heart. “I didn’t mean for it to affect your friendship.”
He purses his lips, shaking his head. “It’s not your fault. He shouldn’t have made a move on you. Years ago, he told me he’d never do something like that and I trusted him. I trusted him to not hurt you.”
“I knew what I was getting myself into, Noah,” I say softly, offering him a small smile. “I willingly signed up for the heartache and knew that was all it would end up being.”
