“I’ll always worry.”
CHAPTER 21
Sadie put the container of cookie dough into the fridge. It had finally been fixed. Apparently, the condenser fan had broken, something that could happen as the appliance aged, and it was just really crappy timing for them.
Since the repair that morning, she’d worked nonstop, prepping items for the storefront and getting orders out.
It had been exhausting, but it was done now.
She’d told her nan a little white lie when they’d flipped the closed sign this afternoon that she was almost done with the prep for tomorrow. But if she hadn’t lied, her grandmother would have insisted on staying and helping, and Sadie didn’t want that. Her grandmother tried to hide the exhaustion and worry from her features, but Sadie saw it. The break-in had caused her a lot of stress, and the fact that the person had never been caught only increased that stress. Then there were all the things that had gone wrong in the shop after the reopening. And Sadie was sure Nan was worried about her too, because, well…shealwaysworried about her.
She tugged her phone from her back pocket to check the time.
Holy crap, it was six o’clock!
Eastern would have finished work about half an hour ago, but he’d mentioned that he hadn’t caught up with his brothers in a while. Tilly had offered to spend the evening with Avery so Sadie could get everything done at the bakery. She’d head to his house now so Tilly could go home.
She sent a quick text to Eastern.
Sadie: Sorry, only just leaving now. I’ll text Tilly.
She quickly typed out a text to Tilly and had just hit send when Eastern’s response came through.
Eastern: It’s getting late. Everything okay at the store? I can come to you.
Sadie: Absolutely not. You deserve time with your brothers. I’m sure they’ve missed annoying you. Ave and I will see you when you get home.
Eastern: Drive safe. Xox
Her heart gave a little thump at his hugs and kisses. Which was silly, right? That she’d get excited about hugs and kisses at the end of a text?
But it also wasn’t silly. It was exactly what she’d been craving the morning of her wedding all those weeks ago—giddiness, excitement.
After grabbing her bag and turning off all the lights, she stepped outside, only to stop and groan.
Because there, standing on the sidewalk, was Scott. God, she’d hoped he’d have gone home by now. Was he spending the entire leave he’d taken for their honeymoon here in Misty Peak?
“What are you doing here?” she asked between gritted teeth.
He pushed off the wall. “Waiting for you.” He lifted a bottle of bourbon. “Bought this. Thought we could make apple sours.”
If he thought remembering her favorite drink was going to sway her, he was dead wrong. “No. I have somewhere I need to be.” But even if she didn’t, shewould notbe having a drink with him, something he should well and truly know by now.
She walked down the street toward her car, Scott’s footsteps loud behind her as he hurried to catch up. “You haven’t even given me an opportunity to explain. All I want is one chance. An evening where I can tell you exactly why I did what I did.”
“But that’s the thing, Scott. I don’t care. I don’t care why you did it—the point is, youdid. And it’s in the past for me.”
“It’s not in the past for me.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not my fault or my problem.”
“What happened to you?” he spluttered. “You were always my person. We could always talk things through and—”
She spun on him. “Whathappenedis you cheated on me on the morning of our wedding! What happened is I realized that marrying you would have been my greatest mistakeever.”
Pain flashed in his eyes, but she didn’t feel bad about what she’d said. He didn’t deserve her sympathy. He’d had no respect for the commitment he’d made to her.
Still, she softened her voice. “It’s over, Scott. Go back to Atlanta. Be with your admin assistant or whoever else you decide to be with. Just…leave us in the past. We had our good moments, but they’re just memories now.”
