They were open, right? Their doors were unlocked, and she was pretty sure she’d seen an open sign out front.
Footsteps sounded from the other side of the half-closed door behind the counter, closely followed by hushed voices.
“I’m taking care of it, Dad.”
“Good. Because I don’t want any more fuck-ups. We don’t have anyone to cover—” Mr. Anderson stopped abruptly when he stepped into the store, his eyes narrowing on Sadie. Another guy stepped in after him. He was tall and slim, with brown eyes just like Mr. Anderson’s.
When neither of them spoke, she cleared her throat. “Hi. Just the bourbon, please.”
Mr. Anderson was slow to move to the register. He scanned the bottle before putting it into a paper bag, while the other guy, presumably his son, just stood there watching her.
The air felt thick around her, and she almost wanted to squirm.
“Were you standing here long?” Mr. Anderson asked as he set the credit card machine in front of her.
For some reason, the question made her uncomfortable. It wasn’t so much what he said, but more the way he said it in combination with how he looked at her. Like he was more concerned about her proximity to his conversation and whether she’d heard something.
She shook her head. “No, I just came in.”
She scanned her card and grabbed the bottle before giving both men a small smile and moving out. The uncomfortable knot in her belly didn’t untangle until she slid into her car. And even then, it took her blowing out a long breath before she felt okay.
God, why had the other guy just stood there and stared at her like that? And why had both of them been acting so…weird?
With a shake of her head, she drove home, forcing the exchange to the back of her mind. She didn’t live far from Sugar and Spice. Her apartment was less than a five-minute drive, and even though the building was older, she loved it. It was the same building she’d lived in with Scott, just a different apartment. Thank God the super had something she could move into on almost no notice.
Unlike the last time she’d lived in the building, she’d been able to fill it with all her own things. Decorate however she wanted and use vibrant colors and items that madeherhappy, instead of Scott’s favorite color—beige.
Argh. Beige was barely even a color. She liked bright shades that lifted her mood at first glance. It was all her grandmother’s influence, of course. Summers spent painting the store in every color under the sun.
Man, she’d loved those summers because while her parents had barely had time for her, her grandmother had always given Sadie her full attention.
She pulled into the parking lot at her apartment and grabbed her bag and the bottle of bourbon. The cool breeze brushed over her face as she crossed to her building. Once inside, she caught the elevator to the fourth floor. When she’d lived here with Scott, she’d been on the second floor, and even those two extra floors made a huge difference. She loved opening the windows and feeling the breeze and marveling at the higher view.
The second she stepped inside, she felt thatthing. It was a mix of comfort and peace and security. Her bright blue couch with the yellow cushions called to her. She planned to fall into it the second she’d heated up her leftover noodles.
In the kitchen, she set the bottle of bourbon down just as her phone buzzed with a text. She almost rolled her eyes when she saw who it was from.
Scott: Just tell me why you walked out on our wedding, and we can talk it out.
Uh, that was a no. He knew. Hehadto know. And if he didn’t, well, he hadn’t planned to tellherwhat he was doing before she walked down the aisle to marry him, so she didn’t owe him any form of explanation now.
No longer feeling like drinking, she set the bourbon in her cabinet before grabbing the noodles from her fridge and popping them into the microwave. She’d just set her phone onto the coffee table and settled on the couch when her cell vibrated with another text.
God, maybe she needed to block his number and be done with it.
She lifted the phone, fully ready to tell the jackass where to go—only to freeze.
Not Scott.
Unknown: Hey. It’s Eastern Walker. I was wondering if you were free this Saturday night to watch Avery? I have to work a late shift and she really misses you.
The beats of her heart stumbled over one another at the prospect of looking after Avery. Of spending an evening with the child she’d helped raise.
Her fingers moved quickly over the cell.
Sadie: Yes. I’m free and would love to.
She bit her bottom lip, excitement filling her chest as she saved his number into her phone moments before his response came through.
