It was absurd. It was also, she realised with a jolt, the first time anyone had ever looked at her future and said out loud: you could choose something else.
‘I can’t promise,’ Mae said finally. ‘I have to think. Talk to him. Work out if there’s a way without… breaking everything.’
Callie nodded, a flicker of relief and disappointment mingling. ‘I didn’t expect you to answer tonight.’
Mae thought of her dad at the kitchen table, talking about flour costs and rotas and ‘you’re lucky, love’.
‘I am thinking about it, though.’
‘I’m happy you’re even thinking about it.’
They shifted closer, bodies finding each other. Mae tucked her head under Callie’s chin, listening to her heartbeat, feeling the rise and fall of her chest.
For tonight, though, the bed was warm, the house quiet, and Callie’s arm around her felt like something she’d spent half her life reaching for without knowing.
She closed her eyes, holding two truths at once: that she might leave, and that she might stay, and that either way, everything had already changed.
Thirty
Now
Callie stood outside the bakery door with a heart rate of 140 beats per minute.
This was ridiculous. Yes, she was a frequent contestant on reality shows, which meant she lived in a stunted world, a world of oddly coiffed toddlers. But that didn’t meanshewasn’t a grown woman. She should not be standing outside a bakery like a teenager waiting to see if her crush would smile at her.
‘Get a grip,’ she muttered.
She knocked. The door opened, and there was Mae, looking everywhere except at Callie.
Callie realised she was in no way prepared for thewe kissed and now whatpart.
‘Morning,’ Callie said carefully as she walked in.
‘Hi,’ Mae said, voice maddeningly neutral. ‘Crew’s due shortly.’
No mention of last night? Well, that was fine. And excruciating.
Before Callie could decide whether to apologise or make a joke or faint onto the floor, Neil appeared from the kitchen like a jubilant meerkat.
‘Callie! Fantastic. You look…’ his eyes swept over her. ‘…tired.’
‘Thank you,’ Callie said flatly.
But Neil wasn’t listening. He was rubbing his hands together with the energy of a man who’d put a five-hour energy drink into a latte, something Callie had watched him do with utter horror on several occasions.
‘Sam’s on his way,’ he chirped. ‘And he’scompletelyfawn. So, let’s make some romance!’
Callie stole a look at Mae. Mae’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
Callie’s mouth had gone dry. ‘Right. Romance.’ How was she meant to flirt with Sam when her brain was still replaying the sound Mae made when they kissed?
Then the bell above the bakery door jingled, and Sam was among them.
‘Morning!’ he called, beaming as he stepped inside. ‘Wow, it smells incredible in here!’
‘Hi,’ Callie greeted him.
He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. ‘God, I’m so sorry about yesterday. That tanning consultant shouldn’t be allowed near human skin. My agent’s on about suing.’ And he continued his tale for a further ten minutes while the crew filtered in, talking about his misadventures in the tanning salon in more detail than anyone could want or need.
