By 8:15, Jake was showered and dressed in what Marcus would call "civilian clothes"—dark jeans, a gray sweater, his everyday jacket instead of his team gear. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and wondered if he should have tried harder. Should have worn something nicer. Should have—
His phone buzzed.
Marcus:good luck on your NOT DATE
Jake:It's not a date. It's farmers market research.
Marcus:sure jan
Marcus:wear protection
Jake:I hate you
Marcus:love you too. have fun. be yourself. don't overthink it.
Jake pocketed his phone and grabbed his keys. Don't overthink it. Right. Except overthinking was basically Jake's primary skill at this point.
The drive to The Bread Basket took six minutes. Jake parked across the street and sat in his truck for exactly thirty seconds, watching the bakery's windows.
The lights were on. Through the glass, he could see Lucy moving around inside, probably finishing up her Saturday morning rush. She was wearing what looked like an oversized flannel shirt over a t-shirt, her hair pulled back in its usual bun.
She looked beautiful.
Jake got out of the truck before he could talk himself out of it.
The bell chimed when he walked in. Lucy looked up from the register where she was ringing up Mrs. Henderson (ancient beagle in tow).
"Hey," Lucy said, and her smile was genuine. "You're early."
"Practice finished ahead of schedule. I can wait if you need—"
"No, I'm almost done. Mae's closing up." Lucy finished the transaction, handed Mrs. Henderson her bag of what looked like enough baked goods to feed a small army, then turned back to Jake. "Give me two minutes to grab my coat?"
"Take your time."
Lucy disappeared into the back. Jake stood awkwardly by the door, trying not to make eye contact with Mae, who was absolutely staring at him.
"So," Mae said. "Farmers market."
"Yep."
"For research purposes."
"That's right."
"Uh-huh." Mae's grin was unmistakable. "You know, in the three years you've been coming here, I've never seen Lucy take a morning off. Not once. But somehow, for farmers market research, she's leaving an hour before her usual Saturday closing time."
"I'm sure she's very dedicated to research."
"Oh, absolutely. Very dedicated." Mae leaned against the counter. "Just so you know—she's nervous. Like, really nervous. Which means she likes you. So don't screw it up."
"I'll try not to."
"Good. Because if you hurt her, Rei will destroy you. And if Rei doesn't get to you first, I will. And I'm scrappier than I look."
Lucy reappeared before Jake could respond, wearing a dark green jacket and with her hair down instead of up. She'd clearly spent the two minutes doing more than just grabbing her coat.
"Ready?" she asked.
