“You mean twenty-five percent of the town.”
Margot smiled slyly. “That’s what I said.”
He was in too good a mood to cross-examine her.
His phone rang. Jayden’s name illuminated on his screen.
Garrett answered. “Hey.”
“Target has left the building,” Jayden whispered. “I repeat. The target has left the building.”
“Why are you whispering?”
“That’s what they do in the movies.”
Garrett dragged his hand through his hair. “I’ll be right there.”
This had the potential to go well or epically fail worse than any Pinterest fail that ever went viral. But it was the thought that counted, and he hoped Taryn agreed.
He disconnected from the call. “Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need luck.” Margot had her purse strap on her shoulder and car keys in hand. “You’re in love. That’s all you need.”
The knot of unease loosened in his gut. “Let’s go make Taryn’s dream come true.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Monday morning, Tarynwoke before her alarm clock rang, not bothering to peer out the window. All she would see was darkness, but it matched her mood. Taryn missed Garrett. He’d texted her yesterday, but she’d spent the day with her mom, so she hadn’t been able to speak to him. He hadn’t answered when she called him last night. Garrett must have been working on a Sunday.
He needed to cut his hours.
You’re one to talk.
Truth. She laughed. But she was planning a vacation in Los Angeles.
She’d impressed her dad with her business plan and ideas. He admitted he’d been trying to make her quit this past year because he and her mother worried she was becoming a workaholic. She had been, but she promised to work on balancing her life better, and he said he would communicate with her better.
Progress.
If only she could make the same with Garrett.
But nothing—not even the lovely spa day with her mom yesterday—stopped her from missing him. She tried to lose herself in baking, but wherever she turned in the kitchen, memories of him surfaced.
Forcing herself out of bed, she French-braided her hair and put on her uniform. That way, she could get right to work, preparing for the morning rush, since she would be the first one at the bakery. She put the lanyard with her keys around her neck. The only things missing?
Her hairnet and cap.
Those were in the office.
Her appetite had been nonexistent, so she didn’t make a cup of coffee. She locked her front door and headed toward First Avenue.
No one was out at this hour. Occasionally, a car passed by, but usually, she was the only one out. The stillness might freak some out, but not Taryn. She enjoyed walking through the town before it woke to start the day.
The lights on the storefronts of First Avenue were dark, but the streetlamps illuminated the sidewalk. Taryn unlocked the bakery’s front door, opened the door with the comforting ding, and locked the door again from the inside, hearing another chime.
She flipped on the lights.
Time to do this.
