Oh, no.Taryn needed this to stop before it went any further. “I agreed with you and feel the same as I did then, but I didn’t appreciate being ghosted with what’s been going on in my life. I wasn’t in love with you or heartbroken. We had fun, but we barely knew each other. I was upset over being dismissed so easily.”
“Oh.” Garrett shifted his weight between his feet.
Her mouth was so dry it was as if she’d forgotten to add eggs to a cake mixture. “Anything else?”
His features relaxed. So did his posture. “No.”
“Enjoy dessert with your family.”
He opened his mouth before closing it.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He rocked back on his heels. “I’ll see you around.”
Not if Taryn could help it.
Chapter Five
The next day,Garrett typed an email to his assistant, Teresa. The name reminded him of Taryn. Okay, only three letters were the same, but it was close enough. He’d only left Margot’s house to take the dogs on a walk, but he’d gone in the opposite direction of First Avenue to avoid the bakery. But that didn’t stop him from thinking about Taryn.
He rubbed the back of his neck to ease the tension building in the cords.
His mind kept piecing together snippets of conversations he’d had with Taryn and Jayden. Like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces fit well.
But he didn’t like the picture forming—Taryn and the bakery were in trouble.
Financial? Legal? Health?
Callie had mentioned a bakery in Summit Ridge. Was that it?
His stomach hardened.
It shouldn’t matter. Taryn’s problem wasn’t his. She’d made her feelings clear. They’d had fun in December, but there wasn’t more there. He’d told himself the same thing in January and again in April, using it as an excuse for not contacting her.
In theory, the argument worked.
In reality?
Her words bristled more than they should. She wasn’t a girlfriend or an ex, but someone he’d hung out with for two weeks.
Focus, Andrews.
Garrett tapped on his laptop, the clicking of keys providing background noise in the quiet house. Margot was at her quilt shop. She’d taken the dogs with her so they could spend some time with Callie at the doggy daycare. He should make the most of the quiet.
But random thoughts of Taryn distracted him.
Garrett read over the email, attached his notes, and hitsend. He glanced at the clock.
Eleven.
The rest of the day was free now.
A door slammed.
Given the way Callie and Brandt came in and out of Margot’s house as if it were their own, it could be any of the three. Garrett hoped it was his sister so he could ask her what she needed him to do.
He went downstairs.
