Jameson’s jaw ticked angrily, and his eyes turned cold. “Are you okay?”
“I had help. Otherwise, I don’t know how bad it would have gotten.”
“This the friend Willa told me about?”
Guess they really told each other everything. Which made her hiding text messages or calls from Garret even less likely. “Yeah. He punched Garret, and then the police showed up.”
Jameson looked livid, his fists clenching and unclenching. “I hope they arrested him.”
“They did. But I haven’t heard from him since. I was sure he’d ask me for money for bail, but nothing. His silence makes me as nervous as his daily calls.”
“He hasn’t asked Willa. We have the same account. If she’d withdrawn money, I’d know. And she’s been as bubbly as ever, so I doubt she’s spoken to him.”
I sighed in relief. “Okay. That’s good. Let’s keep this to ourselves for now, then.”
We went back to the party and joined Willa and Myrtle.
“I told you not to pull them out too early. They need to be brown on top.” Myrtle pointed to the lemon infinites with an upturned nose.
“They look perfect,” Willa yelled back so Myrtle could hear her. “Rayna, you’re the authority on pastries.” She pointed to the tray. “Do they look too pale to you?”
I took a pastry from the tray and bit into it. Perfectly flaky. “Nope. Sorry, Myrtle, they’re perfect.” I’d created the recipe and then shown Willa how to bake them, so I hadn’t expected anything but delicious, buttery perfection.
Myrtle threw up her hands. “Of course you’ll take her side. After everything I did to make sure your bakery was safe in your absence, you betray me.”
She left with a grand flourish, swishing her huge purple silk wrap at us. I held back my snicker, finishing my pastry instead of pissing Myrtle off even more.
“I thought it was me who kept things going?” Willa looked at me with a puzzled frown. “Myrtle, on the other hand, spent hours occupying valuable seat space and complaining about the coffee.”
“Don’t take it personally.” I patted her back. “Now, what else have I missed?”
Willa led me to where Landon and the other guys from Drake’s Garage were sitting. They were a family rather than just a business, and where one of them went, they usually all showed up.
After a round of greetings, we all settled down and fell into easy banter. All I’d ever wanted was to get away from Humptulips, but now I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
My phone vibrated in my back pocket, and I pulled it out, hoping it was Grayson.
A smile crept over my face when I saw his name on my screen.
Grayson:I miss you.
Not wasting any time,I messaged back, hoping he’d get it before he was too busy again to glance at his phone.
Me:Not as much as I miss you.
Grayson: Come back to LA.
Me: I only arrived in Humptulips a few hours ago.
Grayson: Your point being?
The pangin my chest at not knowing when I’d see him again hit me like a sledgehammer.
Me:Call me tonight?
Grayson: Might be late.
Me: Don’t care. I just want to hear your voice.
