“But I would walk past his car without keying it.” She leaned closer, drawing Maggie into her confidence. “Probably.”
They burst out laughing.
Jennifer grew quiet. “Although if I ran into the other guy who broke my heart, I’d fall in love with him all over again like that.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like you and Cash. Sometimes, you have to be apart to grow up. Timing can be everything.”
Maggie stared at the contents of her cart. Timing.
She’d thought so often over what would have happened if they’d stayed together. She probably wouldn’t have gone to college. He couldn’t afford to go, and she was required, as an only child, to fulfill her parents’ expectations. Maybe he would have gone with her. He could have worked while she attended class. The whole idea felt like a dream.
One thing was sure: she wouldn’t have dated Brad or Ben or Brent. Not for the first time, she wondered why she always found guys with a name that started with B. Weird. But that was just the way it worked out. Her roommates thought it was hilarious.
Brad had helped her pass chemistry before they parted ways. Ben had taught her to change a flat tire. Brent was the fun guy. He’d helped her have the typical college experiences of painting her face for football games and being thrown into a swimming pool at a party. Good times. Her degree meant something to her, and she wasn’t sure she would trade it for time with Cash. Who was she kidding? Back then, she would have traded the world for him.
Other questions about how her life had played out popped up. Would she have started her blog, had the freedom to travel if she and Cash stayed together? She’d probably have a child and be at home. His business was doing great now, but what about the start-up years? Would that have caused problems between them?
Probably.
Maybe there was something to this timing thing.
“Well, I’m out of room.” Jennifer began, pushing her bulging cart toward checkout. How did one woman eat so much? She stopped and turned back. “Do you want to get together sometime? We could go to lunch.”
Maggie cringed at the thought of spending a whole afternoon chatting away when there were stacks of recipes to work through. “I’m on a deadline.”
Jennifer half-smiled. “Okay. No biggie.”
Maggie could have slapped her forehead. Jennifer was offering a hand of friendship, and she’d all but smacked it away. “You should come out to the homestead, though. I’m cooking all the time. I’d love some female company and your taste buds on things.”
Jennifer brightened. “That sounds fun.” She pulled out her phone, and they exchanged numbers. “I’ll text you my next day off.”
“Great. Don’t work too hard.” Maggie grinned.
“It’s impossible to avoid. I’m going to find at least one of these men and write a story about him. Maybe I could convince one of the interns to place an ad.”
Maggie’s smile faltered. “I don’t know if it’s the same thing. I mean, these men were looking—” She cleared her throat. “—for something specific. They must have been, er—desperate to go that route.”
Jennifer’s shoulders slumped. “You’re right. If it’s not authentic, then it wouldn’t come across to the viewers the same way. Okay, I’ll keep digging. Thanks for the encouragement.”
Maggie nodded, clamping her lips together to keep from begging Jennifer to leave it all alone. It was bad enough that she’d entered into a temporary marriage with a man she’d once loved; she didn’t need it on the news.
Cash appeared a couple minutes later, a bottle of shampoo in his hand. The man looked hot walking down the bread aisle in a black tee shirt and a pair of jeans, so hot that the smell of toast filled the air.
“You’re welcome,” she said as he got closer.
“O-kay?” He set the shampoo in the purse part of the cart. “For what?”
“For protecting your secret.” She proceeded to fill him in on Jennifer’s plan to unearth the men behind the ads and interview them for her news show.
Cash’s eyes grew wide. “Wow. Yeah. Thanks. I mean, the last thing I need is the whole town looking at me like I’m some sort of weirdo for marrying you.”
“Uh!” The word came out like a puff of air. “More like I’m the weirdo for choosing you. What self-respecting woman marries a man she just met?”
“We didn’t just meet.” He leaned closer. “We’ve kissed.”
“I know that. Don’t you think I know that? I was there when you—” Maggie gripped the cart handles.
Cash looked at her. Not just in passing, but really looked, deep into her eyes. “When I what? Rocked your world?”
She snorted a laugh. “Yeah, right.”
