“In the kitchen,” she called out as she wiped the clumps of dough from her hands with a dishrag. “Come on back.”
Her dear friend appeared in the doorway moments later, but she stopped in her tracks the moment she drew in a full breath. “Oh, it smellsamazingin here, as per usual.”
“That would be the mini cakes for Rachel. They should be ready to pull out in five if you want to stay and see them.”
“I would, but I just stopped in on my break from the library to see what you thought of the finale the other night. I’ve been dying to hear your reaction. It was completely crazy, right? I’m still in shock.”
Faith shot out a silencing hand. “Nope! No spoilers. I haven’t watched it yet.”
“You haven’t? That’s some serious willpower. I’d been counting down the minutes until that finale aired.”
Faith had intended to watch the dating show, but then there was Mitch with the chicken and the moving in and all the distraction that created. She had completely forgotten about the final episode altogether.
“I’ll try to catch it tonight,” she promised and then added, “If I have time.”
“Whatever you do, just don’t go on social media. It’s plastered all over it. Front page news.”
Faith hadn’t even had a moment to check her own email, let alone browse the internet. “I’ll steer clear.”
“Ack,” Sarah squealed. “Ireallywant to talk with you about it.” She bounced in place like an excited child with a well-kept secret. “It’s a shocker. You’re going to come absolutely unglued.”
Truth be told, Faith wasn’t super interested in the dating lives of others at the moment, let alone people she didn’t even know. It was a strange departure from the excitement she’d felt just a few days ago when the silly show had been a welcome distraction. But now, the thought of romance just put a sour taste in her mouth.
And the only change between then and now were her multiple encounters with Mitch. He wasn’t the cause of her sudden aversion to true love, was he?
“What’s going on?” Sarah glanced at the sad ball of mangled dough between them, then up at her friend with a genuine look of concern. “You good?”
“Totally good.” Faith pressed the heel of her palm into the sticky substance and twisted. “Hey, you wouldn’t know anything about the new guy in town, would you?”
Sarah looked at Faith liked she’d confessed to something with that. “The new firefighter?”
“The what now?” Faith croaked, her hands stilling.
“The new firefighter that recently moved into our complex. That’s who you’re talking about, right?”
Well, Mitchhadmoved into their apartment building, but was he actually a firefighter? Seemed like a bit of information he should have disclosed when he burst his way into her bakery. And yet, maybe he had in not so many words, but in his excessive knowledge about extinguishers, codes, and safety measures. Faith frowned at her own unawareness.
“Mitch is a firefighter?” she asked, needing verbal confirmation that they were indeed talking about the same man, even though it was painfully obvious.
“I didn’t know his name was Mitch, but if it’s the same guy—and I’m assuming it is considering there aren’t new transplants arriving to Snowdrift all that often—then yes, he’s recently been hired on at the station. Trinity met him the other day and asked him to the Sweetheart Soiree.”
A pang blipped in the center of Faith’s chest. She wanted to believe it was just a bout of heartburn and not the unwelcome sting of jealousy, but she knew better. Did Trinity already have her eyes on Mitch? Faith guessed they’d make a cute couple. She even felt a little bad for entertaining such enviousthoughts about the whole situation. Mitch’s dating life was of no importance to her. And yet…
“Not like a date, or anything,” Sarah promptly clarified when she read the apparent concern in Faith’s expression. “Just to let him know about the town tradition.”
“Sure. Right.” Faith pressed her fingers against the dough to flatten the edges. “Of course.”
“How do you know him?” With a hip cocked against the counter, Sarah gave her friend a look.
“He came in the other day. And he’s my new across-the-way neighbor.”
“Oh, lucky lady. I’ve seen him around town, and I must admit, he’s pretty easy on the eyes.”
“Um, missy, aren’t you supposed to be madly in love with Lance?” Sarah was all but engaged to Lance Major, her younger brother’s business partner and best friend. Their romance was one Faith greatly admired. Their love was inspiring, and their commitment seemed unshakeable.
“I can be in love and still appreciate an attractive man. I don’t have blinders on.”
Maybe that’s exactly what Faith needed: blinders to keep her focus aimed straight ahead and not veering into forbidden territory it had no business trekking.
