“You know, Honeysuckle Grove’s only got one other bakery,” Eli says.
“Tansy would secretly love the competition,” Knox says. “She might even let you do features in her shop in exchange for features in yours.”
“I don’t know,” Lia says as she takes a sip of her water. “I haven’t done a lot of research into this place. I only found myselfat the Blossom Festival because it was a last-ditch effort to do something with those pies I’d already made.”
Knox’s eyebrows raise. “You were the one that made the pies for the eating contest? My god, that was the best fucking pie I’ve ever scarfed down.”
She smiles a bit, and the sourness of her scent lightens. “You really liked it?”
Knox leans into her. “I would’ve downed two had there been an option.”
She giggles. “Good to know.”
I’m glad they’re trying to be a bit more supportive of Lia, but I can also tell neither of them are happy about being supportive of her moving an hour and a half away.
If that were to ever happen.
“Look, guys,” she says as she picks up her fork and takes another bite of food, “it’s just something I research in the evening. Would I love to do it? Sure. Can I do it? Not right now. Like I was telling Knox earlier, I don’t even have money set back for it yet. I don’t make that kind of money with my baking right now.”
I pause my bite. “You don’t have any money saved yet?”
Lia looks at the table instead of me. “It’s just something I game-plan in my head when I need motivation. You know, on my hard days.”
Hard days.
I want to make all of her hard days go away.
I let the three of them talk around me. Knox asks questions about how she’d decorate and theme her bakery, while Eli sticks with head nods and words of encouragement. While they gently probe about her financial situation and how far away she is from actually achieving her dream, I let my mind wander.
Because inside, the memory of Rachel is loud.
Her scent was peppermint and lilies, like a posh Christmas morning. Her laughter, too sharp for Honeysuckle Grove. She clicked around in heels and pencil skirts, doing her best to get her little gossip column up and running in the town’s newspaper.
She had drive. Ambition. She told me she loved me the first night we spent together, and I started making plans the next day.
Until she told me this place was too small for her dreams.
Silence falls over the table again and it gets my attention before Lia clears her throat.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things weird.”
I shake my head. “Never apologize for your dreams.”
“He’s right, Alley Cat,” Eli says as he finishes his food.
Knox downs the rest of his water. “Nothing to be sorry for, Sunshine.”
Her eyes are wide and uncertain as they pan to me. I point my fork at her a bit. “You have business dreams. That’s something to be proud of. Ambition isn’t a flaw, Lia. I admire it.”
Seeing her relax a bit soothes the hurt Alpha inside of me.
At least I can do one thing right.
“Plus,” I add before I take my last bite of food and swallow. “If you win the bowling competition this weekend, working with my head chef will be good practice. It’ll give you insight into real-world logistics. Volume. Timing. How to move in a bakery with fresh orders plus stocking a shelf for visuals.” Her shoulders loosen and I grin. “Too bad you’re going to lose, though.”
Knox barks with a laugh. “There he is.”
Eli claps me on the back. “Thought you were getting sick there for a second.”
