Home safe, cookie?
ME
Safe and sound! Although my favorite mixer is broken. The motor may have finally died…
I can’t find anything helpful online, and trying the switch again does nothing.
Nash
What’s the make and model number? I’ll take a look to see if I can find a motor that works.
I snap a picture then send him the details before deciding to whisk the ingredients by hand. It’ll take a little longer, but there’s something satisfying about beating everything together.
Twenty minutes later, Kady grins down at her cell phone. “Hale’s loving his new program.” She turns the phone around to show us a gaggle of puppies that the veterinary students are looking after today.
“They are so cute!” Faye croons. “Look at the cute little pink nose on that one! How is he adjusting to studying again?”
“He’s loving it,” Kady replies. “Although I think Calder is getting a little annoyed with the group chat being filled with animal pictures. He thinks Larry is getting jealous.”
My chuckle patches in my throat when there’s a knock at the door. “Are you expecting anyone?”
Everyone shakes their heads.
“I’ll get it.” Sabs jogs over to the door then returns seconds later, staggering under the weight of a huge box. “They said it was an urgent delivery.” She places it on the counter and looks at me. “It’s for you.”
I frown as I open it up.
“A new mixer?” Kady lets out a low whistle when she sees the bright box inside the packaging. “Your guys don’t mess around, huh?”
I swear, this model hasn’t even been released yet. It has so many settings and fancy knobs with a shiny red chrome exterior that almost blinds me. The loud color doesn’t match our cozy kitchen and makes my old mixer look like a faded relic side-by-side.
My heart sinks as I tear off the note attached to the box:
I hope this solves your problem. It’ll be faster than waiting for Nash to fix it! If you’d like to go on a date, I’ll be at Springflour Bakery at 8pm on Friday night. Jagger.
“What do all those buttons do?” Faye skeptically ogles the mixer. “I’d be afraid I’d break it.”
I shut the empty box while blowing out an exasperated sigh. I should be grateful for this gift, but seeing the glossy red mixer on the countertop only stirs up annoyance.
“It’s from Jagger.” My shoulder burn with satisfaction as I return to beating the ingredients, the wooden spoon hitting the sides of the bowl in a rhythmic fashion helping me expel my frustration.
Sabs inspects the now-crumpled note. “A hot date, huh?”
“Easy, Del.” Kady wipes a bit of batter from her laptop that went flying. “Or we’ll be cleaning up cheesecake mix for the next week.”
“Sorry.” I take a pause from my intense arm workout before there’s more on the counter than in the bowl. “The mixer is a generous gift. It must’ve cost a fortune, but…”
Sabs arches an eyebrow. “But?”
“But I don’t want Jagger to buy his way into my life.” I look at the scarlet monstrosity. “I’m not interested in Jagger Knight—the rockstar. He’s not the man I need.”
Or want. I want the real Jagger. The one I met last year. And this new mixer only seems to highlight our differences—that we’re from two completely different worlds. I’m looking for ways to fix what happened between us, but he’s fast to discard what’s broken and simply upgrade. Is that what he’ll eventually do with me?
“Are you going to go on the date?” Kady asks me.
“I think so.”
Despite everything, I need to see if the guy I met last year is still in there… And whether we have a chance of a future.
