Someone who maybe loves me just a little more than I love him.
Gosh, is that terrible to admit?
I deserve to be loved, right? Without the threat of betrayal.
But if I could keep that love from making me lose my mind, that would be best. Because I can’t risk everything again—and I can’t change myself to suit a man. Not when I’m so close to figuring out who I am.
I want a partner. I want to believe real love exists. But I also want to protect my heart at all costs.
Where do all these contradictions leave me?
Chapter 20
The thought of doing something just for me, selfishly, is strange.
It’s not in my nature. After years of taking care of everyone else, I’m not even sure how to begin.
But a small-town bakery in the heart of Chicago? That dream is my own.Myidea.
My plans. My money. All of the risk and all of the reward.
This is the job I want. The one I feel passionate about. The one that will get me out of bed in the morning. Not just because it sounds fun. Not just because it’s a way for me to share something I love.
Because I believe Icando it.
I pull out my phone and call Lennon.
“Tell me everything,” she says. “How’d you and Pickleboy hit it off?”
Pickleboy. Hilarious.
I singsong, “Oh, he ditched me in the middle of the date.”
“Oh no!”
“Oh yeah,” I say, mimicking her. “But it was fine. He and the redhead—Daphne—hit it off. They bonded over cats.”
“Cats? Like the musical?”
“No,” I say, laughing. “But that would be so much worse.”
She laughs. “Unbelievable. So Hot Neighbor was also ditched?”
“Yeah,” I say, reminiscing about the night. “We got ice cream.”
“Okay... promising.”
I squint at the phone. “Promising?”
“Yes! You and Miles went on a date.”
“No,” I say. Because seriously, if she starts teasing me about Miles, I’m going to turn into that ninth grader with the off-limits crush again. And it’s taking everything in my powernotto let that happen. “We’re just friends.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Seriously,” I say. “Miles is not interested in any kind of serious relationship.”
“And that’s a problem?”
