Page 7 of Promise Me

“Not a chance.”

“Linc!” she yells, but he’s gone.

I glance to where his car had been parked, but it’s gone too.

Well, fuck. When did he leave?

Sadie tosses her hands up and marches back to her bakery.

I do the same but toward the bar and with a lot less fire.

As soon as I step into Hudson’s, I notice all the spring tourists filling the space. We are going to be on another wait soon.

Yeah, Sadie Collins isn’t going to be buying the storefront next door.

I am.

CHAPTER THREE

SADIE

Subpar.

Screw him.

I tap the plus button on the treadmill harder than it deserves.

My donuts are not dry. There is nothing dry about my baking. Not one single item.

I blow out a breath and increase the speed.

Hudson sucks.

He said those things only to get under my skin.

It’s working, too, because that was yesterday, and I’m still obsessing over it.

My phone rings, and the Taylor Swift song that’s streaming through my headphones turns off.

I slow my pace and grab my towel.

“Hello?” I answer in a huff.

“Oh god, are you running again?” Brooke asks, her voice calm, but I can hear the worry.

“Yes, I am.”

“What happened? Let me guess, Hudson?”

“When is it not Hudson?” I reach for the spray bottle, grab acleaning cloth, too, and return to the machine I’ve been using. I pull the squeeze trigger repeatedly, dowsing the screen and handles. “He’s so infuriating. It’s one thing to be rude in general but to talk down about my baking, about mymother'srecipes. Gah! He’s just the worst human on this planet.”

I toss the cloth into the laundry bin and make my way toward the locker rooms.

Lovers has one just gym. Someone might work out at Lovers Lodge, but only if they are a guest. And thankfully, this is one place where I never bump into Hudson. Our schedules don’t line up for that, so miracles do happen … even if they’re small.

“He does it on purpose,” Brooke says quietly into my ear. “Don’t let him do that to you.”

“I know he does,” I snap. “And it annoys me even more that I still let it work every single time.”

---