Page 1 of Promise Me

CHAPTER ONE

SADIE

“These buns look amazing.”

“Thank you! I’ve been working hard to perfect them.”

My best friend, Brooke, reaches for the silver tray I’m just pulling from the oven as if she hasn’t eaten in weeks. I don’t blame her. The kitchen smells like a sugary blueberry wonderland.

I yank my purple oven mitt off and swat her with it. “Don’t even think about it.”

“But I just told you they look so good.”

She all but stomps her foot as her pleading blue eyes lock on mine.

I won’t budge. Not today.

“You know good and well that Ms. Banks is coming in to get these first thing this morning.”

I glance at the clock; it’s five till five, meaning we are about to open for the day.

I’ll be the first to admit that owning a bakery has setbacks. The biggest one is the hours, but luckily for me, I’m a morningperson. Seeing as how this bakery, B’s Bakery, used to be owned by Beth, also known as my mother, I was raised to get up and start working within minutes of my alarm sounding next to my ear. Obviously, at first, the snooze button was my best friend, but as I got older, it seemed easier to get up from the get-go.

“Oh, that’s right. She never misses a blueberry sugar-crusted muffin order.”

My Apple Watch vibrates, notifying me that it’s time to unlock the doors. I hate to sound like that girl, but I can't imagine how hectic my life would be if I weren’t constantly setting timers or alarms to keep on track.

In the last two hours, we’ve baked and decorated enough donuts, cupcakes, bagels, cookies, muffins, you name it, to get us through the first rush. Brooke will keep the ovens running while I man the cash register. At eight, my second employee, Daisy, will come in to take over. She’ll take Brooke's spot, and Brooke will take mine, and I’ll be done for most of the day. It’s a perk of owning my own business, I guess. I won’t return until this afternoon when I need to prepare dough for tomorrow morning.

Bartley, Marty, and Phil are all waiting on the bench directly outside the front window. These three are always ready on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.

“Gentlemen,” I greet them with a smile as I open and hold the door open for them to walk through. “It’s going to be a lovely June day.”

“Great for gardening.”

“And mowing the yard.”

“But especially for a morning treat.”

One by one, they hug me.

Hugs are a very common action among the residents of Lovers, our small town. I’ve lived here my entire life and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Sure, it’s small, and more thanhalf of the people I went to school with had been counting down the days until they walked across the stage, tossed their caps into the air, and jumped into their cars at full speed, never looking back. But not me. I always knew I’d be a lifer.

Granted, I always thought I’d be doing something else with my life or married with at least one baby at this point, but here I am, working in the bakery my mother opened before I was born. It’s the only bakery in our town, so business is good. It’s especially good when Lover’s Lodge, the place our town is known for, is packed with back-to-back weddings over the spring and summer months.

The town is still recovering from Memorial Day visitors, but that doesn’t stop me from ensuring the locals continue their morning routine.

The three gentlemen in front of me included.

“What can I get you?” I ask, a grin touching my lips as I move behind the counter to take their orders.

Marty, with his ballcap low, smirks at me. “You ask us that question every time we come here.”

“And every time we answer,” Phil takes over.

“Just the usual, Miss Sadie,” I finish for them in a teasing tone.

Bartley chuckles and shuffles his way to their table in the front corner. I once asked why they always chose that table, and they replied that they could view the bakery and Lovers Main Street from that exact spot. Keeping an eye on our little town and eating a good breakfast at the same time is important to them.

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