Page 14 of That One Heartbreak

“Hey,” he said softly. “It’s just some cupcakes. They don’t matter.”

That just made her cry harder.

“Yes they do. They’re for Addy’s bake sale. I’m going to have to cook more. Or I would, but I’m out of flour.” And let’s face it, no local store was still open for her to get some new stuff tonight.

And then it kept coming. “And my youngest kids are in some kind of battle to the death over Paul’s old t-shirt, and James hates me and is going behind my back because I can’t bring myself to let him join training.”

Why was she telling him this? He didn’t care. And she’d spent the last year and a half making sure he had no idea how hard her life was.

Without a warning, Marley folded his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. She was surrounded by him; her face pressed against his gray Henley, her body way too close against his. With one hand he stroked her back, while the other cupped the back of her head.

When was the last time she’d been held like this? She could smell the soft fragrance of whatever laundry soap Marley used, could feel the heat of his skin through the thin fabric of his top. It made her feel light-headed.

And yet she didn’t pull away. Instead, she cried into his shirt, letting him soothe her, his voice soft as he whispered words she couldn’t quite hear.

She wasn’t used to this. To being held for so long. By a man that wasn’t her husband. Or related to her. But it felt good. Too good.

There was a little flutter deep inside her belly. Like something waking up from a long sleep.

“Mom?” The front door slammed shut. “Is something burning?”

The sound of James’ voice was enough to bring her to her senses. Within a heartbeat she was stepping back, breaking Marley’s embrace, and lifting her hand up to wipe the tears away because she couldn’t have her eldest son seeing her like this.

“I burned some cupcakes, nothing to worry about,” she shouted back to him, right as he walked through the kitchen door.

Marley’s shirt was damp in the center of his chest. And he was still standing there, this mountain of a man who felt like comfort and fear at the same time. Looking at her, his lips pressed together.

“Hey,” James said to him, walking into the kitchen and grabbing an apple, biting into it without even taking a breath. “Saw your truck outside. Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” Marley said. “I’m just heading out.” He looked at Kate. “And your mom is going to take a bath and go to bed.”

She wanted to laugh because there was no chance of that happening. She was sure she still needed to calm Addy and Ethan down, and then she needed to get to bed early so she could rush to a bakery first thing and pick up a dozen or two cupcakes.

“Okay.” James nodded, giving Marley a pointed look. “You two been talking about anything interesting?”

Marley looked back at him, calm as anything. “No. Nothing important at all.”

Chapter

Five

Kate wasn’tsure what she expected to see when she opened the front door the next morning, but it definitely wasn’t the two boxes on the stoop.

She felt exhausted. She’d barely slept all night. Unsettled by Marley coming to the house.

And the way she’d felt so… strange after he hugged her.

“We got a delivery,” Addy said, jumping up and down, because to her boxes meant toys. “Come on, let’s open them,” she said, her voice full of excitement.

The lids of the boxes weren’t taped together, just folded. Addy pulled open the flaps of the closest one and peered inside. “Look, Mommy! Cupcakes!”

“What?” Kate frowned. But Addy was already picking up a cupcake and holding it, the frosting glinting in the morning sun.

“Can I have one?” Ethan asked.

“Wait.” Kate put her hand up. “Let me see.” Opening the box fully, she could see there were at least thirty cupcakes in there. All expertly frosted.

“Who delivered these?” Ethan asked. “I didn’t hear the doorbell.”