Page 15 of That One Heartbreak

“Are there more cupcakes in the other box?” Addy asked, her eyes widening as she turned her attention to the second box.

Ethan was already pulling the other box open. Addy bumped him with her shoulder so she could look in, too.

“What are they?” she asked, sounding disappointed. “They look like rags.”

“There’s a note,” Ethan said, pulling out a white letter. “It’s got your name on it,” he told Kate.

She took it from him and read it.

Kate,

Hopefully these cupcakes will be okay for the bake sale at school. My aunt is a heck of a baker and was happy to help. And the t-shirts are from Paul’s locker. I couldn’t bring myself to let them go when you asked me to empty it.

And if you ever need anything, please ask. We want to help.

Marley Hartson

She blinked at his words, willing herself not to cry again. Because this was so damn sweet she could taste it. She hated the fact that she’d needed his help. That she hadn’t been able to manage her kids’ needs alone.

“Mommy, what does the letter say?” Addy asked, rolling onto her tiptoes to try to read it.

“Marley dropped these off.” She let out a breath.

“Are they Dad’s t-shirts?” Ethan asked, staring at them.

“Yeah.” Kate nodded. Her throat felt tight.

“Can I have one?” Addy asked. “Please?”

“I’ll go through them later,” she promised them. “See what we have.” She could remember Marley asking her what she wanted him to do with Paul’s locker. He told her they’d keep it at the station for as long as she needed. But she’d been so overwhelmed and had told him to clear it out.

She guessed Marley couldn’t quite bring himself to toss it all.

Sliding the box of t-shirts into the hallway, she pulled the front door closed and locked up. James had caught the bus to school half an hour ago, so it was just the young ones she needed to wrangle today.

“Come on,” she told Ethan and Addy, because now she had another stop to make before she headed to work. “Let’s go.”

“You got another visitor,” Nate said, bumping Marley in the ribs with his elbow. He was standing at the makeshift table, staring at the plans the architect had redrawn for them after they’d encountered a problem with some drainage at the back of the lot. “She’s pretty hot, too. That your girl?”

Marley looked up, blinking. And sure enough, there was Kate, standing by her car, looking wonderful in a skirt and silk blouse that showed off her soft curves to perfection.

His throat tightened. “No, that’s not my girl. That’s Kate.”

“Kate?”

“My friend’s widow.” He grunted it out. And hoped that’d put an end to Nate’s questions, because he really didn’t want to answer anymore.

Nate blinked. “Oh, sorry, man.” Then, because he was clearly an asshole and Marley was already wondering why they’d given him the contract, he added, “So is she single?”

“Get back to work,” Marley said, rolling up the plans and walking over to the gate, annoyed by Nate’s question.

“Hey,” he murmured to her as he walked through the mesh closure. “Everything okay?”

“I just wanted to thank you for the cupcakes and the t-shirts.” She looked completely awkward and stupidly adorable. “You didn’t have to do that.” She reached her hand up to cup the back of her neck. She had her hair in a messy bun that revealed the slender curve of her throat.

He pulled his eyes from her. He wasn’t going to look at her that way. He wasn’t Nate, the asshole. Nor was he going to do anything to rock the boat. Not when she was finally talking to him again.

“I know I didn’t have to do that,” he said, walking over to where she was standing. “But it wasn’t hard. My aunt likes baking. I had the t-shirts.”

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