Page 4 of Enemy Kisses

With shaking hands, I push away from my desk and stand abruptly, sending my chair crashing into the wall behind me—to be fair, it’s not like my office is huge, so it doesn’t have far to travel. I lean back down and study my screen again in the hope that I read the email incorrectly. I scroll down the screen to see if maybe I missed something, but I haven’t. What an arrogant jerk. I really shouldn’t be surprised. Clearly, he doesn’t give a shit about any of the businesses around him or we wouldn’t be in this situation.

My blood boils.What an ass.

A knock at my back door steals my attention, and I glance at the time—that’ll be my produce delivery. Sure enough, when I open the door, Stella’s smiling. “Hey, Stella. How’re things today?”

“Pretty great.” She points over her shoulder. “I have your order.”

“Awesome. Let’s get it inside.”

We work together to bring my organic produce order inside—placing it on my stainless steel counters—and chat as we work.

“I’m guessing things are going well since you had to increase your order.”

“It’s been amazing, Stella. More than I ever expected at this point.”

“You’ve only been open, what … a month?”

“Yep. And we already have regular customers.” I squeal on the inside. “It’s honestly working out better than I hoped.”

She rubs my arm. “I’m so happy for you. You deserve all the success, my friend.” She heads out to her truck. “I’d better keep moving. I still have a couple of deliveries to make.”

“Thanks, Stella. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sure will.”

I use organic locally grown produce wherever possible so I can do my bit to reduce my footprint, and it also helps my friend, Stella. I spend the next hour washing everything and storing it so it’s ready to use tomorrow. Once that’s done, I do a quick check of inventory before sending off an order for more essential ingredients, all the while ruminating on what my next step should be with my arrogant neighbor.

Another knock at the back door breaks through my musing. That must be Liam with my dairy and eggs. He recently took over for his father, who had to slow down when a cow kicked him in the thigh, breaking his femur. Because of the accident, doctors found he had bone cancer, and he’s been having treatment to deal with it, leaving the responsibility of running the farm to Liam. I open the back door as Liam’s heading back toward his truck to open the doors.

He glances over his shoulder with a handsome grin. “Hey, beautiful.”

A blush heats my cheeks at his attention. He’s asked me out a couple of times, but I can’t bring myself to date a man eight years my junior. I know women do, and more power to them, but it’s not for me. “Hey, Liam. How’s your dad doing?”

He pauses and turns around to face me properly. Placing his hands on his hips, he drops his head to look at the ground, and my heart drops to my toes. “He had a fall last night.” I grasp the collar of my shirt and step closer to him. “The chemo’s left him frail, and he lost his balance. They did an X-ray to check he didn’t break anything. It came back clear, thank God, but he’s pretty banged up and bruised.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. If there’s anything I can do, please just ask.” I reach out and squeeze his arm.

“Thanks, Harry. Appreciate it.”

“I have some croissants that didn’t sell today. I’ll package them up for your dad. I know how much he loves a Pain au Chocolat.” I wink.

He smiles at me. “He’ll love it.”

Liam carries my order inside, refusing my help. While he loads everything into my fridge, I pack some leftover treats for him to take home and send him on his way.

* * *

I lock my bike to the fence, grab the package from my basket, and make my way toward reception. My heart aches with memories of visiting Grand-Mère Mae here. Dementia had taken its toll on her and she needed care I couldn’t give her in the final year of her life. I hate that it came to this for her because she could no longer enjoy her favorite pastime—baking. I promised her I would continue to visit her friends, Frank and Beverley, as often as I could, so I set aside every Wednesday afternoon to do just that. I always sneak in a little treat for them, which puts a smile on their weathered faces. I sign in at reception and then head down the long corridor toward their rooms.

I knock on Beverley’s door first, and she greets me with a warm smile and hug as soon as she opens the door. “Harry. It’s so great to see you, my dear.”

I squeeze her tight. “You too. How have you been?”

“Up to no good as usual.” She snickers with a twinkle in her eye. When I grow old, I want to be Beverley.

I giggle. “I bet. You must keep the staff on their toes.”

She winks at me. “I do my best.”

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