Page 15 of My Brooding Valentine

Supplies? What kind of supplies? I shook my head as if to shake off the thought. It didn’t matter. I had to get next door, pronto. I was leaving at the ass crack of dawn tomorrow for North Carolina, and I needed to have a suitcase full of cookies when I boarded that plane.

A pen was next to the coffeemaker, so I grabbed it and flipped the sheet of paper to write on the other side. I wrote that I was next door baking so I could meet my deadline. Then I rushed to get the heck out of there.

“Fudge, fudge, fudge,” I said, uttering the word over and over as I got dressed, then headed back to my cabin.

It was freezing outside. I hadn’t even noticed that last night when I crept over here. I also hadn’t thought about the fact that yesterday and today had been set aside for baking. The broken oven had derailed me, and spending half the afternoon making lasagna hadn’t helped.

And now I was way behind. I didn’t even know if it was humanly possible to make that many cookies and ice them and have them cooled and packaged by morning.

“Fudge, fudge, fudge,” I continued as I entered my cabin.

Well, it wasn’t my cabin. Someone else would be staying here for Valentine’s Day, no doubt. What if that person was a beautiful woman and Sawyer slept with her too?

No, that was ridiculous. What we had was real. I just had to get through this competition, and then I could come back here fifty thousand dollars richer and ready to start a business and make this town my home.

I was smiling as I pulled out the supplies I’d need to get to work. Maybe we’d get married. I could live right up here in thecabin next door with Sawyer, and we’d eventually have kids. My bakery would someday be successful enough that I could hire employees, so I only had to oversee things. I’d still bake, of course, but at least I could set my own hours.

I was so caught up in my work, I didn’t even take time to peek and see if Sawyer’s truck was next door. I figured he’d stop by and say something when he got back, but I had the second load of cookies in the oven with the first cooling on the island before I finally took a breath.

Grabbing my bottle of soda, I headed over to the window to peek out. My neutral expression immediately turned to a frown at what I saw.

Sawyer’s truck was there. The driveway had been empty when I walked over here, but it wasn’t now. He was back, and he hadn’t even come by to say hi.

What did that mean? Did that mean he was done? He’d slept with me and moved on with his life?

No, that wasn’t possible. He felt the same connection I did. I’d seen it in his eyes. He hadn’t said he was ready to give up everything and make a commitment to me, but this was new. We were still getting to know each other. It was too soon for big commitments.

Men didn’t commit after sleeping with a woman the first time. That was the way a virgin would think, and I wasn’t a virgin anymore.

I headed back to the kitchen, my heart heavy. I could go over there and talk to him, but I didn’t want to hear the words, “It was fun, but let’s leave it at that.” Those words would break my heart into a million pieces on the spot.

The third batch of cookies was in the oven when the anger kicked in. I’d worked myself into a fury in a matter of seconds. He’d used me. I should’ve known. I was the sweet little virginwho could easily be sweet-talked into bed. How could I be so stupid?

I removed my apron, tossed it to the island, and stomped out of the cabin. I banged on his door and waited. No answer, so I banged again, this time even harder. My knuckles immediately started stinging. I was standing there, rubbing them with my other hand, when the door flew open.

“Is everything okay?” Sawyer asked.

He was worried. If he hadn’t been using me, he wouldn’t be worried, right?

I opened my mouth to blurt out what I’d been thinking, but what could I say?You didn’t come over and knock on the door when you got home?That sounded psycho.

“I’m making cookies if you want any,” I said.

He glanced to his left toward my cabin, then back at me. “That’s okay. I just had lunch.”

What the heck? I opened my mouth again to speak, but once again, anything I came up with sounded crazy. I should just go back to my cabin and forget it, but then what? I’d go the rest of my life wondering. Worse, if I moved to this town, I’d pass him on the street every now and then, and the awkwardness would be off the charts.

No, I had to speak up. I had to know.

“So, that’s it?” I said. “We do…that, and then you just don’t speak to me again?”

The confusion that crossed his features told me I was way off, and I was right about coming across as crazy. Just another looney-tunes ex-lover, expecting a lifelong commitment after a roll in the hay.

“Your note said you had baking to do,” he said.

I was already stepping back and shaking my head before he even finished that sentence. I managed to catch myself a half-step away from falling backward down the stairs. That would have been beyond mortifying.

“No,” I said. “I’ll be fine. I guess I’ll see you around.”

---