Page 55 of You Cake My Breath Away

She squeezes my hand and grabs a paper towel for me to dry my eyes. “You’re not. You’re only betraying yourself by neglecting to give your heart what it needs.”

“He’s made it pretty clear I’m not what his heart needs.”

“Oh pish posh,” she says. “He’s fallen head over heels for you. Who wouldn’t? You’re amazing.”

“No, he isn’t,” I reply. “You don’t treat people you love like they don’t matter for years.”

“I think he knows he didn’t handle his…feelings properly,” she says.

I scoff. “That’s an understatement.”

“But,” she interjects, pinning me with her sad eyes. “If there’s something…there…forgive before it’s too late for growth to happen.” My brain can’t wrap around the fact that my husband’s mother thinks his best friend is in love with me, yet she’s unbothered. “Jessie would want you to be happy, and so do me and Shantel. If Archer is the person to do that, we want you to know we approve.”

She doesn’t give me time to reply and heads out to the table to play poker. Stunned, I take a moment to try and digest everything she said. Was this what she was trying to tell me the day I yelled at her? How wouldthings be right now if I had stopped worrying about what others thought about my attraction to Archer and let things unfold?

Nausea swirls around in my gut. I know my heart was true when it came to Jessie. I loved him more than life itself, even if there was a part of me attracted to Archer years ago when we met. But how do we move forward if neither of us can stop looking back?

Chapter twenty-nine

Tilly

Lightning slices through the sky, followed by a foundation shaking rumble as I clean up the poker chips and cards. Shantel shrieks when the lights flicker, and I can’t contain my laughter. Her evil eye doesn’t scare me, but the crack of thunder that comes after makes me jump.

“This looks like it might be a bad one,” Archer says, leaving the kitchen. “I’m going to stop by the bakery and make sure it’s locked up tight.”

“I’ll come with,” I say, bouncing with unspent energy. Even though things are kind of weird between us, being home alone during a thunderstorm doesn’t sound fun either. At least if I’m at the bakery I can get a jumpstart on unloading shipments. “I need to inventory some of the materials that came in.”

Unboxing sprinkles, icing, and wooden rolling pins may not seem fun to some, but I’m nearly overcome with excitement that I’m finally at the point of organizing materials for our soft opening.

“Y’all better go now before the storm breaks.” Nora hands us each a tub of Country Crock filled with leftovers.

She embraces Archer and tells him good luck, but I’m not sure if she’s telling him that about us or his job. We haven’t talked about it much, and to be honest I’ve tried to stay away from bringing it up. There areenough unsure feelings between us without adding in the stress of him leaving.

The drive to the bakery takes less than ten minutes, and I spend each of those minutes nervously tapping against the steering wheel. I haven’t been alone with Archer since the wood closet at his house, and not much has been solved since then. As in, nothing really. It feels exactly like the last time we shared a kiss, when I could feel him pulling away even before it ended, like he knew he was making a mistake. It’s why I never brought that kiss up, and also why I won’t force him to acknowledge this one. I’m not ready to hear the rejection.

Somehow, I beat him to the bakery. I park and go inside, hoping to get as much done as possible before the sky is no longer happy with just making noise. The lights flicker on, and my chest expands when I see the quirky sign hung behind the countertop. Archer must’ve hung it before he came to Nora’s because it wasn’t there when I left earlier. He even added a few neon cupcake lights around it to highlight the sign.

I fight back the tears welling up. He’s done so many small things to make this bakery my home. The one place I can be myself. He hasn’t batted an eye at the crazy wallpaper or the funky light fixtures. He’s only accepted me for who I was, and that’s the Archer I miss from all thoseyears ago.

Twenty minutes pass before Archer arrives. I’m on the floor counting an inventory of sprinkles and icing when he slides through the swinging door.

“I picked up some sandbags for out front in case it starts to flood.” He leans against the wall, the sleeves of his sweater pushed up and baring his strong forearms.

“Thanks for thinking about that.” I lay the clipboard down. “And thanks for putting up the sign and everything. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Sitting on the floor and having the weight of his stare on me makes me shift and my lungs scream for air. Lips parched, I get up and walk to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. I feel his eyes follow me, but I can’t bring myself to turn around. My stomach boards a roller coaster as I stand in front of the fridge.

I’m struggling to gather my thoughts when Archer comes up behind me and reaches into the fridge. “Thanks for the offer.” He grabs a bottle for himself. “I’d love some water.”

His breath is hot on the back of my neck and the heat of his body makes goosebumps break out down my arms. Cool air from the opened fridge wafts our way and I shiver.

“Sorry.” I try to step back.

He doesn’t take the cue and move.

He grunts when my back collides with his chest, and his arm bands around my stomach to keep me from tumbling over. Releasing his hold on me, he lets out a breath and steps back.

“Sorry,” I say.

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