Page 96 of Delicate Escape

“Lolli!”

I moveda rag over one of the many empty tables, but we’d gotten hit with the pre-holiday weekend crush earlier. If it was a sign of what was to come, we would be slammed.

The bell over the door jangled as it opened, and I looked upto see Luca running inside. “Thee Thee! Look what I made! It’s so freaking cool!”

The overexcited-little-boy tone had a smile tipping my lips. “Show me.”

“It’s a real model of an ice rink. Just like the Seattle Sparks. Now I can memorize plays and stuff.” Luca said, lifting the model for me to look at.

Sutton chuckled as she crossed the space, blond hair swishing around her. Her arms were laden with bags, a pile of mail, and multiple layers of kids’ clothing Luca had clearly discarded throughout the day. “His camp counselor took pity on him and made arts and crafts hockey themed for Luca alone.”

“She gets me,” Luca said with a bob of his head. “She knows I’m going to be the biggest bad booty enforcer just like The Reaper. So, I gotta start now.”

Sutton’s nose scrunched. “I really hope you have a better nickname than that when you start playing.”

“Mooooom, The Reaper is the coolest name in the league.”

She sent me a wistful look. “I used to be cool, but already I’ve lost my shine.”

“You’d be cool if you wanted to learn to skate, too. Then we could practice all the time,” Luca suggested helpfully.

My lips twitched. “I’ve got your nickname. The Bad Booty Baker.”

Sutton laughed. “It does have a ring to it.”

Luca set down his model and began dancing around the bakery, shaking his little hips. “Bad Booty Baker! Bad Booty Baker!”

“You’ve done it now,” Sutton moaned.

“We can make T-shirts,” I said with a chuckle.

She set down her piles of stuff and began to go through the mail as Luca ran behind the counter, no doubt in search of cupcakes. “Oh, I forgot. There was something in the mail pile for you.”

I stiffened. No one sent me mail except Nikki. And she sent all correspondence to my PO Box a few towns over.

My mouth went dry as I reached out for the envelope Suttonheld. The lettering was in a boxy shape, the kind that disguised any sort of ownership. Some part of my brain could register Sutton going on about her weekend plans with Luca, but I was too focused on the letter to truly hear her.

My fingers trembled as I tore open the envelope flap. I tugged out a piece of computer paper. On it was a picture. One of me. It looked like it was from afar, the quality was grainy, but I recognized the outfit I’d been wearing yesterday as I headed into The Mix Up. On the top of the paper readSLUTin angry red letters. But it got worse.

Parts of my body were circled. Next to my legs readFAT. My face,UGLY. My breasts,WHORE.

And it all sounded just like Brendan.

37

SHEP

“Damn.This is going to be perfect,” Anson said as we stood looking through the now-open space. The wall between the entryway and living room, and the one separating the living room and kitchen were completely gone. It felt like an entirely different house. Open and welcoming instead of stiff and formal.

“Just wait until we put in the massive windows on that wall.”

I could see it all in my mind. The way it would bring the outdoors in and meld the structure with the nature around us. And Thea had shared some ideas for the landscaping that would take it all to the next level. She had a true gift when it came to creating art with plants.

“Won’t lie, I’m getting a little bit of house envy,” Anson muttered.

I chuckled. “You know the Victorian’s going to be sweet when it’s finished.”

Anson’s mouth curved the slightest bit. “It is.”

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