Page 11 of The Gingerbread Bakery
She stepped out of the barn and into the cold night air and took a deep breath. She was fine. Everything was fine. She took another deep breath of the pine-scented breeze as she tried to convince herself that everything really was fine. She stared up at a sky filled with stars.
Annie didn’t make a habit of being lovesick and she certainly wasn’t going to start now. Once this wedding was over, everything would go back to normal. She could go back to avoiding Mac, and her single-ness wouldn’t be quite so painfully obvious. She had her friends and her family and her bakery. She didn’t need a dance partner.
Right. Two more days to go.
She could do this.
But by the time the already small crowd had dwindled even further to just Iris, who was waiting for Archer and his crew to finish clearing the food, and Mayor Kelly who was going over his notes for the ceremony with Logan, Annie was looking for any distraction to keep between her and Mac.
Hazel and Noah had left to drive a tipsy Jeanie home and Bennett had gone to escort the Ellis cousins to the inn.
‘What else can I do?’ she asked Kira, to avoid watching Mac spin Iris in a slow circle on the dance floor.
‘I think we’re done for the night.’ Kira plopped down into the nearest chair. ‘We should probably get some sleep. We have more work to do tomorrow.’
‘Right.’ Manicures and pedicures, followed by finishing up the secret, wedding dessert and helping Kira decorate the barn. She was hoping Mac wouldn’t be a part of any of it. Maybe she wouldn’t have to see him again until Sunday and then there would be enough other stuff going on, she’d barely have to interact with him. Except for the whole pesky walking down the aisle business.
‘What happened between you two, anyway?’ Kira asked, following Annie’s gaze to where Mac was now talking with Archer and Iris, the dance over.
Annie sighed. ‘It really doesn’t matter.’
‘It kinda seems like it does.’
Mac looked up and caught her in his gaze. Sometimes it felt like a million years ago that she had let herself fall for that cocky team captain, and sometimes it felt like she was still that girl letting herself trust that boy. Mac’s lips tipped into a tentative smile and Annie was right back in that diner booth trying to convince herself that they didn’t make sense together, that he couldn’t possibly like her.
But he had convinced her that he did. And, for that one December, she’d let herself believe him.
And look where it had gotten her. Stuck on a guy who would never be right for her.
She turned away from Mac’s smile.
‘We were young and stupid.’
Kira’s brows rose. This was the most Annie had ever confessed about what happened between her and Mac. For some reason, it felt a little easier to tell Kira, who hadn’t been around Annie and Mac her whole life and had only showed up in town a year ago.
‘You were young and stupid and…’
‘And… it was over before it really started.’
Kira sighed in disappointment. ‘I feel like you’re holding out on me, but I’m exhausted so I’m going to let you get away with it for now.’ She stood up and planted a kiss on Annie’s cheek. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’
‘Okay, yeah. See you in the morning.’ Annie went to find where she’d stashed her purse and coat and, by the time she turned around to leave, the barn was empty except for one person. Of course.
‘Walk you out?’ Mac asked, heading toward her across the dance floor. Annie’s body went into fight-or-flight mode.
‘I think I can make it down the driveway to my car without your assistance, thank you very much.’ Okay, so fight it was.
Mac blew out a frustrated sigh. ‘Can I walk out with you, Annie, or do I need to give you a five-minute head start so you don’t have to endure being next to me for a second longer?’
She glared at him and was about to tell him he could walk right off a cliff when Kira popped her head back into the big barn doors.
‘Forgot to turn out the lights!’ She hit the switch and the lights in the barn went out save for the strings of twinkle lights crisscrossed over the rafters. And the traitor scurried away before Annie could accuse her of being just as bad as everyone else in this busybody town.
She turned back to Mac with a huff to find him staring at her in the warm glow of the Christmas lights. He wasn’t smirking or winking or doing any of that bullshit that made it easy to hate him. He was just watching her with such fondness in his eyes that Annie thought she might choose flight now.
‘Damn that Kira,’ she whispered, and Mac let out a low laugh.
‘It’s a nice effect.’ He glanced up at the ceiling where the strings of lights hung.
