Page 99 of Sweet on You
33
Ronnie
Idid my best to sleep in… I really did. But by eight o’clock, I’d already woken up, taken Penny on a two-mile run, made myself breakfast, and fed Frost. Now, I was sitting on my couch with coffee watching some morning show banter.
Penny looked up at me from his empty food bowl with pitiful, brown eyes. “No,” I scolded him. “One cup is all you get for breakfast.” I swear this dog acted like I never fed him. He had that Oliver Twist, Please sir, may I have some morething going for him.
From the counter, Frost licked her paw and gave a daintyMeow. “Don’t you start on me.”
She hopped down from the counter and sat next to her best friend. Both of them stared at me while I nibbled on my scrambled eggs and turkey bacon. “Okay fine. But just a little.” With a roll of my eyes, I tore a piece of bacon in half and gave a bit to each of them.
Another thirty minutes, two cups of coffee, and one shower later, I was towel drying my hair as a group text came through from Lydia to me and our friend, Kyra.
Lydia: Mani/pedis today?
Kyra answered back immediately.
Kyra: I’m always in for some pampering.
I really wasn’t a mani-pedi kind of girl. I was too damn active. Within seconds of painting my nails, that shit would chip off. Or I would literally ruin it while trying to get my car keys out, leaving the salon.
Even still, it was better than sitting around the house all day.
Me: Yes!I’m on my way.
I hopped off the couch and grabbed my car keys. Sitting around my house all day was not what I called a fun day off. That was the difference between me and Callie, I guess. She was totally content to lounge in her pj’s until eleven o’clock, while I considered sleeping until seven a lazy day.
Kyra’s text came back quickly.
Kyra: Whoa, slow your roll. I’m not even out of bed yet. Meet you both there in an hour?
I sighed and flopped back onto the couch. Another hour? What was I going to do for an hour?
A text from Lydia popped up.
Lydia: I’m ready now, Ronnie. Wanna grab a coffee?
Well, thank God for my brother’s fiancé and his nine-year-old, who was probably the real reason why she was up and dressed already.
I texted her back that I would meet her at The Maple Grove Cupcakery in fifteen minutes. “You two be good,” I said, with a pat to each animal’s head, and then locked the door behind me.
I actually made it there in ten minutes, and when I walked in, Lydia was already seated at a table with a steaming latte in hand. “Cupcakery?” She asked, one brow arching from behind the white ceramic lip. “Not your normal choice for an outing.”
The place was empty except for us. I shrugged. “They have good espresso. And look… gluten free cupcakes!”
Lydia leveled me with acut the shitlook, which I masterfully ignored, and walked up to the counter to place my order.
“Ronnie Tripp,” Neil Evans said, flinging a tea towel over his brawny shoulder. “Hi there, stranger. What are you doing in here consorting with the enemy?”
“Hey, Neil.” I hadn’t seen him in years. Literally years. He and his family went to the private high school in Maple Grove. Rumor was, he left town without graduating… then went on to win Mr. Universe three years in a row. “What are you doing back here?”
“Helping my mom and brother keep this place afloat while Mom’s in chemo.”
I nodded. “I heard about her diagnosis. I’m so sorry.”
He waved away my sympathies. “What about you? You’re usually over there at Lex’s bakery.” He leaned forward onto the counter. “You finally coming over to the dark side?”
I laughed at that. “If the Cupcakery is the dark side of Maple Grove, I’d say our little town isn’t all that edgy.”
