Page 272 of Small Town Firsts
The thwack of the ball connecting with my ass shocked me enough that I almost turned my ankle on the cracked sidewalk.
“If I have a smudge on my ass from that ball, I’ll find you tomorrow!” I picked up the ball and hurled it at his friend with the smirky, crooked mouth. I took a little joy in the fact that he ducked just in time for the ginger to take the ball in the center of his chest.
I smoothed my hand over my butt and made it to Garden Avenue. Only three blocks left to my favorite bakery. It just happened to be across from PMS’s office.
“Watch it, lady.”
A flash of jet black hair flew like a tangle of ribbons behind a chick with a lime green helmet. She was hunched over her bike, a matching backpack emblazoned with Lightning Messenger Service strapped to her lean frame.
The universe was literally trying to take me out today.
I glanced up at the clock in the middle of Kensington Square. “It’s a miracle,” I said under my breath. It was ten of nine. I might even be right on time.
The little bell over The Honey Pot’s door jangled on my way in.
A tall woman with dark hair streaked liberally with scarlet highlights waved at me. “Hey, Ryan. What brings you out and about so early?” She wiped her hands on her apron and gave me a dazzling smile. Eeyore’s woefully sweet face was splashed across the front of her T-shirt.
“Mornin’, Dre.” I dug into my bag. “I’m temping this week at a lawyer’s office, if you can believe it. I was told bribing him with coconut or caramel would be a good way to make the week go smoothly.”
“Preston Shaw?”
I laughed. “So, his sweet tooth is that legendary?”
“Oh, definitely. April finally took a day off?” She pulled down a bakery box. “I didn’t know you two knew each other.”
“Yeah, she’s one of my best friends. She had a mini emergency with her grandmother.”
Dre glanced up from the bakery case. “Oh, no.”
I waved my hand. “Nothing serious. Well, at least not health-wise. She decided her mid-seventies was a fine time to get a divorce before the marriage.”
Dre’s laugh filled the room. “Good for her.” She tapped her ring finger with her thumb. “I managed to give my husband the boot recently, as well.”
“Oh, did you?”
“I sure did. Remember when I got that reading from you?”
I laughed. “Been a lot of readings between, girl.”
Dre flushed. “Right. Sorry, made quite the impression on me at the time. You told me to watch out for a surprise arrival in the spring. I was thinking baby. Instead, it was Mark’s girlfriend.”
I winced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah. Thank God I never put his name on the papers for this place.” She waved toward the room. “Him and Kimmie—with an ie because she’s an infant—are going to be very happy together.”
“I’m sorry that was the surprise.”
She shrugged. “Better off. I thought it was my fault that the only thing rising in our marriage was my bread dough.”
“Oh, girl. Never your fault. Especially with how sweet and open you are. Come see me and we’ll see what kind of fall you’llhave instead. Maybe some new love is on the horizon. I have a good vibe.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m done with men for a while.” She tucked donuts into the box and started to shut the sliding door, and then reached toward some apple fritters that made my mouth water. “These are my new caramel apple fritters. I’m trying out a new honey glaze. Let me know how he likes it. And you.” She tucked two into a pastry bag. “These are on the house.”
“Aww, you don’t have to do that.”
“I insist.” She brought the box of donuts and the bag to the register. “Fifteen-eleven.”
I pulled out a twenty. “You saved my morning. Keep the change.”
