Page 26 of The Bride and the Baker

Lee really didn’t want to do this now. Not while he was at work. Avoiding Myra’s gaze, he got the rest of her order and rang it up. He concentrated on bagging everything up, hoping that Myra would leave and not say anything more. His sister was smart enough to take a hint.

Evidently not. After she paid him and Lee pushed the items across to her, Myra was still standing there. Lee frowned.

“Is there anything else you wanted, Myra?”

“What happened, Lee?”

“Excuse me?”

“Something happened with you and Daisy, didn’t it?” Myra regarded him curiously. “We’re all worried about you, Lee, but you won’t talk to us. Not even Keith. What happened?”

Lee had planned to tell Myra that it wasn’t any of her business. But he suddenly felt too exhausted to do it. He looked around the store. It was at the quiet point of the day, so there was only a pair of elderly ladies in the corner having tea and a cream bun.

He beckoned for Myra to join him at the far end of the bakery. He knew those two women, and they had very sharp hearing. Frowning, Myra followed him.

“Lee?”

“I think I’ve gotten myself in too deep with her,” Lee whispered. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. “And I don’t think I can get out of it.”

“Excuse me?”

Lee shoved his hands in his pockets. He was feeling like an absolute idiot.

“I’m in love with her, Myra. And she…well, I don’t think she feels the same.”

“I figured as much.”

“What?”

Myra folded her arms.

“The one time I saw you with Daisy, it was clear you had some feelings for her. I know you too well, Lee, so it wasn’t much to know what was going on. But why do you think she doesn’t love you?”

“Come on, Myra, she was with someone else not too long ago!”

“So what? Does that mean she has to become a nun for the unforeseeable future?”

She certainly didn’t behave like a nun that night. Far from it.

“I’m younger than her, Myra. Daisy wouldn’t have anything to do with someone my age.”

Myra rolled her eyes.

“Come off it, Lee. Since when has age come into things when you’re an adult? If you like someone, and you’re both single, you should make the most of it.”

“She said she would reach out to me when she’s got herself sorted. But she hasn’t. It’s been two weeks, and I don’t know what to do.”

Now he was saying it out loud, Lee could feel his chest tightening. God, he wasn’t going to cry over this, was he? Myra’s expression softened and she drew him into a hug.

“Oh, Lee. You’re in a bit of a mess, aren’t you?”

“I was in love with her when she was with her ex, and that felt wrong. Now she’s single, we’ve…well, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, and it still feels wrong.”

“What part of it feels wrong?”

“I don’t know. The age gap between us, the fact she was only single for two days before we slept together, or the fact what we had was so intense I think it frightened her as much as it did me.” Lee swallowed. “I wanted to explore it more and focus on us, but Daisy said she needed time. She wouldn’t come anywhere near me the next morning. It was like she was ashamed.”

“You think she was ashamed?”

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