Page 37 of Emma and the Grumpy Baker

While the story played out in my ears, I thought through every interaction that I’d had with Liam, wondering where I’d missed the cues. I didn’t think he had been looking too closely at any of my recipes. I didn’t think that he had cared about any of that. So I had no reason to watch him. Was he going to hire Grady next to make his social media better than mine? Was that why he had buddied up with him so well?

I tried to think of how he could possibly eliminate me as a competition. But the only way I could come up with was exactly what he’d done. Break me enough to send me running. Make me believe that there was a chance for us to be together again, only to shatter my heart and force me to close my shop due to the pain.

I would never do that. Yes, I was running now. I needed time to think through everything, find comfort with my sister, and plan my next steps. But I would return with a vengeance, and I would never close my store. I hadn’t worked this hard to allow Liam to ruin it for me. If I had to look at him walking by my store every day, I would. He wouldn’t break me. This wouldn’t end me.

But it felt like it.

It felt like my soul had been ripped in half when I walked by his office, intent on telling him goodbye and giving him a kiss. My timing had been impeccable, because I approached the door just as he told his father that he wouldn’t have to worry about me as competition for much longer.

In hindsight, I should have stuck around to hear if Liam was going to tell his father what the grand plan was. My shock and pain had me running through, and I bolted from his apartment as fast as I could.

My phone started ringing, and when I saw the picture of Liam holding the bin of fruit snacks on my screen, I considered chucking my phone across the airport. That would most likely get security called on me, so I just sent the call to voicemail and turned it on Do Not Disturb. Then, I shoved my phone into my purse so that I wouldn’t have to see if he called again.

When it was finally two hours from my flight, I checked in at the self-service kiosk and checked my bag. Then I walked through security, feeling numb to the world around me. I trudged all the way to my gate and found a seat that didn’t have many people around it, hoping that I could curl up against the wall and nap before my flight boarded.

The audiobook eventually ended, and I turned on a new one. I couldn’t tell anyone what the book was about, but it filled the void in my head that caused my brain to think too much at once.

I was essentially a zombie for the rest of the night. Boarding the plane, finding my seat, sleeping on the plane, and finally getting off. I turned my brain off as best as I could, because I didn’t want to start crying while surrounded by strangers.

When I turned my phone off airplane mode, I saw a barrage of text messages from both my sisters and Liam. I ignored Liam’s messages, reading through Scarlett’s first. She informed me that a driver was going to be waiting for me at the airport because her boss refused to let her go to the airport this late because he thought it was dangerous. I thought that was a pretty weird thing for a boss to say, but honestly, I was okay with the fact that a stranger would be picking me up. It gave me more time to be alone and not have to use my emotions.

After I walked past the security exit point, I saw a man in a suit holding a sign with my name, and I approached him. He walked with me to baggage claim and grabbed my bag when I pointed it out, and then we were on our way out of the airport.

I could finally breathe now that there were over one thousand miles separating me from Liam. He wouldn’t be able to knock at my door and spout lies to try to continue this charade. Soon, I would be with my youngest sister and get the break I needed from the life that had flipped upside down today.

28

Liam

I was going to lose my mind.

Emma was ignoring me and avoiding me, and I couldn’t figure out why.

It had been a week since she’d forced me out of her store without explanation. No calls were answered, my endless text messages were ignored, and even her employees couldn’t tell me what was happening. I pled with Anne for a reason as to why Emma was so upset with me, but she swore that Emma hadn’t said anything to them.

I called Isabella, who had no idea what was going on either. Every day, I went to her bakery to see if she was there, and still, she hadn’t shown up.

Finally, I ventured to her apartment to find out what was wrong. If she ignored me, I would consider breaking in just to make sure she was okay.

After knocking on her door and begging her to come out, I concluded that she wasn’t there.

Sickness pooled in my gut when I called her again, leaving a voicemail that begged her to tell me she was safe. Regardless of how mad she was at me, I needed to at least know that something terrible hadn’t happened to her. If she didn’t text me by the end of the day, I would go to the police and report her as missing.

I also sent a text to Isabella, asking her if she knew where her sister was, and if she was safe. That mattered more than anything, and I was going to lose my cool if someone didn’t give me an answer.

Sending a text to Jackson, I walked back to my apartment to busy myself.

I went over everything that had happened after our Taco Bell date, our night out on the town, the movie we watched and fell asleep to. Breakfast the next morning before she took a shower. What had happened, that had turned her against me so quickly?

It was probably something I’d done, even if unintentional. And whatever it was, I just needed her to tell me so that I could right my wrong and beg for forgiveness. At this point in my life, I would absolutely get on my knees and beg her for forgiveness if it kept her in my life.

My heart nearly stopped beating when Emma texted me back with a shortI’m safemessage. That was all that it said and I was skeptical of it. Anyone could have sent that message.

I was about to reply with a phone call when Isabella texted me, informing me that Emma was with her youngest sister, Scarlett.

Nausea built inside of me. Whatever I had done was bad enough that Emma flew to New York to get away from me. I racked my brain foranythingthat would explain what I’d done.

Once I got back to my apartment, I went straight to my office and opened up my plans for merging our two stores. I had planned on keeping this a secret for a bit longer, but since I couldn’t even communicate with her right now, I decided that I would have to devise a new plan.

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