Page 127 of Promise Me

“Sweetheart, I’m an old man, and my thirty-year-old daughter still lives with me. I’m ready to be on my own again.”

“You’re kicking me out?”

“No. I’m making sure you pick yourself for once. That you pick what you want and not what others think you should pick.”

“Oh.” Great, he spit my own words back at me.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I sense that’s what Hudson was trying to do in his own way.”

I groan.

“You need to talk to him.”

“I know, but it’s weird. I’m not sure which version of me wants to talk to him. Part of me wants to yell at him for how he handled things, and the other … well, he’s the one I want to vent to about all this.”

Dad nods slowly.

“Stop nodding,” I scold with a laugh. “You’re supposed to advise me, not just agree with everything that comes out of my mouth.”

“You know which side you really want. So my advice would be meaningless.”

“But what if I pick the wrong one?”

“You won’t because you already know what you want.”

“But what if?—”

“Sadie,” he pushes off the bed to stand, “you’ve got this, but it isn’t going to happen by sitting in this room.”

I don’t know what will happen next, but I do know that even though I keep saying there is an old Hudson and new Hudson, the fact is, the old Hudson is just that—old. I can sit here telling myself I don’t believe that, but I do.

The other thing I know? I miss the heck out of Hudson Asher, and the two of us need to talk. He may have confessed that he didn’t want me to forget my dream. Fine. I get it. But he still bought the space out from under me. I’m not okay with that. There has to be something I’m missing.

I’m just not so sure I’m ready for the answer.

By lunch,I’m stepping into the bakery’s kitchen, headed for the office.

“Sadie!” Brooke beams as she spots me. “What are you doing here?”

I don’t answer right away. Instead, I wrap my arms around my best friend.

She hugs me back, tight.

I finally step back. “I still want to sell this place to you.”

“You do?” Her lips twist as if she’s unsure what else to ask me.

I nod. “My dad reminded me this morning that Mom wouldn’t want me to stay here if I didn’t love it. She’d want me to sell it to someone who would put their heart and soul into it, and that person is still you.”

She sticks her bottom lip out and then fans her face.

“I’m going to make you both proud.”

“I know you will, but until we make this official, I have some things to do with the books.”

I grab the laptop from the office, plate up a pastry, make an iced coffee, and then sit where Bartley, Marty, and Phil normally sit.

There are still booths on Main Street from our last street festival. Between working here for the afternoon and working myself up to go to Hudson, people-watching will be a great distraction.

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