Page 99 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

“Thanks, Ruby. I’ll be right out.”

I’d gotten used to requests like this. Ever since our videos became viral, two out of five customers that came into the store had asked to speak to me—especially on busy Fridays like today—either to just say hi, or have a selfie taken, or ask questions about our recipes. Some of them genuinely wanted to have a chat, whileothers only wanted a picture with me so they could post it online, hoping to boost their followers. I was fine with that, because it was still advertising the bakery in some way.

I quickly finished what I was doing—slicing the matcha cinnamon rolls with dental floss to get nice, clean cuts on them—then placing them in a pan and leaving them to rest for a while before they went into the oven. Taking off my apron, I washed my hands, then turned around and fixed a friendly, customer-service-appropriate smile on my face.

Then froze in my tracks when I saw who it was.

I’d been so preoccupied in the kitchen, I hadn’t noticed that Alec had come into the store. He wasn’t in his usual suit-and-shirt attire, which was highly uncommon for a weekday. Instead, he wore a navy T-shirt with dark jeans and sported a few days’ worth of stubble. His hair was also slightly longer than when I saw him last.

What is he doing here?

My heart thumped loudly, breaking out the taiko drums once again. He was watching the customers queuing outside, with one hand shoved in his jeans pocket, and the other holding one of our Twisted Sweets boxes. For a brief second, I wondered if I should go back to the kitchen and hide there until he went away.

No.Ellie 2.0 was made of stronger stuff. I steeled myself, viciously stomping on the tiny seed of hope that was beginning to sprout in my heart. My reasonable, levelheaded brain wisely advised that I should approach him with the caution I would reserve for great white sharks, taipan snakes, and saltwater crocodiles.

As if sensing my gaze, he tore his attention away from the ever-growing line outside and looked at me. I blinked once, working hard to organize my facial muscles to show zero emotions. As if to say,Screw you, Alec Mackenzie. I don’t need you in my life.

Without saying a word, I slid behind the counter to serve thenext customer in the queue. Flashing the petite woman a friendly smile, I began boxing up her order, then dutifully answered all her questions about the plant-based sweetener used in our cupcakes. For the next twenty minutes, I continued to ignore him, attending to customers and chatting with them about the weather, the news, and the latest episode of the reality TV show they were currently watching.

As my latest customer turned to leave, I glanced at him. He was watching me, his expression unreadable, with one hand still in his pocket. I was tempted to make him wait for another twenty minutes, or for the rest of his life, but that wise, levelheaded voice in my brain came back, reminding me it was a clear violation of Basic Manners 101 to keep people waiting.

Curse you, levelheaded brain.

I strolled over to him, pretending it was just another ordinary day, and I was clearly unaffected by his presence.

“Alec.” I nodded at him, cooler than a frozen cucumber. “Can I help you?”

“I was here to pick up an order.”

I folded my arms, not saying anything.

“How have you been?”

“Fantastic.” I waved my hand around the shop, indicating the customers milling about, and the long lines of people queueing outside. “Business is going well. No complaints.”

“Glad to hear that.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Where are you staying now?”

“Let’s skip the small talk. Why are you here? Something wrong with your order?”

“I just want a chance to explain things,” he began, but I cut him off.

“There’s nothing to explain. You signed a black-and-white agreement. It’s legally binding, it can’t be undone, and you tookthe money. Can’t be any clearer than that. Anything else? Otherwise, I’ve got a bakery to run.”

I was about to walk away when his next sentence stopped me in my tracks.

“I went to see my dad.”

That… wasn’t what I was expecting.

“I felt like I owed it to myself, seeing how he was pretty much the cause of all my family’s troubles. Closure and all that, you know?”

I watched him and said nothing.

“I spoke to my aunt, his younger sister, then tracked him down. Thought he’d be living with the family he’d left us for, but he said they didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore.” Alec gave a rueful smile. “Prison wasn’t kind to him. He looks different, a shell of the man I remembered. It was difficult to find work after he got out, so now he’s doing odd handyman jobs here and there, for anyone willing to hire him.”

“Does your mother know? That you went to find him?”

“Yeah. She’s okay with it. My dad said he regretted everything he’d done, but he was too ashamed to come and find us.” Alec blew out a long breath. “I wanted to yell at him, Ellie. For causing our family hardship for so many years. For breaking my mother’s heart and making her life hell. But I didn’t. Yelling at him isn’t going to change anything. It won’t bring our family back together. Or reverse all the terrible things that had happened to us in the past.”

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