Page 44 of Along Came Summer

Nessa gawps at me, eyes wide and unblinking. “Holy shit, Batman!”

“I know!”

* * *

8 weeks later…

“You know, they say a watched door doesn’t spit out a six-foot-something hunk.” I blink and turn my gaze to look at Nessa when she slides a tray of dirty coffee cups on the counter.

“What? I-I wasn’t.”

Nessa fixes me with a pointed look as she places her elbow on the counter and props her chin in her hand, smiling knowingly. “No? So you haven’t been staring at that door every single day for the past two months waiting and hoping your Charming Bohemian King will walk through it?”

Snorting, I shake my head and busy myself with rearranging the cupcakes in the display unit. “Pfft, no, I was just lost in a daze thinking over next week's dessert special.”

I’m not one for telling lies. In fact, I have zero tolerance for liars, but for some reason, I can’t seem to bring myself to admit that deep down it's bothering me that Levi hasn’t come by at all after he disappeared on me without a word at the butt crack of dawn.

You knew what you were getting into, Summer. You knew Levi was still hung up on another girl, yet you chose to sleep with him. You were just a temporary escape for him, and you knew that from the start. So why are you foolishly hoping and waiting for him to walk back in here after that one night? It wasn't anything romantic or special, just two strangers seeking comfort in each other's company after a shitty night.

“Summer…”

“First of all, you’re being ridiculous, and secondly, stop being so speculative and go take that couple's order. They’ve been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes.” I express wryly, and she flashes me a smile and bounces off toward the older couple sitting at the table by the window.

The bakery’s door opens, my eyes snap up, and my heart does a little leap as it has done the past two months. A guy walks in, holding the hand of an adorable little girl with golden blonde hair tied up in two space buns and big baby blue eyes. She can’t be any older than four and she skips along beside him.

“Cupcakes Daddy!”

Laughing, the man playfully lifts the girl into his arms, and they walk over to the display unit filled with various desserts, cakes, and cupcakes. The guy is tall, at least six feet, and seems to be in his thirties. He has a nice and kind smile, neatly trimmed dark hair and bright blue eyes that match his daughter’s, twinkling with mischief as he playfully lifts the giggling little girl into his arms. I push away any thoughts of Levi King and put on my best smile as I greet my customers.

“Welcome to Lovey's Sugar Shack. What sweet treat can I tempt you with today?” I ask.

“I think we'll go for the banana cream cupcake for Sienna,” he replies and looks down at his daughter. She nods eagerly in agreement. “And I'll have a double shot latte and a couple of those strawberry jam and coconut bomboloni's please.”

I enter his order into the cash register with a smile. “Certainly. And would you like to enjoy those here or take them to go?”

“We'll eat them here, won't we, pumpkin?” he asks his daughter, planting a tender kiss on her head when she confirms. “We have some time before Mummy comes to pick you up.”

Ah, he must be a single dad, I muse inwardly as I glance at his ring finger and see it bare. “Sienna, what a beautiful name you have,” I say, smiling warmly at the little girl who goes all shy and lays her head on her dad's shoulder. “She’s precious, how old is she?”

The father gazes proudly at his little girl, who beams back up at him. “Thank you. She just turned four a few days ago.”

I let out a small gasp and turn to Sienna with excitement. “Oh my goodness, it was your birthday! Birthdays are our favourite here! How about we surprise you with a special birthday treat? Would you like that?” Sienna nods eagerly, her smile widening. “Any allergies we need to know about?” I ask her father as he shakes his head in response.

“No allergies,” He reaches for his wallet to pay, but I refuse and wave it off.

“No need, it's on the house,” I say with a warm smile.

“Thank you, that's very kind of you...” he says, leaning forward to read my name stitched onto my apron. “Summer?”

“It's my pleasure, and yes, that's me, Summer Lovey,” I reply cheerfully.

“I'm Jack Wilson,” he introduces himself, extending his hand towards me. I reach over the counter to shake it. “I just moved into the building, and while unpacking the delicious scent of your freshly baked cakes wafted all the way up to the fifth floor, making our mouths water. So, little munchkin and I decided to pop down and get our sugar fix.”

“Oh,” I laugh as I move over to the display unit to prepare their order. “In that case, welcome to the building. I live on the first floor. And I should apologise for the smell, but I won’t because, in my opinion, there is nothing better than waking up to the smell of freshly baked goodies.” Jack laughs as he sets Sienna down, and she wanders off to look at the colourful array of desserts in the display unit.

“You absolutely shouldn’t apologise. I’ll take an apartment smelling like baked goods over cat piss any day.”

“You have a cat?” I question, placing the banana cupcake on a round plate. Jack stuffs his hands into his pockets and shakes his head.

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