Page 85 of Unexpected Love
Cal whoops for joy, and behind him, a siren blares.
“Damn, tones are dropping, babe. Guess you’ll have to save the bad news for later. But hell yeah.” He’s runningthrough the firehouse. “We did it! I’ll call you later. Love you.”
And the phone goes dead.
“Did he…?” I’m too stunned to finish the sentence.
Dani’s mouth drops open as she stares at my phone with wide eyes. “Did he just tell you he loves you for the first time to end a phone call? What a half-ass chickenshit.”
Maggie goes to the back, laughter trailing behind her, and Dani follows to help with rotating the next platters of baked goods. We’ve fallen into a steady conversation of planning while plating and storing Maggie’s cookies, when my cell rings.
The caller ID shows Lissette’s contact picture. It’s one of the two of us from years ago, back when things were easy between us. It’s been too long since we had that effortless communication between us. Maybe spending time with Maggie has helped me see how much I’ve missed with Lissette.
“Hey, girl.” My voice is overly bright when I answer.
“Hey, are you at your shop?”
I glance out Maggie’s front window, and across the street, standing on the sidewalk and peering in the window of my coffee shop, stands Lissette.
“Uh, no.” Before I say anything else, her shoulders drop, her chin falling to her chest, and that little piece of my heart that has been reserved only for my best friend pinches. We really need to settle this divide between us. “But lucky for you, I’m across the street at the bakery and can be there in a sec,” I say, infusing my tone with the joy I was feeling before I saw her obvious discomfort.
Pausing to gesture to Maggie that I’m headed out but will be back, I push through the door, waving to Lissette even as I end the call and slip my phone in my pocket.
“Hey, you didn’t have to stop what you were doing,” she starts, but I wave away her concern.
“It’s not a problem,” I say, avoiding meeting her eyes by making a big show of slipping the key into the lock.
With a flourish, I invite her in. “I’m glad you’re here. Come on in.”
Just inside the door, she pauses. “Wow. This looks so great.”
Relief is heady and instant, washing over me as I blow out the breath I’d been holding. “I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear you liked it.”
Wide, expressive eyes whip to mine. “Oh, Jules. I’m so sorry. I’ve been a shitty friend. I should’ve been here helping you all along, instead of just giving you lip service.”
I want so badly to just wipe the past few weeks away. To forget that there’s a giant divide between us. Maybe we’ll never get back to the close friendship that we had before. Maybe I didn’t realize that I even held resentment for all the ways we haven’t been there for each other, but in this moment, I’m just glad that she’s here.
“Thank you for saying that. And thank you for being here now. Now come on in, I have so much to show you.”
She doesn’t stay long, and by the time she leaves, we’ve cleared the air between us.
Dani comes in with a sleepy Charlie and takes her upstairs for a nap with a plan for her to come get me when Charlie wakes, and then we’ll go have a celebratory dinner with Cal at the station.
I take a few moments to light the candles on the tables and in the front window, take some photos for my website, and then spend the next few hours soaking in the ambiance I’ve created while updating my website and social media sites.
My phone buzzes on the countertop next to me. I snatch it up to see Maggie’s contact. The front door chimes as I clickfinishon my last update. “One sec, Dani. Almost done.” I swipe to accept Maggie’s call. “Hey, girl.”
“Oh my god, Jules, I think I just saw Dani’s creepy dude.”
An ominousclickmakes me freeze, and I cut my eyes to the door.
“Jules?” Fear laces her voice.
I swallow, staring at the barrel of a gun and the wild eyes of the man holding it. He gestures for me to put the phone down.
“Thanks, Maggie. Can I call you back?” I end the call without waiting for her reply.
“Where’s the bitch?” His voice isn’t nearly as sinister as he wants it to be. He’s small, short, and wiry. His clothes hang off of him. If it weren’t for the gun, I think I could probably take him.
