Page 63 of Stolen Goods
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Addison
Addy sat on the couch and stared at her phone as it vibrated on the coffee table, the screen lighting up with message after message. While Jo was in the shower, she’d recovered it from Thad’s duffel and put the battery back in. It hadn’t stopped moving ever since. Addy, on the other hand, was frozen—suffering from a severe case of indecision.
As soon as she picked up her phone, this whole thing, whatever it was, would be well and truly over. She’d seen the goodbye in Thad’s eyes. For him, the page of their little adventure had already turned. But Addy didn’t feel ready to let go—of him, yes, but more so of the person she’d become when she was around him. More confident. More courageous. More like the woman she always imagined she could be in her dreams. It was easy to be that version of herself with a man she never knew in a situation too wild to believe. But could she be her back home? In her small town? With people who’d known her all her life? Or would they laugh at the changes, say it was just a phase, fear she’d lost her mind instead of found it?
The bathroom door opened.
Addy grabbed her phone and stuffed it under the couch cushion.
Out of sight. Out of mind.
Jo made her way down the hall. Her wet hair was pulled up into a bun. She wore an oversized T-shirt, probably Nate’s, and a pair of worn leggings. Though everything about her saidcomfort, the way she was biting her lip said something else.
“So, um… Hi.”
Addy frowned.Hesitantwas not a word she would’ve used to describe the Jo she knew online. “Hi?”
“It’s just— I mean—” She sighed with ahumph, then quickly closed the distance between them. Her friend sat on the couch and launched into a ramble that brought a smile to Addy’s lips—because enthused rambling? That was Jo. “I never meant for us to meet this way. I mean, I don’t know how I hoped we’d meet. I sort of just envisioned you, me, and McKenzie in a kitchen, screaming and hugging and bouncing up and down as the baking gods smiled down on us. I never in a million years thought being friends with me would involve you in, well,thisside of my life. And that’s why we never met, because I wanted to wait until I was free, and I could tell you guys the truth, and I wouldn’t have to lie. I hate lying.Hate it.As difficult as that might be to believe, seeing as I’m clearly very good at it. But with you guys, I could always be myself, the person I always wanted to be but never really shared with anyone else. And I was too afraid of losing you if I told you the truth. So, I—”
“Jo,” Addy interrupted and grabbed her hand. “It’s okay. I understand.”
And she did. Jo and McKenzie had been the same thing to her—a safe space, where she could be whoever she wanted to be and disclose dreams she was too afraid to share with anyone else. They were the only two people who knew she wanted to open a cake shop of her own. They were the only people who understood her passion and her drive. They were her best friends, and Addy didn’t intend to lose that relationship over one lie, even if it was a bit of a doozy.
“I was really hoping you’d say that.” Jo released a heavy, thankful breath. A smile widened her lips. “And I know you probably want to call your parents, your sister, your friends, and you probably have a million other things you’d rather be doing, but I was sort of hoping one more thing. Do you, maybe, want to bake?”
An immediate sense of calm cut through all the tangled knots her indecision had spun.
“Yes,” Addy said as the relief washed over her. “There is honestly nothing else I want to do more.”
“Yay!” Jo cheered and jumped to her feet, pulling Addy with her. They crossed the small house in seconds. Jo threw open the cupboards and immediately began pulling ingredients from the shelves, dropping them onto the counter in complete disarray. “After Thad called, I had this feeling I’d need sugar. So I went to the store and bought…everything. I’ve got eggs and butter and flour and chocolate chips and— Oh, Funfetti! I love Funfetti. I mean, who doesn’t? No matter how trained, how gourmet, how fancy you are, you should always have room for Funfetti.” She paused to laugh under her breath. “I bet even McKenzie likes Funfetti, though she’d never say it.”
“Never,” Addy cut in with a smile. She followed Jo around the kitchen, organizing the supplies into wet ingredients, dry ingredients, or pre-packaged mixes.
They stepped back, examining their goods.
“What should we make?” Jo asked, crossing her arms.
“You mean, you didn’t have a plan in mind when you bought allllll of this?” Addy motioned to the counter and arched a brow.
“I know, I know, I sort of went kid-in-a-candy-store approach and grabbed whatever I thought we might need. I haven’t been able to focus all day. I can’t stop thinking about Thad, about what he must be going through right now, with his mom, with Emma, I just…” Jo shook her head. “I wish I could be there for him, but I can’t. Agents only. So instead, I bake.”
“I know.” Addy swallowed and tried to keep her voice even, though her thoughts raced.His mom? Is that who he’s seeing? And Emma? They sounded like two different people? Who is she?But she couldn’t just blurt it out. Not yet.
“So, what should we make? Actually?”
An idea popped into Addy’s head. “How about a code brown?”
“A code brown?” Jo said slowly, turning toward her with a wicked gleam in her eye.
“A code brown started this whole mess,” Addy offered with a shrug. “Maybe a code brown should finish it.”
“I like it.”
“Me too.”
“Okay!” Jo launched into motion. She never did anything slowly or halfway. Every move was a jump or a jolt. Every word was loud and excited. Every expression or gesture was felt fully. She was infectious. With each word, Jo’s energy sank a little deeper into Addy’s skin, easing the pressure and the pain and the worry, until she felt a little freer. “I don’t have any firm recipes for this one yet, so let’s have fun. See where our minds take us. You work on the pie crust and the cocoa glaze, and I’ll work on the chocolate ganache and the brownies.”
