Page 23 of Playing for Keeps
Mrs. Schilling swiped at her perfectly permed white hair. “Oh, I couldn’t.”
“Please. I don’t think we have room for all of them,” Caroline pleaded.
“Well, if you insist.”
“I do.” Caroline turned around and grabbed the nearest vase. The strong floral scent hit her like a shot to the heart.
After the Schillings said their thanks and goodbyes, Caroline marched to her place behind the counter.
“What is this?” Skye asked, following one step behind her.
“They’re from him.” Caroline punched open the till and slammed it shut.
Skye gawked, and Caroline turned her attention back to the espresso machine as she wiped the coffee grounds from the stainless steel. “Yep.”
“What did the note say?” Skye asked as she stuck her hand into Caroline’s apron pocket.
Fighting off Skye’s sneaky hands, Caroline smacked her. “What are you doing?”
Skye managed to grab the note and unfolded it. “Please call me. He said please,” Skye pointed out as she turned the note around.
Caroline propped her hands on her hips. How could Skye possibly take his side? Skye had been the only one she could confide in when Justin left. “Hepromised a lot of wonderful things, but he didn’t keep any of them. It’s hard to forget that.”
Skye’s shoulders fell as she lowered the note. “But maybe he meant to keep them.”
Narrowing her eyes, Caroline glared at her friend. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that maybe there’s more to it than what you know.”
“You were there! He got a better deal. He got the opportunity to play baseball. Major league, at that. I get it. It was the chance of a lifetime, but he…”
Caroline gulped down the lump in her throat. Having Justin around was tougher than she’d ever expected. In all truth, she hadn’t expected him to come back at all. There wasn’t anything left for him here.
“He made an impossible choice. Would you have been okay if he’d chosen to stay here with you instead of chasing his dream?” Skye asked.
“No. What I meant was, he could have asked me to come. He could have given us time to figure out the long-distance thing until…”
“Until what?” Skye asked. “Last I checked, you’ve never had any intention of leaving Redemption Ridge. All you’ve ever wanted was to run this bakery and live within throwing distance of your family. I support that, by the way. You have the best family, and I wouldn’t want to leave them either. But can’tyou see that it wasn’t going to work out without someone getting hurt?”
Fudge, Skye was right. It would have never worked out. Between their fighting families, his awful dad, and their different dreams, they would have never made it work. There would have always been something driving them apart.
Talking about it only made the hole in her chest ache more. She swiped the note from Skye and tore it to shreds over the trashcan. Justin was back, and according to the internet, he was looking for someone to cuddle this Christmas. Well, it sure as sugar wasn’t going to be her!
They’d fallen in love one Christmas, but their relationship hadn’t survived long enough to see a second.
Caroline swiped the back of her hand over her misty eyes and set her jaw. She couldn’t lose herself every time she remembered him.
Grabbing a vase from the checkout counter, she moved toward the small tables in the back of the bakery. “Let’s spread these flowers out. Can you cover things if I leave early?”
Skye didn’t move to help with the flowers. Instead, she stood behind the counter with her lips pinched together and nodded.
“Thanks.” Caroline placed the flowers on a table and untied her apron. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
8
CAROLINE
Aquiet knock on Caroline’s bedroom door pulled her attention from the video of a baker decorating a cake with pink and purple paw prints.
