Page 73 of By Your Side
I sighed, staring into my cup. “It’s nothing. I’ve just been tired.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Tired, huh? Or maybe you’re avoiding telling me that he hasn’t been around, and it’s making you twitchy.”
I froze for a second too long, and her grin went feral.
“I knew it,” she said, leaning in like we were plotting a jewel heist. “Something happened, and you’re going to tell me so I can fix it for you.”
“Nothing happened,” I lied badly. “We’ve both just been busy. That’s all.”
Piper waved a hand. “Busy my ass. The man practically lived at the bar since your divorce. Now he’s not coming around, and you’re acting like someone stole your emotional support mechanic.”
I couldn’t help the little huff of a laugh that escaped me. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I’mright,” she corrected. Then her expression softened, her voice lowering just enough to feel like a hug. “You like him—a lot. You’re probably in love with him. And now he’s pulling back, and you don’t know why. That’s what’s bothering you.”
I looked down at the swirl of coffee in my mug. “Maybe. Also, how do you know everything?”
I bit my tongue, feeling the sting of truth in Piper’s words. Of course, I knew why Hunter was pulling back, even if I’d never said it out loud. The secret I kept between us was a wall only I could see—one I kept fortifying with every excuse, every time I tried not to think about his absence, every time I changed the subject when anyone got too close. Keeping things between us quiet had seemed safer, easier, but when I watched the disappointment flicker in his eyes, it gnawed at me. I told myself I was protecting myself and the kids from Eli’s bullshit. But in doing so, I was hurting him, and now I knew it.
“I don’t knoweverything, but I can guess.” Thankfully, she didn’t push the subject. “But you’ll tell me everything later because you know I’m here for you, and you also know I’ll do anything you need to help you through this. Right now, we have a birthday-slash-grand reopening to plan. Or rather, I’ll let you approve or deny a few things I’ve already planned.”
I blinked. “Wait—what?” Only Piper could jump from subject to subject like this.
Before she could answer, my phone buzzed on the table.
A text from Jasper. He should be at the bar getting ready to open for the night.
Jasper: The walk-in cooler must have gone out overnight. Almost everything inside is warm and spoiled. I’m so sorry, Paige.
The bottom dropped out of my stomach. I stared at the words, my throat tightening.
Me: I’ll be right there.
So much for a day off.
My first instinct was to call Hunter and tell him what happened, ask if he could take a look, or at least hear his voice. But I didn’t.
Because I wasn’t sure if I could anymore.
All week, we’d kept in touch—little things, nothing real—but it wasn’t the same. Not the easy rhythm that had slipped into my days when he was showing up every night. Not the warmI’ll see you tonightthat had made me feel safe in ways I hadn’t realized I needed.
A swirl of guilt tightened in my chest. Was he struggling with something right now, needing me, and I wasn’t there to notice? What did I really mean to him? Was I making things harder by keeping my distance? The silent question pulsed beneath everything: should I let myself be with him, choosing what feels right for us, instead of worrying about Eli and what people might think?
But the answer felt tangled. I wanted to do the right thing, to protect everyone, but I wasn’t sure whose happiness I was actually safeguarding. Maybe what mattered most was being honest with myself—and with Hunter—about what I wanted, and letting the rest fall into place.
Now there was space between us. A small space, but enough that I could feel the draft. What if I had pushed him away completely? What if my decision to keep us quiet had sounded more like rejection than self-preservation? What if I’d lost him for good? What if I’d ruined everything? I turned my phone face down on the table, like that could shut the whole thought out.
Piper caught the change in my expression instantly. “What is it?”
“The cooler at the bar died sometime overnight. The food is ruined.” My voice came out thin. “I’ve been fixing things, piece by piece, and this will be a huge hit. It’s like I need to babysit that place. Every time I take a day off, something goes wrong.”
For a split second, a darker thought swirled through my mind: what if someone had messed with the cooler on purpose? Was it really just an electrical issue, or was there something else going on behind the scenes—something I wasn’t seeing? The suspicion made my skin prickle, but after a moment, I shook it off. I was probably just being paranoid, letting stress get the best of me. I forced myself to take a deep breath and focus on what I could control, reminding myself that sometimes things really do just break.
Piper’s gaze flicked down to the phone in my lap, then back to my face. There was the faintest twitch at the corner of her mouth—like she knew exactly who I wanted to call but wasn’t going to say it out loud. Not yet.
Her hand slid across the table to squeeze mine. “We’ll figure it out.”
The hum of the bakery filled the pause between us—the whir of mixers in the kitchen, the soft clink of a cake stand being set in the front case. But under it all, there was the same restless pulse in my chest because I wasn’t sure if the thing I needed to fix most was the cooler at the bar or the space between me and Hunter.
