Page 85 of Ashes of Us
"You don't have to decide now," I said.
"No, I've decided." She set down her cup with a soft click. "I'll do it."
"You sure?"
"It's a contract. I signed it. Plus…” She lifted her chin slightly, that stubborn tilt I remembered. "I'm not going to turn down three hundred potential customers just because you'll be there."
Just because you'll be there.The words hung between us, acknowledging everything we weren't saying.
"Okay." I turned toward the door, then remembered. "The folder… Invoice details, timeline, Morrison's notes about dietary restrictions. It's all there."
"Thanks."
I turned and put my hand on the door handle. The cold metal was grounding. "I'll make sure someone else from the station handles the coordination. Carlos, probably. You won't have to?—"
"Liam."
I stopped.
"We're going to run into each other." Her voice was steady and matter-of-fact. "Riverside's not that big. And I'm not going to hide from you, and you're apparently not going to hide from me, so..." She shrugged. "We'll figure it out."
The words were practical, but there was something underneath them. Not forgiveness, but.. acknowledgment. That we existed in the same space, that we'd have to learn to navigate it.
"Yeah," I said. "We'll figure it out."
She was backlit by the warm light of the display cases, hair still falling loose around her face, thumb pressed against her coffee cup. Beautiful. Tired. Determined to succeed despite the chain store, despite November being slow, despite everything.
"Night, Piper."
"Goodnight."
I pushed open the door. The cold hit immediately, sharp and clarifying. Behind me, I heard the lock clicking into place.
CHAPTER 33: PIPER
Three quiet weeks later, I was elbow-deep in a box of tablecloths when I heard the knock.
"We're closed!" I called without looking up. The charity breakfast was tomorrow, and I had exactly fourteen hours to transform the fire station's community hall into something that didn't look like a glorified garage. No time for last-minute customers.
The knock came again.
"I said we're—" I turned, ready to point at the very obviousCLOSEDsign, and froze.
Liam stood outside, hands shoved in his jacket pockets. He wasn’t in his captain's uniform—just jeans and a henley that had seen better days. He raised one hand in an awkward wave, then pointed at the door.
For a second, I considered pretending I hadn't seen him. Maybe I could dive behind the counter maybe.
Very mature, Piper, I thought.
I walked over and unlocked the door. "If you're here to tell me the breakfast is canceled?—"
"No. No, nothing like that." He shifted his weight. “I asked Carlos to come help you load everything, but his kid's sick. Hadto take him to urgent care. So I…” He stopped. Started over. "Do you need help?"
I stared at him. "You came to help me load?"
"Only if you want. If you'd rather do it yourself, or if you have someone else coming, I can?—"
"It's fine." The words came out before I could think about them. Because the truth was, I did need help. My bakery van was parked out back, and I had about two hundred pounds of supplies to load before my back completely gave out. "You can help."
