Page 2 of Loving Josy
Honey. The word coils around my heart like a noose, tightening with every syllable.
I swallow hard, my throat dry as sandpaper, but my feet refuse to move. He never mentioned seeing anyone.
Noah smiles at her, that grin—the one I’ve always thought was meant for me—spreading across his face. And then, before I can process what’s happening, he leans in and kisses her. It’s not a quick peck. It’s deep, passionate, and unrestrained, his hand sliding to the back of her neck to pull her closer. Her hands grip his shirt, holding him there as if she never wants to let go.
When he finally pulls back, he’s grinning again, his voice warm and teasing. “When I’m done eating and hanging out with Josy, I’ll come to your place. Make sure to wear something sexy for me. I want to see you ride me.”
The earth tilts beneath me.
My stomach churns, a sickening cocktail of heartbreak and humiliation rising in my chest. My vision blurs as tears sting my eyes, but I can’t look away.
“Of course. Don’t take too long!” The woman laughs softly, brushing her fingers over his jaw before stepping back. He watches her leave, his gaze lingering, and then he turns toward the tavern, unaware of my presence just a few feet away.
I stand frozen in place, my breath hitching painfully in my throat. The image of them together is seared into my mind, shattering everything I thought I knew about Noah—about us.
I spin on my heel and stride back to my car, each step faster than the last. Tears threaten to spill, but I won’t let them. Not here. Not yet.
Once inside, I shut the door and grip the steering wheel with trembling hands. The tavern fades into the distance as I speed down the dark road, the faint glow of its lights disappearing in my rearview mirror.
When I’m finally alone, away from the echo of his voice and the crushing weight of his betrayal, the tears come in a torrent.
How could I have been so blind? All this time, I thought we were building something real, something more. I let myself believe that the way he smiled at me, the way he listened, meant something deeper.
But to him, I was just Josy. Just a friend.
With tears streaming down my face, I make a vow to myself. I’ll never let Noah hurt me again.
Never.
Chapter One
Josy
10 years later
“Josy, are you almost done?” My best friend Violet is standing at the door to my tiny office. Today she is wearing a pink shirt with my coffee shop logo and jeans. Her blond hair is tight in a high pony tail and her face is free of makeup. She is stunning without even trying.
“Yeah. Head over and pick up the pizza. I will be done in about fifteen minutes,” I answer her.
Today we have a movie night at my house, and I can’t be late.
“Get a move on, woman. The pizza will be cold if you arrive late. Besides, Adrian hates to wait.”
“I know. I’ll be fast. I promise,” I say with an innocent smile.
“Yeah, yeah.” Violet chuckles while she turns and leaves my office.
I take a deep breath as I finish working on the paperwork needed to secure the new space for my second coffee shop location. After five years of running the best coffee shop inHoney Springs, Josy’s Sweet Shop, I am finally ready to branch out and open a new shop in Sweet Springs.
I was doing okay the first four years after opening the shop, not what I was hoping for, but I was not in the red. Then Violet and her son Adrian moved to Honey Springs after she divorced her asshole husband. She needed to be as far away from her ex as possible, so I told her to move into my guest house. She didn’t hesitate and drove all the way from Maryland to start over in my small town. Violet started working at the shop and offered to help with my marketing. Since she was majoring in marketing before she dropped out of college, I thought it was a great idea to let her do something that she was passionate about. I eagerly accepted her offer since I detest the marketing side of owning a business. Her help took a huge weight off my shoulders.
I don’t know how she did it, but she created all kinds of social media campaigns, revamped the website, and made my shop thrive. Within a few months, my sales were skyrocketing, and I saw new faces every day. I never thought that the key to success was just a good marketing strategy, but thanks to Violet, I can now branch out. Violet has worked so hard in the past year, and I want to surprise her by offering her the opportunity to co-own the shop with me. She is close to finishing her degree in marketing and can keep using all her skills in the shop as a part-owner. I just hope she says yes. It would be a dream to own the business with her.
Since Violet arrived in Honey Springs, everything feels lighter, as if the town itself has taken a deep breath and exhaled into a new kind of brightness. I didn’t realize how much I needed her until she was here; her presence filling the cracks I’d grown so used to living with. It’s not that I wasn’t happy before—I love my coffee shop, the scent of freshly brewed coffee and the buzz of early-morning customers. But Violet is different. She’s family, and I missed her fiercely.
Growing up as an only child, family always felt like a small, fragile thing held together by my grandparents’ love but stretched thin by my mother’s absence. I never had many friends, and socializing always felt like a skill I hadn’t quite mastered. For years, I buried my loneliness under the grind of work, pouring myself into my coffee shop. Seven days a week, I opened the doors, greeted customers, and stayed late into the evening, collapsing into bed each night too exhausted to feel the ache of solitude.
But now, Violet and Adrian are here, and it’s like the world has shifted on its axis. I no longer eat dinner alone at my small kitchen table, staring out the window at the dark land beyond. Now, the table is full of laughter, spilled juice, and stories of the day. Weekends are no longer endless shifts at the shop; they’re afternoons at the park, movie nights, and baking cookies that Adrian insists on decorating with as many sprinkles as they can hold.
