Page 9 of Fragile Heart

We head down the sidewalk until we see the ‘Road Closed’ signs. They have the street blocked off, but there’s a small crowd of people standing at the temporary fence watching the scene.

There aren’t as many people here as I thought there would be, but I guess it is the middle of the day on a Friday. Most people are probably at work or school.

“Oh, hey. I made cookies. Want one?” I ask after we get situated.

“Hell yes. I can’t believe you didn’t give me one as soon as I got in the car.”

I laugh but open my bag and grab a cookie.

“You know I love these.” She takes a bite and moans a little. “God, these are so good. You really need to open that bakery.”

I give her a small smile. I’ve always dreamed of opening my own bakery one day. I even went to college for business to know how to run the place and do all the baking. I had it all planned out. But then my world crashed down around me, and I couldn’t bring myself to follow through with it. I pushed all my dreams aside because I needed to just keep myself afloat.

Maybe I’ll get there one day.

We turn our attention to the movie set. There’s so much happening that I’m not sure where to look. People are everywhere: on the roof, in the middle of the road, setting up a green screen, walking around with makeup, water, and papers. It looks chaotic.

I spot Vaughn huddled with Hudson, an older man, and a woman who looks vaguely familiar. I can only assume they’re all in deep conversation about the upcoming scene, occasionally pointing at something or looking around like they’re trying to figure out exactly what needs to be done. It’s kind of cool seeing a movie from this perspective.

Vaughn’s gaze wanders until he finally lands on Holly and me. A gorgeous smile breaks out on his face, and he hits Hudson with the back of his hand and tilts his head in our direction. Hudson’s facial expression doesn’t change at all upon noticing us, not that I expected it to. This indifference seems to be normal for him. I’ve almost come to terms with the fact that he’s just not who I thought he was.

Vaughn excuses himself from the group and walks over to us. “You came.”

“Yeah, we wanted to see what all the talk was about. Oh, this is my best friend, Holly,” I tell him like it’s totally normal for me to be conversing with a celebrity. How I’m not sweating bullets right now is a mystery.

Vaughn looks Holly up and down, very obviously checking her out. “Holly.” He says her name slowly. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Vaughn.” I can’t help but smile as her cheeks turn the faintest shade of pink. He looks at her hand and sees her half-eaten cookie. “I hope you brought some for everyone.”

“Oh, Quinn made these. They’re seriously the best cookies in the world,” Holly tells him as she takes another bite.

He looks back at me. “Is this true? You have the secret to the best cookies in the world?”

I laugh. “I think she’s exaggerating, but I have plenty if you’d like to try one.”

“I never turn down cookies.” I reach into my bag and grab one for him. Holly and I watch as he bites into it, impatiently waiting for his verdict. I never thought Vaughn Slayter would be eating one of my cookies, but here we are, and here he is.

“Oh my God,” he says after swallowing his first bite. “You weren’t lying.” He looks over his shoulder. “Hudson, come here, man.”

My stomach turns as Hudson’s eyes meet mine for the briefest of seconds. He doesn’t look happy, but I try my best to not let my smile falter.

Hudson hesitantly walks over to us, and Vaughn tells him, “Dude. Quinn here makes the best cookies I’ve ever eaten in my life.” My heart fills with pride. People compliment me all the time for my baking, but I always worry they’re just saying it because they know me. But Vaughn has no ties to me. He has nothing to gain or lose from liking my cookies.

Hudson looks from Vaughn to me, his blue eyes looking brighter in the sunlight. “Oh yeah?”

I nod, unsure of what to say now.

“Can I try one?”

I blink in surprise. I thought for sure he’d walk away, not caring at all about what Vaughn said. I nod and wordlessly grab another cookie from my bag.

I watch him take a bite and chew. He keeps his eyes on the cookie in his hand. His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, and I find myself wondering what it might feel like to kiss him there.

I mentally slap myself for momentarily falling back into my childhood crush. This is not the man I thought he would be. This is a total stranger. A stranger who doesn’t even really like me.

“Not bad,” he finally says.Not bad.I hate that I’m excited that Hudson Porter thinks my cookies are ‘not bad.’

I smile at him but can’t bring myself to say anything. I’m not sure anything I said right now would be intelligible anyway. My brain feels scrambled from watching Hudson chew. What is wrong with me?

Thankfully, Holly breaks me from my trance. “So, which one of you gets to be on the roof?” she asks.

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