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“Sandwich, Cord?” asked Jake, appearing on the other side of the bars to my cell. He knelt and slipped something wrapped in parchment paper through the inch of space underneath. “It’s bologna on white with processed cheese. Hope you like it.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Sounds disgusting.”
Jake smiled. “It will be.”
Suddenly a phone pinged. It was Jake’s. He removed it from his pocket and glanced at the screen. “Well, well, my lunch will surely be a whole lot better than yours, Cord. Guess who just texted me? Your girl Sami’s on her way here now, and what’s more, she’s bringing me a fresh-cooked meal. It’s bound to be almost as delicious as she is, wouldn’t you say?”
My lips tightened. I wouldn’t take the bait and respond to his jibes. He was just trying to rile me. But inside I was seething. He knew how in love with Sami I was. He and the girl from the next town over he’d been dating at the time—what was her name—had even gone on double dates with us to the movies. A thought flashed into my mind that turned my stomach even more than the idea of a stale bologna sandwich. Was it possible that Jake and Sami were an item now? Could they be dating? That would explain, at least somewhat, why everyone had gotten so upset when I showed up at the Cuddle Cup after having sent Sami a bouquet of her favorite flowers. My fingernails dug into my palms at the idea of my former friend and teammate dating the only woman I’d ever loved. The one I loved so much that after she broke up with me, I vowed never to set foot back in Love again. For fear of what seeing her beautiful face would do to my heart. Which was exactly what it was doing now—breaking it, all over again.
Chapter Six
SAMI
“Thanks girl. I owe you one.” Heather said, collapsing into a chair at the kitchen table and fanning her face. “I told Jake I’d bring him his favorite lunch today, a bacon turkey club on Texas toast and a side of potato soup from the Cuddle Cup, but I just couldn’t manage it.”
“No problem at all, I was happy to make the delivery for you,” I said, placing the bag with our own lunches on the center island and turning to the cupboards. “The station is just around the corner from the café, so it was easy enough to drop it off. Now, where do you keep the plates?”
“Second upper cabinet from the left,” Heather replied as she pulled another chair closer to her and lifted her swollen feet onto it. “I hope little Sugar Dumpling here arrives soon. She’s certainly taking her sweet time, since she’s already a week overdue.”
I smiled as Heather rubbed her round belly and unwrapped the sandwiches I’d brought from the café, setting each on a plate along with the cups of mixed fresh fruit.
“Water?” I asked.
“Please,” Heather nodded. “Glasses are in the cupboard next to the frig.”
I finished fixing our lunches and brought them to the table, taking a seat across from Heather.
“I’m glad we could get together today,” I admitted. “I really need someone to talk to right now, and Leann, well, Leann is just being Leann.”
My friend laughed. “Your cousin is a stubborn one, that’s for sure. She should have been born with red hair with her fiery temper.”
“No kidding,” I agreed, popping a grape into my mouth, and enjoying the small burst of sweetness. “She’s as worked up right now as I am.”
Heather took a long drink of water and set her glass back on the table. “I can’t imagine how having Cord back in town must be making you feel. Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I replied automatically, picking up half of my chicken Ceaser wrap and staring at it. “No. Seeing him again brought everything back like it was yesterday and we were all in high school again. He looks older, definitely a lot more polished. But it was still the same Cord…my Cord. Except he obviously wasn’t the type of guy I thought he was. It makes me so livid I could scream. How could I have been so blind?”
Heather tucked a stray lock of her brown hair back into her messy bun. “You were a teenager, and in love. It’s easy to ignore red flags when hormones are racing through your body faster than cats on a mouse’s tail.”
I smiled wryly while I chewed. “No kidding. But I honestly would never have seen it coming. He always told me that his plan was to use his scholarship to attend college, and then come back to Love to start our life together. We talked about our future, even planned what our dream home would look like someday.”
Reaching across the table, Heather patted my hand as I felt my lip wobble and eyes well with tears.
“I’m so sorry, honey,” she said. “Jake and I were just as surprised as you when he cut off all ties after learning you were pregnant. Jake thought he knew him better than that as well. You’ve had to struggle to raise Camden on your own. Dead beat dads are the worst. Have you considered going after Cord in court? At least then you’d be able to get some child support, if not any actual help with parenting.”
“No, no,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t care about his money. Thankfully the café is doing well, and I have enough to get by. I definitely don’t want to involve lawyers, either. That would just open a whole other can of worms given how well-known Cord is. The last thing I want to have the paparazzi stalking me and snapping pictures of me and Camden.” I shuddered and speared a strawberry with my fork.
“Yeah, that’s totally understandable,” said Heather. She picked up her patty melt and took a bite. “Mmm. This tastes like heaven.”
I burst out laughing. “I still can’t believe you asked for a patty melt, since you’ve been a vegetarian since you were fifteen.”
She giggled and licked the grease from her lips. “What can I say? Sugar Dumpling had a craving for meat.”
“You’re about to be a mother to two girls,” I said. “What a blessing! Cord and I always dreamed of having a big family since we’re both only children. We planned on having at least four kids, maybe five.”
Heather cocked her head to the side and chewed thoughtfully. “Hm,” she said after swallowing, “Do you think part of the reason why you’re so angry is because you never got over him?”
I stared at her in surprise. “Of course I’m over him! I got over him the minute I learned that he didn’t want anything to do with the baby.”
