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“No, I didn’t!” Frank says behind me.
I ignore him. “And I’m going to buy it soon. So, um…” I bat my eyelashes. “You can’t.”
“I can’t what?”
“Buy it.”
“But I did.” He raises his hand, revealing the keys in his palm. “See?”
“Yeah, well, that was a mistake,” I say. “A mistake easily rectified by you handing me those keys and… leaving.”
The man blinks, a smile forming on his lips. “Is that right?”
I lay a hand on my chest. “I know. It’s so embarrassing, but you know Frank. Well, I know Frank. And he’s been going through a really rough spring, so…” I sigh. “It’s just one of those things, you know. Innocent mistake.”
“I see.”
“So, then, we all agree this sale today never happened?” I say.
“No.”
My smile drops. “No?”
“No, that’s not gonna work for me,” he says.
“What part doesn’t work for you?”
“The whole thing.”
“Why not?” I ask through my teeth.
“Because I came here today to buy this space. And then I did. And… now I own it.” He jingles the keys in his palm. “I paid the money. I signed the papers. So, ma’am, I’m sorry you didn’t get here first, but?—”
“Sir. Mr. Scott.”
“Smolders,” he corrects.
I hold my breath tightly. “I’m a local. I was born and raised here in Small Town.”
“Congratulations,” he says through his smirk.
“I know what the people of this town want and what they want is a bakery. My bakery. The one that I am going to open here,” I say, pointing at the floor.
“No,” he says. “The one you were going to open here. I’m sure the folks of Small Town would love a bakery, but it’s not going to be here, honey.”
A bolt of anger strikes deep as he says honey, but I keep it bottled up.
Instead, I smile. Time for a new tactic.
“Sir...” I say.
“Ma’am?” he replies.
“You wouldn’t crush a young mother’s dreams in front of her child, would you?” I ask.
He glances at Liam for a second, then hops his eyes back to me. “I would, actually,” he says.
I drop my smile again, sinking it into a sneer. “You would?”
