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“Still. Sometimes it’s cold.”
I giggled, leaning up against the counter. “You can borrow the van anytime you want, you know.”
“Thanks, babe. I came in early because I thought you might be tired this morning, given your exit from the bar last night with a certain gorgeous firefighter. Figured you might need a little extra sleep.” Mars paused to sprinkle more flour on the dough, then resumed with the rolling pin.
“Thanks,” I said, shoving down my annoyance at the loss of alone time.
“You don’t sound too grateful.” He cut his eyes at me, and I answered with a sigh.
“No, it’s not that.” I crossed to my purse, took out a stack of bills from last night’s winning, and thrust the fifty dollars at him.
Mars grinned. “I knew it! Lanie, you had zero chance of winning this bet.” He shoved the money into his pocket, smirking at me.
“Shut it,” I sighed, shaking my head.
“Was it really that terrible?” Mars abandoned the pie crust, dusting his hands on his apron before patting my shoulder. “Spill the tea.”
“No, it was good.”
“Oh-kay.” He crossed his arms, confused.
I dropped my head into my hands.
“Oh honey,” Mars crushed me in a hug. “He kissed and ran, didn’t he? I knew he’d be like that!” His voice rose in anger.
“Yes, but no, that’s not the situation. He had to help his dad out at the store this morning. He got me a latte and left me a note. He didn’t just ghost.”
Mars drew back, putting his hands on his hips. “He spent the night? Like, the entire night? Then what’s the problem?”
“I think this is going to be too complicated.” I bit my lip, stared at the ceiling. “And Holden called me yesterday.”
“Wait—what? Golden Holden? The asshole? When? Why?” Mars peppered me with questions, his cocoa eyes narrowed.
“Yep,” I said, twirling the end of my ponytail. “Right before the grand opening.”
“What did he want?”
“He wants me to open a bakery in Midtown. With him.”
“Whoa,” Mars said, sinking down onto the nearest bar stool. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Like I said—it’s complicated. Twenty-four hours ago, I would have jumped at the chance. But now…” My voice trailed off as I thought back to Quinn’s naked body in my bed last night.
“This is quite the predicament. Because I know you love NYC. But now you have a bakery here, plus a hot new fling to consider…”
I sighed again. “Yes on the bakery. Maybe on the fling. My brothers—especially Josh—are gonna flip when they find out. Josh might actually kill Quinn. And...”
“And what?”
“And he kind of has a heartbreaker reputation. Even my friend Lindsey confirmed that.”
“Eh, small-town rumors, I’m sure. You said yourself he didn’t ghost you. I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Mars said.
“Plus, this is violating my number one dating rule.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“No it’s not. Your number one dating rule is only hook up with hot guys. Check. Mission accomplished.” Mars stared at me, a dreamy look crossing his face.
“Not that rule. I mean, that one’s obvious. The other rule.”
