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“You need to decide what you want to do about New York and Holden. Then tackle the Quinn situation.” Mars smirked at his words and I narrowed my eyes at him. “What? I liked the visual, okay?”
I giggled, in spite of myself. “The franchise deal is intriguing, but I don’t know. I feel like Holden might be expecting more and it’s a lot to take on. I’m still getting this bakery off the ground...”
“True.”
“Mars?” I looked up at him. “Would you want to run the bakery in Midtown?”
“Girl, I’m sure Holden doesn’t want me. I’m not his type.” Mars shook his head, paused. “And I have a confession to make.”
“Wait—what? Now you’re scaring me.” I glanced at Mars, my stomach sinking. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve been hunting for a space of my own. Back in New York.” Mars wrung his hands, his lips pinched together.
“You’re leaving me?” I cried, my voice rising up a full octave. This day just went from bad to worse.
“Lanie,” Mars said, reaching out and rubbing my shoulder. “You knew I couldn’t stay forever. And you’re good here. Your bakery is established, you have Quinn…”
“Had,” I pointed out, my eyes welling up again.Damn it.I was finally a tiny bit stable, a tiny bit happy even, and now everything was crumbling around me.
“Listen—I’m not abandoning you. I was thinking…” Mars dragged out the word, “that instead of you going in with Holden on a bakery, you might want to go in with me?” He cocked his head, dark hair flopping over his eye.
“You’d want to do that? You don’t want your own bakery?”
“We’re a good team, Lanie. You could run the originalLanie’sdown here, and I could runLanie & Mars-Midtownin the city.”
“Really?” I asked, scrunching my nose up. “I mean, I love the idea, but I want you to be happy. You’ve done so much for me and you deserve your own space.”
“Lanie, we’re better together, always have been. Besides, I’ve made enough macarons to last me a lifetime. If you’ll agree to the anti-macaron-Midtown clause, we can sign the paperwork today.”
“You have paperwork?” I said, my eyes wide. “How? When?”
“You know I have tons of friends, babe. My cousin’s best friend is a realtor. He’s been scouting spaces for me and sending photos. I can get us a one-year lease for a reasonable price and we can assess again this time next year. But it would be enough to get us going at least.”
“Mars, I can’t even believe this. This…this…is great. Why didn’t you mention it earlier?”
“I didn’t want to get your hopes up. This space opened, like, three days ago. Plus, you and Quinn were getting serious…” His voice trailed off and I sniffed, brushing away a tear.
“Past tense,” I said.
Mars cleared his throat, deep and dramatic. “Not necessarily, Lanie. Look who just pulled up.”
“What?”
“Yep. There’s Quinn. See ya.”
Mars bolted out of the van before I could hit the lock button, sneaky bastard, and I was on my own.
I checked my reflection in the mirror, wiping the black traces of mascara from my face, attempting to smudge the streaks beneath my eyes into some kind of smoky look. Then I climbed out of the van and walked to the bakery door with my head held high, pointedly ignoring Quinn.
“Delaney,” Quinn called after me, his voice low and deep. “Can we talk?”
“Come on in.” I waved at him, then turned and headed straight back to the kitchen. The last thing I needed was customers overhearing the drama.
In the kitchen, I leaned up against the marble counter, crossing my arms over the tightness in my chest. I had no idea how this convo would go, I just hoped it would be better than our last one.
Quinn followed me into the kitchen, squaring up his shoulders, much like he did that first time he inspected the kitchen for me. He was hot, I’d give him that, even when he was disheveled.
“I’m sorry.” His voice was a low mumble and he kicked at the ground. “I’m sorry, Delaney. That’s what I should have said back at the cabin. I’m sorry for having a quick temper. I’m sorry for not trusting you. Most of all, I’m sorry for hurting you.”
