Adam still wasn’t sure his decision to make known his interest in Lauren the person, and not just Lauren the business owner, was the right one. He was making a big gamble, in more ways than one. But his conversation with Arden had stuck with him, making him look at the situation from a different angle. He still wasn’t going to push Lauren or give her any reason to doubt him, but he couldn’t ignore that he thought about her way more than a passing acquaintance would warrant.
And he trusted Arden. She’d been through a type of hell he’d never wish on anyone, and she’d come back to Blue Falls a broken version of herself. But Neil’s friendship and support, based partly on his own experience with trauma, had helped her regain her strength—both physically and mentally—and their friendship had grown into love.
He didn’t know if that’s what lay ahead for him and Lauren, but he wanted to find out. Arden had suggested he go slowly but to be honest at the same time.
And so he was here feeling admittedly a little silly trying to win her cake. He had to land on the winning number because there was no doubt in his mind that whoever did was going to choose the cake by the famous Brazos Baker.
He glanced over to where she stood with another woman, who looked a good deal like her. Must be her sister, Violet.
The music stopped so suddenly that he nearly bumped into the woman in front of him.
“Number eleven is the lucky winner,” Mandy called out.
He looked down and saw that he stood on number seven. Damn. Maybe he should have bribed his sister-in-law to allow him to win.
The kid standing on the winning spot hurried to the table and chose a tray of cupcakes decorated with superheroes. Unbelievably Adam had another chance. But his excitement dimmed when none other than Tim Wainwright stepped onto the spot vacated by the winner.
Adam’s jaw clenched. Tim couldn’t win Lauren’s cake. The man already had enough going for him, and the memory of seeing him dancing with Lauren raked across Adam’s nerves like coarse sandpaper.
“Good luck, everyone,” Mandy called out as she started the music again. She looked at Adam, and he could see in her eyes that she was pulling for him. Especially considering one part of his competition.
He made eye contact with Lauren as he walked the circle. She offered a small smile, and he liked to think that maybe she was rooting for him, as well. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if the entire gym full of people were on his side, it would all come down to the luck of the draw.
The music seemed to go on forever. When it finally stopped and Mandy identified five as the winner, Adam pressed his lips together to keep from cursing. Wainwright stood on the winning number. And he went right to Lauren’s cake.
Feeling like a fool, Adam started to step out of the circle. But before he could, Violet stepped up next to him.
“Give me one of your tickets,” she said.
“What?”
“Hurry, before the music starts again.”
He did as requested then watched as Violet strode back to where Tim was talking to Lauren, probably trying to convince her that his winning her cake was some sort of sign she should have dinner with him. Adam damn near growled like a bear about to charge. Violet wrapped her arm around her sister’s, said something brief and led Lauren toward the circle. Lauren looked startled by her sister’s actions, but the disappointed look on Tim’s face made Adam’s day.
As soon as Lauren stepped onto her spot, Mandy started the music. This time, the round seemed to go quickly, but then Adam spent the entire time watching Lauren up ahead of him while trying to appear as if he wasn’t.
When the music stopped yet again and Mandy announced the winning number, Adam glanced down to find he’d finally landed on the right spot. Maybe this was still salvageable. He crossed to the table and spotted Keri’s red velvet cake. Though Lauren might be the more famous baker, Keri’s talent was a known quantity. He couldn’t go wrong with anything she’d made.
“Excellent choice,” Keri said from the opposite side of the table as she extended a plastic knife and two forks.
He hadn’t seen anyone else offered utensils.
“Which one did you choose?” Violet asked as she once again ushered her older sister where Violet evidently wanted her to go.
He lifted his prize. “Keri’s red velvet.”
“It looks delicious,” Lauren said and smiled at Keri.
“I’m sure Adam can’t eat the entire thing,” Keri said. “Why don’t you help him out?”
Adam suddenly felt as if he’d been sucked into one of Verona Charles’s master matchmaking plans. And for once in his life he didn’t mind.
“She’s right,” he said. “But if I take this home, I’ll likely not get more than a single slice.”
Lauren looked uncertain. “I need to tend to the girls.”
“Two little babies don’t need three people to take care of them,” Violet said. “Papa Ed and I will be fine. We’ll check out what else this lovely carnival has to offer.”
Adam didn’t miss the “you’re going to pay for this later” look that Lauren shot her sister. But when she turned toward him, Lauren offered a smile.
“Looks like I get to enjoy some dessert. Been eyeing that cake all night.”
Adam nodded toward the bleachers on the top level of the gym. “We can watch all the action from up there.”
“Sounds good.”
He led the way up the stairs, all the way to the top, where they could lean against the wall. Once they were seated, he handed her a fork then sliced two generous helpings. The moment Lauren took her first bite she closed her eyes and made an “mmm” of appreciation. Adam had to focus his attention on his own slice to keep from thinking about how that sound affected him.
“It’s a good thing I’m opening a barbecue restaurant instead of a bakery here,” Lauren said. “The two things I’ve had that Keri made have been to die for.”
“I’m sure your cake was delicious, too.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he was fully aware of how annoyed he sounded.
“You don’t like Tim, do you?”
He shrugged. “Friendly rivalry is all.”
Lauren laughed in that way that said she didn’t believe him. “I’m not sure friendly is how I’d describe it.”
“Would you believe not openly hostile?”
“Yeah, barely.”
“I hope that doesn’t make you think worse of me.”
“No, I understand. He’s a bit full of himself. He tried to convince me that since he’d won dessert, we should go out to dinner first.”
“I knew it.” Adam shoved another bite of cake in his mouth.
“I wasn’t going to go. He’s not my type.”
He looked over at her and decided not to hold in the question that surged to the front of his mind. “What is your type?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. I thought I knew once, but that didn’t turn out so well.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”
“No, it’s okay. I can’t let what happened rule the rest of my life.” As soon as she said the words, she looked surprised. As if she hadn’t meant to say them out loud or perhaps that she hadn’t had the realization before that moment.
It was the closest thing to an opening as he was likely to get.
“If I was to ask you out, would you think I’m no better than Wainwright?”
“I know you’re not the same as him, but I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”
“No pressure but we seem to get along well, and the truth is I really like you. Would it be easier if we started with a coffee?”
Lauren didn’t answer. Instead, she cut off another bite of cake with her fork. As she ate it, she looked out over all the activity down on the gym floor. He followed her gaze and spotted her sister pushing the double stroller toward the ladies room.
“Poop happens,” Lauren said.
“What?”
She pointed toward the bathroom. “Chances are either they’ve both gone doody in their diapers or one has and the other one will about the time Violet starts out of the bathroom.”
“Oh. For a minute there I thought you were equating a date with me with poop.”
“No, of course not.”
He took encouragement from how strong her response was, how she seemed horrified he’d thought such a thing.
“Is that a yes, then?”
He noticed the death grip she had on her fork and wondered if she was imagining it was her ex’s throat.
“Coffee and Danish at the bakery?” She sounded hesitant, as if she wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing.
“Sounds great.”
They settled on meeting the next morning before Lauren said she needed to get back to the hotel room and her family.
“I’ve been up since the crack of dawn, so I’m hitting the wall.”
He covered the remainder of the cake and accompanied Lauren back down to the floor.
“Thanks for the cake,” she said.
“You’re welcome. Still curious what yours tastes like.”
“Maybe you’ll get the chance to find out sometime.” The tentative smile that accompanied her words gave him hope that maybe their coffee date was just the beginning.
Had she just agreed to go on a date with Adam, a man she truly didn’t know all that well? By the smile he wore, she’d guess the answer was yes. She knew she should be more concerned, but oddly she wasn’t. Like he said, no pressure. Just coffee and a Danish. It wasn’t the same level of date seriousness as dinner, and since they were meeting at the bakery she could leave anytime she wanted.
Though would she really want to?
“See you tomorrow morning.” Adam looked as if he wanted to hug her goodbye, maybe even plant a kiss on her cheek, but she wasn’t ready for that—especially not in the midst of such a large crowd.
A crowd that included her sister, who’d taken one look at Adam and proceeded to push Lauren toward him. It was as if Violet had taken leave of her senses, developed sudden-onset amnesia regarding the past year and a half.
And yet Lauren had enjoyed sharing Adam’s cake with him high above the carnival activity.
After Adam disappeared into the crowd that was beginning to thin a little, Lauren couldn’t look away like she should have. Adam Hartley looked almost as good walking away as he did facing her.
“See anything interesting?” Violet’s voice was full of the kind of teasing that had filled their teenage years.
Instead of answering her sister’s question, Lauren turned toward Violet. “What was that?”
“What?” Violet did her best impersonation of innocence.
“You know what. You also know how I feel about getting involved with anyone else.”
Then why did you agree to the breakfast date?
“Phil was the king of the asses, but he was only one guy. The best way to stick it to him is to be happy.”
“I am happy.”
“To a point. But you’re young, beautiful and have a lot of love inside you to give.”
“I give it every day to my daughters, you, Mom, Papa Ed.”
“Not that kind of love. The kind that makes you feel whole and excited to wake up next to someone every morning.”
“I had that and look where it got me.”
“You didn’t really have it, sis, because it didn’t go both ways.”
“And you think some near stranger with a red velvet cake is the one to change that?”
“Maybe. You two seemed to be having a nice time up there.” Violet pointed toward the top level of the bleacher seating.
Lauren was tired of resisting a truth that she would never have expected to blossom at this point in her life—she really liked Adam, and not in a budding-friendship kind of way.
“Fine, you win.”
“What did you win?” Papa Ed asked as he walked up with two tired babies in tow. The bright-eyed twins that had gloried in all the attention paid to them earlier now sported droopy eyelids.
Violet smiled, obviously satisfied with herself. “Lauren just admitted she likes Adam.”
“He’s a nice young man,” Papa Ed said.
“Yeah, he is,” Lauren said.
“You don’t sound thrilled by that fact.”
“It just complicates everything.”
“Maybe you just think it does,” he said. “No denying you were burned, and badly, but it makes my heart happy to think of you finally moving past it enough to even consider seeing someone else.”
Lauren sighed. “It really doesn’t make sense though. Even if it could be something, I’m not going to be here in Blue Falls forever. And I don’t have it in me to do a long-distance relationship.”
“Stop thinking about all the obstacles there could be in the future,” Violet said. “Just enjoy the moment. Maybe it doesn’t have to be anything other than a bit of fun, which you deserve.”
Lauren looked down at her daughters. Harper was already asleep, and Bethany wasn’t far behind.
“Don’t even think about using these babies as an excuse why you can’t go out. Plenty of single moms date.”
“I’m aware.”
“Now, how do you feel about asking him out?”
“No need.”
“Lauren—”
“He already asked me to have coffee in the morning.”
For a moment, Violet didn’t seem to comprehend. But then her face lit up a moment before she squealed in obvious delight. The noise startled Bethany so much her eyes went wide.
“Sorry,” Violet said as she soothed Bethany. “Go to sleep, sweetie.”
That was all it took for Bethany’s eyes to close. “How do you do that?” Lauren asked her baby-whisperer sister.
“They already know that I’m the cool aunt who will let them get away with all manner of mischief when they’re older.”
“If your sister doesn’t disown you first.”
“Aren’t they just so precious?”
Lauren looked over to see Verona Charles eyeing the twins.
“Thank you. I think so.”
Verona touched Lauren’s shoulder in a gesture that said, “Of course you do, and rightly so.”
“Verona Charles, I’d like you to meet my sister, Violet, and my grandfather—”
“Ed.”
The sound of her grandfather’s name spoken by Verona in such utter disbelief caused Lauren to look at the older woman. She appeared as if she might faint.
“Verona, are you okay?” Lauren reached toward the other woman in case she was having a stroke or a heart attack.
Instead of answering Lauren’s question, Verona continued to stare at Papa Ed. And when Lauren shifted her gaze to her grandfather, he wore such an expression of sorrow that it was like seeing him the day of Nana Gloria’s funeral all over again.
Before Lauren could ask what was going on, Verona took a sudden step back.
“Excuse me.”
As she hurried away through the crowd, Lauren shifted her gaze to her grandfather again. “You know Verona?”
He didn’t answer immediately, just continued to watch Verona until she disappeared out the door into the gym lobby. “A long time ago.”
The look on his face said in no uncertain terms that there was way more to the story, but Lauren feared asking for specifics. Not while Papa Ed wore such a mournful look on his face.
Violet didn’t have any such qualms, evidently. “Were you involved?”
Papa Ed finally pulled his gaze away from the door. “Not here. Not now.”
Lauren realized he meant he didn’t want to talk about it now. She had so many questions, but honestly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answers.
As he started walking toward the exit, Lauren and Violet stared after him and then at each other.
“I feel as if I just got dropped into another universe, where Papa Ed has secrets,” Violet said.
That summed things up perfectly. Now that she thought about it, maybe an alternate reality also explained why she’d agreed to a date with Adam when Phil’s betrayal still burned like a scorpion’s sting.