I smile. “I’m hoping.”
“Let’s assume that’s what it is. Then you can open your bakery and give me a job, since no one in this town wants to hire me to teach.”
“You know that none of the teachers make a final decision about retiring until the start of the new school year,” I say. “Something will come around.”
“We’ll see.” She shrugs. “Donut?” she asks, holding it out for me.
I’m nearly nauseated by the sight of it and how much it reminds me of my chunky thigh on display for the world in that picture. “I’ll pass. Want to go running with me this morning?”
She wrinkles her nose and casts a glance over her shoulder. “Do you see someone chasing me?”
SHE FOUND out. My stomach churns at the idea as I step into the old Woolworth building on Main. Hanna found out, and it’s going to ruin everything.
She turns to me when I enter, and for a minute, it’s like the last two weeks never happened. She grins and steps toward me, hand outstretched. Then, as if remembering herself, she stops and drops her hand.
“Hi,” she whispers. “Thanks for coming.”
I swallow. Hard. One more step and she would have been in my arms, an old habit that would have given me a hit of her scent, the both calming and arousing contact of her body against mine. But she stopped because, no matter how sorry I am, no matter how much I try to explain how I feel, she can’t forget. She can’t forgive.
“What are we doing here?” I ask.
“What would you say if I told you I was going to open a bakery?”
I smile. I can’t help it. Joy rolls off her when she says the word bakery. “I would ask how I could help.”
She hops up and down and clasps her hands together. “I want to do it. I really want to do it. And someone’s offering to back me. To get this building remodeled and ready to open up as a bakery. But it feels too good to be true, and I called you because…” She trails off, the smile falling from her face.
“It’s okay.” I know what she’s thinking. We talked about her opening a bakery, but always in the context of our future—together.
“Do you think it’s crazy? I don’t even know who the silent partner is. It’s anonymous. Though I have a pretty good idea.”
“You do?”
“I think so.” She shrugs as if it’s not important. “Is this crazy? Going into business with some anonymous partner? What if I totally screw it up? What if I
fail?”
“I think anyone who’s going to make this kind of investment would know what he was investing in.” And whom he was investing in.
“Right. Market research and stuff, right?” She nods. “It’s hard to wrap my head around the chance to open this bakery, to run my own business in New Hope, to feed people the kind of food that brings comfort. I can’t even describe what it’s like to want something as much as I want this.”
“I think I have an idea,” I say, but the words catch on something in my throat and come out rough. Her eyes lock with mine and soften. “Hanna…”
“I miss you.” She squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head. “Sorry. I shouldn’t—”
“I miss you too.”
“You haven’t told anyone about the breakup, have you?”
“Only William.” As much as I believed it when I told her I wouldn’t pretend, the truth is that telling people we broke up makes it too real. It feels like giving up.
“Good.” She bites her lower lip, worries it between her teeth. “Will you promise me you won’t tell anyone else?”
I step forward and take her hand, graze my thumb over her knuckles. “If we’re going to let the world think we’re together until September, you need to understand something.”
“What’s that?”
“Every time we go to dinner at your mom’s, every time we hang out with our friends, I’ll be by your side. You’ll have to let me close if you’re determined to do this. They’ll know something’s wrong otherwise.”