“Welcome to Marigold Bakery, what can I help you with—oh my god.” I blinked as I saw who was walking through the door. “Micah?”
“You know my name.” He smirked and his eyes lit up. “That’s a good start.”
Right—I shouldn’t know his name.
“Yeah, um—of course I know the name of the guy that saved my life.” I nodded enthusiastically. “What can I get you today?”
“I jus
t came for one thing.” He walked up and leaned against the counter. “Your phone number.”
“My phone number?” The shock was still coursing through my veins and all I could do was repeat what he said as a question.
“So I can ask you out on a date.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
“Um—sorry.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’m not really interested in dating anyone right now.”
Definitely not you—that would be almost as bad as dating Brody.
“Going to play hard to get, huh?” He stuffed his phone in his pocket and nodded. “Okay, then. I guess I’ll take a couple of bear claws.”
“Sure.” I stepped back and picked up a box. “Coming right up.”
I fixed Micah’s order and he never took his ocean-blue eyes off me. They followed my movements as I packed the bear claws in a box and walked towards the register. Micah was about an inch shorter than Brody, but more muscular. His tight black t-shirt barely left anything to the imagination—not that I needed my imagination to remember what he looked like without it. He was very attractive. If I met him under different circumstances, I wouldn’t have hesitated to give him my number. I was tempted—god was I tempted. He looked like a Greek god with a jaw that could cut glass. I managed to keep my composure as I rang up his order and took his money. It wasn’t easy—especially when he let his fingers graze my hand as he took his change. I handed him his order and stepped back from the counter as he took it and walked towards the door.
“See you tomorrow.” He looked back at me and winked.
“Tomorrow?” I raised my eyebrows in concern.
“I plan on stopping by here every day until you get my order right.” He pulled the door open.
“I did get it right…” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“No, you didn’t.” He shook his head and grinned. “Your number isn’t on the box.”
Micah
Ten years ago
“Will you…” I fumbled as I pulled the black box out of my pocket and dropped down to one knee.
“Are you fucking crazy?” The girl in front of me looked at me like I had just laid a slap across her face. “No!”
“What?” I looked up at her and felt a dagger going through my heart. “We talked about this…”
“We were drunk. You think I’m going to marry you?” She took a step back and shook her head. “I’m not looking for that kind of commitment. I thought you knew that.”
“But you said…” My words trailed off.
“I say a lot of shit.” She turned towards the door. “But I guess I’m done saying it to you.”
Lorrie Whitaker was my whole world until she left me on one knee, holding the ring I spent every penny I had on. Our relationship started with a spark, raged like a wildfire, and ended in a boom I didn’t see coming. We were only nineteen but I thought we were in love. I worked my ass off to save up enough money to buy her a ring. I never expected her to say no. I even asked Lorrie’s father to give us his blessing before I asked her to marry me. My heart shattered into a million pieces when she walked out the door. I lost a piece of my soul that day—one that was completely unrecoverable. I sank into depression, drifted into a dark place, and numbed the pain any way that I could. I became a shell of the man I thought I would become, because he only existed for Lorrie. I didn’t even know who I was when I finally opened my eyes one day and looked in the mirror.
I need to do something with my life, otherwise I’m going to end up slowly killing myself.
Six years ago
“Welcome to Canyon City Fire Department.” Chief Henderson smiled and extended his hand.