I Only Have Pies for You (Pumpkin Spice Life 1)

“I’m not sure yet. I’m trying to avoid it altogether.” He pulled out his debit card and inserted it, impatiently waiting for the chip to read. It beeped, and he entered his pin. 8:45. The numbers mocked him as the clock continued to move forward. The acceptance message flashed and the receipt printed.

“Thanks.” He grabbed his purchases from the belt.

“Good luck,” she called after him.

The short drive felt like it took hours. Pulling into her parking lot out back, he left the car and grabbed his offerings before his nerves could get the best of him. Climbing the back stairs to her door, he knocked and stood back so she could see him in the peephole. The door opened, and he thrust the flowers at her.

“I am so sorry.”

Ignoring them, she stepped out and closed the door behind her. “Do you have any clue how humiliated I was? I couldn’t even explain to my mother what happened.”

“I know, I’m sorry. My reception was shit at the hospital, and I was so worried about my mother I didn’t even think to step outside. Especially once she went in for surgery.”

All traces of anger left her face. She covered her mouth, and her eyes widened. “Oh my God. I am so sorry. Is she okay? What happened?”

He exhaled. “Yeah, well, she will be. At the moment, she’s recovering from emergency surgery at the hospital, and then she comes home. She tripped over uneven concrete, went down hard, and broke her ankle badly. They ended up having to put a plate in.”

“Jesus!”

“Yeah, we were finishing up lunch and heading to the bakery when it happened. My mind just went blank once I realized how serious it was. They took the X-rays, and the surgery talk started. She was in extreme pain—”

Rosaleen leaned forward and gripped his forearms. “Hey. I understand. God. I feel like such a jerk being so mad at you this entire time.”

“I should’ve contacted you. That was on me, and I want to apologize personally to your mother.”

“You don’t have to do that. She’ll understand. Family first is a motto for us, too.”

“So, you don’t want to knee me in the groin anymore?” he asked.

She laughed. “Oh, hero. I should’ve known with you there’d be a good reason. It was my past creeping in and making me paranoid. I apologize.”

“We all have our baggage,” he reassured her. “Now that I’m here, tell me how today went.”

“Why don’t you step inside and I’ll tell you. Mom’s already retired to bed for the evening, but you can meet her tomorrow?”

“You can count on it.”

“Good.” Her shoulders relaxed as she led him inside. They slipped into her kitchen. “There was a constant flow of people.” Her face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he beamed.

“I told you.”

“The interview on television went well. So did the newspaper interview. I can’t wait to see the photos they took.”

Settling across from her, he took her hand. He kissed the back, admiring the shine in her eyes as she relayed everything she could remember. This was Rosaleen at her happiest. Suddenly beautiful became stunning.

“Congratulations, sugar. I knew you’d do well today.”

“So much of that was thanks to you.” She shook her head and gave him a shy smile. “Thank you for showing me around town and introducing me to people.”

“It was my pleasure. Getting to have a beautiful woman on my arm wasn’t a hardship. Besides, how else was I going to win you over so you’d date me?”

“Stop.” She rolled her eyes. “You did not have designs on me.”

“From the minute I laid eyes on you, Rosaleen,” he said seriously.

“Oh,” she whispered. “You always know the right things to say.”

“I thought that was part of the hero MO,” he said, winking.