How Sweet It Is (32 page)

“You’re lost in thought.”

She raised her gaze to find Jordan smiling back at her from across the cash register. And there was that crazy mixture of feelings again. Happiness to see her. There was always that. And the undeniable guilt that the happiness brought with it, stronger now, so much sharper after the events of the night before. She didn’t know quite how to reconcile the two.

“Sorry, just thinking through some things. What can I get for you?”

“Uh…” She surveyed the display case, perhaps caught off guard by the business like question. “Just coffee, I guess. I’m not really hungry.”

“Coming right up.” Jordan reached into her back pocket for cash. “Stop. You don’t pay for things here, remember?”

“Right.” She put the money away.

But Molly understood the gesture. Because somehow, nothing felt certain anymore. Norms that once flowed easily now felt shaky and suspect right along with everything else.

She’d known it wouldn’t be just be the two of them in some secret romance forever, and now reality was very much present and accounted for. The world at large now intruded upon what had been just theirs, and they had to find a way through it. They could do that, right? She wished she had more confidence.

She handed Jordan the coffee.

“Thanks. I know you’re working, but is there a chance we can talk for a few minutes? I can come back if now isn’t good.”

Molly tossed a glance over her shoulder. “Uh, let me just grab Louise to mind the counter.”

The sun broke through the clouds as they emerged from the bakeshop and naturally veered in the direction of the park. Jordan sipped her coffee as they walked. “I was worried about you last night when you left. You seemed, I don’t know, shaken up.”

Molly nodded, her eyes tracing the cracks in the sidewalk as they walked. “I don’t know how to explain what happened when your parents opened that door. It was like I had been working this very tricky puzzle, you know?” She looked up at Jordan. “And just as I had the pieces close to being where I wanted them, they were somehow tossed into the air and landed in a heap all around me.” She sighed. “I can’t believe I’m talking to you in analogies, but I want you to understand how it felt when they said those things. About us. When the people most important to me in the world accused us of—”

“You felt guilty. It made you question everything between us all over again.”

Molly nodded, once again in awe of how Jordan just understood. As always, she just got it.

Jordan didn’t look at her when she asked her next question. “And now? Are you still questioning now?”

They were at the entrance to the park when Molly grabbed Jordan’s hand and tugged her to a stop. “I don’t want to be. When you’re here right in front of me like this, I feel like it’s you and me against the world and we can do this. But—” Her eyes filled with tears and she turned away. “There’s a lot to sort through.”

Jordan’s gaze never wavered. There were very few times when she was unable to tell what Jordan was thinking, but this was definitely one of those times.

“Molly, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

*

Some things in life were hard. But Jordan knew what she was about to do was for the best, even if it didn’t feel that way. Even if it felt like a horrible decision. And the only way she was going to get through it was to remind herself of that fact over and over again like the worst kind of broken record.

Seeing Molly in such distress the night before had been hard, but seeing that anguish still in her eyes today was the tipping point. Hell, she could barely look at Jordan. She was the cause of that pain and she wasn’t willing to be any longer. As outlandish as Summer could sometimes be, she did make another valid point out on the deck of the country club.

Molly deserved a fresh start.

And what she brought to the table was a minefield of a relationship. And she loved Molly too much to make her try and navigate it.

She ran the word over again in her mind.

Love.

Because she knew undeniably that she was in love with Molly, and those feelings changed the way she approached the situation. She could do for Molly what Molly couldn’t do for herself. Because Molly was too noble, too loyal to look out for her own needs. But Jordan could do that for her.

She turned to Molly, steadying herself against the big brown eyes that seemed to be searching hers. “It’s, uh, just that we both have a lot on our plates. Me with the start-up, you with the new distribution deal. It’s not exactly an ideal scenario. The timing kind of sucks, you have to agree.”

Molly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and tilted her head ever so slightly in mystification. “Jordan, what are you saying right now?”

“It’s too much. Let’s be honest. You said it yourself. It’s harder than we thought it would be.”

Molly’s voice held a quiet intensity. “And? Say what you’re going to say, Jordan. Don’t leave it there.”

Jordan took a fortifying breath. “I think it’s best we end things here. I go back to Chicago. You pick up your life in Applewood. You know, maybe over time give Annaleigh a call.” Okay, that was hard to say.

Molly’s lips parted in surprise and she shook her head slightly. “
Annaleigh
? Did you really just say that to me? This isn’t you talking.”

Jordan stared at the sky and pushed on. “Except it is. I care about you, Molly, and that will never change, but we’re probably heading in different directions in the long run. Surely you feel that too.”

“Don’t you dare tell me what I feel.” There was fire in her eyes now. “Why are you doing this? Because of your parents?”

“That’s part of it. But I’m not exactly good at the whole tied down thing. I never have been.” A lie. She’d give up everything she had for that kind of life with Molly. If only it were the right thing for Molly too.

“Tied down? Wow.” The blow registered on Molly’s face, but there was something else there too. Defeat. And it just about killed Jordan. “I don’t know where this bravado is coming from, but at the same time I don’t have the energy to fight you on this, Jordan.” She raised one shoulder and let it drop. “I guess I’m fresh out of fight. If this is what you want, I guess I’ll see you around. Have a safe trip home.” She turned and headed off down the sidewalk.

And Jordan watched.

She watched Molly walk back out of her life and it hurt like nothing she could have imagined. “Molly?” she called, because she just had to.

She looked back over her shoulder. “Yeah?” That’s when Jordan saw the tears. The words caught in her throat until she finally managed them on her second attempt.

“Take care of yourself.”

Molly didn’t say anything. She nodded once and headed back down the sidewalk.

Once she was safely back at her parents’ house, Jordan packed her things. She slung her bag over her shoulder and found her mother in the living room reading a book.

She set the book down when she saw the bag. “What’s going on? Are you leaving?”

“I need to get back. I have a lot of work waiting for me.”

“Don’t go yet. I know we’re all on edge after the argument last night, but I’ve been looking forward to your visit all week. We don’t have to talk about last night if you don’t want to.”

“Have your feelings changed?”

Her mother stood as she considered the question. “I wish I had handled things better in the moment. It was a shock to say the least. But I’ll be honest; I don’t think I like the idea of a…relationship between you and Molly. I’m not sure you’re the right fit for her, Jordan.”

“And by right you mean good enough?”

“No, that’s not at all what I’m saying. But Molly’s been through a lot, and she’s vulnerable.”

“Well, it’s not something you’re going to have to worry about any longer. It’s over. A done deal.”

“Oh, Jordan. I know you think that makes me happy, but that’s not true. I just want everyone to be all right. That’s all I want.”

Jordan closed the distance between them and hugged her mother. “I’m fine. I love you, Mom. But I have to go now. Say good-bye to Dad for me. I’ll call soon.”

And with that, she walked out of the house, got in her car, and headed out of Applewood. It was once she was safely out of town and alone in her car that she let the tears stream freely down her face.

She’d done the right thing for Molly.

It didn’t matter that her heart was broken in the process.

It was just after two a.m. on Tuesday night and Molly sat alone at her kitchen table. Her window was open and she listened to the sounds outside.

Crickets, the soft rustle of the leaves, the quiet hum of serenity.

If she didn’t know better, the everyday sounds would have made her think all was well, offer her the comfort of their normalcy. But everything was, in fact, not okay.

It was the opposite of okay.

She felt more alone than she had in her entire life.

When she couldn’t sleep, she’d played the vacation video, reaching desperately for any comfort she could find in Cassie’s vibrant smile, her teasing laugh. But it didn’t reaffirm her the way it normally did. Something was off.

And as she sat in her darkened kitchen, she didn’t know where to turn for comfort. She should call Eden. Her father. But it wasn’t what she needed. The one person who could help, who could talk her through this, make her feel better with just the sound of her voice wasn’t an option anymore.

She stared at the cell phone in her hand and willed herself to set it back down.

She’d refused to let herself think about Jordan much, because when she did, she came apart altogether. So, she once again pushed her aggressively from her thoughts. It was a wound she had to keep her fingers off of, at least for now.

There was too much on her plate.

But it didn’t mean she wasn’t keenly aware of the loss. Almost like a recently discovered piece of herself was now missing.

She purposefully left herself off the schedule the next morning, taking the time off for her meeting in Chicago with Grant. At least she had the advance check and the planning session to look forward to, to distract her.

She followed the GPS to the address on Grant’s business card and solemnly rode the elevator to the eleventh floor. She’d made a point to dress the part and traded her casual bakeshop attire for a skirt and blouse. Her hair was pulled up for effect. She felt businessy and a tinge excited for the meeting, despite the fact that the rest of her life lay in tatters.

When she reached the appointed suite, she paused and double-checked the number on the plaque outside with the business card in her hand. The door stood ajar. The floor of the office was covered in file boxes, and a man in a suit stood over a desk packing another. Two other men were similarly occupied.

“Excuse me. I’m so sorry to bother you.” She took a tentative step into the office and held up the business card. “I’m looking for Grant Tranton, but I think I might be in the wrong place.”

The man looked up but only briefly. “I’m sorry, ma’am. He’s not here.”

A pause.

“But this is his office?”

“Unfortunately so.”

“Okay. Do you, by chance, know where I could find him? I have an eleven o’clock appointment.”

He sighed and straightened. “I wish I did. The contents of this office have been seized as evidence. Mr. Tranton is wanted on several charges. We’d be interested in any information you may have about his whereabouts.” The man covered the distance between them and handed Molly his card.

She stared numbly at the letters. Federal Bureau of Investigation. “He’s wanted on charges?”

“Quite a list of them. Money laundering, fraud, identity theft among others. And that’s only the most recent string. He’s made a career of it. I’d like to get a statement from you about your interaction.”

She stood there, shell shocked as the information settled. On impulse, she dialed Grant’s number, but the singsong notification that informed her his phone number was no longer in service was the tipping point. The grim understanding caused most of the color to fade from the room.

She just kept hearing the words
this can’t be happening
repeated on some endless loop in her head. It made her dizzy. She prayed to God it was all just a misunderstanding, but she was smart enough to know it probably wasn’t.

The ramifications of it all occurred to her one at a time, tumbling down on her like the contents of a messy closet. Grant Tranton was a criminal. He was probably on the run. There would be no partnership. No advance check. And, God, no bakeshop.

It was over.

She grasped the doorjamb for support, feeling lightheaded and so very, very stupid. “Thank you for your help.”

“Ma’am, are you all right?”

She met his gaze. “No. I don’t think so.”

*

Jordan checked her watch. She was eight minutes late, which was pretty good for her. The restaurant George had picked for dinner was one she’d never been to before, but had all the foodies in the area raving. She didn’t have much of an appetite these days, but she’d try to eat something to be polite.

She’d been back in Chicago for a couple of weeks now and hadn’t spent much time with George outside of work. But then again, she hadn’t spent time with
anyone
outside of work.

She pushed her sunglasses onto her head and squinted as her eyes adjusted to the dim interior of the restaurant. As she headed to the hostess stand, she was quickly intercepted.

“There you are, beautiful person.” George pulled her in and kissed her cheek loudly. “We weren’t expecting you for another seven minutes.”

“Because I’m generally—”

“Running fifteen minutes behind schedule, yes. It’s my job as your friend to be acutely aware of your shortcomings and love you despite them. And voila, I do. Are you ready to meet the love of my life?”

She smiled at George because his eyes were dancing with excitement and it was adorable. “I am. You’ve been talking this guy up for weeks. I have to see if he measures up. You know, in my job capacity as your friend. See how that works both ways?”