Wildflower (Colors #4) (7 page)

“I-I’m such an
asshole
,” I sputtered loudly, unable to bring myself to care who was around to hear me having my breakdown.

“What? What are you talking about?” Her voice was full of concern and confusion as she pulled me back into a hug and let me cry like a baby on her shoulder. “You’re not an asshole, Harlow.”

“Yes I am!” I demanded. “You’re being so nice to me! I don’t deserve it, Chlo. I left you behind. I was a self-centered brat who didn’t think about who I was hurting when I ran away and I left you behind! That’s the
definition
of an asshole. You should hate me right now, you should be punching me in the face, not hugging me.”

Chloe stared at me like I’d just lost my mind—which, I guess I technically had—for several seconds. “Would it make you feel better if I punched you in the face?”

“
No
!”

“Then suck it up, buttercup,” she laughed as she held me away from her and gave my arms a little shake. “That was then, this is now. Was I pissed you refused to take my calls? Yeah. Did it hurt that you cut me out when you left? Absolutely. But it wasn’t like I didn’t understand, Low-Low. I
did
. I was there with you, remember? I know how bad off you were, and I don’t hold anything you did against you.”

I couldn’t take it. Her kindness was killing me. “Gah! Stop being so nice! I take it back, hit me in the face. It’ll totally make me feel better.”

“For the love of God!” she exclaimed. “I’m not gonna hit you. I just got a manicure and I don’t want your face to jack it all up.”

I gave her a sincere smile as I wiped the tears from my eyes. The full force of how much I missed her and how stupid I’d been to let our friendship deteriorate hit me square in the chest.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“You’re forgiven,” she answered simply. Other than Navie, Chloe was the only person who loved and forgave whole-heartedly, never holding grudges.

“I’ve missed you.”

“Ditto, babe. But you’re back now, right? No need to live in the past.”

“Right.” I sucked in a deep breath and tucked all my sorrow away, focusing fully on the present and letting the past go. “We have a
ton
of catching up to do. I’m seeing several late nights and bottles of wine in our future.”

Chloe’s tinkling laughter sounded through the aisle, “Sounds like a plan.”

Excitement at the idea of catching up with her coursed through me and I discovered I didn’t want our time to end just yet. “Well, what are you up to after this? I need to get this stuff back to the house and in the fridge,” I said, waving at my cart, “but other than that I’m free all day.” Elation began to take hold as I exclaimed loudly, “Oh! I saw this
adorable
little bakery off of Woodland Hills near the Cineplex. Maybe we could meet there for coffee or something?”

Chloe smiled. “You mean Sinful Sweets?”

“That’s the one!”

“That’s mine.”

My brows tipped down in confusion. “What’s yours?”

“The bakery,” she replied happily.

“You’re kidding!”

Her whole face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Nope. I opened it up a few years ago. You know it was always a dream of mine. It’s a little tough some days, but totally worth it.”

“Chlo, that’s so awesome,” I told her, pulling her in for another hug. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thank you,” she told me as we separated. “Unfortunately, I’m only on my lunch break right now. I had to get some errands done, but I have to get back pretty soon. You should definitely come in tomorrow if you have time.”

“You know I will. Are you stocking up for Thanksgiving?”

She looked down at the basket in her hands and shrugged. “Nah, the family got a cabin at Yellowstone for the holiday. I wasn’t able to close the bakery down, so it’s just me this year.”

“You should come over and celebrate with me and Ethan.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely! I’m going all out, making a huge dinner, and it’s just me and him. Please come. It’ll be great to have you there. He’ll probably spend the whole day sitting in front of the TV watching football, anyway. This way, you and I will have a chance to catch up.”

I could see excitement growing on her face, mirroring my own. “Okay, yeah. That’ll be fun.”

By the time I left the grocery store I was feeling better about the turn my life had taken. Pembrooke might have held some heartbreaking memories for me, but there was also a lot there for me to be happy about. And I was determined to look on the bright side.

“You’ve lost your fucking mind, man.”

I hit the stop button on the treadmill, trying to regulate my breathing as I turned my glare on Derrick.

Reaching for my water bottle, I poured a steady stream into my mouth before responding. “I haven’t lost my mind, asshole.”

My friend slowed to a walk next to me and took a drink from his own bottle, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You’re crashing your ex-wife’s Thanksgiving dinner. What else would you call that?”

I pulled the towel from the waistband of my shorts and wiped the sweat from my forehead and chest. “I’m not crashing. I was invited.”

He came to a full stop and we both climbed off our respective machines as he gave me a
you’ve-gotta-be-fucking-kidding-me
look. “Seriously, that’s the story you’re sticking to?”

“It’s not a story, dickhead. It’s the truth.”

He let out a loud bark of laughter. “Dude, you conned an oblivious kid into giving you an invite. Pretty sure that story won’t hold much water.”

Okay, so maybe he wasn’t all that wrong. But I took advantage with the best of intentions. That had to count for something, right?

“Whatever,” I grumbled, not having much in way of a defense. And judging by the way Derrick tipped forward in laughter, he knew it.

“Man, I’m just saying, if I get called away from a nice turkey dinner and a warm bed to haul your ass in for stalking and harassment, I’m gonna be pissed.”

“What sad woman did you trick into catering to your ass this time?” I chided.

He shot me a shit-eating grin as he headed toward the locker rooms. “Vicky,” he called over his shoulder. “Don’t hate ‘cause you’re not getting any.”

“You’re a douche. You know that, right?” I hollered back.

He shot me the finger as he disappeared around the corner, his mocking laughter grating my ears. Rolling my eyes, I made my way over to the heavy bags, all the while thinking I needed to invest in some new friends.

“Chloe,” I breathed as took in the space I had just walked into. The walls were the most beautiful shade of pale lavender. Art stenciled in clean white broke up the solid color painted on the walls, giving the entire bakery a soft, serene feel. That, combined with the rich smells of coffee and the sweetness of baked food filling your senses, it was as though I’d just walked into heaven.

“This place is fabulous.” I was completely in awe of everything my friend had done. She had a dream of owning her own shop for as long as I’d known her, and she’d accomplished something beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

“Thanks,” she smiled brightly from behind the long, polished, dark wood counter that sat centered near the back wall just before the kitchen between two glass pastry cases. Small café style tables and floor to ceiling windows at the very front of the shop. Plush barstools wrapped in a beautiful robin’s egg blue lined the front of the counter. A state of the art espresso machine—the kind you’d expect to see in a high-end coffee shop—sat on the back counter. My mouth watered at the thought of a delicious latte.

Different cakes and cookies, all frosted to perfection, lined the shelves in the pastry cases, and I felt my daily calorie count climbing at just the sight of them. I wanted to live there. I wanted to move in and never leave.

“You want a cup of coffee or something?”

“Does a bear shit in the woods?”

She laughed and headed toward the espresso machine and began working it like a pro. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“You can also take that to mean I want the biggest latte you got, babe. Think Hulk-sized. Then double it.”

“On it.” I took a seat in one of the bar stools and watched her work. A couple minutes later she sat a steaming mug down in front of me. It tasted like sheer perfection.

“I don’t want to freak you out or anything, but I’m pretty sure I just fell in love with you. Like, I need you to marry me and make these every morning for the rest of our lives.”

“Depends. You gonna put out?”

I scrunched my eyes and looked up like I was deep in thought. “You make every one taste as good as this one and I’ll seriously consider it.”

She laughed and rested her elbows on the counter as her workers shuffled about, helping the other patrons coming in and out of the bakery. From the looks of it, Chloe was doing pretty well. The door had opened constantly the few minutes I had been there.

“So, how are you doing?” she asked. The humor fled from her voice, replaced with concern and a hint of sympathy.

I gave her question some thought before answering with, “You know, I’m okay. It’s hard being here without Grammy, but I’m getting there. Ethan seems all right and that’s all that really matters right now.”

“But you’re okay… you know, with being back here and all?”

I lifted my mug and took another sip of the steaming latte. “I thought it would be a lot harder,” I spoke around the lip of the ceramic mug. “I thought I’d hate being back here after… everything. I miss New York, don’t get me wrong, but it’s strange. I’m kind of glad I’m back. I hadn’t remembered how much I loved this place.”

She considered me silently for several seconds, almost hesitant. I started to worry about what she was going to say. Then she hit me with it, like a punch to the chest. “And Noah? Have you seen him?”

I took a settling breath, spinning the warm cup between my palms as I answered, keeping my eyes trained on the frothy liquid instead of Chloe’s knowing gaze. “Only once. He came to Grammy’s funeral.”

“Oh, wow,” she whispered.

“Yeah. It was… surreal. Awkward doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

“And you’re okay? With being in the same town… with him?”

“What choice is there? This is Ethan’s home. I have to suck it up. I have to be responsible for him. Right?”