Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
But now, as I sat behind the counter of the flower shop for maybe the last time, waiting for Mike to walk through the door with the paperwork that would seal my fate and give me one more reason to run—away from Castle Falls and the thought of what could have been with Joanne—I couldn’t help but wonder if I was about to fuck things up even worse.
If that was even possible.
I reached for the candy dish, absently unwrapping the chewy little square and popping it into my mouth.
“Gross candy,” I muttered to myself, grimacing as I tried to chew it as quickly as possible.
I’d never liked those candies, but they’d been my dad’s favorite for as long as I could remember. They were always sitting around in a dish in our house growing up, just like the dish that was always there at the shop. Hell, it was probably the same dish.
I felt a pang of… regret? Sadness? I wasn’t sure, but my stomach clenched as the memory took me back to a time when everything had been so much easier. Much more black and white. Back when both of my parents had been alive and the three of us had been mostly happy, or at least mostly content.
Mostly a family.
That flower shop, that candy dish, and the memories they held for me were really the only things I had left to remind me of that time in my life, of my parents as I wanted to remember them.
The shop suddenly felt too small, too full of those memories that I wanted to hold onto and run away from all at the same time. Not just of my parents anymore. Now, the memories of Joanne were here, too.
Wonderful.
Painful.
I couldn’t stand it.
I looked at the clock. I still had about fifteen minutes until Mike was supposed to get there—not enough time to go anywhere for a stiff drink, but at least enough time to step outside and catch my breath, maybe at least grab a strong coffee from Castle Coffee, since that was apparently going to be the only liquid courage I could get.
Without a second thought, I was up and moving, quickly crossing the shop floor and flipping the sign to “Closed” as I stepped outside into the warm summer air.
For a moment, I simply stood there, breathing in and breathing out, trying to steel my nerves and calm my emotions for the unpleasant task ahead of me.
Getting rid of the shop wasn’t going to be easy, but it was still something I had to do, so I was going to have to come to terms with it—and quickly, before Mike arrived.
And that was going to require some coffee, at the very least.
The aroma of fresh coffee already had me feeling more upbeat as I opened the door to Castle Coffee, and I’d barely stepped foot inside when I heard my name from across the room.
“Brady! Good morning,” Luca’s melodic voice was full of warmth and life, immediately putting me at ease. Well, as much at ease as I could be, given the circumstances. “Gonna have your usual?”
I winced. The “usual” would be two coffees and two bagels, one for me and one for Joanne. I wouldn’t be ordering that again… ever.
“Just one coffee today, please, Luca.”
I tried to smile but gave up after back-to-back attempts just ended up as grimaces.
“Coming right up. Is Joanne sick? Or maybe sleeping in?” Luca tossed me a knowing wink. “It’s not like her to be late, unless of course, maybe she had a late night…”
The innuendo sent a wave of hurt through my body and my stomach clenched as it struck me—again—that this was really happening.
Joanne was out of my life, and I was about to sever the one remaining tie I had to Castle Falls.
“No, she, um…” I swallowed hard, unsure what or how much I should say. Fuck it. Luca would find out soon enough anyway. “Joanne quit yesterday, and I’m going to sign the paperwork to sell the shop today.”
The entire time we’d been talking, Luca had been busy making drinks, his hands moving autonomously from the rest of his body as his sparkling eyes had stayed on me. Now, though, his hands fell still, and the sparkle in his eyes dimmed noticeably. “Joanne quit?”
I nodded, my throat suddenly feeling too tight to speak.
“And you’re going to sell the shop? Today?”
I could only nod again as I watched the cheerful coffee shop owner deflate before my eyes. “Yeah, today. In a few minutes, actually. I’ve just… run out of other options. And I can’t blame Joanne for not wanting to see it turned into a corporate place.”
And even though that wasn’t the entire reason Joanne had quit—not by a long shot—I couldn’t bring myself to say more about it. And while Luca would probably find out more from Joanne herself at some point, there was no need to shout out the sordid details of our—breakup? —to the rest of the patrons of Castle Coffee.