It was a battle that the three women were bound and determined to win.
‘I liked it,’ Allison replied. ‘But I didn’t love it.’
As far as Paige was concerned, her cousin looked like a Disney princess in every one of the dreamy dresses she had tried on. She could just imagine her with her hair done in fancy curls and her eyes made up in soft hues as they glimmered with anticipation of her soon-to-be husband seeing her at the other end of the aisle. Allison was such a beautiful person inside and out already, but Paige understood the importance of loving one’s wedding dress. This was a one-shot deal – it had to be perfect.
‘Let’s recap.’ Paige clapped her hands once to get everyone’s attention. ‘You really liked the simplicity of that one, but not the neckline.’ She pointed toward one of the dresses slung on the bench beside Kait. ‘And you thought the sweetheart neckline of this one here was great, but you didn’t like the feel of the rough overlay.’ She ran her fingers across the beaded belt of the dress tossed onto the chair beside her. ‘The length wasn’t okay on that one, and the fit of that one over there wasn’t comfortable …’ She pointed at each dress, amazed at herself for being able to keep track of each and every flaw after seeing so many white dresses in such a short span of time. ‘So, where does that leave us?’
Allison huffed out a sigh as she looked over each of the dismissed wedding dresses. ‘Where it leaves me is wishing they were as perfect as …’ She snapped her head up, eyes wide as she stared beyond Paige to Mira. ‘… the one in the window.’
Mira looked genuinely affronted. ‘The window?’ She turned, following Kait and Paige’s gazes where they were staring hopefully in the same direction as the bride-to-be. ‘Oh, that dress is only the display model, ma’am. It’s a discontinued line. We can’t order it anymore.’
‘I want to try it on.’ Allison’s hope was rejuvenated by the dress on display.
‘But, as I said—’
‘Let her try the dress on!’ Both Paige and Kait exclaimed the words in exasperated unison, then looked at each other in horror. ‘Please,’ Paige added weakly, shocked by her own bluntness. They were desperate. If Allison thought there was a chance the display model would fit, she wouldn’t deter her.
‘Of course.’ Mira scampered away, undoubtedly wanting to get the trio out of the shop sooner rather than later.
‘And bring the peach bridesmaid dresses on display beside it,’ Allison called after her.
Kait and Paige said nothing as they watched Mira fumble to undress the mannequin and bring the satin and lace dress back to the change rooms. There was too much riding on whether or not the dress would suffice.
But as Allison took the dress in her hands, holding in gingerly as though the mere touch of her fingertips might damage the intricate lacy overlay, Paige felt different about this one. She knew Allison did, too.
‘This is it,’ Allison whispered to no one in particular. She was transfixed by the fabric slung over her hands. ‘This is the one, girls.’
Paige stepped closer. ‘You haven’t even tried it on.’
Her cousin raised her head to meet her gaze. ‘When you know, you know.’
Paige watched as Allison disappeared back into the cramped change room, still hanging on the five words she had uttered. Five words that kept coming up from different sources, yet still made such an impact every time she heard them.
‘Is the long peach bridesmaid dress only a display model, or can it be ordered in any color?’ Allison’s voice rang out over the change room door, making both women turn toward Mira for an answer.
The bridal consultant had just tugged the second peach dress from the mannequin, and she was looking beyond flustered. ‘These dresses are available in almost any color you could want, ma’am.’
‘Dark gray?’ Allison hollered.
‘A few variations of gray are available.’
‘Good,’ Allison shouted. ‘Paige … Kate … try ’em on.’
Neither woman was going to argue. Mira deposited one dress into each of their hands after checking the tags and determining which might be closest to the size they would wear. ‘Like I said, I can order in any color and any size, so these dresses are just to try on and see what you think.’
Paige made it in and out of the change room beside Allison’s in record time. The strapless dress was a little on the bigger side, but that only aided her in being able to shimmy it around and do up the back zipper herself. She smoothed out the fabric and held the top of the dress up as she retreated from the change room.
‘Wow.’ Allison was out, too, and the sight of her in the long-sleeved satin dress with a delicate lace overlay stopped Paige in her tracks. ‘Allison, that dress … it fits you perfectly. Absolutely perfectly.’
‘It really does, doesn’t it?’ She whirled around again to face the mirror, admiring her reflection with dreamy stars in her eyes. ‘I told you.’
‘You were right.’ Paige shook her head, amused. Leave it to her cousin to try on every dress in the store and end up finding perfection in the very first dress they’d laid eyes on before they’d even gotten out of the car. ‘It was made for you. You look like a princess.’
‘I feel like a princess.’ Her smile was contagious. Allison nodded her head toward her cousin just as Kait emerged from the room behind her. ‘You should, too.’
Paige and Kait turned simultaneously, shifting one way then the other as they took in their reflections. In seconds, everyone in the room was smiling from ear to ear.
‘Well, Mira, if you can get those dresses ordered in gray, then I think we’ve managed to find the dresses we want to buy.’
The bridal consultant looked elated, and Paige was confident it wasn’t just from the commission she was about to make.
The women turned to head back into their designated rooms to change. ‘This whole time, the perfect one was right under our noses,’ Paige chuckled.
‘Yeah.’ Allison beamed. ‘Sometimes, we just have to get a little closer to realize how perfect something really is. You could learn from that, too, Paige.’
Paige halted in front of the opened change room door. ‘We’re not talking about dresses anymore, huh?’
Allison shook her head. ‘Just go talk to him.’ She pulled the train of the dress up into her hands. ‘You felt better earlier when you talked to me and Kait about it all. Just imagine how relieved you’d feel if you did the same thing with Cohen.’
Paige knew her cousin was right, but that didn’t stop the ripple of anxiety from coursing through her. ‘Fine, but the deal was we wouldn’t talk about this here, remember? How did we even get on this topic again?’
‘Simple,’ Allison said, smirking. ‘I saw you in that dress and knew Cohen was going to love it. He’s your date for my wedding, Paige, so you’d better get your butt over there and at least try to make this right. It’s just a lovers’ quarrel, nothing more. You and Cohen aren’t over. Not nearly.’
Paige didn’t want to think so, either. This couldn’t be the end of her budding relationship with Cohen Beckett. It sure wasn’t the beginning, though, either. And knowing they were somewhere in between … that was what worried her the most.
Chapter 22
Cohen
Some days were busy at the clinic, with appointments keeping things running steadily until five o’clock rolled around.
Other days were insane. Today was one of those days. There was no other way to describe the craziness that ensued with walk-in appointments that couldn’t wait until the next available appointment slot, or the already packed schedule that had awaited them first thing that morning. Cohen felt bad for his staff. They had been run off their feet since they arrived. He was pretty sure they hadn’t even been able to stop and take their full lunch breaks yet. He wasn’t sure, because he hadn’t had a moment to stop and find out.
No moment was sweeter than when Rhonda shouted, ‘I’m locking the front door.’ That meant the last client had left for the day. Cohen glanced at the
clock. The clinic had technically closed more than an hour ago. What a day.
He remembered seeing Bryce shoot in through the clinic’s back door like a blur, but he couldn’t recall how long ago that had been. It seemed like hours in some respects and only minutes in others. He faintly recalled giving him permission to take Jazz out into the backyard to play. Which was humorous, seeing as everyone knew that constituted Bryce tossing toys into the air while Jazz stared at them as they hit the ground, wondering who was going to fetch them for her. Jazz was more human than dog – she didn’t play dog games well. She adored the attention, nonetheless.
‘Anybody seen Bryce?’ He was trying to run one last lab work panel, otherwise he would have checked on his son himself.
‘In the backyard with Jazz and Hunter. They’re fine,’ Rhonda assured him. ‘You got another visitor, anyway, boss.’
Cohen was about to advise her to make them an appointment for tomorrow if it wasn’t an emergency, but from the corner of his eye he saw movement. He looked up from the slip of lab results printing from the machine to see Paige standing behind the veterinary technician. ‘Paige, hey.’
‘Hello.’ He could hear her anxiety. ‘I know you’re busy. I’m sorry to show up like this.’
‘It’s okay.’ He waved a hand to display the vials and paperwork, and now-cold coffee cup beside the computer. ‘It’s been one of those days.’
‘Obviously. I’ve been here twice and could barely wade through the waiting room. I guess the third time’s the charm.’
‘You have?’ That perked Cohen’s interest. He waited for Rhonda to fade into the background, knowing full well she was hanging on every word. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘No,’ she said quickly. Then, ‘Well, yes. This.’ She motioned between them after looking around to confirm no one was eavesdropping. ‘Us. It’s all wrong.’
He knew exactly what she meant. Wrong was a good way to put it. The way things had been so good between them, then in the blink of an eye it had all turned sour. ‘I know,’ he admitted.
‘You agree.’ She sighed with relief, her shoulders sagging. ‘Can’t we talk this through? Cohen, all I want is for things to go back to the way they were before.’
Before. Paige’s confession was heartfelt, but there was something that irked him about her choice of words. She made it sound like it was his fault things had gone so off track. He leaned back in his chair. ‘That makes two of us,’ he replied truthfully. ‘I hadn’t heard from you since the fundraiser, so I just assumed we were past the point of talking.’
‘We’re only past the point if you want to be.’ Her eyes said she hoped that wasn’t the case, but Paige’s tone held an assertive air. She was just as desperate to hold on to some semblance of control as he was. Even if it was a fake bravado that gave the illusion of control.
‘Of course I don’t want that.’ He snapped out the words, his fatigue getting the better of him. He sighed. ‘What I want is to have never heard you accuse Bryce of stealing in the first place, Paige. But unfortunately we can’t turn back time.’
Her jaw tightened. ‘No, we can’t,’ she agreed. ‘But maybe we can talk about this like adults, then talk to Bryce and get everything cleared up—’
‘You still think Bryce did it.’ Cohen couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
‘Of course I still believe Bryce and Hunter did it,’ she exclaimed. ‘Cohen, I wouldn’t have come to you in the first place if I wasn’t sure.’
‘You’ve got to be kidding me right now.’ Cohen pushed his chair back, tossing the lab results on the counter as he stood up. ‘You haven’t even tried to apologize for this yet, and now—’
‘Apologize?’ Paige’s eyes grew wider. ‘The only thing I’m going to apologize for is thinking you would handle this rationally. Because that’s obviously not the case.’
‘You can’t just come in here and suggest that my kid—’
‘Cohen!’ She held her hands up. ‘We’ve been through this. I told you already, Bryce is a good kid. He really is. And you know I care about him. That’s why I came to you about the missing stuff at my shop. Not because I want to crucify the boy, but because I care about him. Why can’t you see that?’
‘Because you can’t see that he wouldn’t do that in the first place!’ Cohen argued back. He paced the floor, which only fueled his frustration. ‘Bryce thinks the world of you, too, and what thanks does he get for that? You came to me spewing lies about him.’
‘Did you ask him about it?’
He stopped pacing. ‘What?’
‘I said, did you ask Bryce about the day he and Hunter came into the bakery?’
‘No!’ He shook his head vehemently. ‘I’m not bringing my ten-year-old son into this witch hunt, Paige. He doesn’t deserve it.’
‘He doesn’t deserve it?’ She arched a brow. ‘Or you can’t admit to yourself that his answer might not be the one you want to hear?’
‘That’s enough,’ Cohen warned.
‘He can be a good kid and still make mistakes, Cohen. It seems he’s not the only one who needs to learn that.’
A hollow laugh fell from Cohen’s lips. ‘You know, if this is your way of trying to make things better, you’re not very good at it.’
Paige scoffed, her spine straight as a fencepost. ‘Yeah, but there is no way to make things better when I’m dealing with someone who doesn’t want to make them better.’ All the frustration had gone out of her voice, leaving her sounding defeated. ‘And I don’t think you want to, Cohen.’
He swallowed. It had come to this pivotal moment, and once he replied, there would be no going back. But there was one fact that remained. One thing he couldn’t sweep under the rug. ‘I can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust my son, Paige.’
He saw her throat move, struggling to keep herself composed. A very similar struggle was making it difficult for Cohen to keep his expression blank.
‘I never said I didn’t trust him.’ The waver in her voice made his chest tighten.
‘You’re right, you didn’t say it. But you didn’t have to.’ Cohen’s own anger crashed down around him, leaving him with only his exhaustion and jumbled feelings to guide his way. ‘I’m sorry, Paige.’
He wasn’t sure how to read what was simmering in Paige’s eyes. It wasn’t just hurt or sadness – he could distinguish that from the tears brimming her bottom eyelids. And it wasn’t full-fledged anger. There was some of that, sure, but that wasn’t all. What was that? Cohen’s conflicted, tired brain wasn’t capable of deciphering it at the moment.
She sniffed, shaking her head as though this was some kind of tragedy he would never understand. ‘Yeah, me too.’
It was a tragedy. But Paige didn’t understand tragedy the way he did. She couldn’t. And that was something he could never explain to her. She would never understand his need to protect Bryce … because he was all he had left. Call his reaction irrational, over the top, even explosive. Cohen knew his son had the ability to evoke those severe emotions in him. But he had to put Bryce first. No matter how much it cost him. No matter the consequences.
Paige looked away, and Cohen felt the connection between them snap apart like a lifeline strung too taut. She fished around in her jacket pocket, held something tightly in her hands, and then set the stone down on the counter beside him.
The words Stay Pawsitive cut through Cohen’s cognition like a hot knife.
‘I’d better give that back to you,’ Paige said. There was no mistaking the hurt in her eyes now. ‘But I should warn you, I don’t think it works anymore.’
She turned to leave, raising alarm bells within Cohen’s mind. If he let her walk out now, this was it. He would lose her for good. He was certain of it.
‘Paige, wait.’ The words about choked him as he stepped forward, but she turned on him, holding up a hand.
‘That’s all I’ve done,’ she replied, her tears toppling down her cheeks freely. ‘For days. So, I came to you, Cohen. And look what it got
me. A broken heart.’ She shook her head vehemently, obviously frustrated with herself for confessing her heartbreak. ‘Goodbye, Cohen.’
This time, Cohen was so shocked by her outburst, and by the pain in her eyes, he didn’t try to stop her. It hadn’t registered immediately, but finally Cohen recognized the emotion he’d seen shrouding her gaze earlier. It was the same one that took the forefront as she stared at him for the last time before turning away and disappearing out the front door.
Regret.
It petrified him to think how deep that regret went. Was it regret about the time she’d waited for him? The time she had spent with him? Did she regret meeting him at all? He didn’t know, and he didn’t want to know.
Cohen ran his hands through his disheveled hair. He was making so many mistakes, and those mistakes were hurting other people. People he cared about beyond words.
And himself.
He turned around, intent on grabbing the sheets of lab results and taking them home with him to interpret. He couldn’t stand being there one more minute now that the clinic was as empty and desolate as his emotions. His gaze landed on three pairs of eyes in the other doorway, however. Bryce stood there, eyes wide and face ashen, with Rhonda’s hands clutching his shoulders for support. Jazz sat solemnly beside him, her own face more serious than Cohen had ever seen it before.
It looked like he had managed to break more than just Paige’s heart.
Chapter 23
Paige
Paige loved her apartment. It was her home, the space she had single-handedly transformed into the perfect refuge from a busy day. It was her sanctuary from the tireless hours she put into her work, the peaceful place she ran to when it all seemed to be too much.
But now? Now, all Paige wanted to do was put a sledgehammer through the walls to make it bigger, more open, less confining. She wasn’t sure how it was possible, but the apartment seemed to be closing in on her, growing smaller and narrower as the hours ticked by.
The Forget-Me-Not Bakery Page 21