by E. L. Todd
TUESDAY
E. L. TODD
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious or used fictitiously. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher or author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
Fallen Publishing
Tuesday
Editing Services provided by Final-Edits.com
Copyright © 2016 by E. L. Todd All Rights Reserved
Two Years Later
Francesca
Like every morning, it was chaos.
Workers were preparing breakfast and lunch on one side of the bakery, where an enormous line wrapped around the store and headed out the door. Every table was filled with customers, and when one was finally vacated, someone snatched it before the busser got there. The line for the baked goods was just as long. We stopped playing music in the shop because it was always so loud you couldn’t hear anything anyway.
I was in the cake kitchen going over a new design for a wedding cake. It was an unusual creation, but it had strong significance to the couple. I was open-minded to anything, and since it was their special day, I would do whatever I possibly could to give them what they wanted.
“Frankie.” Liz came from the front. Her black t-shirt was caked in flour, and a gleam of sweat was on her forehead.
“What’s up?” I didn’t take my eyes off my binder.
“Some guy wants to put in a large catering order. He says it’s for a work conference. And he wanted me to tell you it’s Matt.”
Matt had become an acquaintance from all his visits to the bakery. He was my first customer when I had my grand opening, and he still came in here twice a week. “I’ll be there in a second.”
“Okay.” Liz returned to the chaos.
After I grabbed my notebook, I headed to the front. The closer I got, the louder it became. The noise level was always at its peak. Whenever I was here in the morning, it was dead silent—but it didn’t feel right.
Matt’s eyes lit up when he saw me. “Busy day, huh?”
“It’s always busy.” I gave him a quick smile then nodded to the rear. “You want to talk in my conference room?”
“What?” He leaned forward like he hadn’t heard me. It was impossible to have a conversation in this place.
I waved him toward the back, and we headed up the stairs until we reached the hallway and entered the conference room.
“I can hear myself think again.” He walked with one hand in the pocket of his suit. A shiny watch was on his wrist, and he smelled like Hugo Boss.
“Sometimes I wear ear plugs.”
He chuckled. “Good thinking.”
We sat down at the table, and I pulled out the catering menu. “What do you have in mind?”
“Well, it’s for a charity banquet.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “How many people?”
He cringed like he knew I didn’t want to hear the number. “Six hundred.”
I shook my head slowly. “That’s a lot of people, Matt.”
“I know. But your stuff is unbelievable. They’ll go crazy over it.”
I gave him a soft smile. “I appreciate the compliment. But…I’m not sure if I have the manpower to do that and supply goods for the bakery at the same time.”
“What if I pay you double?”
That’s not what I was fishing for. “No, of course not.”
He leaned over the table, his handsome face almost childlike as he begged. “Come on, Francesca. Help me out.”
I sighed because I knew I was going to regret this. “Fine.”
He smiled, highlighting his nice cheekbones and straight teeth. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
I held the pen to the paper and took down his order. I’d definitely have to call in all my workers overnight to get this job done. My business had grown so much that I seriously considered expanding or opening another shop.
“Do you have plans on Saturday?”
“I’m working.” I held up the notes to him. “And I’m working all day.”
“But what about in the evening?” Matt was a nice guy. He was polite and thoughtful, and he was good-looking. He’d discreetly asked me out a few times, and when I said no, he dropped it—for a while.
“I’ll be exhausted.” I tried to turn him down easily. Sometimes, I wondered if he loved my bakery that much or if it was just an excuse to talk to me.
A quick glimpse of disappointment flashed across his eyes before it disappeared. “You’re right. I doubt you’ll be able to stand when you’re finished.” He gave me a smile that said there were no hard feelings.
“Well, I’ll see you then. I should get back to work.” I rose from the table with the order in my hand.
“Me too. If I stay here too long, I’ll eat something I shouldn’t.” His hand moved to his stomach.
“Like you have anything to worry about…”
We headed downstairs and back into the fray of the crowd.
“I’ll see you later, Matt.”
“Bye, Francesca.” He gave me a quick wink before he walked out and headed back to work.
I migrated through the crowd and returned behind the counter.
“Frankie?” Liz was at my side again.
“What’s up?”
“Marie is here to see you.”
My heart throbbed in my chest and excitement shot through me. “Where is she?”
“I put her in the cake kitchen. Wasn’t sure where else to leave her.”
“Thank you.” I quickly migrated through the workers in the kitchen and headed to the back.
Marie was there, pacing back and forth like she couldn’t stand still. She wore a black pencil skirt and a pink blouse. Her blonde hair reached past her shoulders. My eyes immediately went to her left ring finger.
When she noticed me, she practically screamed. “Frankie!” She held up her left hand. “Look who’s getting married!”
“Oh my god!” I screamed then hugged her tightly. “Congratulations. I’m so happy for you.”
“It was so romantic. It was right on the beach.”
I grabbed her left hand and examined the ring even though I’d already seen it. “It’s beautiful. He did a good job.”
“We’re going to be sisters—officially.”
“I know…it’s great.” I squeezed her shoulder. “You guys are perfect together. I’m so happy.”
Suspicion moved into her eyes. “You already knew, didn’t you?”
“You think Axel wouldn’t tell me?” I asked incredulously. “I helped him pick out the ring.”
“No wonder it’s so perfect,” she said with a laugh. “I can’t believe you were able to keep it a secret.”
“I tried not to think about it.”
She examined her ring with affection. “He totally caught me off guard. I just turned around and he was on his knee in the sand. I cried…”
Axel caught me off guard too. I had no idea he could be romantic. “That’s very sweet.”
“I can’t believe my day is finally here!” She screamed in the middle of my kitchen.
Happiness moved through my heart. Marie deserved nothing but the best. When she and Axel started fooling around, I never expected it to go anywhere. I thought he would just break her heart and leave. But I was wrong—thankfully.
“You’ll be my maid of honor?” She squeezed my hand.
“Do you really need to ask?” I said sarcastically. “And it better be me. I’d kick your ass if it wasn’t.”
She chuckled. “Grea
t. I was thinking we’d have an engagement party.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll put it together for this weekend.”
Her eyes lightened in awe. “Wow, you’re already a great maid of honor.”
I shrugged. “I try.”
She felt the ring on her finger then grew serious. The aura in the room noticeably darkened, and all the joy that was once in her cheeks disappeared. I felt the coldness enter my body, freezing me. “There’s something we need to talk about…”
I knew exactly what this was regarding. “Marie, I know he’s going to be there, and it doesn’t bother me in the least.”
Relief was in her eyes. “Axel was going to ask him to be his best man…but we won’t if it’s too uncomfortable for you. We would never do that to you.”
I hadn’t seen or heard from Hawke in two years. The break up was hard on me, and I spent three months just trying to get by. It was like someone ripped out one lung, and I was forced to survive without it. I spent most of my days crying and lying in bed. I managed to pass my classes because Marie did all my work. They both saw me at my worst, and their concern was appropriate. “I’m fine, Marie. It’s your day, and you shouldn’t worry about anyone but yourself.”
“Shut up,” she said. “My day is about you too. I want you to be comfortable.”
After the first six months of being apart, it got easier. I finally focused on opening my bakery and moving on with my life. I was still angry with Hawke, but eventually that passed. I’d been in a happy place for a long time now. Seeing him didn’t bother me in the least. If he could move on and forget about me, I could do the same. “I couldn’t care less that he’s going to be there. He’s just another person to me now.”
“But Axel and I know how you felt about him…”
“Two years ago, Marie. I’ve dated other guys and have moved on. Seriously, I’ll be fine.”
She still seemed unsure. “Because he doesn’t have to be in the wedding at all. He can just be a guest.”
And give him that satisfaction? Hell no. “Marie, put him in the wedding. He’s Axel’s best friend. He belongs there.”
“Maybe you should take a few days to think about it…”
I put my hands on my hips and glared at her. “Marie, if I couldn’t handle this, I would be upfront about it. I—”
“No, you wouldn’t.”
Okay, I wouldn’t. “I really am fine. I don’t miss him, and I never think about him. Why would I mourn over someone who packed his shit and just took off like that? Why would I think about someone so selfish? I thought what we had was true and real, but it obviously wasn’t. I’ve had enough time to forget about him and move on. You know I have a thing with Kyle right now.”
“You mean a booty call?”
“Whatever. My point is, I’m not moping around. I haven’t moped around in over a year.”
Marie seemed more convinced.
“I’m fine with it. Honestly. Now let’s stop talking about some guy I dated two years ago, and let’s start planning your wedding.”
She finally relaxed, and all the concern faded from her eyes. “Let’s.”
***
I began planning the engagement party immediately because I only had a few days to pull it together. Fortunately, Matt allowed me to use the rooftop on his building for the party. It was beautiful up there, with a view of the entire city. And it was clean. I hung up some lights and rented tables and chairs. And for once, I ordered catering from someone else and didn’t make the food myself. But I did make the cake.
Kyle came by my place for some action, and once we were done, I got back to work. I made the invitations and finished all the final touches. “You have a sexy man in your bed, and yet, you’re ignoring him.”
I rolled my eyes. “We had sex, didn’t we?”
“But we usually have sex twice.” He sat up in bed with the sheet over his waist.
“I’m giving you more time to recharge.”
“Baby, I don’t need more time.” He pulled the sheet down and revealed himself.
I rolled my eyes again. “How can I say no to that?” I returned to addressing the envelopes.
He sighed then lay next to me at the foot of the bed. “What are you working on, anyway?”
“My best friend is getting married, and I’m throwing her an engagement party.”
“Sounds boring.”
“It’ll be fun.” I stacked the completed envelopes in a pile next to me.
“You bringing me as your date?”
“No,” I blurted.
“You bringing someone else?”
“No. I’m going stag.”
“That’s pretty lame.”
Hawke would probably bring a date but I didn’t care. And I wasn’t going to bring someone just to act like I was totally over him. I was over him, and I didn’t need to prove it. I didn’t care enough to play games. “It shows confidence. I don’t need a man on my arm to feel secure.”
He gave me that grin that attracted me to him to begin with. “That’s sexy.”
“Told you.”
“But I think you should bring me along anyway.”
“Because of the babes?” Why else would Kyle want to tag along?
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “No…for the free food. You’re baking a cake for her, right?”
“Of course.”
“That’s what I’m interested in.”
I continued making the invitations. “I’ll bring you back a slice.”
He turned his body so he was closer to me. The sheet no longer covered him. “Give me one good reason why you won’t take me.”
“Because I don’t want to.” He was being awfully pushy today. “Is that a good enough reason?”
“Oh…” He nodded his head in understanding. “Planning on picking up someone?” He had a teasing tone to his voice but disappointment was in his eyes.
I immediately thought of Hawke. “Definitely not.”
“Then you should take me.”
“Why are you being so pushy about this?” I set the invitations down and looked him in the eye.
“Because I like spending time with you.” He held my gaze and didn’t blink. “And your best friend is getting married. I’m sure that bums you out.”
“What? Why would that bum me out?”
“Because you aren’t getting married…”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not like that. I’m truly happy for her and don’t care that I’m not in the same situation. My day will come eventually, and whatever her status is, she’ll be just as happy for me.”
“Well, wouldn’t it be better to have me for company instead of sitting alone?”
I stood up and grabbed his clothes. “You should go.” I tossed his jeans at him.
“Whoa, what the hell?” He sat up and raised his arms in confusion.
“We agreed to a meaningless fling and now you’re trying to change it. I told you I’m not looking for something more.”
“Neither am I.” He stood up and pulled on his boxers.
“Then why do you want to come so badly?”
“I don’t know,” he snapped. “Because we’re friends. We can do other things instead of screwing.”
“But I don’t want to do other things.” I made that clear, and I didn’t feel bad for sounding so cold.
“What the hell happened to you?” he asked.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re totally closed off like a concrete wall. I admit I’m not big on emotions and clinginess, but you’re worse than any dude I’ve ever met. When was the last time you had a relationship?”
Hawke. “Two years ago.”
“And you’ve been single since?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s just…that’s a long time to be single.”
“Maybe I like being single.”
He shook his head. “No girl likes being single.”
I threw his shirt at him. �
�Just go. This is getting too complicated.”
“What happened to that guy two years ago?”
“What do you think?” I said sarcastically. “We’re still together?”
“How did it end?”
I never thought about Hawke, so it was weird to talk about him. “He left me. He grabbed his things and took off.”
“And that’s it?” he asked. “No explanation?”
I didn’t want to get into it. “No.”
He sat on the bed again, his head bowed. “That’s rough, Frankie.”
“I’m over it,” I said dismissively. “It was a long time ago.”
“If you’re over it, why are you so closed off?”
“Maybe I just haven’t found the right guy. I’m very picky. It took me twenty-two years to find him, so I’m sure it’ll take me the same amount of time to find the next one.”
He held my gaze as he spoke. “Or maybe you just need to look a little harder.” Silence echoed in the room but he said so much with his gaze. Then he grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head.
Kyle and I had been fooling around for months. It started off empty and meaningless, but that was how I liked it. When Kyle left my apartment, I never wondered what he was doing. I didn’t care enough to think about it. But now things had changed. Instead of just sex, it seemed like he wanted something more, like going to movies or out to ball games. “You should go.”
“Yeah, I should.” He pulled his jeans on then grabbed his phone from the nightstand. “Have fun at your party.”
“I will.”
He gave me a cold look before he walked out my front door then slammed it.
I sighed then returned to the invitations. The next person on the list was Hawke. His name and address were on the notes Marie gave me. I stared at his name then looked at his location. He had an apartment on Park Avenue. He must be doing really well. I wondered where he worked and if he was happy.
I wondered if he ever thought the same about me.
***
Axel walked inside wearing a designer suit and tie. He’d had a fortuitous career, and he reeked of new money. “Hey, sis.”
“Look who it is.” I came out of the kitchen and hugged him. We hardly ever touched each other, but I thought I’d make an exception. “Congratulations.”