The Gingerbread Bakery (Dream Harbor, #5)(8)

The evening went on with more drinks and food and laughter. Archer had outdone himself and Annie couldn’t imagine how Sunday’s meal would be any better, but she knew it would be.

‘We should probably test out the dance floor,’ Noah said, coming up beside Hazel and putting out a hand to her.

‘We probably should.’ Hazel smiled up at him and Annie couldn't help the small pang she felt anytime she was around her friends lately. She loved them all, and she was so happy that they had each found their person. But, when everyone had their person, it really emphasized the fact that she didn't.

She could feel Mac’s eyes on her from the other table as more and more guests got up to dance. She didn't allow herself to look at him. Instead, she very gratefully accepted an offer from Jeanie’s cousin when he asked her to dance.

The music was slow and romantic, and Annie had had enough wine to feel pleasantly warm. She couldn’t help but think that, if she had been dancing with someone she cared about, the moment would have been quite lovely.

Hazel’s head rested on Noah’s shoulder as they danced, Iris and Archer couldn’t take their eyes off each other, and Kira had taken a break from her hosting duties to dance with Bennett. Her laughter filled up the room when he dipped her. And never mind Jeanie and Logan. Annie wasn’t sure their feet even touched the ground as they danced, whispering quietly to each other in their own little world. They were all so happy, so settled. And in a group of couples, Annie had quickly become the only single left.

Well, and Mac.

She really needed to get more friends.

‘So that’s why I don't feed my geckos crickets.’

Annie blinked.

‘What was that?’ she asked. She’d totally not been listening to whatever her dance partner had been going on about. In fact, she wasn’t even sure she caught his name.

‘Crickets,’ he repeated. ‘They give off a weird smell, so I prefer to feed my gecko pellets only.’

Annie stared at him in horror before she remembered to be polite. ‘Of course, that makes sense,’ she said, forcing a smile on her face. ‘Well, thank you so much for the dance.’ She pulled away, even though the song was not over. She’d had enough cricket talk for one evening.

As she made her way across the dance floor and away from gecko guy, she caught Mac following her with his gaze. He still sat at the table chatting with Henry and Mayor Kelly, but his eyes were on her.

She needed to get out of here. She needed a break from all of it, from Mac, from the happy couples, from the insanely romantic wedding Kira had planned. It was all too much.

She stepped out of the barn and into the cold night air and took a deep breath. She was fine. Everything was fine. She took another deep breath of the pine-scented breeze as she tried to convince herself that everything really was fine. She stared up at a sky filled with stars.

Annie didn’t make a habit of being lovesick and she certainly wasn’t going to start now. Once this wedding was over, everything would go back to normal. She could go back to avoiding Mac, and her single-ness wouldn’t be quite so painfully obvious. She had her friends and her family and her bakery. She didn’t need a dance partner.

Right. Two more days to go.

She could do this.

But by the time the already small crowd had dwindled even further to just Iris, who was waiting for Archer and his crew to finish clearing the food, and Mayor Kelly who was going over his notes for the ceremony with Logan, Annie was looking for any distraction to keep between her and Mac.

Hazel and Noah had left to drive a tipsy Jeanie home and Bennett had gone to escort the Ellis cousins to the inn.

‘What else can I do?’ she asked Kira, to avoid watching Mac spin Iris in a slow circle on the dance floor.

‘I think we’re done for the night.’ Kira plopped down into the nearest chair. ‘We should probably get some sleep. We have more work to do tomorrow.’

‘Right.’ Manicures and pedicures, followed by finishing up the secret, wedding dessert and helping Kira decorate the barn. She was hoping Mac wouldn’t be a part of any of it. Maybe she wouldn’t have to see him again until Sunday and then there would be enough other stuff going on, she’d barely have to interact with him. Except for the whole pesky walking down the aisle business.

‘What happened between you two, anyway?’ Kira asked, following Annie’s gaze to where Mac was now talking with Archer and Iris, the dance over.

Annie sighed. ‘It really doesn’t matter.’

‘It kinda seems like it does.’

Mac looked up and caught her in his gaze. Sometimes it felt like a million years ago that she had let herself fall for that cocky team captain, and sometimes it felt like she was still that girl letting herself trust that boy. Mac’s lips tipped into a tentative smile and Annie was right back in that diner booth trying to convince herself that they didn’t make sense together, that he couldn’t possibly like her.

But he had convinced her that he did. And, for that one December, she’d let herself believe him.

And look where it had gotten her. Stuck on a guy who would never be right for her.

She turned away from Mac’s smile.

‘We were young and stupid.’

Kira’s brows rose. This was the most Annie had ever confessed about what happened between her and Mac. For some reason, it felt a little easier to tell Kira, who hadn’t been around Annie and Mac her whole life and had only showed up in town a year ago.