She had to do it. Tell him everything and hope that he’d forgive her. But just then the front door of the bakery swung open, the bell ringing with the movement. Shocked by the realization that she’d forgotten to relock the door when Jake had come over, Charlie was startled and turned her head toward the doorway, prepared to tell the customer they’d have to come back in the morning.
It wasn’t a customer. It was Brett.
He was staring openmouthed at Charlie and Jake; quite aware he’d interrupted an intimate moment. It took him a second to compose himself, but then he cleared his throat and set the paper bag in his hands down on the table by the door. “I was worried about you, so I brought you some soup.”
Charlie didn’t know what to say. It’s not what it looks like? Except it was exactly what it looked like. Jake had taken a step away from Charlie, and now he stood at a slight distance with his arms crossed, looking incredibly uncomfortable.
“Anyway, you look like you’re in good hands,” Brett said, pressing his lips together as he glanced at Jake. “But I’ll leave this for you anyway.” He gestured at the paper bag on the counter and then shut the door behind him. She and Jake watched as Brett walked away, neither of them speaking.
“Like I said the other night, we broke up,” Charlie finally said, weakly, as Jake took off his apron. “I know it doesn’t seem that way, but we did. I would never . . . It’s over between us.”
“I don’t want to make anything more complicated for you, Cass.”
“I know. And I’ll admit the timing is not ideal.” Charlie wanted to tell him that regardless of everything that just happened. She also believed they had a chance at something special.
But that would be a lie to add to the pile of lies she’d already told him. Jake had no idea who she really was, or how complicated her life was.
Charlie had to end this. And now that she had her sense of taste and smell back, the conviction that had been niggling at her all day came to the forefront: she needed to go back to L.A. Charlie had already done enough damage to her sister’s life here in Starlight Peak. She refused to blow up Jake’s life, too.
“I’m so sorry,” Charlie finally said, wishing there was any other way than this. “We did just break up. You were right to ask me earlier if it’s too soon. I think it might be. I . . . didn’t mean to let things get carried away tonight.”
Jake pulled on his coat. Charlie watched helplessly as he zipped it up, knowing he was seconds away from walking out the door—and out of her life.
“It was my mistake,” Jake said, in a stiff voice Charlie didn’t recognize. It stung. “I misjudged the situation. But thanks again for dinner, Cass.”
Charlie didn’t know if she wanted to cry or scream at him not to go, but she resisted both urges. “You’re welcome,” she said, quietly. And thank you, Jake. For so many things. For waking me up. For really seeing me—even if you had no idea who you were really seeing. But she couldn’t say any of that, of course. There was nothing left to say.
A moment later Jake walked out the door and Charlie was alone. It was then she saw Jake’s camera sitting on the counter—he’d been in such a rush to leave he’d forgotten it behind—and the sadness swelled inside her again.
Back in Cass’s apartment Charlie picked up her phone. It had enough battery to turn on now, and she first opened her texts. There she found several unanswered messages from Cass, wondering how things were going at the bakery—and asking Charlie to send the promised e-mail with the PDF of recipes for Sweet & Salty that week. Quickly she clicked over to e-mail and there it was: the e-mail with the recipes, the ingredients lists, everything . . . sitting in her drafts folder. She’d forgotten to send it. Her heart rate sped up as the implications of her error settled in her mind. Without the recipe details and ingredients, Cass had been flying solo. Panic surged through her, and she wished she’d been able to watch tonight’s episode, to make sure Cass had fared okay and Charlie’s career wasn’t in jeopardy.
But she knew if anything had gone sideways, it was entirely her own fault. While she had confidence in Cass’s talents, diving head-first into the world of reality television—alongside a swindler like Austin Nash, and without a plan—was a recipe for disaster. Charlie had now potentially ruined not only Cass’s situation at home in Starlight Peak but also her own career plans.
Feeling shaky, she phoned Cass.