I spent the rest of our—thankfully short—time together this morning trying to avoid his eyes as well as the ever-present memories. I had to stop myself from rushing to the window to watch him walk back to his office. Instead, I watched him walk away from what I thought was a surreptitious position at my table. Violet’s reaction when I turned around to go back to work told me I had been completely obvious instead.

“Whatever, Vi.” I huffed as I made my way behind the counter.

“I saw you watching that booty walk away. You’ll be back together before you know it,” she teased.

I laughed, but sensing my heart wasn’t in it, Violet’s expression shifted, and she hugged me. “You’ll be okay, Lily. Don’t you worry.” She didn’t tease me again for the rest of my shift.

Upon returning home I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to share my life with Luke again. But I managed to shove those thoughts aside so the kids and I could spend a quiet evening together. I thought I would be okay until Luke’s bedtime call to Dylan added another crack to the wall in my heart and shook the foundation.

I stared at the ceiling in my room for hours until finally falling into a fitful sleep. Dreams of Luke filled my head as I tossed and turned then was finally roused by Calla for a midnight feeding.

I stared out the window as I rocked her. How would I make it through tomorrow, let alone live in a town where Luke wasn’t mine? And how could I ever trust him enough to take him back?

6

Lily

It was still dark when I pulled into Violet’s employee parking lot. Four thirty in the morning was a terrible hour to start the day, especially if you had a baby who woke up so many times overnight that you lost count. Violet opened at six, but I was here to help her get the baking done. I entered the back door, and the smell that wafted over me was heavenly. I was going to eat one of everything today because there was no way to choose just one of the delicious treats.

“Lily, remember Piper?” I waved at Piper. She ran a food truck called Pixie Cakes. She made the best cupcakes in the entire world. Her family owned the bakery about a mile up the road, but she was trying to break out on her own. She helped Violet with breakfast treat baking in exchange for free advertising for Pixie Cakes in the coffee shop. She was also my hero, I spent a lot of time at her cupcake cart.