Tessa clutched her chest, swearing she was having a heart attack. How could she explain why she was standing by the door? I was just waiting for the paramedics, Mom. “Just me,” she said cheerily, then took a long, calming breath.

Her mom walked over and scanned up and down their familiar Main Street. The few outdoor tables. The banner draped across the ever-popular Blossom Glen candle factory across the street that read: We light up your life. “I thought I heard voices,” she said. “And the door.”

“Yes, I was out…looking at the moon.” She peered through the window. There it was again, big and round, looking down on all her secrets. “Have you seen it?”

“It’s going to be a lovers’ moon tonight,” her mom said, looking up. She gave Tessa a squeeze. “That’s what your dad would’ve called it. One that sees but never tells.”

Let’s certainly hope so.

“What are you doing here?” Tessa asked.

“Just restless. I wanted to go over the numbers again. And I see you’ve been baking.”

Her mom was looking at the chocolate croissants she’d left out. She loved all of Tessa’s pastries—she just wouldn’t sell them. Still, she hated to see her mother stressed. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’m working on some new ideas for us that might bring in more business.” She thought about mentioning Leo’s proposition but chickened out. “Um…have a croissant,” she said. “They’re fresh.”

“Those do look really good.”

That simple compliment gave Tessa the boost of confidence she needed. “They are really good,” she said. “I think people would—”

Her mother started to turn around, talking over her. “Maybe I’ll make us some coffee to go with— Oh, look at that. Someone left their phone.”

Tessa’s stomach dropped. Not just someone. Leo.

She scurried over and slipped the phone into her apron pocket. “There were a couple of teenagers sitting there earlier,” she said. “I’ll keep this safe until they come back for it.”

Thankfully, her mother shrugged and went to the coffee machine. Tessa let out a long sigh. She was going to get struck dead by lightning for lying.

But despite the fear, something inside her felt different. Like a part of her that had been loaded with dust had suddenly been shaken—a part that had been preventing her from taking risks for a long time.

Because she knew that if she didn’t take any soon, she’d be stuck in this bread shop forever.

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

“Hey, Mr. MBA, where you been?” Marco Castorini looked up from the old, scarred table in the back room of Castorini’s Family Restaurant the next morning. His thick gray hair was combed straight back from a widow’s peak, making him look somewhat formidable. “This place won’t run itself.”