And Leo was more than okay with it—he encouraged and supported her. He was proud of her.

She tried to just be happy in the moment. Which she was, even if it seemed too good to be true. For once, everything felt…right.

The bell over the door tinkled, as it had been doing all morning. The big commotion over her YouTube channel and the new things going on at the restaurant had brought people flocking in. This time it was Max Hammond, her mom’s longtime accountant, strolling in, wearing a suit and tie. “Good morning, Tessa,” he said pleasantly, setting his briefcase on a tabletop. “Can I get a half dozen of those melt-in-your-mouth croissants? I love those things.”

“Hey, Max,” Tessa greeted him as always. “How are you?” Inside, she did a mental fist pump. For the first time in years, his mere presence didn’t give her heart palpitations from having to discuss bad news about the business.

“Great,” he said. “I heard about the huge crowds last night. And the potential new baking contracts. Congratulations.”

“Business is picking up.” Tessa gave a thumbs-up. With all the ideas she and Leo had planned, she felt that this was only the beginning.

“Glad to hear it,” Max said. “Maybe your mom will reconsider selling to the Castorinis now?”

Tessa halted, her tongs suspended over the croissants. She couldn’t have just heard that. “Well, things are really looking up. We’re going to be doing much better now.” She had no doubt that her mom would rather cut off her right arm than sell her beloved bakery to the Castorinis, regardless of the fact that there’d been some recent fence-mending.

She decided that she did hear that wrong and was just about to ask what Max was talking about when he said, “Well then, she should probably destroy that paperwork I drew up.”

Tessa’s heart began a slow, hard pound. Okay, this was not a misunderstanding after all. She hadn’t misheard. She flicked up her gaze to address him directly. “Max, are you saying my mom was actually preparing to sell the business to the Castorinis?” Had the lowest point actually been that low? Did her mom start some kind of sale proceedings out of desperation?

He suddenly turned bright red. And cleared his throat. “Clearly I’ve overstepped. I thought you must have discussed this with Leo. I’m just so thrilled business is booming.”

“With Leo?” Discuss what exactly with Leo?

“I’m sorry, Tessa. You’ll have to take this up with him or your mom.” He left a bill on the glass bakery case, grabbed his bag of croissants, and hurriedly left.

Vivienne appeared from the back just as Tessa was gripping the counter in disbelief. “What was that all about?” she asked.

Tessa’s heart sank into her stomach as she realized her sister had heard everything. “Do you know anything about this?”