And she loved Leo with a certainty she’d never felt with Sam.

Leo challenged her. Shook her up. Saw through her like no one ever had. Let her be who she was.

And she’d ruined things. Driven him away. Though thinking back on the horrible things he’d said…maybe she’d never had him to begin with. Not really.

She stood up and gave Sam a hug. “That was a lot closer to being friends than we’ve been in a long time,” she said. “And…the ring is pretty. I hope Marcy likes it.”

“Thanks, Tessa.”

As he opened the door to leave, she called after him. “Hey, Sam? One more thing.”

He turned around. “Sure. What’s that?”

“After you’re engaged, you have to ask Marcy for advice. Not me.”

He laughed. “Maybe I just wanted your blessing. And…your forgiveness.”

Well, all right then. “See you around.”

The group of tourists was still standing against the building, waiting patiently. Tessa put on a smile and got them their bread with some extra goodies thrown in for making them wait. By the time she saw them out, it was ten thirty. She had two more hours to go before their usual Saturday closing time.

She wandered back over to the door. No, she didn’t think so. Not today. Then, before any more customers showed up, she flipped the sign to CLOSED.

…

That night, Leo hit Tessa’s number for the hundredth time that day. “Hello?” said a too-sugary voice that Leo immediately knew was not Tessa.

“Juliet? Can I please talk with Tessa?” He was yelling over some loud sound in the background. A lawnmower? No, it was a clattering. Like clack-clack-clack. Followed by the squeal of brakes. What in the world?

“I’m sorry, Leo.” Juliet spoke in a low voice. He heard a door shut, like she was moving away somewhere to talk privately. “Tessa doesn’t want to talk with you. She feels like it would just be more rejection. And she deserves better, frankly. And she’s asked that you please stop calling every five minutes.”

“Please put her on the phone,” he said. “Please,” he added. Make that begged. He wasn’t past doing that.

There was a long pause. “I can’t. She’s…taking a nap.”

Leo paced the now-dark house. “At least tell me where you three are. I’ve looked everywhere—your apartment, your mom’s house, the bakery.” Leo did some deep breathing. Juliet was a wall, and she wouldn’t hesitate to protect Tessa at all costs.

Juliet dropped her voice to a whisper, like maybe she didn’t want Tessa to hear what she was about to say. “Maybe she needs a break from you.” There was a long pause, where he heard someone in the background on a loudspeaker say, This is the Brown Line to the Loop. “Because you did the same exact thing to her that Sam did.”