she said. “You owe me. I just kept your fiancée from buying something hideous.”
“You did it for yourself,” Wyatt told her. “You’d care more than I would.”
Nicole knew that was true, so she ignored the statement. She glanced at the bag in Wyatt’s hand. It was from the bookstore.
“Another instruction manual on pregnancy,” she teased. “Is there one left you don’t have already?”
“We want to do it right,” Wyatt told her. “Like you’d be any different.”
Nicole knew she wouldn’t, but that wasn’t the point. She was about to suggest they take in a movie when Wyatt said, “How are you doing?”
She blinked at him. “Excuse me?”
“We haven’t talked in a while. You okay? You know. With stuff?”
“Stuff” being man-talk for anything emotional.
Wyatt had been her friend and brother-in-law long before he’d fallen for Claire. He knew way too many of her secrets. He’d offered to beat the crap out of Drew when he’d learned about the cheating. She loved him like a brother—except for right now when she wanted to slap him upside the head.
“Have you and Claire been talking about me?” she demanded. “Am I the subject of one of those horrible ‘what are we going to do about poor Nicole?’ conversations? Because if I am, you need to stop right now. I don’t need help from either of you. I’m fine. Better than fine.”
Wyatt was unimpressed by her outburst. “You’re mostly staying home, you’re not seeing anyone. You’re crabbier than usual, which is a trick.”
“I’m not in the mood to date. I know that’s a surprise, but there we are.”
“Don’t judge everyone by Drew, okay? There are great guys out there. You need to get back on the horse again.”
“Tell me you didn’t just say that. Back on the horse? I didn’t fall off my bike. My husband cheated on me with my little sister. In my house. That is not a ‘back on the horse’ moment. It’s the kind of thing that makes someone rethink her sexual preference, okay?”
Her chest felt tight. Was it just her, or was it hot in here? “Look, I have to go. Thanks for letting me tag along for dinner. I’ll talk to you later.”
She turned and moved away.
“Nicole, wait.”
She kept walking. When she saw the sign, she hurried—as best she could—toward the parking structure, incredibly grateful she’d met them at the mall. At least she had her own car.
Thirty minutes later she was home where it was quiet and familiar and there was no one to ask her stupid questions or feel sorry for her. There were also too many memories and an emptiness that made her flip channels until she found a sitcom. She stared at the screen and vowed she wouldn’t cry over Drew. Not now and not ever again.
CHAPTER TWO
SATURDAY MORNING Nicole arrived at the bakery about ten minutes before Raoul was due for his shift. Not that she was actually expecting the teenager. She’d reacted to the moment—she’d been nice. And she was a firm believer that no good deed went unpunished. So he wouldn’t show and she would be pissed, mostly at herself.
She walked toward the rear door of the bakery, only to be joined by a tall, dark-haired kid who fell into step with her.
“Good morning,” Raoul said politely.
She glanced at him. “You’re early.”
“I didn’t want to be late.”
“I’m impressed you’re here at all.”
“You didn’t expect me?”
“No.”
“I gave my word.”
“You stole doughnuts. That makes your word questionable.”
She wasn’t exactly looking at him as she spoke, so she couldn’t be sure, but she caught what looked like a flinch out of the corner of her eyes. Because she doubted him? Because she mentioned the stealing? Great. Every morning should start with a hypersensitive pastry thief.
“You’re also a jock,” she added, not sure why she felt compelled to make him feel better. “I have this thing against jocks. It dates back to high school, when all the guys I had crushes on ignored me.”
“I don’t believe that.”
She sighed. “Are you trying to be charming?”
“Only a little. I’m practicing.”
She could guess who the master he’d learned from was. “Save it for someone who’s more easily impressed. I’m immune.”
“I noticed. You didn’t like Coach Hawkins much.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Nicole murmured, even though it was true. She thought Hawk was gorgeous and had an amazing body more than capable of making her entire being go up in flames, but that didn’t mean she had to like the man. There was no way she was going to be taken in by his practiced smile and sexual heat that sizzled so much it probably contributed to global warming.
Raoul held open the door to the bakery. Nicole went in and waved at Phil.
“Morning,” she called.
Phil, an older man dressed all in white, including his apron, hurried toward them.
“Morning,” he said, looking Raoul over. “You ready to do work?”
“Yes, sir.”
Phil didn’t look convinced. “This isn’t going to be easy and I’m not interested in complaints. You hear me? No whining.”
Raoul straightened. “I don’t whine.”
“We’ll see.”
Phil led him away.
Nicole watched them go. Raoul would work off what he owed her by scrubbing massive mixing bowls used to make bread dough. That would be followed by an assortment of tasks designed to make Raoul think twice about stealing rather than buying. She wondered if the lesson would be learned or simply endured.
FOUR HOURS LATER Nicole had gone through the pile in her in-basket, a task she always dreaded. But she’d wanted to stay through Raoul’s shift and working in the bakery itself wasn’t going to happen until she was cane-free. She dropped the invoices into a folder and labeled it to go to her accountant. Phil knocked on the open door and stepped in front of her desk.
“How’s it going?” she asked.
“Good. Better than I expected. The kid can work. He does what he’s told, no attitude, no
