“I’ll leave you ladies to your tasting,” Hawk said. “Nicole, remember what I said.”
She laughed. “We’re not going to eat them all. You’ll have plenty.”
She and Hawk shared one of those intimate looks that passes between people who know each other and are secure in their love, then he left.
Nicole and Claire both sat at the table. Jesse joined them and opened the bakery box.
“I have three kinds of brownies,” Jesse said. “Plain chocolate, chocolate with walnuts and peanut-butter chocolate.”
“And these are your recipes?” Nicole asked.
Jesse resisted the urge to snap. “Yes. I developed them myself. I’ve kept records so there’s a clear evolution of the process.”
She hated that she had to explain herself, that Nicole just wouldn’t trust her, but that was her sister’s way. Nicole would never forgive Jesse for selling the famous Keyes cake online five years ago.
Nicole took one of each brownie. Claire did the same, then laughed. “I’m not really an expert. Is saying I like them going to be enough?”
“It is for me,” Jesse said, then held her breath as Nicole took a bite.
Nicole chewed and swallowed without saying anything. She got up and filled a glass with water, took a sip, returned to the table and tasted again.
She ate slowly, and deliberately, tasting each brownie three times before finishing her water and turning to Claire.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“They’re amazing. Really rich without being overpowering. I’m not usually big on the whole peanut-butter-chocolate combo, but even those are incredible.”
Jesse didn’t relax. Nicole wouldn’t care what Claire thought.
Nicole pushed away the brownies. “They’re good. I’d sell them in the bakery.”
Jesse exhaled. “All three flavors?”
Nicole nodded.
Relief was sweet and instant. “Great. So now what?”
Claire rose. “I’m going to leave you two to talk business. I’ll be in the back with the kids.” She patted Jesse on the shoulder as she left.
Nicole leaned back in her chair. “What do you want? You said before you were interested in earning your way back in. Is that still true?”
“Yes.” What did she want? A do-over. She wanted to somehow change the past. Except she wouldn’t give up Gabe and she liked the person she’d become.
“I want to work for you for six months,” Jesse began, making it up as she went. “After that period of time, we’ll discuss me becoming your partner. During that six months, you’ll get the brownie recipes. If things don’t work out, I take them with me.”
“And go sell them somewhere else? I don’t think so. If you leave, the brownie recipes stay, but I’ll pay you for them.”
Jesse didn’t like that, but she understood Nicole’s concerns. She wouldn’t want to sell something in the bakery for six months only to lose it and possibly customers.
Before Jesse could respond, Nicole said, “Or I could just buy you out. You’re over twenty-five now. I could get a loan and you’d get cash for half what the bakery is worth.”
It would be a lot of money, Jesse thought. Enough for her to start her own business. But that wasn’t what she wanted.
“I want to make this work,” she told her sister. “That’s why I’m here.”
“I have trouble believing that,” Nicole admitted. “But you’re different. That’s obvious.”
“I don’t care what I do at the bakery. You always need extra help. I’ll provide that. I’m not saying I have to be in charge. You’re still the boss.”
Nicole shifted in her seat. “An interesting statement. Since having the twins, it’s been really hard for me to get into the bakery much. We’re stretched pretty thin. What I need is someone to help run the place. You have any management experience?”
“I’ve been running a bar.”
Nicole’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
“No. I worked my way up from server. I would bartend and run the place a few nights a week. I’ve managed employees and drunk customers. A few businesspeople buying donuts and coffee will be easy. I also have my associates’ degree in business.”
“You went to college?”
“In the morning. I worked at night and did homework when I could.”
“What about Gabe?”
“I raised him, too.”
“You’ve been busy.”
Jesse nodded. She felt a little pride and took pleasure in the fact that Nicole seemed impressed. Despite what Nicole believed, Jesse cared about what her sister thought of her. Which was why she was willing to shatter the moment of connection between them by saying, “We have to talk about Drew.”
It was like a wall came down. “No, we don’t,” Nicole snapped.
“Fine. You can just listen. I didn’t sleep with him. I never slept with him or had anything close to an inappropriate relationship with him.” Jesse spoke quickly, afraid Nicole might bolt. “We used to talk, nothing more. He listened and I had a lot to say. One night …” She drew in a breath.
“That night I was upset. I’d found an engagement ring while I was helping Matt unpack. I knew he was going to propose. I loved him so much, but I was terrified, too. Terrified of blowing it. I’d never had a real relationship before. Could I have one with Matt? I wanted to, but I’d always managed to mess up everything good in my life. I didn’t want to screw up with him.”
Nicole started to stand. Jesse put her hand on her arm.
“You have to listen.”
“I don’t want to hear this.”
“I need to tell you.”
Nicole sank back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “Go on.”
“I was crying,” Jesse said, thinking that not talking about this was so much easier. She hated the feelings that rushed up in her, the sense of being swept back into the past. “He sat on the bed and told me I couldn’t change who I was. I would never settle for one guy. Girls like me didn’t settle down.”
She swallowed against the tightness in her throat. “I was stunned. Was he right? Was I going to hurt Matt? Worse, maybe I didn’t deserve him.”
She closed her eyes. Shame filled her. Shame that someone would think she was worth so little. “Drew kissed me. He kissed me and I let him because I’d always used guys to make myself feel better. Why should this be different? Then he pulled off my T-shirt and touched my bare skin and I lost it. I knew I didn’t want anyone but Matt. That I had changed. I started to push him away.”
There was more. There was how sick she’d felt inside. How she’d thought she was going to throw up. There was her terror that Nicole would hear them and come in, which was what had happened anyway. There was the rapid pounding of her heart and the knowledge that the very last piece of innocence buried deep inside had been shattered.
“That’s when you came in,” she whispered. “Drew