Brayden, Melissa - How Sweet It Is

It was quite simple. “I get my heart broken, I guess. That’s the plan. There’s no good ending to this one, George. I should run like hell before I’m in any deeper. I really should.”

“Because?”

Where should she even begin? “You’d have to go back quite a ways to understand. I’ve spent my whole life trying to reach the bar my sister so expertly set and failing miserably. It’s the story of my life. My parents wanted me to be more communicative and helpful, like Cassie. To go into the medical profession, like Cassie. At school, it was always, ‘your sister never would have gotten a B. Why don’t you try harder? Your sister was all-state in soccer, but it’s like you don’t want it bad enough.’” She took a moment and then met his eyes. “But I did want it bad enough, George. That’s the thing. I just fell short. And I don’t think I could bear to fall short when it comes to Molly. For her to see me that way, as some sort of consolation prize, that would be too much for me to take.”

“But if the world were perfect?”

She smiled, but her eyes filled. It took her a moment to form the words. “She would look at me and see someone she could possibly, maybe, one day fall in love with. I would measure up this time. That’s the unattainable fantasy.”

George put his arm around her and pulled her in tight. “Well, you do measure up as far as I’m concerned. I happen to think you’re pretty great.”

“Thank you, George.” She gave him a squeeze.

“Ready to go make these numbers happen?”

She pushed herself up and took his offered hand. “Let’s make some awesome movies together.”

*

Jordan woke the next morning to the buzzing of her phone. She checked the clock. It was just past seven a.m. Who in the world would be—and then she grinned as she realized exactly who was wide-awake and had been for hours.

Molly’s text message was simple. “You up yet, sleepyhead?”

She walked into the living room as she typed her response. “Of course. Got an early rise. Cows fed. Chickens walked. They’re getting good on the leash.”

“Impressive. Meet me in the park for lunch later?”

“I think I can swing it.” Jordan smiled as she typed, already thinking about Molly’s chocolate chip cookies. “I’ll bring lunch. You bring dessert.”

“The real kind? Or proverbial?”

Jordan swallowed and exhaled slowly before she answered. “I think I’m a bad influence on you.”

“The worst. I’ll bring both. See you at noon by the picnic tables.”

At eleven fifty-five, Molly rounded the corner into the recesses of the park. Jordan sat atop a picnic table and watched her maneuver the winding sidewalk. She wore faded jeans that sat low and a snug, short-sleeved turquoise scoop neck that had her radiating color and energy.

Molly stopped a few feet away and tilted her head. “Waiting for someone?”

“Nope. Just counting leaves. But since you’re here, we could hang out.”

“Serendipitous.”

“Big word. You must be smart too.”

“Oh, I am.”

Molly took her in. “Riding boots, aviators, and lip gloss. A fascinating combination.”

Jordan let her mouth fall open. “You don’t like my look?”

“I love your look. I’m in awe of your look. I would never have guessed how good those things would look together. Edgy and soft at the same time. Kind of like you.”

Jordan realized that she was being complimented and her heart did a little roll. She climbed down from the table, removed her aviators. “So, hi.”

“Hey,” Molly answered softly.

They took each other in a moment before Jordan produced a blanket. “Tables are overrated. Are we agreed?”

Molly slid her an amused look. “Oh, definitely. I don’t know why we put up with the things.”

“Great minds.”

Molly grinned and followed her to a patch of grass, delicately shaded by a generous oak. In a stroke of luck, the place was entirely theirs. There was a mother with a couple of small children at the playground near the entrance, but that was quite a ways back, and Jordan hadn’t spotted a soul this far into the park. They were completely on their own, and the privacy was a nice touch.

“So how’s your week going?” Jordan asked as she unpacked the contents of the large brown paper bag. She handed Molly an apple.

“You first.”

“My friend George came to visit. We worked on some details for the production company. It was great to see him.” She stopped a minute to watch Molly eat the apple, because really, it was a pretty great visual. “I’d love for you to meet him someday.”

“Me too. You should have brought him to Flour Child.”

“Next time. Now you go.”

Molly tossed Jordan the apple. “My week’s been pretty great. In the midst of all the commotion surrounding the festival, my dad breaking out of The Manor, and well, us, I never got to tell you my big news.”

Jordan took a bite of the apple. “Oh, I love big news. Let’s hear it.”

Molly took a deep breath. “The festival came through. A businessman from Chicago is interested in partnering with me to mass-produce the truffles. We have a meeting next week. If it goes through, I may not lose the shop. I know it’s not a done deal yet, but I can’t help feeling hopeful that this is the thing that will turn it all around.”

“You’re kidding. That’s wonderful. That’s more than wonderful. It’s—come here.” Molly laughed as Jordan reached across the blanket and pulled her into an embrace. Jordan couldn’t have been more excited if it had been her own amazing accomplishment. In fact, she knew this felt better.

Molly pulled back enough to meet her eyes. “Thank you for being my sounding board through this. It was nice to feel like I had someone in my corner.”

“I’ll always be in your corner.”

Molly nodded. “I’m starting to get that.” Her eyes dropped to Jordan’s mouth. She moved in slowly and then paused just a whisper away from her lips, almost as if she were giving Jordan the chance to stop her.

That wasn’t going to happen.

The second she saw Molly that day, all the reasons she’d been avoiding her, the doubts, the concerns flew immediately from her head. Her heart be damned.

Nothing with Molly was simple, but it wasn’t really like she had a choice.

Molly claimed her mouth in one hell of kiss, all soft and tentative at first, but ever deepening. She ran her hands from Molly’s shoulders, to her arms and intertwined their fingers. There was a light breeze blowing now that lifted their hair and swirled the branches above them. The chill it caused mirrored the one that was already moving through her at the soft feel of Molly’s skin. As they broke apart, Jordan stared at Molly, amazed at the snap, crackle, pop of the air between them.

“Someone promised me lunch,” Molly murmured, stealing one last kiss before sitting back on the blanket. “Unless our shared apple is the main course.” She took another bite, and Jordan marveled at the way she delicately licked the juice from her finger.

“You give good apple.”

Molly smiled the kind of smile that made Jordan want to kiss her some more. “Focus, you. What do we have for lunch?’

Jordan shook herself back into action. “Right. For lunch, we have a couple of to-go sandwiches from Sammy’s. Fresh chicken salad with grapes for you and roasted chicken with arugula for me. Oh, and kettle chips. Cannot forget the kettle chips.” She dropped the bag between them so they could share.

“You’re kind of awesome at lunch. I forgot it was chicken salad day.”

“Lunch is one of my better times.”

As they ate, they chatted about the ever-growing popularity of MollyDollys, the new receptionist at the clinic, and George’s lead on funding for the production company. By the end of it, they were full, happy, and ready to relax before heading back to work and the world.