Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
He gets straight into giving me my assignment, and I hit the record button to make sure I don’t miss anything. As soon as I hang up the phone, I get straight to work because I know that lives can be lost in minutes if I drop the ball.
It’s not until hours later when the assignment is done that I finally let my mind wander and think about Poppy, and I can’t help but wonder what she’s doing right now.
CHAPTER 5
POPPY
It’s been a week since I sent Colter a voice message, pouring out my heart and apologizing. And I haven’t heard one word from him since.
I’m packing up the food truck, ready for another busy day, and all I can think about is if I’m going to see Colter today. I haven’t been able to get him off my mind, and it feels like I have butterflies in my stomach as I wonder if he’s going to show or not.
“What’s up with you?”
I keep working, unable to look April in the eye. “What do you mean? I’m packing the truck.”
As soon as I finish stacking the plates, plasticware, cups, and napkins, I look up. April has her arms crossed over her chest as she stares back at me. She knows something is up, and she’s not going to give in until I tell her what’s happening. April has worked at the bakery for a long time, and even though she only helps out part-time now, she still knows all the ins and outs of it all. “What?” I ask her, trying to put off the inevitable.
She laughs. “What’s going on?” When I don’t answer her right away, she shakes her head. “You may as well tell me because you know I’m going to find out anyway.”
I lean against the edge of the counter and cross my arms. “Okay, so last week, I had another run-in with Adam.”
She shakes her head. “Dammit. Do you want me to get Matt to talk to him?”
I roll my eyes. April’s husband is the center for the Jasper Eagles football team, and I’m sure he doesn’t want to spend his time dealing with my ex-boyfriend. “No, I don’t want that. I need to stand up to him on my own.”
She nods her head, but I should have known that April would see right through me. “What else? There’s more to it than that.”
“Well, after I let Adam ruin my morning, I turned around and ruined someone else’s afternoon. I said things I regret, and I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Her forehead creases. “Did you apologize?”
I shrug my shoulders because even though I did apologize, I still don’t feel like it was enough. “Yeah, I did.”
She nods her head. “Buuuut?”
I shrug again. “I don’t know. He said he forgave me, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that I was rude and offensive.”
A big smile forms on her face. “He?”
I roll my eyes. “It’s not like that.”
She points to my face. “If it’s not like that, then why is your face so red?”
I cover my cheeks with my hands and feel the heat radiating off my skin, but I still deny it. “It’s not.”
She laughs. “Okay, well, you did something wrong, you apologized, and he forgave you. Have you seen him since?”
I shake my head.
“Well, when will you see him again?”
I put my hand to my stomach and breathe in. “I don’t know.”
She nods. “Well, I guess you let fate handle it.”
“Fate,” I repeat.
She smiles. “Yep. If it’s meant to be, it will happen.”
I’m about to correct her and explain that it’s not like that. It’s not like anything is going on between Colter and me, but before I can, Teresa walks up to the truck carrying trays of pastries. “Morning,” she grumbles.
April and I look at each other and laugh. We all know not to talk to Teresa until she’s had her morning coffee. I take the trays from her and gesture to the coffee in the sterno that I brought out earlier. “Drink up.”
She moans as she drinks the coffee, and both April and I laugh. The rest of the packing is done in silence, and it’s not long before Teresa and I are on the road to set up at the Heroes Rehab Center.
The whole time we’re setting up, I’m looking for Colter. Midmorning, Brooklyn shows up, and we chat for a while. I almost ask her about Colter. I’m sure she knows who he is since he works for her husband, but in the end, I decide not to. I don’t want it to get back to Colter that I’m talking about him.
By midafternoon, we’re slowing down, and when there’s only another two hours left, I finally realize that he’s not coming. If he wanted to see me, he would be here by now.