Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Sweet Indulgence is a big part of my life. Seeing my daughter wearing that shirt today feels like a sign. It’s a sign that I need to have an honest and open discussion with Krista before I reach out to Holden again.
“Mommy has to work,” Martha intervenes. “She’s going to eat some of those eggs I gave her, finish her coffee, and go set the world on fire.”
“Don’t!” Olive screams. “Setting fires is illegal, Mom.”
Bruce laughs from where he’s standing behind her. “Grandma meant that your mom is going to make the most of today. She’s going to take care of business the way she always does.”
I lock eyes with him and nod. “That’s exactly what it means.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Greer
Krista takes a tiny sip of the iced tea she ordered. At this rate, we’ll be sitting here for three days before she finishes the glass.
I, on the other hand, polished off my water in one gulp. I’m halfway through my refill now.
Krista glances down at the lemon slice I discarded on the napkin in front of me. “You’ve never liked lemon or limes, have you, Greer?”
“I like them when they’re in something… like cake, or candy, but I don’t want a random one swimming in my drink.”
She breaks out a wide smile. “I like them in mine.”
That’s obvious since she always orders extra for her iced tea whenever we come here. We do that often since our store is just a block away. We even started calling it “our place” a few months ago. Now that Krista wants to move across the country, it will just be another coffee spot to me.
I texted her as I was leaving my house this morning, asking if she could make time before heading to New Jersey to handle some business there today.
She agreed without question, suggesting a time.
I got here thirty minutes before she did. The extra alone time gave me a few minutes to think about how I want to handle this situation. I have a long list of reasons why I believe we can still make it work if Krista retains her interest in Sweet Indulgence after her move.
I know it’s not what she prefers, but there has to be a compromise that works for both of us.
After another tiny sip, she pushes the glass away. “I can’t drink this. It doesn’t taste the same.”
“The same as what?”
“Regular iced tea,” she says, swiping her finger over the rim of the glass. “This is decaffeinated tea.”
I glance past her to the counter where she ordered her drink. The woman who prepared it is busy making a pink colored concoction for a little girl and her mom.
“Do you want me to get you a regular one?” I ask even though I’m already halfway out of my chair because I already know the answer to that question.
Krista is very particular about what she drinks and eats. Just last month, she sent a sandwich back to the kitchen of a restaurant we were trying out for the first time because it had a speck of cilantro on it.
“No,” she says, waving for me to sit back down. “It’s fine.”
I lower back onto my chair because this woman may look and sound like Krista, but that comment is not something my closest friend would say.
I envy the fact that Krista never settles for anything she doesn’t want, including improperly prepared iced tea, so this is completely out of character for her.
“What’s wrong?” I ask in a rush. “What’s going on with you?”
It could be related to the stress between us, but I have no doubt that Krista knows how much I love her, and I’m confident that we’ll work out our business issues because our friendship is too important to both of us.
She bites the center of her bottom lip before her gaze drops to the front of the blue blouse she’s wearing. “I’m pregnant, Greer. Howie and I are going to have a baby.”
My big plans to talk about Krista’s big plans for Sweet Indulgence were swept away in a sea of tears as soon as she announced she’s pregnant.
We hugged as we cried, and as soon as we both settled down, we sat next to each other holding hands as she told me all about her morning sickness and the names they’re considering for their baby.
They won’t know the gender for a few weeks, but the names she shared with me are all perfect.
Her plan for Edlund to be her baby’s middle name made me sob out loud since it was Celia’s surname. Both of our children’s names will honor our best friend, and I couldn’t be happier about that.
I round the corner on my way back to Sweet Indulgence only to spot someone waiting for me.
It’s a very handsome someone wearing glasses and a tailored three-piece dark gray suit. The light blue shirt underneath is the perfect color to accentuate his eyes.