During her first anniversary without Trevor, Emily remembered sleeping in her office.
“It’s never going to feel quite right,” Amy acknowledged, her expression still soft and open. “I mean, look, just because it feels weird now, it doesn’t mean it isn’t right. I’m not telling you tomarry the guy. Just don’t close yourself off because you still have so much to give.”
Emily couldn’t meet Amy’s gaze. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
While a part of her understood the logic behind Amy’s words, the larger, more emotional part of her couldn’t come to terms with it. Even considering Jack felt like a betrayal to her late husband; she doubted any amount of time was going to change that.
Slowly, Emily rose back to her feet and offered Amy a strained smile. A short while later, when Emily brought over her cup of coffee and a muffin, Amy was on the phone.
Emily still couldn’t look directly at her.
Feeling unsettled and anxious, Emily spent the rest of the afternoon in her office, going over the numbers until her head hurt. She kept pacing from one end of the room to the next, unable to sit still for long periods of time. She’d even stopped in the middle of the office to do jumping jacks in the hopes of burning off some excess restless energy.
But she still felt untethered.
One by one, her employees clocked out for the day, leaving Emily staring out the window and admiring the kaleidoscope of colors outside. As soon as the sun set below the horizon, her cousin, Sophia Railings Chef, knocked on the backdoor.
With a smile, Emily let her in and pulled her in for a hug.
“I know things have been hectic lately, but I’m glad I caught you.” Sophia pushed her hair out of her eyes and peeled off her sweater. “You’re sure I’m not keeping you from anything?”
Emily took another sip of her tea. “Not at all. Do you want something to eat or drink?”
Sophia glanced around the small office and then back at her cousin. “No, I’m okay. Darren and I are going out to dinner later, so I don’t want to spoil my appetite.”
Since remarrying, Sophia and Darren had been inseparable, their relationship better than ever, and Emily couldn’t have been happier for her cousin. After having her world turned upside down with the divorce and then trying to navigate the next phase of her career, Sophia had been through the wringer, and having to compete to become the next manager of the bakery had taken its toll on her.
But Sophia had come out of it, swinging for the fences.
Emily hoped she was half as lucky as her cousin.
Sophia cleared her throat. “Anyway, I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I wanted to run this menu by you.”
Together, the two of them sat down at Emily’s desk. After reviewing and making a few changes to Sophia’s menu, they leaned back in their chairs and smiled at each other. Then, Emily broke their gaze and got up to get herself some water.
“Is everything okay? You seem stressed and distracted.”
Emily’s grip on her mug tightened. “Honestly? I don’t know if everything is going to be okay…”
After spending the past few months keeping it to herself, Emily felt like she was going to crack. She needed to tell someone.
“What’s wrong?”
“The bakery is in trouble, Soph,” Emily revealed in a thick voice. She spun around to look at her cousin and gave her a watery smile. “I put it up as collateral after realizing that Trevor had debt, and now, I can’t pay it all back.”
Sophia’s expression fell. “Oh, no. No. Em, why didn’t you say anything? I’m sure if we talked to everyone else and put our heads together—”
“Lily is the only other person who knows,” Emily interrupted with a grimace. “I just haven’t had the heart to tell anyone else.”
Or the energy.
She felt drained just thinking about it.
Sophia stood, and her hands began to flutter. “Okay, what if I convinced Nora to combine bakeries or something? She’s been toying with the idea of retiring for a while, so maybe this will make things easier.”
Emily sighed. “Soph, I appreciate that, but I don’t think Nora will want to combine forces with me…not when she’s doing so well on her own, and I can’t ask you to take on that kind of risk.”
Not when it wasn’t her mess to clean up.
