Amy’s face turned bright red as she pretended to look at something in her lap. She smoothed out her skirt, then sat back down and resisted the urge to pace. “He’s good company. I’m glad I’m not doing this alone.”
“I’m sure you are.”
Amy glanced up and met Emily’s gaze. “Don’t say it like that.”
“Like what?” Emily was trying but failing to maintain her innocent smile. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. You’re acting like William and I like each other as more than friends.”
“Don’t you?”
Amy glanced down at both sides of the empty hallway opposite the conference room. “I’m not even divorced yet.”
“But you will be soon enough, and you two are really getting along.”
Amy swung her gaze back to Emily and frowned. “I don’t think now is a good time. Even after I get the divorce, I think I need to be on my own for a while.”
And she really wanted to discover who she was outside of a relationship.
William was smart, funny, kind, and considerate, but other than a close friendship, she didn’t think pursuing anything with him was a good idea.
Not yet, at least.
But a small part of her did wonder what would happen if the timing was right.
Thinking about him outside the very same conference room where she and Eric were meant to end their lives together felt surreal. As did sitting in the same metal chairs as last time, waiting to see what mood her husband and his lawyer were in.
Emily stretched her legs out in front of her and sighed. “I understand what you mean. It’s like that for me too, with Jack.”
“You and Jack are young, and you’ve still got a lot more time ahead of you,” Amy argued, pausing to give Emily a knowing look. “And you deserve to be happy, so don’t get in your own way.”
Emily pursed her lips together and sat up straighter. “I don’t even know if I have time to date with everything else that’s happening. It’s actually probably better if I don’t. The bakery needs me.”
Amy tilted her head to the side and studied Emily. “What do you mean?”
Emily’s eyes shone with fear and apprehension as she lowered her gaze, and her voice fell. “In a few weeks, if I don’t come up with the money to pay back the loan, I’m probably going to lose the bakery.”
Shock and dismay slammed into Amy, making her sit up straighter. Her hand darted out to take Emily’s hands inhers, and she swallowed past the lump in her throat. “What happened?”
“Trevor had some bad debt,” Emily whispered, her voice catching toward the end. “He was a good man, and he had a good heart. A little too good, if I’m being honest, and I wanted to help. I thought I could handle it, but with the economy being what it is…”
Amy’s chest tightened. “But the bakery… Oh, Em. Oh, no. There must be a way to get the bank to reconsider. They’ll ruin Decadent Treats if they get their hands on it.”
And it would cease to be the bakery they all knew and loved.
Amy hadn’t known Emily for very long, but even she could see how much the bakery meant to her—how much love, sweat, and tears had gone into maintaining the place. The last thing she wanted was to see the bank take control of the bakery, leaving Emily with shattered dreams and disillusion.
There had to be something she could do.
Emily dashed away her tears and spoke in a low and measured voice. “I know, but I didn’t have a choice, and I’ve spent so long not being able to talk about it. I actually didn’t want to talk about it because people loved Trevor, and I didn’t want to ruin that image they had of him.”
Amy draped an arm over Emily’s shoulders and squeezed. “I’m sure no one would think less of him. We all make mistakes.”
Emily leaned into Amy’s embrace and blew out a deep, shaky breath. “I’ve thought about asking Trevor’s parents for help. They’re well off, and they’re sailing on a cruise boat around the world.”
Silence stretched between them.
Amy cleared her throat. “Why haven’t you?”
