Page 23 of Peaches and Cream


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Adley couldn’t be mad about that, could she? Scottie was looking out for her, had only her best interests in mind. She knew that. “I get it. I hear you. I do. But for right now? I just want to ride this high a bit longer. Okay?”

Scottie looked like she wanted to protest, hesitated for a second, but ultimately nodded. “Okay. I can back off. As long as you know that I stress about this for you.”

Adley grinned. “Sweetie, I’ve known you almost my entire life, andI stressis your life’s motto.” Scottie’s childhood had been messy, and now her divorced parents were each remarried with other children, and she often found herself overlooked or even forgotten. Adley tipped her head to one side and softened. “I hear you. I promise.”

“Okay. Good. That’s all I ask.”

When their breakfasts came, they were back to normal, chatting about Jaden, Marisa’s nephew she’d been raising since the death of her brother. They chatted about Scottie’s salon and how good business was, and Adley told her she had a couple ideas for new flavors. And all the while, her mind flashed back to the previous night. To that morning. To any and all the times she’d spent with Sabrina so far, and she’d get a tingle that started somewhere around her stomach and worked its way down.

“Marisa and I have been looking at houses,” Scottie said, andthatgot Adley’s attention.

“What? You are? Since when?”

Scottie’s entire demeanor softened, the way it always did when she talked about the future with Marisa. Adley was always so happy to see her best friend so happy, but she also always felt a little pang of envy. She loved what Scottie and Marisa had. Shewantedwhat Scottie and Marisa had. “We sort of danced around it for a few weeks, but I think it started—at least for me—about a month and a half ago. Imean…” Scottie looked down at her plate, pushed her eggs around for a moment, and when she looked up, her eyes were wet. “She’s the one. CapitalT, capitalO. You know? I can’t imagine my life without her. She’s it. She’s it for me.”

Adley reached across the table and closed her hand over Scottie’s forearm. She hoped her happiness was clear as she squeezed. “You deserve the best, Scooter. I’m so glad you found it. Especially after talking to my sister.”

“Oh God, that’s right. How did that go? What’d she say?”

Adley reiterated the story Brody had told her, talked about all the things she’d said were missing in her marriage. When she finished the story, she set down her fork. “Honestly? It kind of colored my whole view on happily ever after. I thought she and her husband were great role models. Just goes to show that none of us really knows what goes on in other people’s relationships.”

“Ugh. So true.”

“But you and Marisa have given me hope.”

Scottie laughed. “Glad to hear it.” Then her expression grew serious. “Don’t give up, Ads, okay? There’s somebody out there for you.”

Adley noticed the clarity with which shedidn’tmention that maybe it was Sabrina, and she had to consciously tell herself not to get upset about it. It likely wasn’t Sabrina. How could it be? She lived in Atlanta, many states away. She traveled all over the country. She wasn’t looking for a relationship. They were basically fuck buddies, to put it bluntly, a situation she’d agreed to.

So why couldn’t she stop thinking about her?

* * *

“Oh my God.”

Sabrina sat at the dining room table, laptop open, papers scattered all over, and read the screen. It never occurred to her to find the website for Get the Scoop because she had the address and a brief synopsis of the shop, its best-selling products, hours of operations, and such from the email sent to her from the home office. She had no reason to find the website.

Until now.

“Ooh, it fucking figures,” she muttered, as she sat with her head in both hands and stared at the sentence on the screen under the headingAbout us.

Get the Scoop is owned and operated by its third generation of the Purcell family, Adley Purcell. Call the number below or use the message box below to contact her with questions, party needs, or details on upcoming new and exciting flavors!

“Oh my God,” Sabrina said for about the thirtieth time since seeing the logo on Adley’s pink hoodie.

What the hell was she going to do?

That was the question. It stayed with her all day, reverberating through her head when she was driving. While she sat through a meeting and listened to Bryce Carter go on and on about how easy it was going to be for Sweet Heaven to take over the ice cream business in Northwood. While she went to the new site and walked around, listening to the foreman tell her what would happen there over the next two to three weeks.

And while she flashed back on the previous night. The images of a naked Adley beneath her, above her, beside her. Of her dark, hooded eyes, of the sexy sounds she made, of her sure touch and the way she could shift from letting Sabrina have control to taking it herself. Their night—and morning—had been sexier and more satisfying than any experience she’d had in a very long time. Years, even. She liked Adley. She liked her a lot. She liked her too much.

And then she heard her mother’s voice. “Business is business, Sabrina. Business is not personal.” She’d said that once a year or two ago when Sabrina had accused her of seeming a bit too happy to help create a Sweet Heaven monopoly in the smaller cities they’d infiltrated. Big cities were harder, but something the size of Northwood, New York? Sweet Heaven could easily run the smaller shops right out of business.

What the hell was she going to do now?

Without even thinking for longer than a second, she grabbed her phone and texted Teagan.

Not 911, but important. Call asap?