One of the things that made me close the deal and buy this place was the small apartment above the bakery. I fell in love with it immediately and even though it's much smaller than my previous place; it is everything that I wanted to start this new life I desperately needed.

The small kitchen was remodeled just before I moved in, so there was nothing much I had to do there. The cute living room with an open library to the side is spacious enough for me to unwind after a workday and a good place for me to work on the bakery paperwork. My bedroom has a tiny closet I love, but my favorite place is the badass bathtub in my bathroom. There's no better way to relax after a long day of work than a bubble bath and your favorite playlist on.

But yesterday, not even that could help me relax and sleep well. After Thomas left, I cleaned the bakery's kitchen and took the longest bath ever. But after going to bed, I stared at the ceiling for hours before I finally fell asleep. Only to hear my alarm ringing after what felt like five minutes I had closed my eyes. Yeah, I love my job but waking up before sunrise every day sucks.

Now it's time to start another day, so I get dressed in my usual dark jeans and white shirt with the Sweet Spot logo on it, head to the bathroom to brush my teeth, put on some concealer to hide the dark circles under my eyes, and after putting my hair up into my go-to ponytail, I'm all good to go.

When I get to the shop, I realize I forgot to program the coffee machine yesterday, so as I wait for my coffee to brew, my thoughts go back to Thomas.

He was super handsome, I can't and won't deny that, and he really seemed to be a great guy. I'm glad I was able to do something for her sister, but now I can't stop thinking about how I kind of agreed to lunch with him today.

It's been so long since I've gone out with a guy, I'm not sure how I feel about it.

After two cups of coffee, I feel ready to start the day and put all these thoughts about Thomas behind. Two hours pass by quickly when I'm in my baking morning routine and soon I hear Chloe, one of my assistants, arriving.

"Hey, girl!" I smile at her sleepy face. "Looks like I'm not the only one who had an awful night of sleep."

"Good morning!" She yawns. "I have an exam this afternoon, and I spent the whole night studying." She puts her apron on. "Do you need some help here?"

"I'm almost done with the first-morning batch and the second one is ready to go to the oven." I check the clock and see we still have some time before opening the shop. "Go drink some coffee and have something to eat."

"Okay, just call me if you need anything." She heads to the main area, and I check my ordering list for the day.

I'm really lucky to have her and Daniel, my other assistant, with me. They both go to college near here so they work part-time, mainly tending to customers while I bake or do the bakery's paperwork.

We have a very flexible system so they don't mess with their studies, and it's working great for the three of us.

So, I have no idea what I'll do when they graduate next year. Daniel is all set to move back to his hometown once school is over, but since Chloe is in love with baking as much as I am, I hope she sticks around until she finds a job in her area.

After putting the second batch of bread in the oven, I start working on the decoration of a wedding cake, and after a few minutes, I startle as I hear my phone ring. "God!" I put the icing aside to answer it and smile when I see it's Alexia.

"Good morning, sunshine!" I say, already expecting a bunch of questions after the text I sent her yesterday.

"Are you okay? What happened? I just saw your message."

"You just saw my message?" I ask because she's always glued to her phone.

"Yeah, the kids spent the night at Lucas's parents and... You know..."

"Dear God." I laugh, now getting why she didn't reply yesterday.

"What? I needed to spend some alone time with my husband and the kids missed them."

"Of course! The kids missed them." I try to sound serious, but the way these two are in love is just too adorable.

"Enough about me. I need to leave for work soon. What was that text all about?"

"Well, a late customer stopped by to get some cupcakes and we were closed, so I just wanted to be safe."

"A late customer?"

"Yeah..."

"And?"

"And his sister is pregnant, and she's a regular. She wanted some cupcakes; they were over, so I baked some for them."

"Why do I feel like you're not telling me something?"

"I just... Your mom told me Greg got engaged last weekend," I whisper, embarrassed to be bringing him up.

After the worst mistake I could possibly make some years ago, I promised myself I'd never lie or hide anything from her ever again. Being in love with Greg was never an option, but it's just always been there. And no matter how much I tried, I could never really make my feelings for him go away.

Greg is Alexia's ex. I met him before her and fell in love with him when I was just a girl. For a second, I thought he liked me too, but then I introduced her to him and got to see them fall in love right in front of my eyes.

To this day, I regret not telling her I liked him first.

Maybe things would go differently, and she would never be with him in the end, or maybe the relationship I have with her would've never grown so strong. I will never know.

I just know that I came to love her like family as the years passed by, and as their relationship progressed, I had to learn to ignore my feelings for him and to learn how to be happy for them.

And that's what I did. I truly cheered for them and accepted they would eventually get married and spend the rest of their lives together. So, when he broke up with her, I was clearly shocked and sad at how he broke her heart.

But then, she met Lucas, and I never saw her so happy, so madly in love with someone.

Lucas is amazing and everything she didn't know she wanted in a man. Of course, Greg regretted letting her go so easily and tried to win her back, and time after time I had to see how crazy he'd always been about her.

So what did I do then? I forced myself to meet other people, to go on dates with other guys. Only to have one of them believe he could force me to have sex with him when I was clearly not ready.

I'd never been so scared in my life, but in the end, I was able run away before anything could happen.

I was shaken, had my guard down, and never felt so alone. For the first time in my life, I felt dirty in a way it's hard to explain. Right after everything happened, I'd take multiple showers a day, trying to clean his touch.

I lost count of the number of times I cried myself to sleep. Because no matter what I did, or how badly I tried to rationalize, my subconscious kept screaming to me I was a whore and deserved what I got.

But what I had forgotten is that Greg was a nice, friendly, and ready-to-help-you kind of guy...

So that's what he did when he realized how shaken I was. He was the friendly shoulder I needed when Alexia wasn't there.

Too bad my heart didn't get the memo, and I thought he wanted something more. I thought maybe that was the sign I'd finally have some love thrown my way.

And boy, was I wrong! I learned the hard way that sex doesn't equal love.

To this day, I still silently carry the weight of shame on my shoulders. Because as my mom says: Men will always find a way to hurt you, even if it's the last thing they want.

"Lisa..." Alexia sighs, breaking me away from my thoughts. I'm glad she was able to understand and forgive me, but it doesn't mean she wants me to end up with him. She says he had to know I liked him, so he was a jerk for leading me on when he was clearly not interested.

"I know, okay?" I let out a long breath. "It just took me off guard... and that got me pissed enough to drink half a bottle of tequila."

"Jesus, not tequila." She groans, knowing too well that tequila is my go-to drink when I want to forget everything.

"Yep. Drank half a bottle right before the guy knocked on my door."

"So you got drunk and had a stranger at your bakery after it was closed?" I hear the curiosity in her voice, and know what she's thinking.

Hooking up with guys was never an issue for me before. I love sex and never hid it from anyone. The thing is once you get burned, you have to learn how to be more careful. So, since that last guy who didn't know what the word no means broke a piece of me, I've been avoiding anything that puts me in a weak position.

"Yep," I say, "But that's not it. The moment I opened the door to him, I felt the room spinning and threw up all over his shoes."

"What the heck?" She laughs, clearly amused by this whole situation.

"Dude was really nice, though... Said his sister is pregnant and on bed rest.. that she's a regular and loves my cupcakes. Anyway, he drove for thirty minutes just to get them. I couldn't just tell him to leave without the goddamn cupcakes."

"So you sent me a picture of his ID and baked him cupcakes?"

"Yep."

"God, you're insane!"

"I know, but... He was... He was... nice, you know?"

"That's the second time you mention he's nice," she says, and it's like I can see the smug smile on her face.

"I just... He was easy to talk to, funny... I mean, he said he's bringing me lunch today."

"Oh! So after everything you even got a date in the end?"

"Not really sure if it's a date."

"Come on, Lisa, you have to open your heart a little to let other people in. That guy who tried to... You know. He was the one at fault here, not you. You deserve to be happy, girl! And now this whole Greg thing messing with you again... I hate that he still affects you; that you can't really move on. God, I don't even remember the last time you went on a date; that you allowed a guy in."

"I do go on dates."I try, even though I haven't been on a date in ages.

"No, you hook up with guys, it's different."

"Hey!"

"And I know there's nothing wrong with that before you go all feminist on me. The problem is not you just wanting to have sex and never committing. The problem is you pretending you're fine with it when I know for sure you just feel more and more empty at the end of the day. And now, since that horrible guy, you aren't even allowing yourself to get to know other people."

"That's all I know, Lexi," I whisper, knowing she's right. Before Greg and I slept together, I thought I just couldn't really connect with other men; that sex was just sex. But after that whole other guy situation and them sleeping with Greg, it's been harder and harder to pretend I'm not a little broken inside.

"I'm just telling you to get to know this guy, go to the movies or to a nice restaurant, exchange messages and enjoy the thrill of a real first date. Just... just allow yourself some happiness apart from work, you know? I'm sure you made a hell of a good impression. I mean, the guy is buying you lunch after you puked on him."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." I smile, wondering if I could allow myself this. It's just lunch after all.

"And I saw his picture, girl..." She giggles, and I can't help the laugh that leaves my lips.

"I know, right? Way too hot!" I shake my head.

------

A/N: I mean she really got a date in the end, right? Are you excited about it? It's happening in chapter 4 and I'll be releasing it next Sunday! So stay tuned and make sure to add this book to your reading list to get a notification! <3

Please don't forget to vote and follow me here: CelesteABrook for news and updates. I'm also on Instagram (same username) if you guys want to know more about me and what I've been up to.

Have I told you guys are the best today? Well, you are!❤️

XOXO

- Celeste