with calls, texts, and emails.
I finally checked and saw that a patent was about to get pulled.
That wasn’t good.
I jogged to track down a ride, my fingers typing away at a few texts.
In the back of my mind, I kept picturing Miranda in that white hoodie and then in that navy-blue shirt.
The past wasn’t the worst place to rest sometimes.
She wanted to live in the present and nothing else.
Again, she wasn’t wrong.
But what kind of present was this that we were living?
Chapter Two
Emily
My eyes popped open and I sat up on my own couch.
I looked around the mostly dark living room, in dire need to know what time it was.
When I looked at my phone, I realized I was late.
“Shit,” was my standard response in the morning.
I was terrible at waking up on time.
Worst yet, I owned my own business, which meant I wasn’t allowed to be late.
I kind of inherited the family bakery business.
Trust me, the entire gig was not as joyful as it probably sounded.
At first glance, I was the granddaughter who took over the business to keep it alive and keep the family name going. I was the granddaughter who put in a lot of hours, on a lot of days, and always smiled at each and every customer. I was the granddaughter who hung up pictures of her grandmother to show off where and when the bakery started.
That was all that fake crap kind of thing you’d see on some cheesy movie.
I wasn’t a small town woman with a small town business and a small town house.
I lived in the city and it was busy, competitive, and owning the bakery was…
“Shit,” I said again as I rubbed my forehead.
I stood up and looked at my clothes.
I always changed when I came home from the bakery, which meant nobody had seen me in the clothes I was wearing.
In other words - I was dressed for the day.
I swiped my phone off the table and my keys off the kitchen counter.
I spotted a note on the counter and read it.
Wake me, no matter what, in the morning.
We need to talk about something.
Please, don’t forget.
Jon
“Jon,” I whispered.
My apartment wasn’t big at all, so it was a hop, skip and a jump and I was in the bedroom.
That’s where Jon was sleeping.
Which meant last night I had fallen asleep on the couch and he went to bed without me. He didn’t carry me to bed like he usually did. Unless, of course, I yelled at him. Which I was known to do. Sometimes I would get into a really comfy spot on the couch and that was it. There was no moving me.
Jon looked so peaceful sleeping, I didn’t want to wake him.
Even though his note said to.
I crept to the nightstand and looked at his phone.
I wasn’t the snooping type of girlfriend, I was just checking for his alarm.
It was set for thirty minutes from then.
So he was fine.
I gently put his phone back down and turned.
When I did, I suddenly became an octopus. All eight of my new arms swung around and I knocked the lamp off the nightstand to the floor.
I jumped, and screamed.
Then Jon did the same.
He did some kind of crazy pushup thing and was then standing by the bed.
“Jon, it’s me,” I said. “I’m so sorry. I was just checking on you.”
“What the fu… what time is it?” he asked, gasping for a breath.
“It’s early. But I’m late. As always. I have to go.”
I stepped over the lamp.
Jon jumped from the bed wearing nothing but boxers and a t-shirt.
“Wait a second,” he called out. “We have to talk, Emily.”
“We can talk later,” I said. “I seriously can’t be much later. This is a bad look on me.”
“Emily,” he said.
I looked back and blew him a kiss. “Go back to sleep. I’ll get more light bulbs from the store later. Sorry for waking you.”
I shut the bedroom door and hurried to the door.
Then I remembered I left my keys on the counter.
I was a mess.
And this was just my normal.
“You’re late.”
“I know, Ember,” I said. I pointed to her cigarette. “And you’re smoking. Those will kill you.”
“So will boredom,” she said.
“Didn’t Lucy open up?” I asked.
“Of course she did,” Ember said. “The place is in full swing.”
“Then why are you bored?”
Ember tilted her head to the side.
“You don’t need to stay here,” I said. “You shouldn’t. You’re too good at what you do.”
“I can’t leave this place,” she said. “You need me.”
Ember had beautiful dark