to love her, and he’d never touched her again.
Ironically, Tanyalee had just begun to adjust to her pregnant body when she’d miscarried—and the whole lie crashed down around her. She had to shut her eyes against the sudden rush of shame.
“The doctor says I’ll really start showing about the time we have our grand opening.”
“Well, you look so beautiful and I’m so happy for you, Candy.” Only then did Tanyalee hear the words Candy had just spoken. “Grand opening?” She looked down the narrow hallway into the huge front room. For the first time she noticed the roughed-in plumbing, new drywall, and the ductwork taking shape high up in the ceiling. “Grand opening for what, exactly?”
Candy’s face expanded in a huge smile that pushed up her cheeks and crinkled her eyes. “My own bakery! Can you believe it? We’ve still got some design decisions to make, but we’re opening in three weeks, whether we’re ready or not.”
Tanyalee clapped her hands together. “That’s fabulous news!” She craned her neck to see around Candy. “Can you give me a tour?”
“Of course.” Candy gestured for her to follow. “I know it’s pretty loud so forgive me if I’m screaming at you.”
Tanyalee waved her hand. “Scream away.”
Candy gestured into a room already being fitted with a walk-in refrigerator-freezer, a double oven and commercial range, two sinks, a dishwasher, and lots of stainless steel countertop surface. Several men who were laying tile looked up and smiled at the women. Tanyalee waved. Candy continued toward the large open area toward the front. “Now, I don’t know if you were ever in here when it was Jonesy’s insurance business, but this first floor was chopped up into tiny offices, so we took down all the interior walls. I envisioned one big, modern space for serving and seating.”
Candy pointed to her right. “Over here against this wall will be the front counter and the bakery display case. We’ll have a coffee machine, an espresso maker, and a soft-serve ice-cream dispenser, plus a refrigerator case.” She gestured to her left. “Against the other exposed brick wall we’ll have bookshelves and a couple of sofa and chair groupings, then out here we’ll have about ten bistro tables.”
Tanyalee was stunned. She knew that Candy and Cheri had flipped real estate in Florida and had been involved in some commercial properties, but she had no idea Candy had such vision. “This is going to be really special,” she said, mostly to herself. “Seriously—this place will singlehandedly bring Bigler into the twenty-first century.”
Candy laughed. “Thank you. That’s kind of you to say.”
Tanyalee looked around again and shook her head. “I’m really impressed.”
“But surprised.”
Tanyalee blinked. “What? No. Of course not.” She attempted to cover up her rudeness. “All I meant was that it was nice to see all the work going on here. I’ve had such a rotten morning, and I was driving home and—” She stopped in mid-sentence, feeling the sting of tears threatening for the second time that day, which had to be some kind of record. And that’s when it dawned on her—she would never be happy the way Candy was. Unlike Candy, she didn’t deserve another chance at love and a family of her own. She didn’t have the luxury of dreaming big. She wasn’t a sweet, funny, and genuine woman like Candy, who deserved a good, kind, handsome man like Turner. Tanyalee was the kind of woman who had wild sex with a dark and dangerous stranger in a hotel room on her way back from rehab!
She was no dummy. She knew what people said. They said karma was a bitch—and so was Tanyalee Marie Newberry.
“Tanyalee? Are you okay?”
She offered up one of her fake smiles, expecting the result to be effortless, the way it had always been. But Tanyalee felt her face begin to fall under the weight of the lie. She needed to get out of there. Right away. She didn’t want Candy to see her like this, because surely she’d tell Cheri, and nothing good would come of that. “I’m fine, but I do need to go. I have a million and one things to do today. Busy, busy, busy!” She kissed Candy on her cheek. “I’m so happy for you! Thankyousoverymuch for the tour!”
Tanyalee decided to brave the dust and debris and made a beeline for the front door. It would be quicker than going out the back. With luck she would have just enough time to get across Main Street and into Aunt Viv’s