“Your bag and coatare in the back,” she said as Harlow opened up the door.
“Right, right, of course. Yes. I’ll go and grab those things.” She chuckled. “Sorry. Head’s full of stuff right now.”
Ava couldn’t help but be suspicious. Harlow had been acting weirdly ever sinceSmokey had called her, and she couldn’t for the life of her think why.
The other woman was never so jumpy or sostrange in acting. What was she hiding?
Harlow held up her hand in a wave and then left.
The shop was empty.
Abriana had taken Umberto for the day, along with Summerand Winter. Standing behind her shop counter, Ava reached out and tried to straighten … nothing. Everything was perfectly fine.
The lunch rush had already happened. Arrangements for thespecial Christmas baskets had already been made. She would start them at the end of the week, and collections were due very soon. For the next couple of hours, she served customers and cleaned up trays that were empty.
She missed her son. She loved working at the bakery, but she did miss being with Umberto. Just before closing, Abriana arrived, complete with Umberto and her own daughter, Bella.
“Hey, Ava,” Abriana said. “How was your day?”
“It has been pretty busy. Can I ask you a question?”
“You sure can.”
“Er, do you know anything about what Smokey wanted with Harlow?”Ava asked.
Abriana’sface went bright red. “What? No. I don’t, er, I don’t know.” She wouldn’t look at her. “Umberto has been an angel today, like always.”
Was Smokey … having an affair?
Harlow was younger than her, definitely more beautiful.
Pain sliced through Ava, and it made her take a step back. She felt tears fill her eyes, but she quickly gritted her teeth and rushed around the counter to pick up her son.
“Thank you for taking care of him,” she said.
“Anytime. Ava, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Ava looked outside of her shop window and saw that Ugly Beast was already waiting for Abriana and Bella. “Ugly Beast is waiting for you.”
“Ava, I … I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine, Abriana, I promise.”
She didn’t want to think about what Smokey was doing.
Abriana hesitated, and Ava forced herself to look at the other woman and smile. “Everything is fine. I promise.”
The other woman didn’t look convinced, but Ugly Beast chose that moment to press on his horn.
“We’ve got to go. We’re Christmas shopping. We’ll talk soon.”
“Yes, of course.”
Ava turned away from Abriana and made her way behind the counter. Umberto snuggled against her chest, and love exploded inside hers at being near her son. She loved this little guy so much. He was her world.