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Hayden’s eyes turned to stone. “Whatever happened before, Frankie,” she said quietly, “has nothing to do with our working relationship. We have duties to this store and to each other, but no further. We could be friends outside of work, but that’s it. Do you understand?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I murmured, my lip curled in disbelief. “I don’t have that kind of interest in you.”

“Good,” she said, but the space between us shrank, her mouth a breath from mine. The tang of mint curled along my tongue, and the air grew thin.

Gravity wavered for a heartbeat, and I swore that if I moved less than an inch, her lips would meet mine, and,God, I wanted to lean into it.

I wanted her to steal the brittle air rattling in my lungs, I wanted the peppermint to dance on my tongue, I wanted-

“Then we’re in agreement,” she said, shattering the moment as those possibilities had shattered. She stood to her full height and walked away.

The door swung shut as she left. My chest heaved, and I stared at the closed door.

“What the fuck?”

Chapter six

Totally Not Hung Up

Hayden

“ThankGod, you’re here.” I groaned, swinging my purse onto the sofa and collapsing into it.

Cameron’s audible sigh cut through my thoughts but it was as common as our disagreements. I lifted my head to look at her.

“Are you pissy because Elliot’s away on business?” I asked, feeling just a little salty myself.

Cameron rolled her eyes but didn’t look away from her computer, her fingers rushing across the keyboard.

I sat back up, pouting slightly. “I need a friend, Cam,” I whined, knowing I was laying it on thick. But Cam was my closest friend.

And I really needed to vent.

“Business has been tough,” I complained, dancing along the edge of the real issue. “I can’t get a wink of sleep anymore, it’s driving me crazy.”

“How terrible,” Cameron murmured, the clacking of the keyboard filling the silence that followed.

“How long is Elliot away for?”

Cameron dragged in a long breath and exhaled it with a sigh. “Three weeks in total,” she said, and the rhythmic sounds of her typing paused. “So, she’s only gone for another week.”

“Still,” I sighed, settling back into the sofa, “that’s a long time for such a new relationship.”

“Hayden, say what it is you came here to say and leave your dismal view on commitment at the door.”

“Sheesh, Cam, I didn’t think you’d be this frustrated without Elliot.” I chuckled, but I knew that Cam was taking it hard. Elliot had become the one person she knew she could trust with everything. “But she’ll be back soon, and you can cry and fuck to your heart’s content.”

“Hayden.” Cameron groaned, the sound tugging at the corner of my lips. “Is there a point to you being here?”

“I missed my best friend.” I shrugged, the unease from earlier settling back in. “And this new acquisition isn’t going the way I hoped.”

“What do you mean?” Cameron asked, turning away from her computer at last. “I thought this one was the one you’d been so excited about? The food allergy store, right?”

“They don’t sell food allergies,” I scoffed, but continued anyway, “But yeah, that’s the one. I’ve been after it for years. There are so few stores like it, stores that actively cater to people with food allergies of all kinds. Even built their entire business model around it.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“The problem.” I groaned, the memory of Frankie’s face shoving itself to the forefront of my mind, her cheeks bright red with anger. And maybe something else. “The problem is that I didn’t know the previous owners are Frankie’s parents.”