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“Look, I know I’m not your ideal man. I also know your life isn’t here. It sucks but it’s true.” He drew in what sounded like a shaky breath. “We’ll get through this embarrassing moment and go back to normal. Not sure how, but we will. In the meantime, what I can promise you is that I won’t let Dad mess with Mags’ Desserts.”

“Oh, he won’t be touching the business.” Gram sounded grouchy and resolute about that. “He’ll be lucky if we let him in the door.”

Jackson kept going. “I’ll watch over these two and make sure they avoid more adventures with deadly recipes and suspect pies.”

Gram frowned. “We don’t need a babysitter, young man.”

“Usually,” Celia said.

“I’ll take care of the things and people you love because I love them, too.” He shrugged. “It’s that simple.”

Simple? Nothing about this whirl of new information was simple. He loved me, a fact that still didn’t fit in my head. I loved him and had forever. So, why was he talking about letting me go?

“I made it clear to Micah that you did everything right and Brock was the one who messed up the potential deal, despite our warnings. Your job is safe. Micah said he viewed you as a valued employee.” Jackson smiled. “Helping to keep you employed is my small way of saying thank you for sticking up to my dad and giving me the support to do it.”

Was he winding up or winding down? I couldn’t tell. The only thing I heard was the hint of goodbye in his words. “Okay, wait...”

“I need to check in with Dad. Make sure he wasn’t telling us what we wanted to hear in the moment while moving in the wrong direction.”

Jackson kissed me on the cheek. Quick and light like how he might kiss a distant relative. Certainly not the I’m-hot-for-you kiss I’d experienced the last few days.

“Talk to you soon.” He walked away.

What?I watched him head for the door, not sure if I should throw a muffin at him or run after him. He was gone before I could decide.

I turned to face Gram and Celia. “What the hell was that?”

Chapter Fifty

Celia cleared her throat. “Oh, dear.”

Gram shook her head. “A dramatic exit. Who knew that boy had it in him?”

“He’s always been very sweet. My sister lit up when he was born.”

Oh, no. They were not going to cute their way out of this. These two and their CIA-level secret-keeping skills. “You two knew. You knew how he felt and stayed quiet.”

Gram managed to groan andpfftat the same time. “It was obvious.”

I just... but they... The words piled up in my brain. I needed to shake them loose and concentrate but everything kept spinning. “Not to me.”

“He smiles when you walk into a room. He talks about you all the time,” Gram said.

“He rushes over here when he knows you’re in town. He checked up on you and your job from afar. He lets himself get pulled around on your... adventures.” Celia gathered plates and a tray of muffins while she talked. She placed the booty in the middle of the table then sat down. “He paid more attention to you at Christmas than he ever had to Anna.”

“He also acted annoyed with me most of the time.” Where did that fit into their analysis?

“And the sex.” Gram reached for a muffin. “I’m assuming it was good. You want it to be good. Don’t pretend it doesn’t matter.”

Gram needed to find a different topic.

Celia passed out napkins as if the conversation hadn’t tipped intoOMGterritory. “You both acted like you enjoyed yourselves. I mean, it happened more than once. The sex. It did, didn’t it?”

They were killing me. “Can we focus on the love part?”

“Yes.” Gram put her muffin down and pushed the plate away. “Do you love him?”

The crescendo of noise in my head clicked off. All the activity and chaos in the room stopped, leaving that one question hanging in the air.