Page 18 of A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love

As dinner progressed, Mom’s excitement never faltered, and soon she was carrying a pie into the dining room. “Who’s ready for dessert?”

Before I could respond, my cell rang—Mitchell’s name flashed across the screen. “Where the hell are you?” I asked as soon as I picked up.

“Pepper?” the person on the other end asked—a voice that was most definitely not Mitchell.

I checked the screen again to make sure I hadn’t misread who was calling, but no, it was Mitchell’s name.

My heart dropped into my stomach. “Yeah, it’s Pepper, who’s this?

” I got up from the table and went back to the window.

It was much darker out now, and the porch lights at the house across the street had been turned on.

“It’s Ian, Mitchell’s friend. There’s been an accident.”

A car horn outside my apartment window brought me back to my safe little kitchen in my safe little space, which was so many miles and so many years away from those memories.

I took a deep breath and popped another bite of apple fritter into my mouth.

I had headed out earlier that morning to grab it and a cardamom hot cocoa from Glazed I’ve got up front covered.”

“And since Lisa’s here, you can go to her with anything if there are issues,” Dewy said.

“You got it, boss.” I winked at them and walked away. Lisa would be glad to know that she was seen as the number two around here—that all her hard work was paying off.

In the front of the store, Lisa, Caleb, and Bryan were full out sprinting back and forth, getting everything put back in its original place. “I’ve bought you at least thirty minutes. How are we looking?”

Caleb braced his hands on his knees. “We should be good.”

Doors opened in ten minutes, and since it was still early in our season, we wouldn’t see many customers until later in the day.

“I can help until opening. Tell me what to do.” This was one of the best parts of working at The Dead of Night.

People cared about one another. Well, most of the people.

It wasn’t looking good for New Guy, but that was okay; maybe one day he’d come around. Until then, we still made a good team.

“If you can start shifting the wigs back to their normal spot, that would be great,” Lisa said as she ran by. “Let’s go, Caleb.”

He took a breath and sprinted off.

I spent nine minutes shifting things around, opened the doors right on time, and made sure to give Dewy an update that all was running smoothly up front, so they didn’t come wandering out to check. No one complained about the extra work; they all just did what needed to be done.

There was never a dull moment in the store.

By midmorning the mess New Guy left us was completely undone, and Dewy was none the wiser. They also weren’t as annoyed with me anymore since my little “incident” uncovered a report that had been misplaced. I chalked it up as another happy accident—which most definitely felt like a good sign.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. That was weird. I was already at the store.

Christina: This is Christina…you know in case you didn’t save my contact information…anyway…I was texting you about the pallets…

I imagined her cheeks turning their signature apple red color, and a bunch of butterflies flapped their wings excitedly inside my stomach.

We’d exchanged numbers, but I wasn’t about to be the first person to use hers.

Not because I didn’t want to—more because I didn’t know what to say or even how to say it.

Me: Yes, I know who you are.

Christina: Right of course…I hope I’m not bothering you…

Me: No it’s fine.

Christina: So the pallets??…When do you think you could bring them by?…Or I could probably find someone to pick them up if it’s too much trouble…

Me: It’s no trouble at all.

This could’ve been the bright side I was looking for today. But I didn’t want to seem too eager—worried it could possibly put her off.

Me: Can I bring them to you tomorrow?

My stomach did a somersault as three little dots appeared.

Christina: Yeah…That would be great…See you soon then…

A heart. That had to mean something, didn’t it? The butterflies in my belly busted out in a full-scale dance party. Oh crap. What was I going to wear?