Page 94 of Daddies' Holiday Toy

“Shit.”

Mallory’s face softens.

She takes a step closer, reaching out to put a hand on my arm.

“What’s going on? And don’t tell me ‘nothing,’ because it’s obviously something.”

“Yeah, I need to give my landlord my partial payment for the month. I spoke to him last week when I needed an extension but actually I can pay it all now.”

“Oh really? Business been that good, huh?” Her smile brightens up her face.

I open my mouth then shut it again.

There’s no way to explain what’s been happening without opening a door I’m not sure I can ever close.

I see flashes of the cabin in my head—Jack leaning over me, Liam’s laughter against my ear, Reece’s easy smile as his hands hold me in place.

Liam told me before we left he’d managed to get enough of a signal to wire a few thousand into my account.

Now I can actually give my landlord the back pay that I owe for the entire month and not have to wait for the holidays.

“Hol?”

I swallow hard, clearing my throat. “Uh. Yeah, kind of.”

Mallory doesn’t seem to buy it for a second.

Her frown says as much, anyway, but she doesn’t press me, which makes me feel a little bit better.

“So, should we go to the bank or what?”

22

HOLLY

If someone had asked me last week what my Monday morning would look like, I would’ve said something depressing, like “crying over bills and instant coffee, probably wearing the same hoodie I’d slept in all weekend.”

But today, I’m pulling into the bank, practically humming under my breath while sliding my car into one of the empty parking spaces up front.

Mallory is next to me in the passenger seat, occasionally glancing at me while she’s still trying to figure out how I went from barely surviving trying to pay back my landlord to suspiciously chipper in less than a weekend.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still upset about having to leave Liam, Reece, and Jack.

That goodbye earlier this morning has stuck under my skin. A quiet ache that has me missing all three of them.

But at least my bills are getting paid, and that suffocating weight in my chest has loosened somewhat.

My brain feels a little clearer without the constant low-level panic ofwhat if I can’t cover rent, what if the bakery folds, what if this is the month it all unravels and I’m left with nothing?

None of that has to be at the top of my focus.

I can work through the holidays and do what I love without worrying about finding a “for sale” sign stuck to the front door.

Next month will definitely be my reset.

Orders will come in, the ovens will stay busy, and my bakery will be back to pulling in enough income that I can breathe without spending my evenings crunching numbers, trying to make everything work.

But then again, wouldn’t that defeat the whole purpose of this arrangement I’ve stuck with Liam, Reece, and Jack?