Page 33 of For the Promise (The Raider Brothers #2)

“Is this adulting? If so, I want nothing to do with it.” ~ Blossom

Blossom

I frown down at my phone. Jaxon hasn’t returned a single one of my texts today. He’s busy – he told me he had to work some late nights after his birthday – but, surely, he can take a moment to send a thumbs-up.

Dakota elbows me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

She lifts an eyebrow. “You’ve been staring at your phone for five minutes with a scowl on your face for nothing?”

“Exactly.” Time for a distraction. “Any news on becoming a foster parent?”

Since Dakota grew up in care, she wants to foster children who are in a similar situation as she was.

Paisley moans. “Fostering would be better than being pregnant.”

“Are you having a lot of morning sickness?” I ask .

“No, I’m having a case of my husband becoming the pregnancy police. He’s read one book on pregnancy and now he’s an expert. He tried to correct the doctor at our last appointment.”

The bell over the door dings as we enter Pirates Pastries. I inhale the scent of chocolate, cinnamon, sugar, coffee, and sigh. “I love this place.”

“Me, too.” Paisley narrows her eyes on me. “But if you tell Eli I was here, I’ll fire you.”

I roll my eyes. Since she’s been pregnant, she’s threatened to fire me on a daily basis. Don’t tell so-and-so I’m here. Don’t let so-and-so in while I’m working. Has she forgotten I’ve been her biggest defender since she hired me?

“What does Eli have against the bakery?” Dakota asks.

“I’m not allowed more than one coffee per day. And I should avoid too much sugar while I’m pregnant. You can’t eliminate caffeine from a woman’s diet and then tell her to avoid sugar. It’s impossible.”

“It’ll all be worth it when your baby is here.”

Parker enters the café from the kitchen. “It’s the Raider women.”

Paisley purses her lips as she pushes her glasses up. “My name is Bardot. I won’t be changing it regardless of my marital status.”

I gasp. “Did you get married to Eli without telling anyone?”

“I wish. Eli is planning an extravagant wedding.”

“You’re the one who fell in love with a billionaire,” Dakota says .

“Don’t remind me.”

“What can I get you ladies today?” Parker motions to the display cases. “I have baked peaches and cream whiskey muffins, pirate’s plunder muffins, shipwreck cookies, or Blackbeard’s revenge cookies. I also have some new cookies for you to try. Kelpie crunch, Selkie bites, or Siren’s snaps.”

Paisley snorts. “You always did love your mythical sea creatures.”

Parker narrows her eyes. “Are you saying Kelpie, Selkie, and Sirens don’t exist?”

Paisley raises her hands. “I wouldn’t dare. What’s in a Kelpie crunch?”

“Sea salt and dark chocolate chips.”

“I’ll have a dozen.”

“So much for avoiding sugar,” I mutter.

“These cookies are for you to keep at your desk.”

“Let me guess. They’re for my boss.”

Paisley grins. “I knew you were smart when I hired you.”

Dakota and I quickly place our orders before we settle at a table near the window. I bounce in my seat.

“It’s girls’ day out. What do you want to do?”

Dakota groans. “If you say you want to go on an adventure, I’m going to hide in the bathroom until you leave.”

I giggle. “You’re silly. I wouldn’t leave. I’d remove the door.”

“I can’t go on an adventure. Eli will have a heart attack. ”

I raise an eyebrow at Paisley. “And he won’t have a heart attack when he finds out you’re at Pirates Pastries having coffee and eating cookies?”

“Nope. Because I am accompanying my friends while I drink a green tea.”

“You’re such a liar,” Dakota accuses.

“Fine.” I huff. “We won’t go on an adventure. What else can we do? There aren’t any festivals happening this weekend.”

Smuggler’s Hideaway loves festivals. There’s one practically every month.

There’s the Moonshine & Merriment Festival, the Mermaid Treasure Hunt, the Bootlegger Escape Room, Mermaid Lagoon Races, Smuggler’s Reenactment Dinner, Hearts Beneath the Waves Festival, Find the Secrets of the Island Scavenger Hunt, and Ghost Tide Festival.

“You could always go to the Smuggler’s Market,” Parker suggests as she sets our drinks on the table.

The Smuggler’s Market is a craft fair where locals sell quirky goods — such as bootleg jam, contraband candles, or smuggled sea salt caramels. It’s nice, but it’s not the adventure I was seeking.

I check my phone again. Still no message from Jaxon. I haven’t heard from him in two days. If he hadn’t told me he was going to be super busy working this week, I’d storm into his office the way I did the last time he ignored me.

Huh. Maybe I should storm into his office. The previous time had spectacular results after all.

Dakota snaps her fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Blossom. Earth to Blossom. ”

“I’m here.”

“You’re physically sitting here in this café but your mind is elsewhere.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Maybe on a certain nerdy Raider brother?”

Paisley studies me. “She always twirls a finger in her hair when she’s thinking.”

I drop my hand from where I was indeed twirling a finger in my hair. “I hate how observant you are.”

“But you loooove Jaxon,” Dakota sings.

I blow out a breath. “I do love the nerdy whiskey distiller.”

But does he love me? He’s ignoring me. Or am I being paranoid? I never suspected Alan cheated on me, but all I do is question Jaxon. It’s not fair to him. I push all the worry out of my mind.

I will enjoy my day with my best friends and deal with Jaxon later. Tomorrow’s Sunday after all. Surely, he won’t work on Sunday.

Dakota cheers. “I’m so happy for you. We’re going to be sisters. All three of us.”

I hold up a hand. “Don’t jump the gun. Jaxon and I haven’t been dating very long.”

“But you’re married.”

I frown. “You know why.”

“I do know why. What I don’t know is why you continue to wear his ring after your ex left the island.”

I fiddle with the diamond. I hated how ostentatious this ring was when I first saw it. But now? Now I can’t bear to remove it. I want the world to know I’m married to Jaxon. I want to shout from the rooftops how much I love him.

But since announcing my love for the nerdy distiller at Mermaid Karaoke would send Jaxon running to his lab never to return, I’ll wear this ring and keep my mouth shut. Besides, Mermaid Karaoke season is over.

“I love sparkling,” I claim.

Dakota doesn’t appear to believe me but she doesn’t have a chance to respond before the door bangs open and five men stumble into the bakery.

One of them notices us and makes his way toward us, banging into every table as he approaches. “Hey, pretty ladies.”

I motion him away. “Go along now. Nothing to see here.”

“As far as I’m concerned, lots of pretty to see here.” He sways and I wonder if he’s going to fall but he slams a hand on a table to keep himself upright. “Why aren’t any of you dressed as mermaids?”

“We’re not interested. Go back to your friends.”

“I’m asking the redhead.”

“She’s pregnant. Let her be.”

“What about you?”

I wave my hand at him. “Married and not willing to accept being second choice.”

He points to Dakota. “What about you, doll? Third time’s a charm.”

“Is it?” She digs her phone out. “Let me ask my boyfriend.”

One of his friends arrives and drags him away. “Sorry. He’s drunk. ”

I stand and gather our things. “The Smuggler’s Market it is.”

“Good.” Paisley grins. “I’m dying for a hamburger from Salty Siren. ”

“Let me guess. Eli won’t let you eat hamburgers either.”

She sighs. “He read an article recommending pregnant women eat low-mercury fish to avoid possible adverse outcomes from the excessive consumption of red meat and now he believes red meat should be avoided entirely.”

I thread my arm through hers. “Let’s get you a big, juicy burger.”

It’s not exactly an adventure but at least I’m helping my friend covertly eat what she wants, despite what the father of her future child thinks. And it’s taking my mind off Jaxon’s inability to text me back.

Great. Now I’m thinking about him again. Ugh. This love stuff with Jaxon is more difficult than it ever was with Alan. Yet another piece of evidence proving I never loved my ex.