Page 25 of How Sweet It Is (Willow Shade Island #3)

I stare at my computer screen, the numbers blurring together. I’ve been staring at the same spreadsheet for twenty minutes, and all I’ve managed to do is highlight three columns in yellow and type “miscellaneous” four different ways, none of which look like real words anymore.

I’m a terrible, rotten person, and I don’t deserve to live on the same planet as Levi.

I drop my forehead to the desk and groan.

Muffins. He made me apple-cinnamon-crumb muffins this morning.

Gluten-free, perfect texture, just the right amount of cinnamon.

Of course they were amazing. Because he’s amazing.

And I’m a coward. I sigh, shove back from the desk, and head out front before I can spiral further into the pit of guilt and regret.

Kiera’s wiping down the front counter when I walk in. She stops and looks at me. “What happened?”

I’m a bit taken aback. “How do you know something happened?”

“Because you look like you kicked the cat, and Levi’s been moping around here all morning looking like a broken-hearted zombie. Spill the tea, girl.”

I sigh and pull an apron off the hook. “I kissed him.” I pause, rethinking it. “Well, he kissed me, but I kissed him right back.”

Kiera’s eyes widen, and her mouth forms a little O. “Ooh, last night? While you were watching Sky?”

“Yes and no. Last night, after Skyler and Kiki left.”

Kiera folds the rag. “So, why does Levi look like he got hit by an emotional firetruck? It didn’t go well?”

I rub my temples, feeling like scum for what I did. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. It was just… He kissed me, and it felt like the ground shifted, and I panicked. I made some dumb joke about jazz hands and gas station sushi, and I kind of implied the kiss was terrible.”

Kiera bursts out laughing. “I have no idea what the jazz hands have to do with it, but that’s funny.”

I groan. “No, it’s not. I shoved him away emotionally, and now I don’t know how to fix it.”

“Okay. So you kissed him. Freaked out. Made a joke. And now you’re spiraling.” She ticks them off on her fingers.

“You forgot the part where I implied the kiss was horrible.”

Kiera bites her lips to keep from laughing again. “Was it?”

“No. It was amazing.”

She grins and points both index fingers at me. “So now you’re afraid.”

“Exactly.” I tie the apron behind my back. “He looked at me like I was someone he wanted . Not just to flirt with but for real. And I didn’t know what to do with that.”

“Do you want him?”

I hesitate, biting the inside of my cheek. “I don’t know. I didn’t think I did. I didn’t plan to. But now all I can think about is that kiss. And how sweet he is making me gluten-free things. And how I don’t deserve someone like him.”

Kiera folds her arms. “That’s crap.”

I blink. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t get to decide you’re not good enough and use that as a shield. He likes you. You clearly like him. Own it.”

My throat goes dry, and I have a hard time breathing.

I can’t like Levi. I’ve been lying to him this whole time.

When I’m done here, I’m going back to Cincinnati.

The end. I can’t tell Kiera that, though.

Instead, I whisper, “But what if I let him in and it all falls apart? What if I hurt him more later?”

Kiera gives me a flat look. “You already hurt him. The only thing worse than that is pretending it didn’t mean anything. So what are you going to do about it?”

I stare at her, heart pounding. I don’t have an answer. Not yet. The air between us thickens, too heavy with all the things I’m not ready to deal with. My feelings for Levi. The guilt. The ache. The panic.

I clear my throat and reach for the nearest escape hatch. “I don’t know yet. How’s school? Do you feel like you’re fitting in more now that you’ve had a few weeks to get to know everyone?”

Kiera snorts. “No. No one talks to me. I’ve got a group project due in psychology, and I’m the only one who apparently owns a calendar or a brain cell. So that’s fun.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. How is life living with your sister?”

“She’s cool. At least she seems to care about me.”

Ouch. I know hardly anything about Kiera’s home life before coming here except that she got kicked out. “I’m glad Kiki’s there for you. Do you think your parents would ever come around?”

Kiera wipes a bit of frosting off her thumb and onto her apron. “I doubt it. I did something really dumb.”

I soften my features. “What happened?”

She huffs a dry, humorless laugh and glances at her shoes. “I lied to my parents. Told them I was staying at a friend’s house. I wasn’t. I was with my boyfriend.”

Her jaw tightens. I stay quiet, sensing more behind her words.

“I thought it was love. He told me it was. He told me all the right things, and I wanted so badly to believe him.”

A pause stretches between us, and I let her gather herself.

Her cheeks turn red. “Turns out it was a game. He made a bet with his friends to see how many girls he could hook up with before graduation. I was the one that won him the bet.”

“Oh, Kiera…”

“He dumped me the next day. Word got around fast. Small town and all. My mom found out. She cried. Told me I was just like my sister. My dad didn’t say a word. Just told me to pack my things and leave.”

Her voice cracks at the end, just a little, but I hear it.

“Anyway. I ended up here. Kiki and the Barrett brothers took me in. They’re good people. And Levi gave me this job. He’s the first person who didn’t look at me like I was ruined.”

My throat tightens. For a second, I forget all about Levi and the disaster of a kiss. All I see is this strong, snarky, brilliant girl who’s carried something heavy for way too long.

“You didn’t deserve what happened to you. None of it.”

“Maybe not. But it happened anyway.” She shrugs like she’s fine. Like it’s old news. But I see the way her hands twist in her apron, knuckles white.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re kind of amazing.”

Kiera rolls her eyes but doesn’t argue, which is basically a thank-you in Kiera-speak.

Kiki comes running into the bakery, her eyes wide. “Where’s Levi? I think I need to change my cake order!”