Page 33 of How to Break My Heart 1

“You seem tense. Did something happen?”

Denial will only get me so far, but I’ll ride its wave for as long as I can. “Just an exhausting day. How about I finish up here, and you leave for the day? You’ve had a busy one.”

Billie wipes her hands on her apron. “You sure?”

“Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As soon as the lights turn off, I lean against the wall and close my eyes.

It’s going to take all my patience to deal with Aston because he sure as hell likes to make it difficult.

He’s a womanizer with only one agenda.

Thank God he appears to despise me just as much.

My phone vibrates on the counter. I don’t recognize the number but pick it up anyway.

“Hello, Eva speaking.”

“Hello, Eva,” the smooth voice sounds over the speaker. “Too early to call?”

My cheeks rise into a grin as my shoulders relax.

“For you, Marco, it’s never too early.”

CHAPTER 9

Eva

My eyes are glued to the door.

It’s just after ten, and I texted Aston last night confirming the time to meet. I kept it formal, reminding myself who I was dealing with. His response was an infuriating thumbs-up.

A group of tourists comes in, and I smile politely before welcoming them. After they take a seat, Chloe, who covers the weekend shifts, takes their order, and a few more customers enter.

Time passes, and so does my ability to accept Aston’s poor behavior. I recheck my phone an hour after our meet time, only to see no missed calls or messages. The decent thing to do would be to send me a message to tell me he couldn’t make it.

My fingers tap against the screen, typing out exactly what I think of him and his disregard for my time, but then I delete it. I’m too angry to get my words out without calling himthe biggest jerk to ever exist.

The café becomes busier in the lead-up to lunchtime, forcing me to help Chloe. Billie came in earlier to bake but left before we opened. We have enough fresh donuts to last us the whole day, but given the sudden rain carrying over from yesterday, it’s a lot quieter than our usual Sunday crowd.

I head into the kitchen to call Maddy, but I play it cool like I’m not about to rip her brother’s head off. The last thing Maddy needs is more stress on her plate.

The call lasts all of two minutes. Maddy left early this morning to head into the city for some important meeting with her cast. Apparently, one of the leads broke her leg skiing, and the understudy is freaking out. She promises to be back tomorrow morning and informs me Aston is at home.

It’s all I need to hear.

“Chloe, I need to take care of something.” I grab my keys and phone. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

My tire was fixed late yesterday afternoon, thankfully, since buses barely run in Cinnamon Springs. Burt, the town mechanic, told me he saw it in the parking lot. He replaced the tire, then drove it to my apartment. I tried to pay him, but he refused to accept my money and told me he’ll gladly accept a lemon sprinkled donut the next time he grabs coffee.

It’s a twenty-minute drive to Maddy’s parents’ house, and I manage to work myself up even more in that twenty minutes. By the time I arrive at the front of the house, I’ve already memorized precisely what I’m going to say to him.

The front door is unlocked, so without hesitating, I enter the house and close the door behind me. It’s quiet inside the foyer with no signs of anyone home.

Aston’s room is two doors down from Maddy’s old room. Of course I remember it, along with the bathroom, where I accidentally saw him get out of the shower.

With every step closer, Aston’s voice becomes louder. I stand at his door, watching him with my arms crossed. He is pacing the room while running his hands through his hair in frustration, dressed in what appear to be yesterday’s clothes. If I’m being honest, he looks like he hasn’t slept.