Page 3 of The Alpha’s Addiction (Night Grove Falls: The Alphas #1)

THREE

Adeline

The scent of fresh pastries still lingers in the air this morning. It’s probably baked into the place by now. Baking every day for the last month will have that effect.

My little kitchen is a mess with flour-dusted counters, butter wrappers tossed in the trash, and a row of delivery boxes lined up by the door like soldiers waiting for deployment. I was too tired to clean up last night, and I sigh as I take in the chaos.

I’ll have to deal with this mess once I get back from making deliveries, I think as I glance at the clock.

7:36 a.m. Right on schedule.

I pull on my shoes, grab my purse and a cardigan, and take the first load of baked goods out to my car.

It takes me two more trips before I finally have everything loaded and ready to go.

I double-check each label. Two dozen snickerdoodle cookies for the bookstore café, four chocolate tortes for the new Italian restaurant, lemon bars for the sandwich place, and a dozen pies for the diner in town.

I double-check each label, then step back and exhale. Everything is ready.

As I pull on my cardigan, I look around at the mostly deserted streets, and a familiar pang settles in my chest. I’ve been in Night Grove Falls for nearly a month, and delivering desserts to the same three, now four, businesses is the most human contact I have in a day.

Not that I’m not grateful. The town has been kind, and I’ve even received a few warm nods and greetings from the shop owners.

But kindness isn’t the same as connection. I haven’t made any real friends yet.

Maybe that will change today, I think hopefully.

I climb behind the wheel and start my old car. It was a hand-me-down from my mom, and I’m surprised that it still runs.

The drive to the first restaurant is short, broken up by stop signs and crosswalks. There’s not much traffic here, so getting around never takes long. I roll down the window, letting the crisp air wake me up as I hum softly along to the music playing on the radio.

I pass the florist, the hardware store, and the small library, parking in the lot beside the bookstore café. I turn off the ignition and reach for my purse and phone just as it buzzes.

Holly flashes across the screen, and I grin as I hurry to answer it. “Hey, perfect timing, I just parked.”

Her voice comes through bright and chipper, like sunshine in audio form. “Tell me you’re wearing your cute apron today. The pink one with the cupcake print.”

I laugh. “That one’s retired, remember? It didn’t survive the great strawberry jam incident of last month.”

“Oh, right. Tragic.” She sighs. “I’m still in mourning.”

I adjust the phone between my shoulder and ear as I unbuckle my seatbelt. “You’d hate how organized my deliveries are this morning. Labels color-coded, boxes stacked by destination.”

“Control freak,” she teases affectionately. “So, how’s it going today? Made any friends yet?”

I slide out of the car and open the back door to grab the first few boxes. “No friends yet. Unless you count Mrs. Lockwood, the bookstore owner. She called me ‘darling’ yesterday and gave me a free latte, so I’m calling it progress.”

“Hmm. Still not good enough. You need to get out more. Have a girls’ night. Hit up a nightclub or something.”

I snort. “Night Grove Falls doesn’t have nightclubs. Not even close.”

She laughs. “Not like you would go if there were.”

“Neither would you!” I argue back.

“I would! I have the perfect outfit.”

“Your pajamas?”

Holly snorts, making us both crack up. I laugh harder than I have all week, and for a moment, the loneliness fades. Holly has that effect on me.

Our laughter fades, and I take a deep breath.

“I miss you,” I say, quieter now.

“I miss you, too, Addy.” Her tone softens. “But I’m proud of you. You’re doing it. You moved, you’re building your business, you’re chasing your dreams.”

“Yeah,” I say, smiling to myself as I climb out of my car. “I just wish you were here for it.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” she says casually. “What if I came for a visit? Maybe even scouted it out. I could take some time off work.”

My heart skips a beat. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious. My lease is up in a few months anyway, and I’m this close to quitting my job and telling my boss exactly what he can do with his unpaid overtime demands.”

I grin. “Do it. Move here. We’ll bake and gossip and go out to the local bar or something.”

“You had me at gossip.”

Someone calls Holly’s name in the background, and I know she’s about to end the call.

“Ugh, duty calls,” she groans. “Let’s talk later. Love you, Addy.”

“Love you more.”

I end the call, my heart lighter, and carefully lift the boxes from the backseat. As I straighten, I take a deep breath and look around.

It’s early, but the town is waking up. I nod politely to a couple passing by with coffee cups in hand. Smile at the woman unlocking the florist shop. I even get a wave from the man setting up a display in the hardware store’s window. Small things, but they add up.

I move slowly toward the front of the bookstore café, adjusting the boxes and enjoying the fresh morning air. The door chimes as I push inside, and the scent of coffee and old books welcomes me.

“Morning, Adeline!” Mrs. Lockwood greets from behind the counter. “Snickerdoodle day?”

“You know it.” I smile as I place the boxes gently on the counter.

“I swear, you’re a miracle worker. Our sales triple when you deliver these.”

“I’m glad people like them.”

Mrs. Lockwood beams at me as she opens the box. “Like them? Honey, they ask what day you’re coming so they can plan their visits.”

My cheeks heat, and warmth blooms in my chest.

I chat with her for a few minutes, listening as she talks about her grandkids and the new book club starting next week. By the time I leave, she’s insisted I take a free coffee and a new book “for the road.”

I grab the next delivery and head across the street to the bistro before going back to my car for the chocolate tortes. It takes me longer to make that delivery since it’s the first day and I’m not sure where to go, but I get it figured out before returning to my car.

The sun has burned off most of the fog, and the air is warming quickly. With one more delivery to go, I climb into the driver’s seat. Reversing out of my parking spot, I drive down the street, pulling into the small lot next to the diner. I move to the backseat, reaching in for the boxes.

I’m bent halfway into the car, rummaging for the last pie box, when a low, deep voice rumbles behind me.

“Mine.”

I freeze. Every hair on my body stands up. My breath catches, stalling in my lungs. My heart slams against my ribs like a drum as that voice reverberates with something primal.

Slowly, I turn my head.

And lock eyes with the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.