Page 11 of The Cinnamon Spice Inn (Maple Falls #1)

“Hey, Emily… It’s good to see you. I didn’t know you were working here now?” Madison said, stepping back once she caught her breath. She glanced around, expecting to see the owner, Mrs. Myers, pop out from the kitchen, scolding them for sneaking extra cookies after school.

“Work here? Heck, I own the place. Took over after Mrs. Myers retired.” Emily leaned in and lowered her voice as if sharing a secret. “Still can’t make pastries as good as she does, but don’t tell anyone.”

Madison laughed, and warmth spread through her chest. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

For a moment, she wasn’t Madison Kelly, food critic and city girl. She was just Maddie, standing in the bakery that had once been a second home.

“I just can’t believe you’re really here. It’s been way too long.” Emily stepped back behind the counter.

“I know, it has,” Madison admitted. She half expected Emily to continue on, guilt-tripping her for never coming home, for breaking her brother’s heart, but to her surprise, she didn’t. The tension in Madison’s shoulders eased, just a little.

“Coffee?” Emily asked, already poised to start making it.

“You know me.” Madison hadn’t had nearly enough this morning. Only one cup, and she’d ended up nearly wearing half of it. She would’ve too, if Zach hadn’t caught her.

Her face warmed at the memory—his firm hands gripping her waist, the rough brush of his callused fingers against her soft skin.

His hands had always undone her.

It was bad enough she’d practically melted under his touch, but worse was the fact she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Not after that blasted dream. One innocent brush of his hand, and suddenly all she could think about was Zach lifting her onto the table, his body pressed tight against hers. The way he’d made her tremble, desperate for release.

Madison shoved her hands in her pockets, trying to push the images out of her head before she burst into flames right there on the bakery floor.

She looked up at the chalkboard menu instead, scanning the impressive selection. So many new options since she was last here—gingerbread iced coffee, brown sugar oat latte, and the classic pumpkin spice.

Madison had become a flat white kind of girl—straightforward, strong, no nonsense. But still, something about being here made her crave the cozy indulgence of the past.

She worried her bottom lip with her top teeth as she fought to make up her mind.

“I could always make you an apple cinnamon vanilla latte. The apples are locally sourced,” Emily said with a knowing smile.

Madison’s head jerked up, her lips parting in surprise. “You remember that?”

“Of course I do.” Emily’s grin widened. “You and I used to come in after school, sit in the window seat, and talk about how we were going to travel the world. You always got that latte, even in the summer.”

A rush of nostalgia hit Madison square in the chest. She could practically hear their teenage voices filling the bakery. Back then, everything had felt wide open and possible.

“It’s not on the menu,” Emily added, “but I have everything right here.”

Madison felt a lump form in her throat, but she swallowed it down and forced a smile. “That would be perfect. Thank you.”

Emily nodded, already getting to work, but Madison could tell she wanted to say more. So did Madison. There were a thousand things she wanted to ask—about life here, about the bakery, about how Emily had stayed while she had left.

But before she could, the bakery door chimed, and a steady stream of customers bustled in.

“Hey, maybe we can catch up soon?” Emily asked, handing over the coffee a few minutes later.

“I’d love that,” Madison replied and felt something that might have been tears in the back of her eyes.

She ended up caving and getting one of the frosted sugar cookies, too. “Surprise me,” she had told Emily when asked which one.

Emily had chosen an orange pumpkin, and it tasted heavenly—a perfect mixture of buttery soft shortbread and sweet frosting. Was there anything more perfect than coffee and cookies?

Madison took her sweet treat and coffee and sat by one of the windows for a moment, letting her thoughts wander.

It wasn’t that she’d ever stopped caring about Emily or her other friends, or even Maple Falls.

It was just… after she’d left, after her heartbreak over Zach, it got so much harder to bridge the distance.

She’d felt like she was worlds apart from her old friends.

They didn’t understand her new life, but even when they were all teenagers, she had talked non-stop about moving to the city one day.

Becoming a writer, traveling, seeing the world.

Zach had known this—he’d encouraged her dreams—and Madison had hoped from the beginning that he would go with her. But his life was rooted here, and it wasn’t until after Madison received the internship offer that she realized she’d be going to NYC alone.

She told herself they could figure it out, that they’d talk it through when she came home.

They hadn’t been talking as much as she’d thought they would.

She’d been so busy for those months of the internship.

But she still loved him, and she thought he loved her enough to move to the city when she told him she needed to stay.

So she had come home, ready to surprise him on their anniversary. Only that’s when it truly fell apart.

That woman he was flirting with, the way she leaned into him and he let her. The undeniable spark between them, when he had no idea Madison was right there watching.

It had shattered her heart, the pieces crumbling inside her as she walked away.

Still she’d hoped there was a chance for them, until that phone call a few days later when his silence had told her everything she needed to know.

In the end, she hadn’t just ended things with Zach. She’d ended them with Emily, Liam, and the rest of Maple Falls, too. Every missed call and delayed response was another brick layering up into a big wall between them.

And then her mom died, and that wall felt too high to climb.

For a second, she let herself imagine an alternate version of her life.

One where she never left. One where she still popped in here every Saturday, where she and Emily still split cinnamon rolls and swapped stories about terrible bosses, crazy customers, dreams they weren’t sure they were brave enough to chase.

Madison exhaled slowly.

It was foolish to mourn a life she had walked away from. And yet, here she was. And she had missed this place so much.

Outside, locals and tourists continued to walk down the sidewalk. They were bundled in their woolens with shopping bags swinging from their wrists. It was nice to see that the downtown area was busy. Well, except for the inn.

She pulled out her to-do list. Picking up a box of baked goods and a potted mum from the hardware store would be quick wins.

Enough daydreaming. Madison had work to do, an inn to save.