Page 55 of Heartbreak & Cupcakes
That did not seem good enough to me. I wanted to pick her up and carry her to the hospital or better yet, my house and have my personal physician make a house call, but I figured that might be a little too much. So instead, I asked, “Do you have somewhere to go?”
“Yeah, I’m going to call my friend Charli in a little bit. I don’t want to wake her up.”
In true Sadie form, her words served as a pick chipping away at the ice sculpture that had formed around my cold heart. She’d just lost her business and her apartment. She’d gone through a traumatic event, had to be terrified and confused and she didn’t want to bother her friend by waking her up because it was early.
“Come stay with me.” The statement flew out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying. I blinked in surprise when I heard what I’d said. It wasn’t quite picking her up and carrying her to my home, but it was definitely in the ballpark.
She stared up at me with an unreadable expression. Her lids lowered and opened in slow blinks several times. “What?”
My mind was racing with how to sell this. I knew that she would never accept charity. She wouldn’t even call her best friend because she was worried she’d wake her up. If she was going to do this, it had to be mutually beneficial. “I need someone to watch Lexi since Mrs. G is… I haven’t found anyone yet. You need a place to stay.”
Her brows furrowed. “You want me to be a live-in nanny?”
“Just temporarily.” I knew that she had experience, not that that was the reason I was asking. I trusted her, that’s why I was asking.
“Um…” She shook her head as she looked back at the bakery which was destroyed.
I couldn’t imagine what might be going through her head. I knew that her business was more than just her daily foot traffic of customers. She did cakes for weddings, birthdays, other events that were booked far in advance. So, a thought struck me.
“And if you need a kitchen, you are more than welcome to use mine.”
Her head whipped back to me. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “It’s a commercial-grade chef’s kitchen.”
“Really?” Her eyes brightened for the first time. “Because I have two weddings coming up, three birthdays, and a divorce party.”
“A divorce party?” I thought she might have misspoken.
She nodded. “Yep. Divorce party.”
I’d never heard of that.
She bit the inside of her mouth, and I could see that she was seriously considering my offer.
“You’d be doing me a huge favor. I can’t just leave Lexi with anyone. That’s why I haven’t gotten help yet. I don’t trust people easily.” I heard myself making admissions that I never would to anyone other than my close circle of family that weren’t blood but were none the less family.
Her eyes darted beside her to the pet carrier and bulldog curled up beside it. “It’s not just me. I have—”
“Achoo and Eeyore,” I cut her off. “They are both more than welcome.”
Her face scrunched as she looked at me like I had psychic abilities. “How did you know…?”
“Lexi hasn’t stopped talking about them. Or you.” Her face softened and I could feel that I was wearing her down. “Look, you don’t have to make any decision now. Just think about it and let me know. I was going to start interviewing people today so if it sounds like something that would work for you let me know and the job is yours for as long as you want it.”
“Vaughn?” I looked up and saw a Miles Nelson, who I’d gone to school with coming out of the building.
I’d completely forgotten that he’d become a firefighter. The last time I’d seen him he was falling down drunk at our ten-year high school reunion.
“Hey.” I nodded at him and lifted my hand before looking down at Sadie. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”
She let out a forced laugh and lifted her hands. “Where do I have to go?”
Shit.I felt like such an asshole as I walked toward my friend.
Hopefully, she’d let me make it up to her by coming to live with me. My home.That’swhere she had to go.
