I lick my lips and continue, “And the truth is, I’m crazy about you. Like, wildly insane about you. Earlier, you said you’ve never felt this connection. Neither have I, and it’s amazing, but, you see, I just had a broken heart, and I’m still mending myself over that.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.” He takes a timid step toward me.
“I know you don’t. And I don’t believe you would—intentionally. This news of yours is big and exciting, and you need to focus on that. I want you to take the time to figure out what you want without thinking about me. If there is any chance you and Lauren want to be a family, I don’t want to get in the way of that.”
“I don’t want to be with her. Our relationship is over.”
“You say that now, but just give it a minute and make sure that being with her isn’t what you want in the end. It’s better to put the brakes on this thing between us while it’s still fresh instead of possibly ending it later with someone getting hurt.”
His brow furrows, and there’s hesitation in his breath. I watch as his hands slide in his pockets.
His head bows down, and he nods with a heavy exhale. “If that’s what you think is best.”
I purse my lips and nod. “Okay, well … thank you again for helping me with my old landlord. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.” His tone is laced with formality. “Here, I’ll walk you out.”
“No. Um, don’t worry about it. I’ll let myself out if that’s okay with you.”
He steps back. His smile is turned down, and for a moment, I want to run over to him, but I don’t.
I meant what I said. A heart will surely be broken, and I’m afraid it will be mine.
“Congratulations,” I say when I get to the door. “The baby is lucky to have such a wonderful man as his or her father.”
He smiles lightly.
I’m gonna miss that dimple. God, I’m gonna miss this man.
“Thanks.”
I close the door behind me and rush down the stairs. If I thought breaking things off with Sebastian was going to save me from getting hurt, I was mistaken. It’s only been a moment, and my entire soul feels like it’s been shattered.
Chapter Nine
One of the positive aspects—or drawbacks, depending on how you look at it—of being a chocolatier is, there are definitely busier times than others. With Easter approaching, our orders were through the roof. Shawn and I were working harder than we had over the past few weeks. Now that the day is here, I kind of wish I had more orders to fill to get me out of going to spend Easter with my family.
Or at least, a good excuse to be late.
Don’t get me wrong; I absolutely love my family, but being the only one without a significant other leaves a certain spotlight shone on a stage I didn’t plan on performing on. If it’s not my career they’re harping on, my love life never fails to come up in conversation, and I get to hear everyone’s opinion whether or not I want it.
I pull up to my parents’ house, grab the chocolates I brought as gifts for everyone, and head up to the door.
“Auntie!” my gorgeous niece Kelsey says as she runs up to me, her pigtails swaying as she wraps her arms around my legs.
I place my bag of chocolates and my purse on the floor to pick her up. “Look at how big you’ve gotten!” I hug her tightly and then lean back to see her more clearly. Big blue eyes like mine, platinum-blonde hair like Heather’s, and a silly grin that matches most of the Morgana clan.
“I’ve grown! Mommy measured me, and I was a whole inch bigger than last time.”
“A whole inch?!” I say dramatically.
“Yep. She even had to get me new pants because mine were all too short.”
My sister Heather appears in the hallway, looking beautiful with her growing baby bump. “Yeah, she still had pants with tags on them. Thank goodness I kept the receipt, so I was able to take them back to get the bigger size,” she says, lifting my tote from the floor, rifling through the boxes. “Which one is mine?”
Grabbing the bag by the handle, I pull it toward me. “Straight to the good stuff, huh?” I tease as I put Kelsey down. I find her box of four perfect truffles and hand it to her.
“Yes! This is the ultimate benefit of having a sister who makes chocolate. Especially when pregnancy cravings are through the roof.” She rubs her belly.
Instantly, I think of Sebastian.
It’s been weeks since I walked out of his place. That was the hardest thing I’d ever done, and a day hasn’t gone by that I don’t wonder what would have happened if I’d stayed. I keep telling myself that I did the right thing. He needs to make a decision about his new family without thinking about me.
I place my hand on my sister’s belly, hoping to feel my nephew kick. “Is he active today?”
“When is he not active? This kid is going to be up all night the first few months, I can tell. I’m lucky my maternity leave will roll right into summer break because there’s no way I’d be able to stay up all night and then get to the school by six in the morning.”
I kneel down, eye-level with her belly, and talk to the baby, “Are you already giving your mommy a hard time?”
He kicks me, and a huge smile spreads across my face.
“He’s a kicker!”
“Told you. And I still have another month to go.”
I grab my purse from the floor and rise. “Maybe Dad will finally get that soccer player he’s been dreaming of. The other four grandsons don’t look so promising.”
She giggles as she pops a truffle in her mouth. “You said it, not me.”
I hand Kelsey a chocolate bar I designed with her name on it. She squeals as she runs off, and Heather wobbles into the kitchen with me right behind her.
“Look who finally made it!” my other sister, Fiona, says. “How is it the only one who has no one else to get ready is the one who arrives last?”
“I’ve been busy. People were still calling for last-minute orders this morning,” I defend myself as I shrug off my coat and place it on the back of a chair at the kitchen table.
“Leave my baby alone. She’s working hard during this holiday,” my mom says as she pulls me toward her for a hug.
I might hate being the youngest on most days, but being Mom’s “baby” still has its perks in the form of love and affection.
“Thanks, Mama. At least someone around here stands up for me.” I stick my tongue out at Fiona and then place my bag on the table, looking for the biggest box of them all. It’s a mix of ganache and pralines—Mom’s favorite. “Hide these before Heather sees them. I think she’s already inhaled her truffles.”
Mom laughs with a wave in the air. “I’ll put a few on the side for her. She’s probably the only one who deserves to eat them with that basketball she’s carrying around.”
I toss Fiona her box, but she doesn’t act as excited as Heather did. “I got you a house plant,” she states with a hand on her hip. “I’d have gotten you an Easter lily, like everyone else, but you don’t have a yard, like the rest of us.”