Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Jess scrolled through the article on her tablet propped up on her knees. Rory was sprawled out on the floor, granting Honey access to hop up on her belly and lick her face. Melanie laughed, pulling out of Calvin's grip where she sat between his legs to give the dog a kiss on the forehead. Kevin sat on the other side of the couch scrolling on his phone as well, one foot next to Jess, the other on the coffee table.

"It says here that dogs who lose hearing from an infection usually get their hearing back, either partially or fully," Jess explained. "If it caused nerve damage, it might not."

Kevin frowned. "How do we know for sure?"

"We could test different sounds, see how she responds?"

"I can't believe you guys just like, got a dog," Rory interrupted.

"Me either," Calvin grumbled, glaring at Kevin.

"Dude, it's going to be fine. Jessica and I can handle it."

"Yeah, Calvin, it's fine, stop ruining it," Melanie added, leaning back onto his chest and kissing his chin.

"I want one now," Rory whined.

"You can play with her any time you want," Jess added with a flick of her wrist. "We'll probably need a dog sitter every now and then."

"Okay, so you really are like, sharing this dog," Rory said to her.

Kevin tapped her hip with his foot. "Jessica and I share a lot of things now. A business, a dog, maybe someday soon a bed—"

Rory and Melanie howled with laughter. The puppy cocked her little head at their reaction. Even Calvin covered his mouth with his hand to contain his grin.

She glared at him. "In your dreams. Plus, I refuse to share a bed with someone ever again."

Kevin sucked in an exasperated inhale, holding his chest like the drama queen he was. " Never again? Jessica, may I remind you that if you want to have a one-night stand —"

"WHAT?!" Rory screamed.

"—then you'll have to share a bed."

Jess smirked. "Technically, I don't need a bed for that, you know."

Kevin rolled his eyes and pushed his toes into her ribcage. She yelped, the tablet sliding between her and the couch as she snatched them and squeezed hard. He cowered in pain as he yanked his foot from her grasp.

"Besides, even if the act occurs in a bed, that doesn't mean I have to sleep in the same bed," she added.

"We are slipping right past Jess admitting she wants to have a one-night stand, " Rory squeaked. "I want details."

"I don't," Calvin grunted.

"It's part of my summer bucket list," she explained, keeping her tone even. No part of her wanted to be talking to high schoolers about her sex life. Even if they did just graduate.

Melanie asked, "Why don't you want to share a bed with someone?" as she lazily traced her fingers along Calvin's arm.

Jess reached for the tablet, ignoring their gazes. "After sharing a bed with Charlie for so many years, I realized I hate it. If I decide to have a future partner, he'll have to be comfortable with separate beds or I'll walk."

"Noted." Kevin sat up and winked at her. "I'm okay with separate beds."

"You really are insufferable," Jess grumbled, and burrowed deeper into the couch. "It's like you expect me, after nine years of being a relationship, to settle down and call you honey— "

The puppy perked up, little floppy ears straightening as she turned toward Jess.

Jess sat up straight, brows raised, eyes on her dog. "Honey?"

The puppy stuck out her tongue and panted, recognizing the name.

"Oh my god, she heard that."

"Honey, Honey! Come here, Honey!" Kevin chanted, patting the couch aggressively.

Honey hopped off Rory's chest and ran for Kevin. She jumped for the couch but her paw slipped, causing her to stumble forward. Kevin scooped her up before her head could make contact and cradled her close to his chest. He nuzzled his nose into her neck as Honey yipped and nibbled his ear, tail wagging a mile a minute.

Jess scooted closer to them, reaching up to scratch the back of their puppy's head. "Would you like a treat, little girl?"

Honey didn't react to the word treat and kept nipping at Kevin's ear.

She pointed to the bag on the coffee table. "Calvin, shake that bag."

He lifted the treat bag and shook it hard a few times. Honey didn't budge at the sound, still content in Kevin's arms.

"Try the squeaky toy."

Rory did, squeaking it an obnoxious number of times. Nothing.

"Hmm." Jess tapped her chin.

"Honey," Melanie said.

The dog perked up again, turning toward Melanie, and let out a soft, hoarse yip. The puppy had yet to bark fully around them, and Jess wondered whether she was aware of how loud her voice could get.

"Maybe it's the cadence of it she can recognize, like the syllables and the tone," she pondered.

"My girls are so smart," Kevin mused.

Jess scrunched her nose and took the dog out of his hands. "I am not your girl."

"But she is, isn't that right, Honey?"

A little tail wiggled in response.

Kevin chuckled and leaned back, stretching an arm out on the couch behind her. "So what's the protocol here, dog spouse? What nights is she here, what nights is she with me?"

"Can she just…stay here, for a bit? I don't want her to get confused about having two homes until she's settled with us."

And I want her here with me. It was the whole reason she wanted a dog in the first place. A comfort and a companion. Kevin teased about being that for her, but the thought of hopping into another relationship felt like the ultimate threat to her freedom. The thought made her want to scream. Throw a mug across the room. Punch a hole in the wall. Rattle Calvin's massive bookshelf and watch all of his ratty paperbacks tumble to the floor.

Kevin's fingers brushed her neck and down her spine. She shivered at his touch and squirmed in her seat.

He dropped his hand. "She's yours, Jessica. She'll stay here," he whispered only to her.

She twisted back to look at his smiling face. "You've been so adamant about this being our dog."

"I know, and I am excited to be a part of this. But I'm not a dumb man. You need her right now as much as she needs you."

"Thank you," she whispered back, scratching beneath Honey's ears.

"Of course, sweetheart. I'm here whenever you need help, okay?"

Sweetheart. She scooted away from him to her side of the couch and resumed research on her tablet as Honey promptly fell asleep in her lap.

His touches, his casual use of sweetheart …it all felt like too much too soon, and the last thing she wanted was to give him false hope. So she stayed far out of his reach the rest of the night, keeping her distance, keeping her heart in the carefully caged box where it belonged.

Jess kneaded dough in the back. Massive headphones covered her ears, music blaring out the gutted silence of the shop. It was only their second week open and customers had already dwindled. The morning rush still felt steady enough, but by noon, the line died down. Zach kept himself busy with restocking paper goods and cleaning, always leaving Jess with a sparkling, spotless bakery by the end of his shift.

The door swung open and she jumped, not expecting Zach to step in the back and bother her during prep. She pushed the headphones down to her shoulders. "What's up? Need me out there?"

"Depends, do we take special requests?"

"You mean special orders? Like, for a cake?"

"Not sure exactly…want to come and find out?"

Jess removed her headphones and tossed them in her bag, then followed Zach through the door and into the front room.

Jan Fletcher stood at the counter, six jars of her signature jam in front of her. Jan owned a jam-making business in town with her husband, and if rumors were true, they made a killing at the local farmers' market every summer. Between the no-nonsense look on her face and the way she parked her hands at her hips, Jan certainly looked like she meant business.

Jess gave her best smile. "Jan, lovely to see you."

"You as well, my dear." She returned the smile and took a deep breath. "Jessica Valerie, I have come to make you an offer."

I think I might be tapped out on offers , she thought. "What do you have in mind?"

"Are you and Mr. Perkins doing a booth for Haverfest?"

"We were thinking about it," Jess answered honestly. "But at the rate we're going, I'm not feeling very hopeful that we'll afford one."

Jan grinned, pushing the jars of jam toward Jess. "Then this is your lucky day."

She frowned. "How?"

"Dan and I want to set up a booth this year, but we were thinking of offering something a little different than usual."

"Don't you guys make a boat load, though? Why mess with a good thing?"

Jan shrugged. "Keeps people on their toes. And right now, it's not about making money, it's about making art ."

"Dearest lovely Jan, that is not the way to Jessica's heart," Kevin called out from the other side of the shop. "Money is all she cares about right now."

Jess flicked him off.

"That's right, dear, stick it to the man," Jan cheered, holding up a fist.

Jess bumped it with her own.

"Here's my proposition: What if Dan and I sponsored your tent? We'll sell our jars, per usual. But what if you made a special pastry or two using the jam to sell alongside us?"

"I love it, I'm in," Kevin said, now standing at the counter next to Jan with Honey cuddled up in his left arm.

"She wasn't asking you," Jess replied through gritted teeth.

"But I am the boss—"

"Are you?" Jan teased. "If I've been hearing Calvin correctly, it sounds like Jess has been running the show."

Kevin sputtered but couldn't seem to get out any real words.

Jess gave her a mischievous smirk. "I knew I liked you."

"We businesswomen have to stick together," Jan said with a wink. "So what do you say? We could also do some kind of deal with the bikes. Buy a bike, get a jar of Mel's Hot Raspberry Preserves for free."

"Throw in a pastry and that sounds like a sweet deal," Jess said.

"Literally," Zach teased, handing Jan her latte with a jam jar traced into the frothed milk at the top. Jan shrieked, throwing her head back in laughter at the latte. She leaned over the counter and planted a sloppy kiss on Zach's cheek.

"Don't tell Blake you just did that or he might murder you," Kevin joked.

"Oh, he's as harmless as this little puppy here," Jan said, ruffling Honey's ears.

Jess exchanged numbers with Jan and agreed to be in touch about what she was thinking for the jam-inspired pastries by the end of the week. Jan departed the shop with her half-finished latte in hand, leaving the jars of jam for her to experiment with.

She sighed at the lack of customers in the shop. "This is so depressing. We're never going to make it out of the red."

"Don't worry, it's the lunch lull," Zach explained as he wiped down the espresso machine. Jess noticed a massive lipstick stain on his cheek and tapped her own to warn him. He blushed and wiped it with the back of his sleeve. "Slower afternoons are normal for a coffee shop."

"Yeah but we're a bakery , we offer so much more than a regular coffee shop."

"Jessica, don't fret," Kevin chimed in. "I've sold more bikes this week than I did the entire month of May. Let's not worry too much about it yet, yeah?"

She frowned and crossed her arms. There had to be something more she could do to get customers through the door. There had to be.

Kevin stepped over and lifted one of Honey's paws. " Don't be sad, Mommy. We'll be allllll right ," he said in a high-pitched, childlike voice.

Jess rolled her eyes, and Kevin's attention shifted to something moving outside the shop window. He froze for a beat, then held Honey out to Jess. "Take her, will ya? Someone just rolled up with a bike."

She smiled, eyes on her puppy as Kevin headed outside. "Hi, my little Honey. Were you bored all day tied up near the big scary bike man?"

The dog licked her face, paws on her shoulders. She bounced, patting Honey's back like she was a baby.

Kevin stepped back into Port Wheels and came up to the counter. "Hey, customer wants a kanelbullar and a caramel macchiato to go."

She frowned. "They didn't want to come in and order themselves?"

"Nah, they have a nasty dog. Didn't want to scare Honey."

"But you said they had a bike?"

Kevin hesitated. "They have both?"

Jess placed Honey on her bed near Kevin's desk, then crossed the shop and washed her hands. She plucked the pastry from the display case and stuffed it in a paper bag with napkins.

"Want me to bring it out?"

"Nope, I got it," Kevin said. He snatched the bag and the coffee and darted for the door.

"Is it just me or was that weird?" Zach asked.

Jess huffed and reached for Honey again. "Zach, you should know by now that Kevin is always weird."

Zach chuckled. "Jess, I think you should know by now that Kevin brings out a special kind of weirdness when he's around you."

She ignored him and the tiny skip of her heart at Zach's words. She took note of what she needed to order for her next inventory fulfillment, not daring to look in Kevin's direction when he came back in.

Jess slipped a tray of lemon poppy seed muffins into the display case the following morning as Kevin dropped a six-pack of energy drinks on the counter with a dramatic thunk.

"Pop these in the fridge?"

She slid the glass door shut. "Care to explain why I'm storing your groceries?"

" Our groceries. Tonight is the night we travel to Mordor with Frodo and Samwise and watch Aragorn come in all sexy through the doors of Helm's Deep. We'll need our energy."

"But it's Sunday, I get the night to myself." She frowned. "We're supposed to do this stuff on Mondays."

"Think about it, Jessica. Do you want to do a movie marathon on Monday and then come in bleary-eyed on Tuesday just to botch the baked goods? You know the kanelbullar deserves better than that."

She groaned. "Fine. That's fair."

He lifted the six-pack. "Fridge. And make a list of the snacks I need to get."

"Popcorn. M&M's. Pretzels and Nutella." She tapped her cheek. "We should probably eat real food, too. I'll make something."

His face brightened. "You're going to cook for me ? What did I do to deserve such an honor?"

Everything , she thought to herself. But she knew she would never live it down if she admitted it. "If you're going to let me drool over Viggo Mortensen for twelve hours straight, you deserve a meal that's a little more substantial. Maybe even a bottle of wine."

"Oh, we're getting crazy, " he teased. "Jessica, as long as you wear that cute little denim apron while you cook, I'm in."

She slit her eyes. "Why do you always make things so weird?"

Kevin reached over and booped her nose, the same motion she'd seen him do to Honey countless times in the past week since bringing her home. "For this exact reason. You get so ruffled. It's adorable."

He winked, then walked away, whistling. Whistling. She really was going to throttle him some day. Honey jumped up and down as Kevin approached, her long leash tied to his desk. Kevin flipped a bike upside down and clipped it onto the stand across from him, then sat on his tiny bench and tinkered away. Still whistling some tune she couldn't quite place.

The golden afternoon sun pierced through the back kitchen window as Jess drizzled sliced cherry tomatoes, minced garlic, and chopped basil in a bowl with olive oil, then added a couple cracks of fresh sea salt and black pepper. Tossing the bowl with one hand, she removed the plastic wrap from the sheet pan in front of her with the other.

"This is probably the hottest thing I've ever watched," Kevin drawled from the door.

She jumped, a few cherry tomatoes falling to the floor. "Dammit, Kevin. You can't do that when food is on the line."

He chuckled and bent down to pick up the rogue tomatoes, tossing them into the trash. "What are you making me over there?"

"You'll see."

She lightly drizzled more olive oil on her hands, then pressed dimples into the risen dough in the pan, gas bubbles popping up with each press. She dumped the cherry tomatoes on top and spread them out, then stuffed tiny mozzarella pearls in the empty holes.

A warm body pressed up beside her. She could feel his breath on her ear. "Step back, you're going to drool all over the focaccia."

He moaned. "Focaccia. My god. I do not deserve you."

"I know," she quipped. She washed her hands in the tiny sink by the door, then slid the focaccia in the oven.

Kevin cracked open two energy drinks he snatched from the fridge, handing her one. They clinked cans.

"To a night with Frodo," Kevin said before taking a long sip.

She scrunched her nose. "Frodo is the worst. Everyone knows Samwise is the real hero."

They debated this for a solid thirty minutes. She was surprised how much Kevin knew about The Lord of the Rings , even down to the particulars of the book versus the movie. Jess had attempted to read them, but never got past The Hobbit.

"I never had time to read the others," she explained.

"You should make the time," Kevin jested as he collected the empty can out of her hands. "You'll see the movies from a whole different perspective."

The timer buzzed on her phone, then a soft yipping noise came from the front room.

Jess straightened. "Where's Honey?"

"Don't worry, Jessica, she was sleeping in her dog bed. She must have woken up."

She relaxed and pulled the golden focaccia out of the oven, the smell of roasted tomatoes and basil wafting past her. "Wanna get her in the car? I'll wrap this up."

"We can't watch at full volume if we're in the same house as Gram and Calvin. No, sweetheart, we'll be heading upstairs."

"To your apartment ? No way."

"Yes way. It's the only way."

"When's the last time you cleaned?"

"This morning."

"Liar."

"Jessica, I swear , on my beautiful little Honey's life, that I cleaned my apartment this morning. I also piled extra blankets and pillows next to the couch, and I even have a surprise for you in the freezer."

She scowled but grumbled, "What kind of surprise?"

He smiled, holding the door open for her. "The kind that involves a carton of ice cream from Scoops."

"Not much of a surprise anymore."

He placed a hand on his hip, not taking her shit. "I do have one warning, though."

She lifted a brow.

"I only have one bed, so if you decide you want to sleep, well…"

She kept a tight hold on the hot pan with an oven mitt as she shoved him with the other. He cackled, offering to take it for her, but she shook her head. "There's a bottle of red wine underneath the counter."

Kevin seized the bottle, then grinned. "When did you have time to get this?"

"Zach offered to grab it for us after his shift. He already deserves a raise."

Kevin scooped up Honey then flicked off the lights as she followed him out of the shop. "I know it's hard for you to comprehend, but people actually like to do nice things for their friends without expecting anything in return."

"That is hard for me to comprehend." The words whooshed right out of her. She couldn't control them. But they were the truth, and now they were out there.

His gaze softened. She instantly felt pathetic and shook her head. "Please don't," she pleaded.

So he didn't. The two of them remained silent as he locked the front door of Port Wheels. She followed him around the building and up the stairs to his apartment.

His place was small but cozy—a living room with a two-seater couch, a television, a coffee table, and a small bookshelf used as an end table. Along the back wall was an open kitchenette with a microwave, a toaster oven, and a two-burner stove. Honey jumped out of Kevin's arms and beelined for the bedroom that was just big enough to fit his bed. She placed the focaccia on the coffee table next to the bags of junk food she'd requested and followed her dog, peering into the tiny bathroom with a standing shower.

"Intimate," she chaffed as she meandered through his apartment. She made her way back to the living room, watching as Kevin pushed the coffee table to the side. He'd spread blankets out on the floor and tossed pillows to the center.

"Do you have a bread knife so I can cut this?" she asked.

"Top left drawer. I also have wineglasses in the cupboard above the microwave."

"Wineglasses, huh? I fully prepared for us to drink out of mugs."

"I will have you know that I have wineglasses and whiskey glasses. It's not very impressive to the ladies to drink out of mugs."

She placed the glasses down on the counter and turned toward him with a smirk. "Ladies, huh?"

"I'm not celibate, Jess. I can pull the ladies."

"With wineglasses."

"Now you're the one being insufferable," he rumbled, pouring her a glass.

She sliced the focaccia. "So how many, then? One, five, ten?"

"Are we really on the topic of how many partners I've had?"

She shrugged, licking the olive oil and tomato juices on her fingers. "I'm kind of curious."

He remained silent as he took a sip of his wine, then reached for two plates in the cupboard and handed her one. "Six," he finally answered.

Her gut clenched. "Wow, six. Did any of them ever—"

"Go anywhere? Nah. I also haven't been with someone in a year. You might be into having a one-night stand, but after having a few myself, I realized that I'm not a one-and-done kind of guy. I'm more of the commit-for-a-lifetime kind."

She hummed, following him with plates and glasses in hands to their sanctuary on the floor. "It's not all it's cracked up to be."

"Committing for a lifetime? How would you know?"

"Nine years feels like a lifetime."

He took a sip and shook his head, placing his glass down on the coffee table beside them. "It's not, though. Just because you dated the same guy since eighth grade doesn't mean you know what it feels like to commit for a lifetime."

Her face flushed. "Oh yeah, and how would you know? What do you know about commitment and long-term relationships? I've had my fill of sacrifice and compromise and sharing everything I own to realize that it's not something I enjoy."

Kevin tapped a finger on his propped-up knee, thinking it through for a beat. "You're right, I don't know. But I've always assumed that a person is willing to sacrifice and compromise and share if they love the other person. Those things are easier to deal with when you're with your person. Yet you make it sound like chains."

Her fingers trembled. She gripped her glass and took a long sip, the wine smooth on her tongue. It tasted ten times better than the three-dollar stuff she used to buy at Post Road.

Kevin didn't wait for her to give him some kind of retort. Instead, he tapped her knee, his hazel eyes bright despite the dim lighting of his apartment. "Have you heard from him?"

"No," she whispered. It should bother her that she hadn't heard from her ex of nine years that entire month. He was radio silent. He didn't even reach out to her about the opening of her bakery. Surprisingly, she didn't care.

"Jess, we're friends, so can I be honest with you about something?"

She sucked in a breath, then nodded.

He took the glass out of her grasp with gentle hands and placed it beside his, then brushed her trembling fingers with his own. "Being with him for that long doesn't mean you were treated well, sweetheart. You may have loved each other in the beginning, but watching from the sidelines…I could tell. You were unhappy. And he didn't do anything to make it better for you."

Tears leaked from her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. He cupped her face and brushed them away with his thumbs. "That relationship probably felt like chains. But I think maybe if you open yourself up to it someday, you'll find someone you're willing to sacrifice for and compromise with and all the rest without a second thought. Someone you can love, and who will wholly love you back."

She released a jagged breath, and emotion built up in her throat. She closed her eyes. "I'm so mean to you, yet you keep being nice to me. It doesn't seem fair."

When he didn't immediately respond she opened her eyes, noticing the You've got to be joking look he was giving her, his right brow cocked high. It made her smile.

"Let me remind you of the conversation we literally just had downstairs," he replied. He dropped his hands then lifted her plate and handed it to her. "And believe it or not, I enjoy spending time with you. You make me a better person."

She smiled at that and took a bite of her focaccia. She frowned. It wasn't nearly salty enough, and it was missing something. Oregano? Crushed red pepper flakes?

"For all that's good and holy," Kevin moaned. "This is freaking fantastic ."

"It's not. I think it needs something—"

"Stop being so critical and enjoy the inappropriate sounds I'm making while eating this incredible thing you made me!"

She laughed and took another bite. "We don't have time for orgasmic noises. We have to gather the fellowship and go on a journey."

Kevin cheered and turned on the television. They ate in silence for the first thirty minutes of the movie, but it didn't take long for Kevin to start chiming in with his commentary. They debated and laughed and finished off the focaccia and bottle of wine, Honey falling asleep soundly between them. As the credits rolled and Kevin switched on the second, Jess sprawled out on the blanketed floor, brushing a hand softly through Honey's fur. Kevin leaned back as well, propping up on a pillow and tucking a hand beneath his head.

She wasn't sure what compelled her to do it—maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the smoldering looks of Viggo Mortensen, maybe it was how nice Kevin was being to her—but she wiggled her body closer to his and rested her head on his arm. She saw his glowing smile out of the corner of her eye, and in a single sweeping movement, he moved his arm to tuck it around her shoulders and pull her closer. They lay like that the rest of the night, Honey snoring softly between them.