Like those around him, Cole was absorbed in his thoughts. He nearly plowed into a woman who charged past him, talking loudly on her cell phone. A warm surge of pride filled him when the illuminated yellow ‘Emmaline’s’ sign came into view. Running a bakery was hard work, but she was committed to it. Though she sometimes didn’t make enough money to pay her own salary, Emma was covering everything else. Everything but the construction loan. A lead weight settled deep in Cole’s stomach. He hadn’t told Emma about the loss of his bonus yet. She had enough on her mind, and he was supposed to be the one who took away her worries, not someone who added to them. He still wondered some days how a moody asshole like him had managed to win her over. He’d kept everyone else in his life at arm’s length; but Emma, the shy, awkward girl who’d grown up across the street from him, had crumbled all his walls. The bakery’s lobby was darkened, and Cole headed toward the single bulb that lit the alley behind the building.
