Chapter 18

There is no mistaking it. Alexa is on a date. She’s sitting with a guy, having cupcakes and coffee and smiling. It’s the exact scenario I had pictured just moments ago, only in my mind, she was sitting with me and not some other guy. A lump rises in my throat and the weight of disappointment crushes into me. What’s worse is that I am now realizing that her cryptic Facebook message wasn’t meant for me at all.

It was for this guy.

Good thing he showed up first and claimed her heart before I did. She would have been forced to admit that her message wasn’t for me and that would have just been embarrassing for everyone involved. I turn to leave, grateful that the place is busy and no one will notice me. Grateful that she didn’t notice me.

Someone touches my arm. “Gabe?”

I turn around and study the face of the woman standing in front of me. She’s petite, with shoulder length blonde hair and bright pink lips and a Sweets Bakery apron tied around her neck. I recognize her from the pictures online. This is Alexa’s best friend and coworker, Livi.

“How do you know my name?”

Her eyes widen. “No shit. It is you? Wow.”

She gives me a look over and then nods, as if impressed with what she sees. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

She didn’t answer my question. “Who are you?” I ask, even though I know the answer from my internet stalking. “I mean, why do you know who I am?”

She grins. “That’s privileged information. So, you’re here for Alexa, right?”

I inhale and stop myself from looking across the room to where Alexa is on her date. “Not really,” I say, and it sounds like a question.

She folds her arms across her chest. “You’re not a good liar. But before I go get her, I need you to tell me something.”

I shake my head. “Don’t get her. She’s busy, and I’m stupid for coming here, so just don’t even tell her I was here, okay?” I try to leave and Livi grabs my arm and holds me still, even though she’s no where near being stronger than I am. I guess I don’t really want to leave, even though it would be the smart thing to do.

“Do you like her?” Livi asks. Her grip on my arm tightens. “Do you like her in a real and true way and not in some asshole way that will break her heart?”

It’s clear that this woman knows at least something about me, if not everything. I take a deep breath. “Yes, I like her. Yes, it’s in a good way.”

Livi grins. “Perfect. Just wait here, okay?”

And then she’s gone, darting past other customers until she’s across the room and talking to Livi. I’m so fucking nervous about what she’ll do. Alexa is clearly on a date right now. This is so stupid. I shouldn’t be here.

My throat goes dry when Alexa looks up. She glances around for a second, and then she sees me. I can tell the moment our eyes lock because she flinches. That’s not good.

The look in her eyes is something like fear, or shock, or I don’t know – maybe even repulsion. This was a bad idea. This was so stupid.

I turn and walk right out of there, taking my keys from my pocket so I can make a quick escape. I want to go home and drown my embarrassment with whiskey and then never think of Mable Falls again.

“Wait!” a voice calls out as I’m halfway across the street. “Gabe, wait!”

I know it isn’t Alexa’s voice, because I remember the soft sweetness of her voice like it was yesterday instead of weeks ago. It’s Livi, running after me, her apron dropping dusts of flour in her wake.

“Gabe, stop!” She sprints across the street and holds up her hand as if she’s compelling me to stay put.

I stand here next to my car, too much of a gentleman to just leave her without saying anything. “It’s fine. I shouldn’t have come.”

“No, you definitely should have,” she says, panting a little. “You should have come here weeks ago, dude. But now you’re here and this will be great, but you have to wait a little bit.”

“I’m not going to crash her date,” I say, reaching for my car’s door handle.

“It’s not a date,” she says quickly. “Well, it’s not what it looks like. Trust me, Alexa wants to see you. You’ll be happy you stayed. I swear.”

I let out a breath. “What do you want me to do?”

She bites her bottom lip. “Well, we close in fifteen minutes, so can you just wait?”

“Sure,” I say as a flurry of emotions swirl around in my chest. She wants me to stay. Maybe this won’t be a disaster. “I’ll be in my car.”

“It’s too hot for that,” Livi says dismissively. “Go in the motorcycle shop and wait for her there.”

I lift an eyebrow. “It’s cool,” she says, motioning for me to follow her. “I know the owner.”

We walk into the shop which smells like motor oil and plastic, but not in a bad way. Rock music plays overhead and a dorky looking guy stands behind the register.

“Hey, Liv,” he says with a casual nod.

“Hi Travis,” Livi says as we walk past him. She leads me through a plastic swinging door and into the mechanic shop part of the store that says Employees Only. The music is louder back here and a few guys work on motorcycles, not caring that we just walked in.

One of the guys looks up and smiles when he sees Livi. We walk over to him. “This is Gabe,” Livi tells him. She wiggles her eyebrows when she says my name. “You know … Phoenix, Arizona Gabe?”

“Damn,” the guy says. Okay, does everyone in this town know who I am? He stands and wipes his hands on his jeans and then extends one to me. “Nice to meet you, Gabe. I’m Mason. Alexa’s cousin.”

Now I recognize him as the guy from Alexa’s Instagram account. He’s the Clint Eastwood lookalike, the cousin she attributed her success to. I smile and shake his hand. “So what exactly is going on here?” I ask Livi.

She grins. “Just wait here until Alexa gets off work. She’ll come see you and you can live happily ever after.”

“I like your confidence,” I say with a smirk.

“It’s not confidence. It’s fact.” She grins. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“So what all do you know about me?” I ask.

“Too much,” Mason says. “I mean technically, I’m not supposed to know anything, but my girl here has a hard time keeping secrets.”

Livi rolls her eyes. “You’re my boyfriend! I have to tell you!”

“So, Alexa told you about how we met?” I ask.

They look at each other and then grin. “Something like that,” Livi says. “I have to get back to work.” She points at me and gets a real serious look on her face. “You wait here.”

“I would listen to her,” Mason says. He takes a wrench and sits back down on his rolling chair, getting back to work on the motorcycle in front of him. “She’s a real crazy person when she doesn’t get her way.”

“Oh, shut it,” Livi tells him, smacking him on the arm playfully. “I’m serious,” she says to me. “This is going to be awesome.”

She jogs back out of the shop and leaves me alone with this guy who is related to the girl who is most likely my soul mate.

“So,” Mason says. “How awkward is this?”