Exhausted, Jen finished with a cake she was decorating then went out front, relieving Mia. She bagged the tips in the jar and put Mia’s name and the time on the bag before dropping it into the safe.

Usually, Jen didn’t stay late, but Mia had a cake class she wanted to take so she was leaving early. The store was quiet at this time in the afternoon, so she had time to think about the new place. She’d inked the contract, and there was a crew over there now, adding a new waterline for her extra sink. The new store would be bigger, which would allow her to add a comfy couch seating group.

There would be a week of down time. She’d told her loyal customers about the move. They were sad and angry for her, but she told them not to worry, she’d found a great solution not too far from here. She knew she’d lose a few customers, but hopefully with the new location she’d gain some.

Last night Brent spent time with his sister since she was moving to London. Tonight, Brent had a late meeting. She wanted to see him, but they were both busy.

The bell over the door dinged, and she looked up, seeing the woman who’d had a thing for Brent come in. What was her name? She wracked her brain, trying to come up with her name.

The woman waved and giggled. “Hello, just stopping in for a pick-me-up. Oh goodness, last night was hot.” Her voice triggered Jen’s memory and the name came to her. Marci.

“Hello, so what can I get you?”

“I’ll have an iced tea. That was so good last time.”

“Sure. Which size?”

“Medium.”

She poured the tea and the door dinged again. Another woman stepped through and Jen sighed. Maybe with another customer Marci would leave fast. It wasn't that she disliked the woman, she just couldn’t make small talk at the moment.

“Oh my God, Marci, what are you doing here?”

“Lena, hey girl, what’s up?”

“The gym killed me, I need something to refresh.”

“I totally get that,” Marci said.

“Here you go,” Jen said. “That’s two-twenty.”

Marci handed over exact change then turned back to the other woman. “I went out with that hottie from the gym.”

Jen froze. What hottie was she talking about?

“I’ll have a tea and a blueberry muffin,” Lena said.

“A muffin? Wow, you’re brave,” Marci said.

“I love the food here,” Lena said.

Jen felt pride bubble up, but Marci’s comments still bugged her. She poured up the tea and warmed the muffin. Lena handed over her money after Jen rang her up. She was fighting to ignore Marci’s conversation, but the woman kept talking about her date.

“What’s his name again?” Lena asked.

Marci giggled then her gaze locked with Jen’s and her lips twisted up in a cruel smirk. “Brent.” Marci turned back to Lena, talking about all the fun they had.

Jen wanted to tell Marci she was a liar, but she and Brent hadn’t been together the night before. Maybe he’d lied about spending time with his sister. What if Brent hadn’t been helping her pack the last of her things before she left?

“Oh, bye,” Marci called out before she opened the door to leave. “I’ll tell Brent you said hi.”

The last little bit made her blood boil. She wanted to rush out and force Marci to tell her exactly what had happened. Had Brent cheated on her?

She had twenty minutes before the store closed and she had to deal with a rush of customers coming in for last minute treats. She sold out of all but one cake in her display. Tomorrow would be filled with baking, but tonight, she wanted answers from Brent. Then she remembered he had a meeting. Was this just another excuse to get with Marci?

After she closed, she leaned against the huge refrigerator in her kitchen and slid down to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees. How had life gotten so complicated? Her store was being moved, she’d found Brent but now Marci had claimed they were dating. It was too much.

Tears fell, and she didn’t stop them. After about twenty minutes she heard someone knocking on the door. They weren’t giving up. She stepped out into the main room, prepared to tell the person they were closed when she realized it was Brent standing there. For a half second, she thought about not letting him in. But she needed the truth.

“Hey, I didn’t think I’d finish this early, but my last meeting canceled.” He paused and cocked his head to the side. “Jen, are you okay?”

Anger spun out of control and yelling seemed like a good idea, but she wasn’t that way. She shrugged and closed her eyes as pain circled her heart.

“Jen, what is it?”

“I…earlier Marci came in.”

“Who?”

Her eyes popped open and she studied his face, looking for any deception. Did he not know who she was talking about?

“Marci, the woman from your gym.”

He shook his head then a light went off and her jealousy ramped up even more.

“Oh, her. God, she’s been hounding me for weeks. I finally told her I was dating someone. Actually, I think I told Marci I was dating you and that she wasn’t my type.”

“You told her we were dating?”

“Yeah. She’s annoying. So what happened? You said she came in?”

Now she didn’t know what to think. Had Marci been lying? She wasn’t a regular, and Jen hadn’t seen her since that one time Marci had been all handsy with Brent.

Brent narrowed his gaze. “Did she try to stir up trouble?”

Jen threw her hands up in the air. “Ugh, she said you two went on a date.”

“Well, that’s a lie,” Brent spit back.

She met his gaze, guilt filling her. Why had she believed Marci and her lies? Why had she doubted Brent? Maybe it was because she doubted herself.

“Wait, you didn’t believe her, did you?” Brent asked.

The crushing weight of doubt almost made her buckle. “I didn’t want to.”

“Listen to me, babe, that woman isn’t anyone I would ever want. And even if she offered me sex or came at me naked, I wouldn’t want her. You’re the only one I want. I really was with my sister last night, which she wants to meet you before she takes off so we’re all going to dinner.”

“I need to do more stuff at the new store.”

“We’ll get that taken care of, but I want you to get to know my sister because…” He trailed off and I stared up at him, wondering what he’d been about to say.

“I’m sorry I thought for one minute you and Marci went out.”

“Don’t worry about it. Marci just wanted to cause trouble. She’s the jealous type. I guess she’s been trying to get me to go out with her for a while.”

“Why you?”

He shrugged. “I basically ignore her at the gym. She tries to position herself in front of me while I’m doing sets or jogging. It's annoying. I don’t know why she does it, but it’s stupid. I’m not interested in her.”

Guilt filled her. “God, I’m so stupid for believing her.”

Brent placed his hands on her shoulders. “No, you’re not stupid. She was just trying to get to you. I promise you this, I’ll always be truthful to you. If I’m going to date someone else, which I don’t see that happening ever, I’ll tell you up front. I won’t sneak around behind your back.”

Her lips twisted up, and she narrowed her gaze. “Okay, I trust you.”

“Good. I’m glad we got that settled because Melissa really wants to meet you.”

“I want to meet her too. Thank you, Brent.”

“For what?”

“Just everything. I’m awful, and you’re so perfect.”

“Oh, babe, I’m not. I just want you to understand I’ll always be truthful with you.”

Brent pulled her close and held her. She shouldn’t have believed Marci. The woman was trying to get to her. Next time, she’d know not to trust her.