Sage's Point Of View
The world spun around me as I stood in the middle of Sweet Dreams, my mind reeling from the bomb Chloe had just dropped. Fiancée. The word echoed in my head, mocking me with its finality.
I watched as Alyssa fled to the kitchen, her copper hair swinging behind her like a curtain of fire. The urge to follow her, to explain, was overwhelming.
But Chloe's perfectly manicured hand on my arm held me in place, an anchor I desperately wanted to shake off.
"Sage, darling," Chloe's voice cut through my daze, sharp as a knife. "Aren't you going to show me around this quaint little bakery you've been raving about?"
I turned to face her, trying to school my features into something resembling normalcy. Chloe Sinclair was the epitome of big city sophistication, from her sleek blonde hair to her designer heels.
We'd met at a baking conference in New York six months ago, and she'd swept into my life like a whirlwind, all ambition and charm.
But standing here in Maple Grove, with the scent of cinnamon and memories hanging heavy in the air, she seemed as out of place as a peacock in a hen house.
"Chloe," I managed, my voice sounding strained even to my own ears. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Paris for that patisserie course."
She waved a hand dismissively, her emerald eyes scanning the rustic interior of Sweet Dreams with barely concealed disdain.
"Oh, that? I finished early. Thought I'd surprise you, see this little project of yours firsthand." Her gaze landed on the chalkboard menu behind the counter, lips pursing. "Though I must say, I expected something a bit more... sophisticated, given your talents."
I felt a surge of defensiveness on behalf of Sweet Dreams – and Alyssa. "It's not about sophistication," I said, more sharply than I intended. "It's about heart, about community. Something you might not understand."
Chloe's eyes narrowed, but before she could respond, the kitchen door burst open. Alyssa strode out, her chin held high, though I could see the telltale redness around her eyes.
My heart clenched. I'd done that to her. Again.
"I apologize for my abrupt exit," Alyssa said, her voice steady despite the storm I could see brewing in her hazel eyes. "Welcome to Sweet Dreams, Miss Sinclair. I hope you enjoy your visit to Maple Grove."
The air crackled with tension as the two women sized each other up. Chloe, all sleek lines and city polish, and Alyssa, warm and vibrant as the summer sun.
They were as different as night and day, and I felt myself being pulled in two directions at once.
"Oh, I'm sure I will," Chloe replied, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. "Sage has told me so much about this charming little town. Though he failed to mention just how... rustic it is."
I winced at the barely veiled insult, but Alyssa didn't miss a beat. "We may be rustic," she said, her tone deceptively sweet, "but we pride ourselves on authenticity. Something that's becoming increasingly rare these days."
The underlying meaning wasn't lost on any of us. I cleared my throat, desperate to diffuse the tension. "Alyssa, I–"
But she cut me off with a look that could have frozen fire. "If you'll excuse me," she said, addressing Chloe rather than me, "I have a business to run. Enjoy your stay in Maple Grove." With that, she turned on her heel and disappeared back into the kitchen.
I made to follow her, but Chloe's hand on my arm tightened. "Let her go, darling," she murmured. "Clearly, she needs some time to... adjust."
Adjust. As if Alyssa finding out about my engagement was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. I felt a rush of shame so intense it nearly knocked me off my feet. What had I done?
Just then, the bell above the door chimed, and Ash walked in.
"Sage, my man!" he called out, striding towards us. Then he caught sight of Chloe, and his steps faltered. "Uh, and... Chloe? What are you doing here?"
"Surprise visit," I muttered, running a hand through my hair. "Ash, could you...?"
He nodded, understanding immediately. It was one of the things I loved about Ash – he could read me like an open book.
"Say no more, brother. I've got this." He turned to Chloe with an exaggerated bow. "Miss Sinclair, would you allow me the honor of giving you a tour of our humble town? I promise it'll be more exciting than watching paint dry. Barely."
Chloe looked like she'd rather eat glass, but social graces won out. "I suppose that would be... quaint," she said, releasing my arm. "Sage, darling, you don't mind, do you?"
I shook my head, relief washing over me. "Not at all. You two have fun. I'll... I'll catch up with you later."
As Ash led Chloe out of the bakery, regaling her with tales of Maple Grove's illustrious history (most of which I was certain he was making up on the spot), I turned back to the kitchen door.
I knew I was the last person Alyssa wanted to see right now, but I couldn't leave things like this. I had to try to explain.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed through the swinging door. I found Alyssa at the industrial mixer, her movements sharp and angry as she threw ingredients into the bowl.
Flour dusted her cheeks and arms, making her look like some sort of avenging baking goddess.
She didn't acknowledge my presence, but the set of her shoulders told me she knew I was there.
"Alyssa," I began, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm so sorry. I should have told you–"
"Told me what, Sage?" she snapped, whirling to face me. Her hazel eyes blazed with a mixture of hurt and fury. "That you're engaged? That while you were here, talking about making things right between us, you had a fiancée waiting in the wings? Or maybe you should have told me four years ago, when you decided to walk out on everything we had built together!"
Her words hit me like physical blows, each one striking true. "I know I've made mistakes," I said, taking a step towards her. "But Alyssa, you have to believe me when I say I never meant to hurt you."
She laughed, a harsh, bitter sound that was so unlike the warm, infectious laugh I remembered. "Never meant to hurt me? That's rich, Sage. You left me without so much as a goodbye. You abandoned our dreams, our plans. And now you're back, engaged to some big city pastry princess, acting like you can just waltz back into my life?"
She shook her head, a lone tear escaping down her cheek. "No. You don't get to do that. You don't get to pretend like the last four years didn't happen."
I felt my own anger rising, defensive words bubbling up before I could stop them. "I'm not pretending anything! You think these years have been easy for me? You think I didn't spend every day regretting leaving you?"
"Then why did you?" she shouted, slamming her hand down on the counter. A cloud of flour rose between us. "Why did you leave, Sage? And don't give me that crap about needing to find yourself. I want the truth. All of it."
The truth. It sat heavy on my tongue, a burden I'd carried for four long years. I looked at Alyssa, really looked at her. Gone was the shy, uncertain girl I'd left behind.
In her place stood a woman who had rebuilt herself from the ground up, who had taken her broken dreams and forged them into something beautiful. And I realized, with a clarity that took my breath away, that I owed her the truth. All of it.
"I left because I was scared," I said, the words tumbling out in a rush. "Scared of the intensity of what I felt for you, scared of the future we were planning. It all seemed so... final. Like my whole life was being mapped out in front of me, and I panicked."
Alyssa's expression softened slightly, but her voice remained hard. "So you ran."
I nodded, shame washing over me. "I ran. I told myself it was for your own good, that you deserved better than a small-town baker with big dreams and empty pockets. I convinced myself that leaving would give us both a chance to grow, to become the people we were meant to be."
"And did it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Did running away make you the person you were meant to be?"
I looked down at my hands, calloused and scarred from years of working with hot ovens and sharp knives. "No," I admitted. "It just made me realize what I'd thrown away. Alyssa, coming back to Maple Grove, seeing you again... it's made me question everything."
She crossed her arms, a defensive posture I knew all too well. "Including your engagement?"
The question hung in the air between us, heavy with implications. I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, the kitchen door burst open.
Mia stumbled in, her purple hair in disarray and her eyes wide with panic. "Boss!" she gasped, looking between Alyssa and me. "Sorry to interrupt, but we've got a situation. There's a health inspector out front, and he's threatening to shut us down!"
Alyssa's eyes widened in alarm. "What? But we just passed inspection last month!"
Mia shook her head frantically. "This is a surprise inspection. Something about an anonymous tip about food safety violations."
I felt a chill run down my spine. Anonymous tip? This couldn't be a coincidence.
Alyssa straightened her shoulders, slipping into business mode despite the emotional turmoil of moments before. "Right. Mia, start a deep clean of the front. I'll handle the inspector."
She turned to me, her expression unreadable. "We'll finish this conversation later, Sage. Right now, I have a bakery to save."
As she strode out of the kitchen, purpose in every step, I couldn't help but admire her strength. But a nagging suspicion gnawed at me. An anonymous tip, a surprise inspection, right after Chloe's unexpected arrival...
I pulled out my phone, scrolling to a number I rarely used. It rang twice before a familiar voice answered.
"Sugar Rush Bakery, this is Zoe speaking. How can I help you?"
"Zoe," I said, my voice low and urgent. "I need you to do some digging. Something's not right here, and I think Chloe might be involved."
There was a pause on the other end of the line. When Zoe spoke again, her voice was all business. "What do you need?"