Smitten Book Club (36 page)

“Hi, Molly! Did you get the invoice?” Her sunshine voice wasn’t so cute anymore.

“I did, but—there must be a mistake.” She repeated the invoice total.

“No, I’m sure that’s right. It normally goes for closer to five, so you got a great deal.”

A great deal?
A
great
deal?

“I can have your rep call you on Monday if there’s a problem?”

Molly nodded, then realized Kylie couldn’t see. “Okay. That’s fine. Thank you.”

She hung up, numbly. A call from the rep wouldn’t solve
anything. She looked at the invoice on the screen. Where was she going to get over four thousand dollars?

Maybe Gage was used to spending that kind of money on his own advertising, but he had to understand that an expenditure like that would put her over the edge right now. She scrimped and saved and budgeted so tightly just to survive, and now, in one fell swoop, she’d lost it all.

There was no getting around it. She couldn’t pay it. Molly covered her face with her hands.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths, Molly
.

There was no way Gage hadn’t known this. Hadn’t he pored over her financials for serveral weeks? He knew to the penny how much she had in the bank, how much she owed. What had he been thinking?

An ugly feeling wormed up her spine. Gage was far too savvy to be reckless with money. Obviously he knew how to run a successful business—and you didn’t do that by spending money you didn’t have.

She shook her head. She didn’t want to think it. He’d been so helpful. He’d looked at her with his warm blue eyes. He’d kissed her.

Molly looked back at the invoice, doubts warring with the feelings, the trust, that had grown over the past couple months. She’d trusted him enough to hand over her confidential—and embarrassing—information. Would he do something so terrible? She didn’t want to believe it.

And yet.

Those memories of Curtis flashed in her mind. She struggled to remember her late husband’s complaints against
Gage. Something about the Chamber of Commerce. Curtis had said Gage had been against the formation of Smitten Expeditions. He’d tried to block their opening. Once in business, Curtis had complained about Gage stealing customers. About Gage badmouthing their business to customers.

And right when it was do-or-die time, Gage had walked into her office and offered to “help.” Why would a competitor help her stay in business? Hadn’t she seen the red flags? She’d been suspicious. But somehow she’d let her guard down, had let him into her business and into her life.

Molly stood abruptly. Her chair rolled back and hit the wall.
What have you done, Molly?

She’d trusted a man not worthy of her trust, that’s what she’d done. Hadn’t she done the same with Curtis? Trusting him to make decisions, burying her head in the sand and letting him take care of all the things she didn’t like thinking about?

What was wrong with her? Would she never learn?

And Gage! The nerve of the man, to come into her store and gain her trust, only to chop her legs from beneath her. What kind of person did that?

“Just being neighborly?” she spat. “People here stick together?” Did it not matter to him that this was her livelihood? That she was the sole supporter of a child?

Oh, he’d helped her, all right. Helped her run her business right into the ground. Her mind flashed back to when she’d overheard him directing customers to his own store. How many other customers had he stolen while she’d trusted him here, alone in her shop?

A fire of fury welled up inside. He’d thought he could
walk in here and ruin her, and she’d just lie back and take it. Maybe he thought she was too stupid to see what he’d done.

But she saw it. Oh yeah, she saw it, all right. And she was about to let him know.

She grabbed her keys and headed out, barely acknowledging April on her way past. She was too angry to speak. Too angry to walk the couple blocks. She wanted her say, and she wanted it now.

The diagonal parking slots in front of his store were full. She had to park in front of the bakery, three stores down. Molly marched down the brick sidewalk, steaming inside. Maybe she was going down. But she was going to give him a piece of her mind first. She was going to register a complaint with the Chamber or the Better Business Bureau or whoever she could get to listen.

She stepped inside the busy store and scanned the floor. No Gage. If he was out on a tour, she was going to hunt him down.

“Can I help you?” A short brunette the size of a willow weed stepped up to her.

“Where’s Gage?”

The bright smile slipped from her face. “Uh . . . in his office?”

Molly strode across the showroom floor, her eyes trained on his closed office door.

Gage’s head snapped up when the door bounced against the wall. “Molly . . .” The beginnings of a smile evaporated from his face. He lowered the pen in his hand. “What’s—”

“Don’t you dare ask me what’s wrong.” Her voice quivered with rage.

Gage scooted back from his desk, angling his face away. “Okay . . .”

“How could you, Gage? How
could
you?”

Twin commas formed between his brows. “Molly, I don’t—What’s going on?” He turned his palms up in a
What did I do?
motion.

Oh, he was good, she’d give him that. All innocence. She ground her teeth together. “The ad in
Explore Vermont
? The
four thousand, five hundred and
ninety-eight dollar
ad? Ring a bell?”

His face fell. His eyes found the desk, and in that quick response she saw his guilt. “I’m sorry, Molly. I didn’t want—”

“You’re sorry?
Sorry?
You deliberately sabotage my business, and you’re
sorry
? In what world does that make—”

“Wait . . . what?”

“—any sense? I trusted you! I let you come into my business to help me, and instead you run me into the ground with a bill I can’t hope to pay. And you—”

“Molly, no . . .”

“—
knew
that, Gage. Nobody knew that better than you. I’ve tried to reason this out, make sense of it, but there’s only one explanation—you did this on purpose!”

He blinked, shuttering those eyes for an instant. His jaw snapped shut.

He wasn’t going to deny it. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but it wasn’t this. Silence. His hands fell to his lap. Then he crossed his arms.

“Nothing, Gage? No excuses? No random explanations?” She tossed her hands up, waiting.

He settled back in his chair. His jaw clenched. There was something in his eyes she couldn’t quite place, then it was gone. His face closed, and his eyes went hard.

She crossed her own arms to hide her trembling hands.
To hide the effect his expression had on her. It hurt. There was no getting around it. She’d thought there’d been something between them. Something special. But all there’d been was betrayal.

“No, Molly. I think you’ve said it all.”

She regarded him steadily. Her heart was racing, adrenaline pumping like mad, the fight or flight thing. She’d fought. Her heart had the battle scars to prove it. But he wasn’t fighting back. She’d won. That’s what she’d wanted, wasn’t it? Though an apology would’ve been nice. A little remorse. But no, she wasn’t going to get it. She could see that now.

“I thought you were different. I thought you—”
Cared
about
me
. A knot in her throat choked off her words. She felt the sting of tears and knew the time had come for flight. Before she completely humiliated herself.

She drew a lung-stretching breath. “Guess I was wrong.” Her knees wobbled as she turned to leave.

“I guess we both were,” he said.

She didn’t pause on the threshold. Didn’t stop to wonder what his clipped words meant. He’d gotten what he wanted. She marched through his beautiful store—soon to be the only one of its kind in Smitten.

This chapter of her life was officially over.

The door slammed shut behind Molly, the sudden silence behind it deafening. Gage palmed the back of his neck. What the heck had just happened?

Somehow she’d jumped to the conclusion that he’d
sabotaged her business. That he’d purposely put her over the edge. He would never . . .

He cared about her. That was evidenced by the hollow ache inside, by the painful twist of his stomach that left him feeling like he’d been wrung out hard.

He couldn’t believe she thought so little of him. Sure, at first she’d been skeptical. He knew Curtis had probably soured her on him. Between their sports rivalry through high school and their competing businesses, Gage had never been Curtis’s favorite person.

But he’d thought he’d earned Molly’s trust. He
had
earned her trust. She’d given him access to her finances. She’d agreed to go out with him. She’d kissed him. He let his mind linger there a moment, the thoughts making him go warm all over.

But all too soon the anger returned. What did any of that matter if he didn’t have her trust? If she threw him under the bus without a moment’s hesitation? One little suspicion, and had she given him the benefit of the doubt? Had she asked for an explanation? No, she’d come in spouting accusations. She’d believed the worst of him. The woman had issues, and it wasn’t his job to fix her.

Gage set his hands flat on his desk, scanning the pile of applications he needed to weed through. He had better things to do than stew over a woman who’d set his heart on the floor and stomped all over it.

Love is not for the faint of heart or the weak of spirit.

P
EARL
C
HAMBERS
,
The Gentlewoman’s Guide to Love and Courtship

CHAPTER TWELVE

W
hat are you going to do?” Lia asked Molly.

Heather had called an emergency meeting after church once Molly had filled her in on yesterday’s fiasco. The friends were gathered around Molly’s kitchen table. Paul and the guys had taken Noah to the park to pass the football.

Molly felt the sting of tears. She’d felt that a lot in the past twenty-four hours. Hiding her feelings from Noah had been difficult. He’d have to know eventually, but not before she had a plan.

Molly shrugged. “Unless Pearl’s gold magically appears in front of me, I’ll have to call the bank tomorrow. Let them know I’m defaulting on the loan.”

Abby leaned in on her elbows. “Are you sure? What if we did another fund-raiser?”

“That’s a great idea,” Lia said.

“The guys at the firehouse would help,” Heather said. “Maybe a chili cook-off or a barbecue event? We could even auction off items.”

Molly shook her head. “Thanks, girls. But even if we raised that kind of money . . . I’m sorry, but it just feels like pouring money down the drain. I have to face it. This just isn’t my thing. If I’m honest, it never was.”

Lia set her hand on Molly’s arm. Silence filled the room as the weight of her declaration sank in.

“I still can’t believe Gage did that with the ad,” Heather said. “Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Remember when I jumped to conclusions about Paul and Isabelle Morgan?”

Molly sank into her chair. “It’s not like that. He had every chance to explain. You should’ve seen the guilt all over his face. He had me fooled, that’s for sure.” She didn’t want to think about Gage. She had enough on her plate. Like being jobless and homeless.

You
got
my back, right, God? You’re going to take care of us? ’Cause right now, this all feels pretty scary, and I’m a little short on trust
.

“It’s going to be okay,” Heather said, as if reading her mind. “We’ll all help out.”

“I’m going to lose everything. What am I going to do?”

“You’re going to pack up your things and move in with Charlie and me,” Heather said.

Molly gave her a grateful smile. “I couldn’t do that.”

“I’d be upset if you didn’t. We’re friends, that’s what we do. Charlie will be thrilled. Besides, what’s better than a slumber party?”

“Can I come?” Abby asked.

“Me too,” Lia said.

“See?” Heather squeezed Molly’s hand. “They’re already jealous of all the fun we’re going to have.”

“Are you sure, Heather? It’s a lot to ask.”

“Of course I’m sure. Noah will love it. We have a big-screen TV. He and Charlie will be playing Xbox until the cows come home.”

Molly eyes ached with unshed tears. “He’ll love that. Thanks, Heather.”

“Well, that’s settled. Let’s talk jobs,” Abby said. “What kind of work are you looking for?”

“The kind that comes with a paycheck.”

“I could ask at the county office,” Heather said. “We could use some part-time help.”

She was so sweet. “Thanks, hon, but I need full-time and insurance.” Noah’s recent trip to the ER was a reminder.

“What about something with your music?” Abby asked.

Molly sighed. “I’d love that, but it’s not practical. Music on the square isn’t going to cut it.”

Lia popped up straight. “Hey, Mrs. Willikins is retiring. She’s not coming back in the fall because of her husband’s health, remember?”