"What are we going to do?"
"You're going back to school as planned. I've applied for another loan." She glanced around the room. "And we'll see if there is anything else we can sell. Which reminds me, I heard from the mechanic. The van will be ready tomorrow. It's going to cost about three hundred dollars."
"Wait, how are you paying the bill?"
"I'll sell my sapphire ring." Ashley shrugged, but her shoulders shook, and her voice caught. "The stone looks too big on my fingers anyway."
"But you love that ring. You can't sell it."
"What else am I going to do?"
Katie twisted her matching sapphire ring off her finger and held it out to her sister. "We can sell mine. I don't love it as much as you do."
She picked up another recipe card. Upon seeing her mom's familiar looping scrawl, she paused. She felt lost, alone and not for the first time since her mother's death, she wished desperately for the familiar comfort of her embrace. "I miss her so much."
"I know. I miss her, too. Remember that year when we made Christmas cut-out cookies, and you had the idea of mixing the different colors of icing together to see what would happen?"
Ashley laughed at the memory. "It turned that weird brownish, grayish, greenish color. I thought she'd be furious when she saw it. But she said we were brilliant to ice the cookies in camouflage so we could keep them all for ourselves."
"She was the best. You know, I think she'd like Xavier."
"I'm not even sure if Xavier likes me at the moment."
Katie crossed her arms over her chest. Fire came into her eyes. "Helping out was his choice. He's responsible for his own actions."
"I know that, but he lost out on something because he was helping me. I don't know how to make it up to him. I thought about baking something, but..."
Her sister ran her finger along the edges of the recipe cards. "I think you have the right idea. And I'll help."
Gratitude for her sister filled the raw, battered parts of her heart. Coming clean on everything had been an enormous relief. "I'm really going to miss you when you go back to Chicago."
"I know. I'm pretty amazing." Grinning, she leaned her head on Ashley's shoulder. "But then again, I have a big sister who taught me everything I know."
* * *
Two hours later, Ashley stood outside Xavier's home, questioning whether she should have come without calling first.
But here she was, and damn it, she would deliver the peace offering even if it killed her.
A deep inhale, and she rang the bell.
Incessant barking came from the other side of the door. If nothing else, Rocky liked her.
The clicking of locks, more barking, then silence, and then the door slowly opened. Xavier filled the doorway, wearing a gray T-shirt and worn jeans and a tentative smile. "Hi."
Warmth washed into her when their gazes met. A shiver worked its way up her spine. "I'd say I was in the neighborhood, but I live here, so I'm always in the neighborhood. Anyway, I wanted to apologize again for today."
The intensity in his eyes stole her breath away and left her guessing at his mood. "Like I said in the text, it's not your fault."
"I still feel really bad about it." She thrust the packages at him. "This won't make up for what happened, but here. The smaller box is for Rocky, and the bigger one is for you."
He stepped back and beckoned her with his free hand. "Come in."
Anticipation buzzed along her skin as she entered his home. In the distance, Rocky's barks began again. "Where's the dog?"
"I put him in the bedroom. When I saw that you held boxes from the bakery, I didn't want a repeat of what happened the day we met."
Laughter bubbled out at the memory. "That seems like such a long time ago. Poor Rocky, all he wanted was some cake."
"Poor Rocky doesn't know his own strength." But he smiled too. "I couldn't believe what he did. I saw you go down and couldn't get there fast enough. And then I saw your face, and I stopped breathing."
Her breath caught at the words. "Xavier."
"You're stunning, but how you are on the inside is even more beautiful." He placed the boxes on a long table that bordered the back of the couch. "Like with these. You go out of your way to take care of other people."
Rocky's barks turned into howls. Long, forlorn, pitiful cries for attention.
Xavier glanced at the ceiling. "I'd better get him before the neighbors call in a nuisance complaint. Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back."
She surveyed the large room. Neutral colors, leather furniture that looked well-used and well-loved, a basket filled with dog toys, and a dog bed next to the couch. First impression: the man loved his dog.
With a thundering down the stairs, man and dog returned, with Rocky straining from his leash. Xavier slowed his steps as they approached her. "I'll set him free once he gets over the initial excitement of greeting the new person."
Ashley rubbed her hands over the dog's head and braced herself for the dog's strength. "Oh no, it's fine. I love dogs. I've always wanted one. Hey there, Rocky. I'm happy to see you again."
Xavier joined her in petting the dog. "He's been through obedience classes twice. In every other instance, he's fine."
"I'm sure he's trying his best."
The dog eventually settled and lay at their feet. Xavier removed the leash and set it on a hook by the front door. He picked up the boxes and inclined his head toward another doorway. "Come into the kitchen."
Ashley took a deep breath and focused on Xavier's broad shoulders and the way his body filled out his clothes. Muscles, sculpted
