He nodded. "I'd like for us to be friends again."
Mario glanced at the building. "I'd better get in there. If you have time later, stop by the café. The coffee's on me. We can sit in the back and I can help you look for viable locations for your friend. In scouting for my second location, I've done a lot of research. I'm happy to share it, and finally do something for you."
That, right there, mended all wounds. "I'd like that."
With a wave, Mario was gone.
Shane watched him walk inside with raised brows. "Wow. I'm glad he apologized."
"Me too."
His phone rang, serenading the sidewalk with a blast of hard rock. Xavier pulled it out of his pocket. The Pro Football Daily producer's number popped up on his screen. "Hello?"
"Xavier, I'm glad I caught you. My wife and I watched the baking competition. Hell of a thing that happened in the final round. Up until then, we thought you and Ashley would win it all."
"It was my fault. I let Ashley down." No matter what people said, he'd never think otherwise.
"Ashley is the reason I'm calling. Because of what she said in the interview after round one, when she talked about why you missed your train that day. We want to schedule you for a segment. It's not co-hosting, but at least an appearance to make up for the one missed, and it'll show us a bit of what you can do. Why don't you see if Ashley wants to come on too? And bring some cupcakes. We all loved the box you sent us."
"Wow. That's great. I'm definitely interested. And I'll talk to Ashley." Even if she didn't want to talk to him or see him right now, the opportunity might help her.
After another minute of exchanging niceties and thanks for the chance, he ended the call and turned to Shane. "Two good things just happened. Let's see if we can make it three."
He wasn't losing Ashley without a fight.
* * *
Ashley stood in her apartment, surrounded by boxes. Packing up her life had been an emotional experience, weighed down by feelings of failure. She'd lost. A stupid slip and stumble, and she'd let her sister down. She'd let herself down too. But even worse, losing the bakery was like losing her mother all over again.
Loud footsteps announced Katie's arrival. "Are you sure you're okay with me going back to Chicago?"
"For the millionth time, yes." She wasn't ready to say goodbye to Katie, but she'd never hold her sister back. She tucked her keys into her pocket and picked up one of Katie's suitcases. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the airport?"
"I'm fine," Katie assured her. "My ride will be here any minute."
They walked downstairs and around to the front of the building. Workers were already inside the bakery, dismantling her mother's dream. The Bliss Bakery logo had been scraped off the door. In its place, Blackstone's Bakery, in black and gold, gleamed. Losing her space to them, for them to use as a storage facility, dug the knife into her heart even deeper.
Katie hugged her hard. "I'll call you when I land. And you better call me if you need to talk."
"Will do. I have a few more apartments to look at later today. I'll let you know how everything goes. Worst case, I'll end up doing your couch-surfing in Chicago plan."
She still didn't know what she'd do work-wise. Baking was in her blood, but the bakeries she'd contacted weren't hiring. Pasting a smile on her face for her sister's benefit, she waved as Katie climbed into a vehicle bearing the car service's logo and watched the car until it melted into the traffic.
Deep dog barks—semi-familiar and growing louder—came from the opposite end of the block. She turned her head toward the sound. Rocky raced toward her, Xavier jogging at his side. She hadn’t seen him, nor spoken to him in the two weeks since the competition had ended. He’d respected her request for space.
The dog pulled against the leash, whining for her. Her heart softened. She crouched and ruffled his hair. "Hey there, big guy. I'm glad you didn't break through your leash this time."
She glanced up at his owner. Xavier extended his hand and helped her stand. "Hey."
"Hi." She nearly collided with his chest and jerked back, stumbling as she backed into the dog. "What are you doing here?"
His hands on her arms, grasping above her elbows, steadied her. "I needed to talk to you."
She regarded him, the way his hair ruffled in the breeze, the lines fanning around his pensive gaze, and the birds, the wind, the noise, everything in the city seemed to still, magnifying the silence between them.
He spied the fresh logo on the door. "I'm so sorry."
She dropped her gaze and stared at his worn sneakers. "I can't change what happened, and I know that getting upset over it doesn't help. But, I can't believe it's really gone." Saying the words out loud made them seem so real and so final. Suddenly cold, she shivered and crossed her arms over her chest.
His hands slowly journeyed from her elbows to her shoulders, and he gathered her into his arms. She relaxed into his embrace, soaking up comfort. The severity of how much she'd missed him hit her square in the chest. After a long moment, he eased back. "Maybe it's not gone."
Her gaze dashed up the length of his body and met emerald green determination. "What do you mean?"
Xavier caught the end of her ponytail in his fingers and leaned in, toying with the strands. "I had an idea. There's a small shop near my family's gym. It's on the same block. I thought that you could start over there. Lots of foot traffic, and it's on a busy street. It's close to a school. The bus stops right there too. I think it's a great
