The sight of Hope sitting at the bar made Simon's stomach ache.
Maybe she hadn't spotted him yet? He considered retreating back to his office but then chastised himself for being a coward. He was a big boy and needed to own up to his blunders.
Unfortunately, Hope was a massive mistake.
"Hey, you," Simon flashed her his most charming grin.
It had nothing to do with Hope herself. To the small Bridgetown population, she was as sweet as her homemade raspberry pies, with her big wide smile and inquisitive hazel eyes. When she moved here a few years back the town was out of sorts with the thought of a woman selling baked goods out of the back of an RV. Her pastries quickly won over anyone harbouring negative thoughts and the RV eventually turned into a storefront. Bridgetown wouldn't be the same without The Cupcake Café serving up its scrumptious treats all hand made by its talented owner.
"Simon." A smile lit up her lovely face. "When did you get back?"
Yes, he had been avoiding her. The Waterfront Bar practically ran itself most days which meant Simon could spend time on his other adventures. Getting a new business up and running was hard work. He was used to hard work. It kept him busy. Still, he had been avoiding coming in here. Avoiding Hope.
"Came in last night." Simon looked at the baby pink boxes stacked on the side of the bar. "What's the special today?"
"Strawberry tarts. They're in season so I couldn't resist."
Simon knew Hope had a spicy side to her as well. They had first flirted over her daily dessert deliveries, her red velvet cake selling out before the dinner hour was over. It was a natural fit for Simon to invest in her business, setting her up with a proper kitchen. With increased production, they both sold more. A decision he would never regret as it not only gave him exclusive rights to sell her delicious delicacies in his restaurant, but it also turned a tidy little profit.
In a small town like theirs, it was practically an eventuality that they would date at some point. After Mary's family sold the lake house and he lost all hope of seeing her again, Simon sat himself down with a bottle of scotch and willed himself to move on. Hope had nursed his hangover the next day.
They'd lasted almost a year. Simon tried to love her. There was so much to love. She had an infectious laugh, the uncanny ability to make anyone's grey morning morph into a better afternoon and satisfied more than just his sweet tooth. He enjoyed their time together. A part of him didn't want it to end. But Hope deserved ... more. A whole heart, not only part of one.
He'd put off breaking up with her for weeks. Then Finn rekindled his relationship with Emily, not that it needed much rekindling, and just like that, Mary was back in his life. Or at least she had the potential to be. Without the scotch this time, Simon plucked up the courage to end things with Hope. Being the kind soul she was, she insisted they remain friends. And they had.
Until he slipped. A few days after Finn's wedding. After an evening with another bottle of scotch. Simon couldn't get past what had happened in the library. The moment with Mary. It was undefinable, undeniable. He'd never felt anything like it.
He wanted to feel it again. And again.
But Mary was out of his league. A fact she made abundantly clear over the years. When he'd first come to Bridgetown and laid eyes on Mary the world shifted on its axis, everything orientating around her. He was naive enough to think the attraction mutual as she spent night after night at the restaurant, flirting with him. Then somehow Tony, the son of the town's mechanic, entered the picture and the game of seduction had three players. Mary enjoying playing the two men against each other, having them vie for her attention.
He'd missed a couple of days of work and when he returned, Mary disappeared. It was weeks until he saw her again and she had changed. Gone was the vivacious girl, replaced by a pale shadow of her former self. When he learned with the rest of the town about her mother's cancer diagnosis, Simon ached to comfort her. But Mary brushed off his attempts and turned a cold shoulder.
Then another pattern emerged. Gone was the flirty Mary, replaced by an ice queen in public paired with private sessions of hot sex. Brief encounters that were never enough. At least for him.
Usually, he didn't have a front-row seat to her other conquests. Yet at the wedding as Mary ignored him through the reception, he got the view of her spending her time in close proximity to a man much more in keeping with her stature. He had no clue who the man was, but he was awfully familiar with the look of interest Mary was adoring him with. Simon had seen it before. And the same jealousy, aimed at this new potential paramour, not Tony, flared up inside of him. The pattern repeating over again.
Those feelings, the desire for Mary and the distaste of the stranger who had her attention tore at him. He tried to drown them in a bottle of scotch. And when he woke up the next morning, Simon had a splitting headache and Hope in his bed.
Hope had personally been making the deliveries from her bakery ever since. Simon stuffed his hands into his pockets. This was awkward. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt this woman. Yet he didn't want to give her hope.
"Thanks for bringing them by."
"My pleasure. I was in the mood for an ice-cold beer after a long day's work." Hope tipped her glass in his direction before placing the bottle against her lips and taking a leisurely sip. It evoked images of other things she'd done with her lips and Simon had to look away.
Hope put the drink back on the bar. "Are you working tonight?"
"Ah yeah. Mike called in sick."
"I could help out if you like?"
Why did she have to be so nice? It wasn't fair. This was the type of girl... no woman he should be with.
She understood his lifestyle, the crazy hours, the pressures of keeping a small business going. She didn't look down on his job, accepted him for who he was. No questions asked.
"Thanks, but I know you've had a long day. You should go home and get some rest."
It was only a flash, her face scrunching up for a mere moment, but Simon could tell he'd disappointed her. Knew she was looking for company tonight. If not more. He hated hurting her. But he couldn't let this continue. Not with Mary still owning part of his heart. It wasn't fair to Hope.
With Finn and Emily married, Simon knew Mary was going to be in his life now. How much he couldn't tell yet. What he did know was this was his chance. His last opportunity to find a way to make Mary love him or learn
to burn the love he had for her out of him.
The brunette nodded in understanding, slipped a ten-dollar bill under her half-empty bottle of beer and hopped off the barstool. Tracing a light touch across his shoulder, she offered, "Call me if you change your mind."
"Will do." But Simon knew he wouldn't.