Chapter 16: Questions
969 Words
The gala was three days away.
Three.
According to Tamara, that translated to:
No sleep.
Too much coffee.
And at least one emotional breakdown.
Preferably after the event.
Not before.
“Have you eaten today?”
Tamara looked up from a mountain of paperwork.
Mia stood in front of her.
Judging.
Aggressively.
“That’s a strange way to say hello.”
“Have you?”
Tamara paused.
Then pointed at her coffee.
Mia looked offended.
“Coffee is not food.”
“It can be.”
“No.”
Emily appeared beside them.
Holding a muffin.
“Here.”
Tamara accepted it.
Mostly because arguing seemed exhausting.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Emily smiled.
Then added,
“If you collapse before the gala, Guy will be very upset.”
Tamara nearly choked.
Mia looked delighted.
Emily looked proud.
The bakery suddenly felt unsafe.
⸻
Across town, Guy Harrison was having a remarkably unproductive morning.
Which annoyed him.
A lot.
Because he was usually productive.
Exceptionally productive.
His assistant entered with a folder.
“The final sponsor confirmations.”
Guy accepted it.
Scanning the names automatically.
Then—
Daniel Carter.
Again.
His gaze lingered.
Only briefly.
But long enough.
The name had started appearing too often.
At the bakery.
At meetings.
Now at the gala.
The problem was…
Guy still didn’t know why.
And he disliked missing information.
⸻
That afternoon, Daniel Carter walked into Sweet Haven Bakery.
For once, he came at a quiet hour.
A strategic decision.
Mia noticed immediately.
“He’s evolving.”
Emily looked alarmed.
“Oh no.”
Daniel ignored both of them.
A skill he had developed through necessity.
Tamara looked up.
Tired.
Beautiful.
Distant.
The last one hurt most.
“Daniel.”
“Tamara.”
The familiar greeting felt strange now.
Like something borrowed from another life.
“I only have a minute.”
A lie.
Daniel would’ve stayed all day if she’d allowed it.
Unfortunately, she wouldn’t.
“I know.”
Silence settled between them.
Not comfortable.
Not hostile.
Just sad.
⸻
“I heard the gala is going ahead.”
Tamara nodded.
“Yes.”
“You’ll do great.”
The compliment was sincere.
That was the problem.
Most sincere things from Daniel arrived too late now.
“Thank you.”
Daniel smiled faintly.
Then—
“Is Harrison going?”
There it was.
Finally.
The real question.
Tamara’s eyebrow lifted.
“You mean the host of the event?”
Daniel almost smiled.
Almost.
For the first time in weeks, he looked genuinely uncomfortable.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Tamara noticed.
And for reasons she couldn’t explain…
That made her nervous.
⸻
Later that evening, Guy arrived at the bakery.
Again.
At this point, nobody was surprised anymore.
Even Mia had stopped asking questions.
Which was somehow more concerning.
The bell above the door rang.
Emily looked up.
“Oh.”
“What?”
“Your CEO is here.”
Tamara immediately hated that sentence.
Very much.
“He is not my CEO.”
“Yet.”
Tamara threw a napkin at her.
Emily looked pleased.
⸻
Guy approached the counter.
And immediately noticed something.
Tamara seemed distracted.
More than usual.
“You look annoyed.”
“That’s because I am.”
“Helpful.”
“I try.”
A pause.
Then—
“The persistent guy was here?"
The words escaped before Guy could stop it.
Because he hadn’t intended to ask.
Tamara blinked.
Then stared.
“You remember him as ‘the persistent guy’?”
“I don’t know his name.”
That wasn’t entirely true.
Guy knew his name.
Daniel Carter.
He just didn’t know why it mattered.
Tamara laughed softly.
Shaking her head.
For some reason, Guy found himself watching her.
Again.
An unfortunate habit.
“He asked about the gala.”
Guy’s attention sharpened.
Only slightly.
“Did he?”
“Mm.”
“And?”
Tamara shrugged.
“And nothing.”
The answer should’ve satisfied him.
It didn’t.
Not even a little.
⸻
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Guy looked toward the window.
Casually.
“The engagement announcement.”
Silence.
Tamara froze.
Completely.
The change was immediate.
And impossible to miss.
Slowly, she looked at him.
“What?”
Guy regretted speaking.
Immediately.
Not because he’d said anything wrong.
Because he suddenly realized he’d stepped into something personal.
Something important.
“The newspaper article.”
His voice remained calm.
Careful.
“I saw it.”
The bakery became very quiet.
Even Emily stopped pretending not to listen.
⸻
Tamara looked away first.
Toward the display case.
Toward anything except him.
“Oh.”
Just one word.
Soft.
Dangerously soft.
Guy understood many things.
Contracts.
Negotiations.
Business.
This?
Not so much.
But even he knew that single word carried weight.
A lot of it.
“Was that him?”
The question came out quieter than intended.
For a moment, Tamara said nothing.
Then she nodded.
Once.
“Yes.”
No explanation.
No details.
No story.
Just yes.
And somehow…
That one word answered far more than Guy expected.
Because suddenly…
The tension.
The awkwardness.
The sadness.
It all made sense.
Not completely.
But enough.
Enough to understand one thing.
Whatever had happened between Tamara and Daniel…
It hadn’t ended well.
⸻
That night, after Guy left, Tamara stood alone in the kitchen.
Thinking.
The engagement announcement.
The photograph.
The memory.
All of it.
She should’ve been angry.
Instead…
She felt tired.
Very tired.
And somewhere across the city, Guy Harrison sat in his office.
Staring out at the skyline.
Thinking about a woman who owned a bakery.
A woman who laughed too rarely.
Worked too hard.
And carried heartbreak like something she refused to put down.
The realization unsettled him.
Because for the first time…
He wanted to know the rest of the story.
- Writer
