Temptation Trails (The Haven Brothers #3)

That was a little scary. I was already feeling a vulnerability hangover coming on, the fear that I’d shared too much—and trusted too much—making me want to retreat into my own little bubble. As I worked, I kept having to remind myself they weren’t my mom or sister. I wasn’t going to get an I told you so, or a now you’re stuck in a dead-end life with that small-town guy from them.

I checked the oven timer again. I’d only set the one, so I needed to be careful. I’d turned my phone off. Not so much to avoid Garrett as to try to avoid my bad luck cutting in. The last thing I’d needed was a phone call from my mom or sister, and with my luck, that’s exactly what would have happened.

Better not to chance it. I’d talk to Garrett in the morning.

I finished placing the balls of dough and started pressing them with a fork to make the classic peanut butter cookie impression on the tops. Marigold and Audrey chatted while I worked. Something about the normalcy of their conversation and the repetitive motion of pressing a fork into cookie dough helped calm me down. I felt a little less frantic.

“Obviously I told Garrett,” I said out of the blue. “He wasn’t angry or anything. Just shocked. And of course he would be. I am too.”

“I can’t imagine him getting mad,” Marigold said.

“No, he wasn’t.” I went to the oven and peeked at the brownies. They needed more time. “But the timing could have been better. He’d just finished telling me all about his work troubles. I kept thinking I should wait. It’s not like I’m going to be less pregnant tomorrow, and maybe not dumping this on him when he was already stressed would be better.”

“I wouldn’t say you’re dumping anything on him,” Audrey said.

“Still. I was going to wait, except he could tell something was wrong. He kept asking what was going on and I just blurted it out. It was like he could see right through me.”

“What did he say?” Marigold asked, her voice gentle.

“I don’t remember, exactly. Mostly he was shocked. I didn’t stay long after that. I figured he needed space to process everything. I’d already had half a day to start coming to terms with it. I thought I should give him some time. Although now I’m wondering if that was the right thing.”

“I bet it was,” Marigold said. “Sometimes space to process is what we all need.”

“And you can come back together tomorrow with clearer heads,” Audrey said.

“That’s true. I already feel a bit calmer than I did earlier, although baking always helps.” I glanced at the mess. “Sorry I used so much stuff. I’ll replace it.”

Marigold waved a hand. “Don’t even worry about it.”

“I’m sorry if this is awkward,” I said with a soft laugh. “You two hardly know me, and here I am dirtying up your kitchen and using all your flour while I pour out my problems to you.”

“Sometimes friendships can be instant,” Audrey said. “And you just need somebody.”

“Absolutely,” Marigold said.

My eyes stung with tears. “You’re both too good to be true. I feel like my bad luck is going to come crashing in at any moment and, I don’t know, start a kitchen fire or something.”

“Bad luck?” Audrey asked.

I took a deep breath. “I realize this might sound a little out there, but I broke a mirror six years ago and I’ve had crazy bad luck ever since. The weirdest things happen to me and I’m sure it’s because of the mirror curse. I don’t know why it’s surprising that my birth control failed. Of course it did. That’s my luck.”

“Maybe it won’t turn out to be bad luck in the long run,” Audrey said.

“I really want to believe that. But everything feels like chaos.” The oven timer dinged, so I checked the brownies. They looked perfect. I took them out and set them on a cooling rack.

“That’s totally valid,” Marigold said. “Be gentle with yourself right now. You just found out something totally life changing and you’re not sure what it means for your relationship.”

“I think it’s all going to work out,” Audrey said. “Garrett will come around.”

“Are you always this optimistic?” I asked.

She smiled. “Pretty much.”

“I admire that. I just keep thinking about the night he stood me up. My aunt Doris set us up on a blind date and he missed it. And I thought, this is good. The bad luck curse is always lurking, so I should just wait to start dating until it’s over. Then I won’t have to worry about what the curse will do to sabotage me. And what did I do? The exact opposite of waiting. I jumped in head first. And look where that got me.”

Audrey picked up her phone and her brows drew in. “Um…”

“Is something wrong?” Marigold asked.