The Bucket List (A REVERSE HAREM ROMANCE)

2. ALBANY

Baking has always been my first love and seeing the look on someone's face when they took a bite was worth getting up at four o'clock in the mornings. Baking was all I wanted to do when my first foster mother taught me how to bake a cake. It was something that kept me sane—something to do when things were just getting too much to handle.

But these days, ever since Crystal died, baking was the last thing I felt like doing. There was just not enough energy to get out of bed in the morning or to do everyday normal things. Maybe it had something to do with the sleepless nights, or maybe it had something to do with the promise I had made her the day before she died.

"If you stir that any more, we will have to throw that away too."

I jerked out of my thoughts and stared down at the bowl in my hand. The dough was already thick enough and I was still stirring it. Letting out a groan, I placed the bowl down on the table and rubbed a hand down my face.

"Take a break," Lee said as she pushed the bowl aside.

I glared at her. "We don't have time to take a break. I can't believe you made me agree."

"Made you?" She crossed her arms and glared at me. "I didn't make you do anything. I just pointed out the reasons why it was a good idea to accept the—"

"I get it." I waved a hand at her. "I'm sorry. There's just something about that man that sets me on edge."

"You mean his hotness?"

"Don't be stupid!"

She laughed as she dodged my punch. My eyes dropped to her shoes for a few seconds before darting back up to her face. How Lee managed to stay on her feet all day while wearing killer heels was a mystery. I couldn't even walk in them and there she was parading around in them like they were normal shoes.

"Seriously though," she muttered. "You should've seen the way he watched you while you were taking notes. The man liked what he saw."

I rolled my eyes and reached for a clean bowl. "I don't have time for men."

"You're not still hung up on that asshole who told you that you were too. . .curvy for him?"

Colour flooded my cheeks. Crystal had set me up on a blind date and although I hated the idea I still went because I didn't want to disappoint her and have a repeat of the last time I chickened out. In the end, the guy turned out to be a freak with a certain taste in women. It was the worst date I'd ever been on.

"No, I'm not hung up on him," I told Lee. "I'm just not ready to start a relationship."

"I think you need to."

Ignoring her comment, I walked into the pantry to get the ingredients needed for the chocolate chip muffins. When I walked out, Lee was still standing where she had been, silently watching me.

It was hard to ignore her when I could feel her eyes burning into my skin.

Lee and I had met three years ago when we were both stood up by our dates. We ended up catching a movie together and instantly hit it off. We both loved baking and reading, the same type of music and movies. When I told her that I owned a bakery and was having trouble keeping up with things, she offered to help out on weekends when she wasn't working. But a year ago she lost her job when the owner of the company she worked for decided to sell it.

There was no hesitation from my side in offering her a permanent job here. Through the past year and a half, Lee was the one who kept Albany's Baked Goods up and running. I had no clue how I would've gotten through things if I hadn't met Lee.