The Bucket List (A REVERSE HAREM ROMANCE)

16. ALBANY

"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?"

I looked at Lee and frowned. Lowering the pen, I turned in the chair to give her my full attention because she looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head and glanced around the shop before she looked at me again. Biting her lip, Lee scratched at her arm and then dropped her arms to her side.

"I need. . .Can you. . ."

"You're making me nervous," I told her when she paused again. "Give it to me straight."

"I haven't really had any days off since you've, you know. . .been busy taking care of Crystal." She swallowed. "You see, I took a leap of faith and applied for an internship." She gave me a small smile. "I got it, well it's not final yet, but they want me to come in."

I blinked at her. She wanted to leave me? I thought back to all the times I dumped everything on her because Crystal had needed me. Lee had stayed late numerous times to finish orders. She'd been nice and understanding about it too, but I guessed that she was getting tired of it.

Nodding, I tried to find my voice but it took me a few tries.

"Where is it?"

Lee gave me an excited smile. "In London."

"Wow," I breathed.

It was halfway across the world. So Lee was really going to throw everything away for an internship that wasn't hers yet. Was she going to come back when it didn't work out for her?

"W-when do you leave?" I asked her softly.

The smile slipped from Lee's face and her eyes dropped to the flood. "My flight's tonight."

Shock washed through me. "Tonight? That's really short notice, Lee."

"I know and I'm sorry. It's just not something I can give up. I've been working my ass off to land this. It's something I've always wanted to do."

"You could've told me about this a few weeks ago to give me a chance to find someone else," I told her.

She scoffed. "I don't want to be the one to break the bad news to you, but you need to realize that your bakery's not going to be able to—" she broke off abruptly.

"What? Finish your sentence."

Lee hesitated for a few minutes but she said nothing. Instead, she turned around and disappeared through the door. It only took a few minutes for her to reappear with a letter.

"You missed a few bills," she said softly as she handed it over. "I didn't mean to pry but when I saw the return address I opened it. To be honest, Albany, I don't want to stick around until you're forced to close the shop."

Close the doors? Albany's Baked Goods has only been open for two years—well, it would be two years in exactly two weeks.

I hesitated before I unfolded the letter and slowly started to read it. Every sentence made my stomach drop. At the end of it I realized that while I was taking care of Crystal I'd neglected to pay a few bills.

I owned a few thousand in rent money and the owner wanted it paid by Friday our else he was going to kick me out.

The realization slowly settled in my mind.

I was going to lose my shop.

***

Numbness was all I felt.

Crystal had left me. Lee had left me. I was going to lose my shop. I had no car. I needed to pay rent otherwise I was going to be homeless too. Why was my life suddenly falling apart?

I felt the same why I had felt when I was returned to the foster home because I didn't fit in with the foster family. I had cried for days on end until I finally accepted the fact that I didn't fit in anywhere.

But I couldn't just curl into a ball and cry.

I needed to find a solution to the problems I was facing. There had to be a way for me to sort things out with my landlord and make arrangements with the shop owner to pay of the money I owed him.

Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge in the kitchen, I carried it out to the front of the shop and placed it on the counter. I was thinking of taking a loan out but I needed to have proof that I'd be able to pay it back.

Pulling the bakery's books out from under the counter, I grabbed the notebook and pen before I took a seat.

Just as I opened the book, someone knocked on the window. My head snapped up and my shoulders sagged when I realized it was no stranger.

I hesitated but slid from the chair and walked around the counter to unlock the door for him.

"What are you doing here?"

He gave me a sheepish smile. "I was hoping that you'd have a few leftovers."

I tried to keep a straight face but failed. My lips tilted up into a small smile as I made my way into the kitchen. I pulled the bowl with the leftover brownies from the fridge.

Severide was staring down at the book with a frown. His eyes darted up to mine when I placed the bowl down.

"I made a few extra for you."

"You did?" he questioned in surprise.

I nodded and avoided eye contact. "Yeah. Did you really come here only for the brownies?"

"No." He pressed a finger to the book. "Do you do the books yourself?"

Confused by his question, I shook my head. "Why?"

He stared down at it again for a few minutes before he looked up at me. "Who does your books?"

"Lee does, or rather she did." I sighed. "She quit this morning."

"Why?" Severide's frown deepened.

"She said she got an internship in London. Her flight's leaving tonight. Why are you looking at me like that?"

Grabbing a brownie from the bowl, he took a bite as he reached for the pencil and the notepad. I stared down at the paper as he wrote.

"Do you have a calculator?"

I handed him my phone and watched as he typed in a few numbers. He wrote the end sum down on the notepad and pushed it aside to point a finger down on the page in the book.

"This total should be this one instead."

"Really?"

Severide nodded as he looked up at me. "I'm not a pro at these things but I know someone who is. Why are you going through the books at this hour of the night?"

I stared at him as I debated whether I should show him or not. It seemed like the choice was made for me because Severide picked up the letter Lee had handed to me.

"I was thinking of taking out a loan," I muttered. "When I first opened my bakery I wanted to take out a loan but they declined me since I couldn't provide proof that I'd be able to pay it back. I figured that going through the books. . ." I trailed off.

"Do you want any help?"

"Can you help me?"

He smiled and took another bite of the brownie. "I'm a business man, cupcake. Of course I can help."

"Cupcake?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"It fits you more."

I shook my head at him. "I don't like it. Can we start on this? I'd like to get some rest tonight."

"Sure, but let's go somewhere more comfortable."