The days after their first date passed in a blur of easy smiles and soft touches.
Lucy found herself laughing more, looking forward to the small moments —
like when Miles would stop by Nook after a showing, pretending he just happened to be in the area.
Or when she’d leave a pastry at his office with a note that said, Fuel for the best realtor in Haven.
It was easy. It was fun.
It was everything she hadn’t dared to hope for.
But of course, life never stays in the bubble.
It started with a late delivery.
Lucy was bustling around Nook, trying to prep for the lunch rush, when the supplier called saying there had been a delay.
She barely managed to cover it, running around to neighbouring shops and borrowing ingredients where she could.
By the time she locked the door at closing, her nerves were frayed and her feet ached.
When Miles showed up, smiling and carrying takeout containers, she almost burst into tears.
“Bad day?” he asked gently.
“The worst,” she admitted, slumping into a chair.
Without a word, he set the food down, pulled out a chair across from her, and handed her a fork.
They ate quietly for a while — Miles stealing little glances at her while she pushed food around her plate.
“You don’t have to do everything alone, you know,” he said finally.
Lucy looked up, startled.
“I’m serious,” he continued, voice low but steady. “You have people now. Me. Harper. Graham, if you can deal with the grumpy part.”
She smiled a little at that.
“You’re allowed to lean on someone,” he added. “It doesn’t make you weak.”
Lucy bit her lip, emotions swelling in her throat.
She wanted to believe him.
But years of watching her mother disintegrate after loss, years of picking up Harper’s pieces after heartbreak…
It wasn’t easy to trust that leaning wouldn’t lead to falling — hard.
Still, she nodded, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand.
“Thanks, Miles.”
His fingers curled around hers, solid and steady.
But the next morning, the bubble cracked again.
Lucy was wiping down the counter when a woman breezed into Nook — tall, stunning, effortlessly stylish.
“Miles here?” she asked, peering around like she expected him to pop out from behind the espresso machine.
Lucy blinked. “Um, no. This is a coffee shop.”
The woman laughed lightly. “Right, sorry. I’m just in town for a few days. I was hoping to catch him.”
Something twisted in Lucy’s stomach.
The woman pulled a business card from her purse and slid it onto the counter.
“Could you give this to him? Tell him Vanessa stopped by.”
Lucy nodded stiffly, taking the card.
Vanessa.
No last name.
No explanation.
Just a gorgeous woman leaving her information like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Lucy shoved the card into her apron pocket and tried not to feel ridiculous.
Miles wasn’t hers.
Not officially.
Not yet.
But the crack was there now, spiderwebbing through her carefully constructed calm.
That night, when Miles came by, she was quieter than usual.
He noticed — of course he noticed — but didn’t push.
Instead, he just sat with her in the back room of Nook, sipping coffee and watching the stars blink to life outside the window.
Lucy knew she’d have to ask eventually.
About Vanessa.
About everything.
But for now, she let herself have this —
the quiet, the warmth, the hand that found hers without needing words.
Baawa Unfiltered 