Caleb's POVI never thought I would be in this position. I always thought I was stronger than this, that I could handle anything that life threw my way. But when Brianna walked out of my life, it was like the floor fell out from under me. I was left with this deep sense of emptiness that I couldn't seem to shake.I never thought I'd be one of those guys who would have a hard time getting over an ex, but here I am. It's been a month since Brianna and I broke up, and I still can't seem to shake her from my mind. Every time I saw a reminder of her, whether it be a photo or a song, my chest tightened and my heart ached. I knew I shouldn't let her have this hold on me especially since it was her fault that we weren’t together anymore, but I couldn't help it.She was my first love, and the pain of losing her is still too fresh. I tried to focus on work, on my friends, on anything that could distract me from the pain. But every time I saw her or heard her name, it was like a knife to the hea
Victoria's POV“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I muttered to myself over and over as I walked.I was in such a hurry to get out of that house, I had tripped myself over the stairs and almost fell but I didn’t slow down. I just wanted to get out of that house as fast as possible. Caleb had kissed me. Caleb Stallone had actually kissed me. on the lips. I was freaking out. I didn’t know what to do. I pulled out my phone and dialed the number of the one person who knew would help me in this situation. I just prayed she wasn’t too busy.“Hello!'' Alice said cheerfully immediately she answered the phone.“Code Red.”Those were the only words that I could manage to string together at that moment but luckily, they were enough.“I’ll be right there.”I got to the guest house and locked the door behind me as if to keep out the memory of what had just happened. I took deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself down.“It didn’t mean anything. It was probably just a sick joke,” I tried to convince myself.Fift
Caleb's POVIt's been two weeks since I kissed Victoria, and she's been radio silent. Two long, agonizing weeks. Not a single text, call, or email. I feel terrible for what I did, and I knew I probably ruined our friendship. But I hoped that after I apologized, she would forgive me and we would move past it.Days passed, and I tried to give her space. But every day that went by without hearing from her, I felt worse. I missed her, I missed our conversations, our jokes, our shared memories. I couldn't stop thinking about how stupid I had been, how I had risked everything for a moment of weakness.I tried to distract myself with work and other activities, but nothing seemed to help. Every time my phone buzzed, my heart would race, hoping it was Victoria. But it was never her.One day, I couldn't take it anymore. I drove to Sedona after work and went to the guest house, hoping she would be there.I found myself standing outside, staring up at her door. I had driven there without even thi
Victoria's POVIt was a lazy Saturday and my girls were with me. It was the perfect end to a busy week. I had so much work to do that week. The people at the coffee shop had already moved out and I had started renovations in the space. I met with a designer to nail down a theme. I have gotten suggestions from so many places.Aaron had even suggested that I make everything sultry with different shades of dark earth tones just so it would give my storefront a more sophisticated vibe but I wasn’t sure that was what I wanted. I didn’t want anyone to feel like they shouldn’t go into my store because they would not fit in.I wanted the exact opposite of that which is why I chose a springtime theme with brightly colored pastels. I wanted it to look whimsical and happy; like something out of a children’s book. I had met with Mrs. Pullman who had recently closed her bakery about buying her equipment. The meeting went relatively well except for how she kept ‘jokingly’ saying that I drove her
Caleb's POVIt took everything in me not to turn back and go to her. Tori looked so beautiful tonight. When I arrived at the party I spotted her talking to Melissa and my dad. She took my breath away. Everything about her outfit complimented her. “Aaron is a lucky man,” Eric said beside me, effectively startling me. I hadn’t heard him coming.“Don’t creep up on me dude.”“What? Is it too much for your old heart to handle?” “I’m only two years older than you dude. You need to calm down,” I said as I ruffled his hair. Gloria came up to where I was standing. She looked very pregnant but it suited her so well, she was practically glowing. “What are we talking about boys? Tori? Has she talked to you since you kissed her?” she asked. I turned to look at Eric who didn’t even bother trying to look guilty. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “Don’t look at me. I told you I would tell her.”I sighed and said, “No, I haven’t talked to her and I don’t think I will.”“What? Why?" Eric asked.
Victoria's POVI could hardly contain my excitement as I unlocked the door to my brand-new bakery. The sign outside read "The Cookie Jar," and the interior was just as lively and whimsical as I had imagined. The walls were painted in pastel colors, and there were shelves filled with jars of cookies of all shapes and sizes. The smell of freshly baked goods wafted through the air, making my stomach grumble with anticipation.It had taken months of planning, but I had finally done it. I had opened my own bakery, something I had always dreamed of doing. And I couldn't wait to share it with my loved ones. As I unlocked the door to my new bakery, "The Cookie Jar," I felt a wave of excitement wash over me. It had been a long road to get to this point, but I had finally made it. I couldn't wait to share it with the world.I took a deep breath and stepped inside, taking in the sight of my cozy little shop. The tables were set with pretty tablecloths and fresh flowers, and the counters were sta
Caleb's POVI groaned in pain as I struggled to open my eyes. The room was dimly lit, and I could hear the constant beep of machines monitoring my vitals. Everything hurt, and my body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder. Slowly, the memories of the day came flooding back to me, and I realized that I was in a hospital bed.I couldn’t believe that Aaron had actually beat me up. When I woke up that morning, I had a gut feeling that something was going to go wrong but I ignored it. It. I was really excited about the day’s events. I Was already aware that Victoria was opening up her bakery since Eric had told me about it. I wasn’t expecting an invitation from her because we hadn’t spoken for two months since our last conversation nor had we seen each other. I wasn’t going home as much as I used to. Partly because my workload had increased drastically.I had taken on more shifts and more cases to fill my time. The main reason however was that I didn’t want to face Tori. I sti
Victoria's POVIt had been a week since the evening that turned my life upside down. The evening that Aaron beat Caleb up. I thought I had moved on from it all, but the truth is, I was still struggling to accept everything that happened. Alice and Sam were super supportive. I could tell that they were worried about me because they took turns checking on me at least once a day.Even mom had started the habit of dropping by my house to just ‘talk” until I called her out on it and promised that I would be fine to which she responded, “I am your mother. It’s my job to worry.”I couldn’t argue with her there. If I was complaining about people fussing over me, I couldn’t imagine how suffocated Caleb felt. His mom even flew in from England when she heard what happened. Lucky for me I had my job to go back to, unlike Caleb who was stuck on bed rest after his dad made him take a one-month leave for work.I tried to focus on my bakery. It was doing well, which was a silver lining in all of this