Stolen Hearts

Chapter Three.

Included here is the amazing trailer that was made for this book and I hope you all love it as much as I did.

Sunday morning Maggie got up early to make a desert to take to her parents house for dinner, deciding on a peach and almond cobbler. She was pulling the cobbler out of her oven when she heard a small knock on her door. She pushed open the swinging door between her kitchen and the rest of the bakery to see Jake standing on the sidewalk.

She crossed the floor to let him inside.

"What are you doing here? You don't work Sunday." He said.

"What are you doing here? It's seven in the morning."

"I drive by sometimes, just to....you know make sure everything is okay when you're not here." He said with a shrug.

"You....check on my store when I'm not here?" She asked.

"Yeah, sometimes."

"I....I didn't know that."

"Just on the weekends and some evenings, just...if I'm driving through."

She smiled and then turned to pour some coffee, sliding the paper cup across the counter at him without his asking for it.

"Thanks,"

"On the house."

"Any chance I can get some peach cobbler on the house?" He teased.

She shook her head with a small laugh before heading to the kitchen and cutting him a generous slice, she brought it back out and settled it next to his coffee.

"Thanks."

"Well it's the least I can do since you keep an eye out for my shop, fix my oven and work on my car."

He laughed and snatched a fork from the cuttlery basket next to the straw dispenser.

"Are you heading to your parents house?" He asked, not looking up from his food.

"Yeah, Sunday dinner."

"Yeah, I remember those....Does she bring her new boyfriend?" He asked.

"Who?"

"Artemis," He said, looking directly at her.

"How did...."

"I'm not stupid Maggie, it's a small town. I know she has a boyfriend." He said.

"Jake...."

"I don't care, it's not about that it's just....do the kids like him?"

"No, they don't." She admitted.

"Suppose that makes me a selfish asshole right? Not wanting the kids to like my ex-wifes new husband but.....whatever, I'm an asshole then." He said with a bitter laugh.

"No, it doesn't....she's an asshole....if anyone knows that...it's me," She said with a sad smile.

"You two never did agree on anything," He pointed out taking a drink off coffee.

She laughed, Jake was right. While Maggie was close to Delia she and Artemis never quite got along, the only thing they ever agreed on was how much they both loved Jack but Artemis had won that argument too.

"Go, get to dinner. I don't want to keep you, I'll lock up when I leave." He said motioning at her with his fork. He had a key for nights he worked at the bakery when she wasn't there.