CHAPTER TWO — A PIE FOR TWO

Three weeks passed.

Ethan continued visiting the bakery.

Every afternoon.

Every single day.

And every day, Clara became more certain that something was wrong with him.

One rainy afternoon, she finally decided to test him.

When Ethan walked through the door, she placed a pie on the counter.

“Apple?”

“No.”

He looked surprised.

“What is it?”

“Cherry.”

“I ordered apple.”

“I know.”

“Then why did you make cherry?”

Clara smiled.

“Because you said you like apple pie.”

“I do.”

“Then you should try something different.”

Ethan looked at her for a long moment.

Then he nodded.

“All right.”

He paid.

But instead of leaving, he sat at the small table near the window.

Clara stared at him.

“You’re eating here?”

“I suppose I am.”

“Why?”

“Because you made the pie.”

Clara didn’t know what to say.

She brought him a plate and a fork.

Ethan cut a small piece.

He tasted it.

His expression changed.

Clara waited.

“Well?”

“It’s good.”

“Only good?”

Ethan took another bite.

“It’s very good.”

She smiled despite herself.

Then Ethan pushed the plate toward the empty chair across from him.

“Have some.”

Clara blinked.

“It’s your pie.”

“I bought it.”

“You bought the whole thing.”

“Exactly.”

She hesitated before sitting down.

They shared the pie while rain tapped softly against the windows.

For the first time, Clara saw Ethan differently.

He wasn’t frightening.

He wasn’t arrogant.

He was simply lonely.

He told her about his ranch.

About the horses he had raised since childhood.

About his father, who had died when Ethan was twenty.

Clara told him about her dreams of opening a larger bakery one day.

“I’d put big windows in front,” she said. “And tables outside.”

“And?”

“A garden.”

“Anything else?”

“A sign with my name.”

Ethan smiled.

“Clara’s Bakery.”

She laughed.

“Maybe.”

“I’d buy the first pie.”

“You’d better.”

Their eyes met.

Something quiet passed between them.

Something neither dared name.

Then the bakery door opened.

A man named Samuel Reed entered.

He was the son of the town’s wealthiest merchant and had been trying to court Clara for nearly a year.

He saw Clara sitting with Ethan.

His smile disappeared.

“Clara.”

She stood.

“Samuel.”

He looked at Ethan.

“Didn’t know you were entertaining customers.”

Ethan calmly rose.

“I’m not a customer.”

Samuel frowned.

“Then what are you?”

Ethan glanced at Clara.

For one second, Clara thought he might answer.

Instead, he placed money on the table.

“For the pie.”

He walked out.

Clara watched him disappear into the rain.

Her heart felt strangely empty.

That evening, Ethan returned to his ranch alone.

He placed his hat on the table and stared at the cold fireplace.

He had spent years building the ranch.

He had everything a man could want.

Land.

Money.

Horses.

Respect.

But suddenly, none of it seemed enough.

Because every time he closed his eyes, he saw Clara smiling across a table covered in crumbs.

And he realized something terrifying.

He had fallen in love.