text-align: start">But I can’t have him because he used to be best friends with my ex-husband.

I became a single mom of two kids without warning, and Penn was there to help when my life was falling apart.

He loved my kids like they were his own, coached my son’s soccer team, and filled up the Kisses for the Daddy jar so my daughter never realized it would go empty.

But then he kissed me.

I tried to ignore the way my body reacted, how being touched with that amount of need made me wonder what other skills Penn possessed besides the ability to fix or build anything.

Instead, I pushed him away, begged him to forget it ever happened, and acted like nothing between us had changed.

Turns out lying to yourself is more difficult than telling a lie to someone else.

Now, I’m opening up my own bakery, and Penn is still there helping me, supporting me, even carrying around my favorite chocolate to feed me when I’m stressed.

Then one night everything changes, and I discover that cake frosting has a lot more uses than just for making dessert.

The closer we become, I realize I’m playing with fire and feelings as I navigate what I want, but I have to decide if Penn is my future, or if our history is something I can’t move past.

Someone You Deserve