Chapter 25
“Don’t squeeze too hard,” Sophia instructed with a smile. “And try not to add too many sprinkles. We don’t want it overpowering the taste.”
“Don’t be a helicopter manager,” Emily whispered on her way past. “Come on; let’s step out, and you can show me those new ideas you had for the menu.”
Reluctantly, Sophia followed Emily out into the main part of the restaurant, which was covered in tarps and sheets. A few cans of paint were scattered throughout, and half of the windows were covered, only a few patches of sunlight pouring in and dancing on the floorboards underneath.
With renovations well underway after an unfortunate fire the previous week, Sophia was feeling far better than she had a few weeks ago. While she had her suspicions about the real reason the bakery caught on fire, she knew she couldn’t point a finger at Valerie without proof. All she knew was that she had to keep a closer eye on the place and ensure that none of the new hires were sent to infiltrate their ranks and report back to their biggest competitor.
News was already spreading that Valerie had secured the funds to start her own bakery.
Emily pulled out a chair with a screech. “You said it’s going to be another week of repairs, right?”
“Yeah, Nora thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the bakery being closed to make some changes, and I agreed. I guess the ‘gas leak’ came at a good time.”
Emily perched on the high chair and scoffed. “You still think it’s Valerie, don’t you? I’m telling you, she’s not that creative.”
“She is that petty, though.” Sophia folded her arms over her chest. “Come on, you’ve seen the looks she’s been giving my staff and me. I feel like she’s going to turn us into stone or something.”
“You watch too much TV, cous. You’re going to be fine. A little healthy competition never hurt anyone.” Emily linked her fingers together and grinned. “The bakery wars are going to be fun. Oh, I like the sound of that. Maybe it can be a reality TV show or something.”
“And you say I’m the one who watches too much TV.” Sophia shook her head and pulled out her own chair. “You know, you don’t have to be over here so much. I can manage.”
“Emily’s Decadent Treats practically runs itself; don’t worry.” She sat up straighter and gave her a smile. “Also, in case it wasn’t obvious, I’m trying to push you into moving forward with the mobile truck idea. You said Nora loves it, and didn’t Zoe help you figure out the logistics—businesswise, I mean?”
Sophia nodded. “Yeah, but I’m still not sure.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you should go for it. There’s already a lot of buzz about the renovations happening. So, with the new menu items and a truck that moves around, you’ll have all new clientele.”
“What’s wrong with the old clientele?”
Emily jumped off her chair and smoothed out the front of her blouse. “Nothing, but part of running a business is making decisions that’ll help you expand. This is one of them.”
“I don’t know. I think adding new items to the menu is change enough.”
“Kind of like how you and Darren have been sneaking out to make out like a couple of teenagers without actually talking about what’s happening?”
Sophia’s mouth fell open, and color crept up her cheeks. “How did you know about that?”
“The walls have ears.” Emily gave her a mischievous smirk. “Also, I’ve seen you guys creep out of your room a few times, and I saw the hickeys the other day. You two aren’t exactly being discreet.”
“We should talk about what’s happening.”
Except Sophia was afraid she wouldn’t like what Darren had to say. He hadn’t exactly declared his love for her.
And a part of her was worried that with all of the commotion because of the manager position at the bakery and the hired thug Eric had sent after them, the excitement was going to wear off, and Darren would realize he didn’t want to get back together with her.
It was easy to get caught up in the moment.
“Now’s your chance.” Emily peered at something over Sophia’s shoulders. “I see Darren going around the back. I’ll go let him in. Talk to him, please, and put us all out of our misery.”
With that, Emily disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a sheepish-looking Darren, who wore a pair of dark jeans and a T-shirt and was carrying a box of donuts.
Emily took it out of his hands and sauntered off. “You two don’t need this. You can have something else.”
Emily waved at them over her shoulders before disappearing through the double doors. Darren glanced at her over his shoulders and walked over to where Sophia sat, a blush still staining her cheeks.
He sat down in Emily’s chair and linked his fingers together. “How did she find out?”
“Apparently, we’re not as discreet as we thought we were. Also, there’s that hickey you gave me the other day.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t the hickey you gave me?”
Sophia chuckled. “Fair enough.”
Darren stood up and pushed his chair closer, his silver-gray eyes full of hope and joy. “I’m actually glad she knows because I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you this. I’ve really enjoyed sneaking around the past few weeks, but—”
“I get it. You don’t think we should continue. It’s too complicated.” Sophia’s heart sank, but she pushed the feeling away. “Maybe it was a heat of the moment thing or something. I don’t know.”
Darren’s eyebrows drew together. “Is that really what you think?”
Sophia exhaled. “No, but isn’t it what you think?”
Darren shook his head. “Not at all. I know that things didn’t work out between us the first time, and I’m sorry that I never took my share of the blame for that. The truth is, that day you told me that you wanted to leave, I panicked.”
Sophia’s heart sputtered and stopped. “You did?”
“I didn’t want you to leave. I wanted to fight for you, for us, but I didn’t know how. And I thought it would be easier and better for all of us if I let you go. We were drifting apart, Soph, and I knew it, too, but I didn’t want to stop it. Or I did, but I didn’t know how.”
Sophia’s blood was rushing in her ears.
It felt like she was in the middle of a dream, but she didn’t want anyone to wake her up—not when Darren was finally telling her the words she needed to hear.
“I didn’t know how either,” Sophia whispered, leaning forward in her chair. “I didn’t want to leave you, Darren.”
“I didn’t make it easy for you to stay. I’d been keeping you at arm’s length for so long that I think I forgot how to let you in. And I let myself forget that you and I were in it together. I was so wrapped up in my own stuff and missing Zoe that I let us fall through the cracks. I’m sorry.”
Tears spilled down Sophia’s cheeks, and her heart swelled to twice its size, making her chest feel like it was too small to carry all of it. “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have walked away. I should’ve tried harder.”
Darren took both of her hands in his and looked into her eyes. “I want us to give our relationship another shot, Sophia. You were right to walk when you did. It was the wake-up call I needed to make a few changes in my life. I’m not going to keep you at arm’s length anymore.”
“And I’m not going to bottle things up anymore,” Sophia added in a whisper-soft voice. Her heart was full, and it felt like she was floating on a cloud. “I want us to be together again, Darren.”
“This isn’t exactly what I had in mind for our reconciliation,” Darren joked, his eyes impossibly bright and endless. “But it’ll do. At least it’s better than having Teddy trying to wedge his way in and lick us.”
“You’ve got some serious competition,” Sophia teased. “Especially since I formalized the adoption papers for Teddy this morning. He’s my guy now.”
“Your number two guy.” Darren wrapped his arms around her waist and hoisted her up, setting her gently down on his lap. “Teddy and I can learn to share.”
Sophia linked her fingers over his neck. “You, sharing? This I got to see.”
Darren puffed his chest out and waggled his eyebrows at her. “I’ll have you know that I’ve done a lot of soul-searching since we divorced. And a lot of getting to know myself. You know, grown-up kind of stuff.”
Sophia giggled. “Are you just saying that to impress me?”
“Is it working?” Darren gave her a quick peck on the lips and drew back to look at her. “I could go on and on.”
When he pressed his lips to hers again, fireworks exploded behind her eyelids. She leaned into the kiss, inhaled the familiar scent of him, and sighed. The doors to the kitchen burst open, but Sophia didn’t pull away, and neither did Darren.
Until Zac cleared his throat.
Reluctantly, Sophia climbed off of Darren’s lap and rubbed her flushed cheeks. “Sweetheart, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the airport?”
Zac swung his gaze back to hers and scratched the back of his neck. “I was, but I wanted to stop by here first and say goodbye.”
Sophia took a step in his direction, and her brows furrowed. “We said goodbye this morning.”
“It felt rushed,” Zac explained, frowning. “I wanted to see you again and tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
Sophia covered the distance between them and crushed him to her, her throat closing with emotion. “Oh, honey. I know that already.”
Zac’s arms wrapped around her, and he buried his face in the crook of her neck. “I don’t say it enough. I’m so lucky to have you and Dad as my parents.”
Sophia’s mind raced and spun to come up with a response.
But words kept failing her.
Slowly, Zac drew back to look at her, and his own eyes were misty. “I know having me away isn’t easy for you, and the first time I left, it wasn’t under the best of circumstances, but things are different now.”
Sophia’s stomach dipped. “They are different. I’m proud of you, Zac. Always.”
Zac let his hands fall to his sides and cleared his throat. “I know that. I didn’t want to leave the same way I did last time, and I wanted you to know that I heard what you said. This place, this town—it’ll always be my home. I shouldn’t have let myself forget that.”
Sophia’s heart fluttered inside of her chest. “I appreciate that, sweetheart. I love you so much.”
Zac coughed and cleared his throat. “I love you too, Mom.”
A quiet thrill went through her when Zac pulled her in for another hug. She lingered, not wanting to let her son go but knowing she had to eventually.
This time, when he pulled back, she was filled with bittersweet nostalgia and pride at the thought of him heading off again.
No matter what happened, she was glad Zac knew he could always come home to her.
In silence, Darren walked Zac outside and came back in with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. He swept her off her feet and kissed her soundly. Then he sat down and pulled her back onto his lap.
Her head was swimming, and she never wanted to let go.
“As happy as I am that you two are finally back together, can you please get off his lap? I don’t want this burned into my memory for all of time.”
Darren pulled back first and gave Ian a meaningful look. “Can it wait?”
“It’s about Mom’s case.”
Sophia scrambled up and patted down her hair. “What happened? Did you find anything?”
“I got the captain to agree to reopen the case. It took a lot of groveling, and I had to pull a lot of strings, but it worked.”
Sophia’s hands flew to her mouth. “I can’t believe it.”
“This doesn’t mean we’ll find anything different,” Ian warned her before running a hand through his hair. “We might not even find anything at all, but either way, you were right. The coincidence is too big to ignore. We need to know, once and for all, if Mom’s murder was an accident or on purpose.”
Darren slipped his hand into Sophia’s and laced his fingers through hers. “Either way, we’ll figure it out together.”
Sophia blew out a breath and tucked herself into Darren’s side. “I just hope we like what we find out.”
Ian pressed his lips together and glanced between the two of them. “Me, too, because there’s no going back now.”