Love Is Baked In
LOVE IS BAKED IN
THREE MONTHS LATER
RACHEL
Cam squeezed my hand one more time, and for a second, it stopped shaking. We stood outside Robin and Raven, Cam waiting patiently until I mustered the courage to go in. My father and I had been chatting for months, so the nervous knots erupting in my belly weren’t from the fact that I hadn’t had conversations with him. They were more for the fact that I was going to meet him in person.
He was going to be real.
In the flesh.
Standing in front of me.
Bonus, my half sister Marigold flew down with him to scout for places to live ahead of starting a new job in Phoenix. A year ago, I thought I was a fatherless only child, and now I have this family. During our FaceTimes, I learned that I also have another aunt, two uncles, and cousins! All from Colorado originally. I offered to fly out to Colorado, but Robert insisted on coming to me so he could help Goldie move into her apartment.
“You ready?” Cam said, nudging me.
“I think so, yes.”
With my heart in my throat, we walked in. The hostess opened her mouth to dispense with her standard greeting, but relaxed when Cam led me in by my hand.
“Hey, Kaitlyn,” he said.
Sarah smiled and glanced at her reservation tablet. “Hi, oh, the man and woman you’re meeting are at table 42.”
“Great, thanks,” Cam said.
We zigzagged through the bustling restaurant toward one of the C-shaped booths in the back. I saw them before they saw us. Robert with his salt-and-pepper hair, broad shoulders, and my same nose, and Goldie with her cropped copper-blond hair and movie star looks. They both turned their heads at the same time. Robert beamed as he slid out of the booth to hug me.
“There she is!” he said with arms outstretched.
When he wrapped his arms around me, I buried myself in his shoulder and a tidal wave of tears began to flow out of me.
His hand cradled my head as he whispered, his voice wavering. “It’s okay. It’s okay now. So many years lost, but all we have is time now.”
When he finally parted, he brushed a stray hair out of my face and kissed my forehead. My mouth tugged up at the corners when Goldie handed me a tissue from her purse.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, wiping under my eyes. “I thought I could do this without crying.”
“That would be impossible,” Goldie said, her eyes misty.
I laughed and hugged her. She was a few inches taller than me, but she had my same hazel eyes. “I’m so excited you’re moving here.”
“I know! I’m not quite sure about Arizona, but I can’t wait to spend time with you.”
Someone behind us cleared their throat. “Is there anything I can get started for you all?”
“Uh, yes, yes, absolutely,” Robert said. He motioned for me to slide into the booth. I ordered a Tito’s and tonic before slipping in.
Goldie remained standing and shook her head. “I think I should give you two a little time alone.”
“No, please, it’s fine, sit,” I said, waving her in.
“Uh, why don’t I buy you a drink at the bar and introduce you to a few people,” Cam said, turning to Goldie. “Give them a bit and then rejoin for dinner?”
Goldie tucked away a stray blond hair. “Yes, thank you. That’d be great.”
I mouthed “thank you” to Cam, who only winked at me and followed Goldie to the bar. Robert ordered a glass of bourbon and settled into the booth beside me.
“I can’t believe you’re really here,” I said.
“It’s a bit surreal.” He paused for a beat, glancing into the restaurant and then back to me. “Does your mother know I’m here?”
I nodded. “Yes, which is why I haven’t seen her in a week.”
When I showed my mother Robert’s Facebook photo, her reaction was all the confirmation I needed that he was truly my father. Well, that and a friend of Foster’s who is a retired police officer ran a background check on him as well, just to be safe.
When I handed my mother the phone, the crimson that filled her cheeks said it all. She whispered “Robert” under her breath and then stifled a sniffle by bringing her hand to her mouth. When I attempted to ask her the bazillion questions I had about why she never tried to reach out to him, tell him he had a daughter, why she never spoke about him, or let me meet him, she simply got up and walked out of the restaurant we had met at.
Her actions might have wounded me if I hadn’t already had the promise of connecting with the other side of my family.
Robert cleared his throat, pulling me from my thoughts. “Your mother ... I suppose she had reasons for what she did and we may never understand them. But what matters now is that we’re here.”
I nodded, managing a small smile. “It’s funny how life works out sometimes.”
“Indeed.” He lifted his bourbon glass, his eyes crinkling at the corners in a way that reminded me of my own reflection. “To new beginnings. To found family. And to making up for lost time.”
We clinked our crystal glasses, and warmth spread through my chest that had nothing to do with the Tito’s and tonic. As I watched Cam and Goldie laughing at something at the bar, I realized that sometimes the best families aren’t the ones we’re born into, but the ones we build along the way.
I floated into my new store, Wish Home Décor and Design, early the next morning. Still emotionally high off the night before, I plunged into my work with an energized fervor. We were expecting a large delivery, and Carol had agreed to help me start unpacking and tagging everything.
“How did it go last night?” Carol asked, handing me a cup of fresh coffee she brewed in the break room.
I stretched my arms and gladly accepted the warm cup. “It was incredible. My father is everything I dreamed him to be, and my half sister is divine. I can’t wait to spend more time with them.”
“I’m so happy for you,” Carol said, rubbing my arm. “Too bad your mother is not taking it well.”
“It’s not surprising,” I said, setting my cup down on the newly unwrapped check-out counter. “But, I don’t know. All my life I’ve felt like I just weighed her down. With her selling the old store and moving on, I feel sort of free as well. I no longer feel guilty, in a way, for being the reason she wasn’t happy.”
“You’re such a good sport, Rachel,” Carol said, putting on her readers to look over the shipping confirmations for what we were getting today. “What’s Cam up to on this fine Saturday morning.”
I shrugged. “You know, I’m not exactly sure. He was gone before I was awake and left a note saying he had a special order for a really important client that he needed to get going on.”
“I still can’t believe he’s baking wedding cakes,” Carol said.
“I know, a part of hell has frozen over for sure.”
The delivery arrived an hour later, and we got to work, sorting, unboxing, and grouping things together. We ordered lunch, and just when my stomach grumbled for dinner, I glanced at my phone, realizing we had been at it for nine hours. I had texted Cam that I would be working with Carol all day and though he responded with okay, luv u , I was still surprised that I hadn’t heard from him. When I finally said goodbye to Carol and locked up my store for the night, I noticed Cam’s Rubicon was parked in front of the new bakery.
“Wow, he’s working late too,” Carol said, before walking to her car.
“I know, I better go check on him.”
I peered into the bakery. Seeing a light on in the back and shaking off the déjà vu feeling, I texted Cam.
Anyone in there?
He didn’t reply but appeared from the back. He wiped his hands off before unlocking the door.
“We keep meeting like this,” he said. His forehead was dewy with sweat though he still had his shirt on this time underneath his apron. I couldn’t help but smile at Hot Baker.
“I know. I kind of have a thing for this bakery.”
He wrapped a hand around my waist and kissed me. “I’m glad you do, and you have perfect timing. I was just about to call you.”
He locked the door behind me and ushered me to the back.
“Oh, can we just make out in the back, or do we actually have to bake something again?”
He laughed and took his apron off. “I already baked you something, so we can definitely just make out.”
My brows tented. “For me? I thought you had an important client?”
Cam rounded the steel prep table and ran his fingers through his tousled hair. “I did, and that important client is you.”
My eyes landed on the large pink cake box covering a cake on a stand in the center of the table. “You … you’ve been baking me a cake all day?”
“Yep. Welcome to Operation Soaring Hearts.”
I grinned. “Not bad, but why did you bake me a cake?”
It wasn’t my birthday or any holiday, so my heart thudded in my chest as I neared the box.
“Open it.”
“Cam—”
“Just … open it.”
I reached for the box, not wanting to hesitate so Cam wouldn’t see my hands starting to shake. Underneath the box was a stunning three-tier wedding cake decorated with cascading yellow flowers made of buttercream.
“Cam, it’s beautiful, but I still don’t understand.”
“Give it a turn,” he said, leaning over the table.
Now my hands were officially shaking, and it was as if someone pulled the string on a confetti party popper inside my stomach. I gave the stand a gentle turn and gasped. Written on the tiers with edible gold leaf was the question I almost thought I would never be asked.
Will
You
Marry
Me
“Cam,” I breathed. My heart threatened to evacuate my chest as Cam took a velvet box out of his pocket and opened it. A sparkling, princess cut diamond ring stared back at me.
“Is this for real?” was all I could squeak out.
Cam, cool and calm, plucked the ring out of the box and guided it on my finger. “This is real, Rachel Renee Kicklighter.”
“This is quite the operation you’ve planned here.”
“I know,” he said, leaning in to kiss me. “And I would love it if you would be my plus one for the rest of my life.”
I marveled at the gorgeous ring on my finger and flung my arms around his neck. “I would be delighted to accept that invitation.”