34. Sophia
Chapter 34
Sophia
“This place is perfect!” I squeal as I spin in a circle, imagining my new bakery.
“Alright, explain your vision to me.” Uncle Blake motions for me to start as he tugs a notepad out of his pocket. “I'm sure this isn't going to be a normal bakery,” he teases.
“Never!” I frown at him. The thought of a normal bakery makes me sad. “Can we put bigger windows on the front?”
“Sure. It’s child’s play.” Dad rolls his eyes.
“Ok. I want the kitchen to have a window to the outside. I want a wall of windows from the kitchen into the bakery too. I want everyone to be able to see their sweet treats being made. I want to see little chubby faces pressed against the glass when I'm in there. Kitchens are always so dark and covered in stainless steel, I don’t want that at all.”
“Done. What else?” Dad watches me carefully. He’s probably better at this than I am.
“I want the kitchen split into two spaces. One for baking and one for decorating. There needs to be a door from the decorating space to behind the counters. The display cases should be long and classy looking. I don’t want it to look cheap.”
“Sophia Robinson will never like anything cheap,” Uncle Blake teases me some more.
“She needs a room in the back for parties and classes too. There would probably be a door to the kitchen from there. It will make it easier for you to set up things without walking through customers. I think you should also have a large portion of the kitchen out of sight. You don’t want people watching everything you’re doing. Sydney thought she wanted that until she realized there were people watching her every move and trying to steal her recipes. She took out the window quickly. You could have the ovens in view, but maybe not where you’re making everything. You’ll also need to leave space for a fridge, freezer, storage, and an office.” Pecker steps behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder.
“Peck’s right. You don’t want people watching your every move. Maybe have a small kitchen closed off from the rest of the kitchen. You can work in there for some of the day making specific things. Like scoop your cookies in there or pour your batter into your cupcake liners in view, but make everything behind closed doors.” Dad nods his head, agreeing with him.
“Plus, if you really want to be open twenty-four hours a day, I think it’s better if people can't see how many people are working. The last thing you need is someone stalking you and keeping tabs of how many people are in the bakery at all times.” Uncle Mason’s voice comes from behind me, making me spin around to face him.
“Uncle Mason!” I step out of Pecker’s hold and leap into the air, knowing Uncle Mason will catch me.
“How’s my favorite baker?” He hugs me tightly and spins me in a circle.
“I'm not a baker yet.” I roll my eyes as he places me back on my feet. “But soon! What are you doing here?”
“Well, it was a really long walk from my office, but I wanted to meet the man I offered a job to. It’s nice to meet you, Peck.” Uncle Mason closes the distance between him and Peck, holding out his hand to shake.
“It’s nice to meet you too, sir.”
“Don’t call me sir, or I'm not hiring you. That makes me feel old.”
“Deal.” Peck chuckles.
“I think Mason’s right. You need to be hidden from people sometimes. Plus, when you start popping out babies, there will be days you’ll be working and they’ll be here for some reason or another. You don’t want them running around in the kitchen while you whip up something and people seeing that.” Blake jots notes down in his notebook.
“I'm almost afraid to ask this… How do you want the walls and floors?” Dad looks pained to even ask me.
“Can I do the dark hardwood floor looking ceramic tiles throughout the space? I want to ask Uncle Cole and Aunt Sammie to paint the walls to look like rose gold marble.”
“Damn, I'm good. I arrived at the perfect time.” Uncle Cole wraps me in a hug from behind and presses a kiss to my cheek. “I can't wait to have you home permanently.”
“How’d you know I’d want something painted by you?” I peer up at him.
“Because you’re Sophia Robinson and you have extremely expensive taste even though you don’t realize it. I'm sure when you get pregnant, you’re going to ask me to paint something in the baby’s room too.” He winks at me. “So rose gold marble? Every wall or just this long wall?” He motions to the biggest wall in the space.
“The long one? Could it have pinks, gold, purples, and blues in it? The other walls could be just pink, purple, and blue.”
“Anything for you, princess.” Uncle Cole plucks a measuring tape out of Dad’s hands and quickly measures the wall. He types a few things into his phone, then he hands the tool back to Dad. “I’ll sketch something up with Angel tonight. I’ll text you when it’s done and you can yay or nay it. Once you say yay, I'm not changing it.” He points a finger in my face and twirls it around. “I know all about the floors.”
“Oh my gosh it was once!”
“Twice!” Dad and Uncle Blake say at the same time, making me growl in frustration.
“How’s Wyatt 2.0?” Uncle Cole shakes Pecker’s hand and grins.
“I’m great. Can't wait to make our move to Mulberry Lane.” Pecker’s gaze strays to mine and I find genuine happiness staring back at me.
I’ve been so nervous about the move and if Pecker was sure about this, but he’s seemed happier since we got in town this morning. Somehow lighter and more carefree.
“Oh, trust me. The ladies are so excited for you guys to get settled. I believe there’s even a party in the works, but you didn’t hear that from me.” Uncle Cole winks again. “Also, we’re taking bets on when the wedding will be.”
“You don’t know?” I smirk as I lift my left hand and point to my ring.
“Well, shit. How did no one know?” He glares at Daddy, making him roll his eyes.
“I found out when they got here today. I'm sorry I didn’t start a group text message,” Dad grumbles.
“On the bright side, I think I was the only one who said you’d be engaged before you moved here.” He puffs out his chest with pride. “I’m going to spread the news since Papa Bear doesn’t know how to.”
“I expect an amazing cake at my party!” I call to his retreating back. He chuckles and waves, never stopping.
“Alright, while she keeps bossing around the handymen, do you want to come next door and see your new place of employment?” Uncle Mason turns towards Pecker.
“Yeah, definitely.” He presses a soft kiss to my head and says he’ll be back soon.
“Hey, asshole, we’re not handymen.” Uncle Blake flips off Uncle Mason. He couldn’t care less, he just chuckles. They all grew up together and are hard to offend.
“What else do you want, baby girl?” Dad asks, redirecting my attention to my task at hand.