37. Pecker
Chapter 37
Pecker
Three Months Later
“I can't believe today is the day,” Sophia blows out a long breath and pinches her lips together. She looks like she’s seconds away from having a breakdown.
“You’re ready, Soph.” Sydney cheers her on from my phone where she’s on video chat. “You’re so much more prepared than I was when I opened Sydney’s Sweets.”
“That’s thanks to Pecker. He’s been my rock through all of this.”
“I trained him well.” My sister grins. “Now, stop talking to me and go open your doors!”
She hangs up before we can even say goodbye to her and silence settles around us. Sophia stares at the large picture hanging on the wall behind the counter. It was taken on Mulberry Lane and has every person who lives there in the picture. I insisted we needed it in the store if she really wanted to name the place Mulberry Lane Bakery.
I told Sophia every time she gets stressed or overwhelmed, she can look at this picture and remember how many people she has at her back.
The day we took the picture was utter chaos. Some of the people Sophia considers family but don’t live on Mulberry Lane showed up just so they could be in the picture. I made sure everyone knew it was to remind my wife of how much support she has when she’s starting this new endeavor. They all wanted to be in the picture and they didn’t care if they didn’t live on Mulberry Lane, because they belonged there too.
“You’re going to do great, baby. I promise,” I murmur as I tug her into my arms.
“How do you know?”
“Because you’re Sophia Pecker and you don’t back down no matter what you’re trying to do. You put all you have into everything you do and you refuse to fail. You’ll succeed because you’re too stubborn to fail.” I press a soft kiss to her head and hold her a little tighter.
“What if no one comes today?” She peers up at me with big blue eyes full of so much vulnerability.
“Baby…” I cup her cheeks and shake my head. “There’s a line around the block already.”
“What!” She spins around so fast she almost falls and I have to grab her waist to keep her upright.
But that doesn’t stop her. She races to the door and presses her face against the glass.
“Peck, there are so many people out there!”
“Exactly, so let’s get the doors open and these people served!”
We haven’t hired any employees for the bakery yet. We wanted to make sure everything went smoothly for the opening, then focus on employees. For right now, Emma and Bella are helping us out. They seem to really enjoy working with Sophia, but I shouldn’t have expected anything less. They grew up together and have been best friends since birth.
“You know, if you work shirtless, we could get more customers.” Emma smirks from her place at the register.
“That’s not happening. Sorry, sweetheart. Total OSHA violation.” I roll my eyes as I take the register next to her. Bella and Sophia will serve people as Emma and I ring them up.
Addi and Wes exit the kitchen with big trays of cookies, followed by Cody, Jax, Charlie, and Wyatt. I wish Carter could be here for her aunt’s big day, but she’s at home with someone from Mulberry Lane watching her. They’re each helping for opening day and I couldn’t be more thankful for that right now. I have a feeling we’re going to sell out quickly.
Sophia stares at me and when I smile and nod my head, she flips the sign from closed to open and unlocks the front door. There’s cheering coming from the people waiting in line and it makes my heart swell with pride for my wife. She’s worked her butt off to make her dream become reality.
“Welcome to Mulberry Lane Bakery!” She shouts and there’s even more cheers.
She quickly takes her place behind the counter and asks the first person what they’d like.
“How did you hear about us?” I ask as I ring them up.
“Oh! I follow Wyatt Everson on social media and he said his sister was opening a bakery. I kinda hoped he’d be here… Wait… are you Wyatt Everson?” She cocks her head to the side and examines me.
“No, I'm not.” I chuckle. This happens more often than you’d expect, especially with Sophia looking so much like Charlie.
Neither of us look exactly like Charlie and Wyatt. We get double takes a lot, but most people don’t approach us. We don’t mind. We just happily tell them we aren’t the star couple and move on with our day.
“I'm here!” Wyatt pops out from behind the counter and the woman squeals. He poses for a picture and signs her bakery box.
Charlie had the great idea of only letting Cody, Jax, and Wyatt sign bakery boxes for fans and not jerseys or anything else. That way when people post pictures on social media, the bakery gets even more attention.
“Make sure you post the pictures online and tag the bakery and me in them.” He flashes the woman a big smile as she waves and walks out of the bakery. “You should talk to Owen and see if he’ll let you sell at the stadium.”
“That’s a good idea. If you think he’ll hear her out.”
“He’ll totally hear her out, but his decision will be made after he tastes the goods.” A large man arches a brow at Wyatt, making him chuckle.
“I didn’t know you were coming today, Owen.” Sophia’s smile stretches even further.
“How could I miss this, Little Robinson?”
“It’s Mrs. Pecker now.” She lifts her left hand and wiggles her fingers.
“I heard that, but I didn’t believe it until now. I expected you to marry a hockey player.”
“Not a baseball player?” She smirks.
“Nah, I think my players stay away from the last name Robinson. They’re afraid of how Wyatt might react. But give me a call next week. I'm sure we can work out something for you to have a place at the stadium, or you can give me bakery items and we can sell them at one of the stands for you.”
Owen hands me a business card and I happily tuck it under the cash register for safe keeping. After he pays for his things, he quickly leaves the bakery. This place is packed and there’s really no room for anyone to stand around.
Wes is at the door, only allowing a few people in at a time. I didn’t think that would be necessary, but he was right. There’s going to be a line all day. It’s easier to not have people stuffed in here, but so many people are sitting down to eat their bakery items or talking to people after they order.
I'm not sure we could’ve asked for a better opening day. We’re going to be exhausted at the end of it, but it’s so worth it to see the smile on Sophia’s face.
“How are you feeling about the bakery now?” I murmur as we’re lying in bed.
“Really good.” She smiles up at me. “Thank you for all of the work you’ve put in. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“There’s no reason to thank me, beautiful. We’re a team. We do everything together.”
“I still can't believe how many people showed up. Wyatt, Cody, and Jax all posted on social media about the opening. You know how Cole and Sammie own the tattoo shop, Ink It Up?”
“Yes.” I’ve slowly but surely been learning more and more about the people on Mulberry Lane, though it’s hard. There’s so many of them and it’s difficult to keep things straight.
“Well, they have four tattoo artists who work for them. Knox, Damon, Rocco, and Steele. They all have a huge social media presence and people travel from around the world to have their tattoos done by any one of the six at Ink It Up. They all posted about the opening, which is crazy. But! Knox’s brother is in Operation Riot.”
“The band?” My brows shoot up my forehead.
“Yes!” She giggles. “And Quinn, Knox’s brother, got the entire band to put things on their social media about it.”
“That’s crazy. You’re going to be known around the world if this keeps up.”
“Owen posted on the Pit Bull’s page and then it became a competition between the baseball and hockey team over who could be more supportive. I think every player and each organization posted at some point today.”
“Any other famous people?”
“Well, Dad doesn’t know, but Uncle Blake has a social media account for Kasey Construction… but it’s not about the company. It’s basically videos of him and Dad working shirtless. He somehow convinces Dad to do dances with him and they record it. They have a massive following and Uncle Blake made a video of Dad helping decorate cookies. It went viral and people showed up just to see him and Uncle Blake. I think more women came for them than Jax, Cody, and Wyatt combined.” She chuckles.
“How does Dad not know?” I started calling Addi and Wes mom and dad as soon as we moved to Mulberry Lane. They love it.
“I don’t know! Sometimes I wonder if he does know, but maybe he just ignores it. Most of the time, it’s easier to go along with Uncle Blake than to fight him. A quick dance that takes less than a minute is easier than spending two hours arguing over why you don’t want to do it.” She lifts her shoulder in a shrug. “He’s gotten his way more times than I can count because of that.”
“I can totally see that.” I smile at the thought of Wes doing some social media dance while he’s trying to work.
“It just feels surreal to have my own bakery. Especially selling out of everything within two hours of opening. A bunch of people said they were coming back tomorrow so they could get something.” She shakes her head. “Jax, Cody, and Wyatt signed so many boxes. They’re all over social media. I keep getting tagged.”
“Blake and Dad were signing boxes too, though Dad didn’t seem to know why. I didn’t think of that until now.” I let out a deep belly laugh. “He looked so confused.”
“I was so terrified it was going to flop,” she whispers.
“Never. You had all of Mulberry Lane at your back. How could you possibly fail?”