Chapter 6
EVERETT
Christmas…
“Fuck. This. Shit,” Graham says through chattering teeth.
I share the sentiment.
Late December in Nebraska is not for the weak.
It’s not just the thirteen inches of snow on the ground, or the two more predicted for tonight, or the ten-degree temperature.
It’s the fucking wind.
It’s like a thousand little knives poking me all over my body at one time. And it makes it feel like it’s actually negative ten degrees.
I mean…holy shit.
It doesn’t help that we don’t have gloves. Or hats. Or coats.
“Sorry, man,” Graham says. “I should have left you in New Mexico.” He shoots me a grin. “I know Sofia would be happy to keep you warm.”
I don’t react to Graham’s comment about Sofia.
It will only encourage him. Yes, the gorgeous daughter of the man we were there to meet with made it very clear that she hopes I come back soon.
She’s also a fantastic cook, sweet, intelligent.
All of the things. I’m sure Graham is completely confused as to why I’m not more enthusiastic about Sofia’s attention.
But, somehow, it has escaped Graham’s attention that I’m crazy about his sister.
Maybe it’s for the best. For now, anyway. It’s not like I’ve really won Ginny over to the idea of us being madly in love, either. But the fact that Graham’s oblivious to the situation is amusing.
Finally, our ride into town—a friend of Graham’s—pulls up.
“Oh my God, how do you not have coats?” the pretty brunette asks through the rolled-down window.
“Hey, Sasha,” Graham greets, opening the back door. “Yeah, we were a little distracted when we packed for the first leg of this trip.”
The trunk pops open, and I load my bag before taking the front seat.
“Hi, I’m Sasha Wright,” she says, giving me a big smile.
“I’m Everett.” I extend my hand.
She laughs and leans over to give me a quick hug. “I know. Welcome back.” She pulls away and twists. “Graham, shut the damned door! It’s freezing!”
He chuckles. “I noticed.” He slams his door, and we pull out of the tiny airport that’s a few miles outside of town.
I’d flown in and out of Lincoln the first time I’d come to Sapphire Falls, but Mason quickly informed me that there is a private airstrip I can use.
For such a small town, there are an unusual number of people with enough money to have or charter private planes.
It’s been a very nice way to get in and out of town quickly.
Sasha talks non-stop on the short drive to the bakery and lets us out at the curb.
“I’ll take your bags over to Adrianne and Mason’s!” she promises as we get out.
“Thanks, Sasha,” Graham says. “I owe you a drink later.”
She laughs. “Sure thing.”
He grins at me as we head into the bakery. “Her parents own the Come Again bar. She pretty much always drinks for free.”
A bell tinkles merrily as Graham pulls the door open to Scott’s Sweets.
The moment I step inside, I feel a sense of calm and happiness wash over me.
I’m not sure why. It is bustling and crowded, packed with people and loud conversation, laughter, and sounds I can’t even place.
I assume they’re coming from the kitchen and are things like mixers.
But every reference I have for bakeries comes from television and movies.
And I don’t even really watch television or movies.
I’ve probably read books that have bakery references in them at some point in my thirty-one years, but I can’t think of any in particular at the moment.
There is still something so warm and inviting about Scott’s Sweets.
Obviously, everyone in this shop is happy to be here.
And why wouldn’t they be? The place is filled with the smell of vanilla, cinnamon, and chocolate.
And most of all, the people behind the counter, greeting everyone with big smiles, are Adrianne and Ginny Riley.
There is another woman, too, but I don’t know who she is, and honestly, once I see Harriet Ginger Riley, I cannot think of anything else anyway.
Our eyes lock across the room like some cliché, and she freezes for a moment. If I hadn’t been watching specifically to see what her reaction would be, I might have missed the way her smile brightened for just a moment before she looked away from me.
I think she missed me. Or at least she was anticipating my arrival today.
That smile, that single moment, was worth not staying in New Mexico.
Being apart for a month hasn’t made me want her less.
I heard everything she told me in the kitchen at Thanksgiving. I’ve thought about it almost nonstop. I understand where she’s coming from with her past work experiences, and I’m going to respect her wishes to not make things messy.
But the way she understands and cares about IES and what Graham and I have built and want to do going forward just makes me so fucking happy.
Hell, even the way she wants me to be happy and wants me to be included in her family events, and how easy it was to share with her about my past, all make it impossible to even look at other women.
So, it seems that I’m destined to want a woman I can’t have.
Forever.
Because given the chance to spend time with the Riley family and the people in Sapphire Falls? I’m always going to say yes. Which means, I’ll be seeing Ginny… forever.
“I hope you’re ready to be put to work,” Graham says, leading the way further into the bakery.
“I have no idea what to do,” I warn him. “But I’m happy to do what I can.”
“You’ll find—”
Suddenly, the crowd parts, and Margot comes running to Graham. Everyone turns to watch as she jumps into his arms. I find the whole place watching them with the same goofy smile I can feel on my face.
Graham squeezes her tightly, then she pulls back, cups his face in her hands, and gives him a big kiss.
“I’m so glad you guys are here,” she says, smiling at him with love that is so obvious and intense, I feel my chest tighten watching.
Graham had never mentioned Margot to me before his trip back to Sapphire Falls last summer, when they finally told each other how they felt after years of friendship.
But since that reunion, not a day has passed that he hasn’t talked about this woman.
He has been suppressing feelings for her for a very long time, and now that he’s let them out, it’s like a dam has broken.
I am so happy for him. For them. Graham is a fantastic person, and the fact that Margot so clearly understands that and loves him has endeared her to me forever.
“Sorry we’re a little later than we expected.”
She nods and looks at me. “Hi, Everett. I take it that’s a sign that the meetings went well, though.”
“It is,” Graham affirms. “But we've both been anxious to get here.”
“Come on.” She links her fingers with Graham and starts to tug us both in the direction of the kitchen.
Again, people part, letting us pass, greeting Graham by name, but also offering me warm smiles.
“I have no idea what to do in a bakery,” I say. “Other than eat everything.”
Margot chuckles. “Absolutely no eating. We need every single cookie. But four extra hands will be very appreciated.”
We round the counter and move through the swinging doors into the kitchen.
“Be right back!” I hear Adrianne call.
The kitchen is just as busy as the front. Jefferson and Harlow are back here, along with a woman and a man I don’t know.
Adrianne steps in behind us.
“Everett, I feel bad pulling you into this. You can head to the house,” Adrianne says. “No one is there, though.” She adds with a wince. “Mason is out doing deliveries, and Carver and Kaelyn will be here soon.”
“I’m happy to help out,” I say. “You just need to tell me what to do. I’m good with directions.”
“He is,” Graham says. “It’ll take him longer, though. He’s a perfectionist.”
“I love perfectionists,” Adrianne says with a wide smile.
“Everett, this is Harlow’s sister, Mia, and her boyfriend, David,” Graham introduces. “Harlow and Mia’s mom, Peyton, owns the bakery with my mom.”
Ah, that was the other beautiful woman behind the front counter, I’m guessing.
“Hi, Everett,” Mia says.
Her hands are covered in flour, and she’s pressing cookie cutters into rolled out dough.
“Welcome,” David adds with a grin as he turns from one of the huge ovens with two cookie sheets in hand.
I think I say hi, or something appropriate anyway, but I can’t be sure because just then Ginny steps into the kitchen behind her mother.
Again, our eyes lock, and she hesitates as if unsure what to do.
“Come here,” I mouth to her.
Her eyes widen, and that seems to help her make a decision.
“I thought Everett could come up front and help at the counter,” Ginny says. “It will give the town a chance to get to know him, and he can meet and greet a lot of people.”
With her? I’m in.
But Graham is already shaking his head. “I’ll come up front and help. Everett should definitely stay back here. I’m not kidding when I say he’s a perfectionist, and he’s pretty great at drawing. He’ll be fantastic at decorating.”
Ginny tips her head and frowns at her brother. “But we want him to get to know people in town.”
“It’s way too busy for him to get any meaningful time with anyone,” Graham says.
If I thought Graham knew how I feel about his sister, I’d think he was trying to keep us apart. But this is Graham. He really thinks I should decorate cookies.
Ginny puts her hands on her hips. “Has Everett ever worked in a bakery kitchen? Does he know how to mix frosting? Does he know how to use all of the tools? Does he even know what he’ll be decorating?”
“He’s a very smart man,” Graham tells her, giving her a funny look. “I’m pretty sure he can catch on.”
“We’ll mix all of the icing and stuff,” Mia pipes up, helpfully. “And we’ll be here if he has questions.”
“You guys barely know him,” Ginny says. “You have no idea how easy or difficult he is to work with.”
I grin and tuck my hands into my pockets to wait for everyone to finish discussing me as if I’m not here.
Mia laughs and looks around the kitchen. “We’ve all heard plenty about him, Ginny. I don’t think any of us are worried about him being difficult to work with.”
That’s good to know. I watch Ginny. She’s stubbornly not looking at me.
“If you’re worried about it, why don’t you come back here and decorate with us?” David asks. He shoots me a grin. “You can keep Everett in line.”
“We’re past all the cookies that don’t have a specific shape and don’t have to look pretty,” Jefferson says. “I think Ginny’s better up front.”
Ginny gives him the finger. But she doesn’t argue his point.
Is Ginger not good at decorating? Interesting.
“Everett, I apologize for my children,” Adrianne says. She looks around the kitchen. “All of them.”
I crack a smile. It doesn’t surprise me that Adrianne considers her partner’s children like her own. From the way Graham has described his hometown and his parents' group of friends, including Margot’s parents, I know that they all feel more like siblings or cousins than just friends.
“I’m fine, Adrianne,” I say with a chuckle. “Just tell me where I can be the most help.”
“If you are good at decorating, then back here would be helpful. We can only have so many people behind the front counter without tripping over each other anyway.”
I glance at Ginny. She is clearly exasperated, but when she meets my gaze, she simply gives me a little eye roll.
Did she want to spend time with me? I like that idea.
I also like the look of her in that cute bakery apron with the smudge of icing on her cheek. I hope she doesn’t discover it’s there and wipe it off too soon.
Our moment is interrupted by Adrianne taking my arm and tugging me toward one of the huge stainless-steel tables and Jefferson tossing me an apron.
Adrianne pulls two cookies and a cupcake off the stacked trays along the wall and brings them over.
“I just need you to copy these,” she says.
One of the cookies is a simple round sugar cookie decorated like a Christmas tree ornament.
The other is a snowflake, frosted white with silver piping along the edges of each branch, then sprinkled with silver-glittery sugar.
The cupcake is a white cupcake with green frosting swirled into a cone shape on top, then decorated like a little Christmas tree with various-colored balls and a candy star on top.
I nod. “I think I can handle this.”
“I’m sure you can,” Adrianne says. She points out the various piping bags and tools I will need to accomplish the looks, then says, “And I know I said I love perfectionists, but these don’t have to actually be perfect.
We appreciate the help. And if you find that you don’t like doing this or it’s more than you expected, just say something.
We can switch things up. Peyton or I could come back here, and you can help Ginny up front.
It’s just good for us to be up front when we’re busy like this so we can thank our customers and answer questions. ”
“Of course,” I agree.
She doesn’t know who she’s dealing with.
I am a perfectionist, and I also enjoy a new challenge.
I also really like Adrianne Riley, and I think her family often gets caught up in the science and engineering surrounding her husband's and sons' businesses and doesn’t appreciate what she does enough.
I am absolutely going to give this project my all.
I have never decorated baked goods before, but these are going to be fantastic.
And within five minutes, I am completely caught up in what I’m doing, even to the point of forgetting for a few minutes that my new obsession is right up front, dressed in a pink apron and probably smelling like buttercream.
I love buttercream.