Chapter 21
Reina
I was so busy that I barely had time to grab a sip of something to drink, much less food. The line never seemed to dwindle, and Morgan and his brothers were great about grabbing the rest of the baked goods. But now we were down to the last of what I'd made for the day.
My entire body ached, but it felt like a good day.
Morgan appeared with a couple of to-go boxes of food. "Sit and eat."
"I don't have time." I gestured at the line, but it was smaller than it had been all day.
"I've got this," Jill said firmly.
Morgan gestured for me to use his chair and handed me the box. "It feels good to get off my feet."
My stomach growled as I opened the container. It was a club sandwich from the inn. "Thank you for this."
Morgan opened another lawn chair and sat next to me.
"You're not hungry?" I asked him between bites.
A smile curled over his face. "I ate pastries in between food runs."
"That's not the best energy for heavy lifting."
He shrugged. "They were tasty."
I ate a few bites, grateful for the food. "Thanks for your help today.”
He nodded. "It was fun."
I couldn’t have restocked without him and his brothers volunteering to assist us. "Next year, we'll be officially open, and it will be so much easier."
He looked away. "Speaking of which, your shop should be done in a couple of weeks. Cooper added another crew for your apartment."
I felt like the world had slowed down, and I scrambled to grasp what this meant. "You'll be done ahead of schedule?"
He nodded slowly.
It was great news, but why didn't it feel good?
I should be excited that I'd be in my new kitchen sooner than I was anticipating.
But at the same time, I wasn't in a rush.
I had the town hall's kitchen. I was slowly increasing my catering and online orders.
I was in a good place. I liked staying at Morgan's.
"The apartment will be done at the same time? "
"That's the plan."
My stomach dropped. I'd have to move out.
I wasn't sure I could live in the apartment again.
But I'd have to. The plan was that I'd live at Morgan's place until the building was renovated.
When it was done, there wouldn't be a reason to stay.
We hadn't officially moved in together. "I can't believe it's happening so soon. "
"I'm sure you're happy to be getting back to normal," Morgan said easily.
I should be happy. Instead, I felt a little panicked about staying in the apartment. "It will be nice to be in my kitchen.”
"I hope you'll like the new changes."
"I'm sure I will. You spent a lot of time figuring out what would work best for flow."
"If you don't like anything, we could change it."
"I appreciate that." But it wouldn’t be the same.
He wouldn't be working in my kitchen all day and then joining me at home.
We wouldn't cook dinner together anymore or spend the evening tangled up in each other's arms. We wouldn't share our days with each other.
But it was for the best. Tom would come home eventually, and I wasn't ready to tell him about us.
Especially when I didn't know where we stood.
Aspen appeared at the table. "I couldn't get away from the inn until now. But I wanted to see what you had left over."
I set my carton of food on my seat and stood, accepting her hug over the table. "We don't have much left unfortunately."
Aspen grinned, looking down at the few things that were left. "That's a good thing. Let me have one of everything."
I grabbed a box and filled it while Jill rang her up. When I handed her the box, she said, "We're going to have a little celebration at the inn's bar tonight. All the shop owners are invited. You should come."
"We'll see. It's been a long day." I'd had to get up extra early to cook everything before the festival started.
Aspen pointed at Morgan. "You better make sure she's there. We have to celebrate."
"I'll do my best," Morgan promised.
Aspen moved onto the next table, and I dropped into my seat again. "I'm not sure I can stay up late tonight."
"We could drop by for a bit and then go home."
"Yeah, maybe." I wanted to hang out with the other shop owners, but I was exhausted physically and emotionally.
Morgan's news had been a shock. I knew the renovation would be done eventually but not this soon.
Everyone worked hard to get the bakery open as soon as possible, and I should be grateful.
But now, I wanted to keep the status quo.
Morgan reached over and squeezed my hand. "The festival brought in a ton of people today, and your bakery should be open soon. Everything's going great."
I smiled. "I think I'm just tired."
"Jill, why don't you eat while I man the table."
She raised a brow. "You're going to answer questions and ring people up?"
He shrugged. "I can handle it."
Jill and I exchanged a look, and I shrugged too. "Sure. Why not?"
Jill sat in the seat next to me and bit into her sandwich.
A little girl stopped by the table with her mom. "What do you have?"
"Tons of sugar. Which one would you prefer? A lemon bread, a lemonade cupcake, or hot chocolate cookies?"
"Cookies?" The little girl looked at her mom who said, "Just two."
Morgan placed the cookies in a bakery bag and took the cash. Jill stood to show him how to open the cash drawer for change. And I was struck that Morgan wanted to step in and help with my business.
No one I'd dated had ever been that interested in the business side of the bakery. They lamented my early hours but seemingly enjoyed the baked goods I brought home. But I couldn't remember them visiting the shop, much less spending their Saturday behind a table, selling them.
It hit me then. Morgan was special. He wasn't like other guys.
He was invested in my business. And yeah, maybe that was because he was renovating it.
But it seemed like something more. Like something a boyfriend would do.
But we hadn't talked about being anything more than what we were.
There was an unspoken agreement that whatever we were would be over once the renovation was done. Or maybe that's just what I assumed.
Morgan was insistent on honoring his vow to Tom to take care of me, which I'm positive did not include dating me. There was no way our relationship worked outside of our current arrangement. The pit in my stomach only grew bigger at the realization that we'd be over when I moved home.
Could I sleep in that apartment, knowing it had been on fire once before? Despite Morgan's assurances that everything was up to code, I couldn't shake the memory of waking up to smoke and the panic that ensued.
Soon the bakery would be open again, and I could get back to what I did best, baking and greeting customers.
Jill sat next to me again. "He's not bad. You should hire him to work in your bakery."
I laughed at the idea of Morgan working with me. But I couldn't shake the thought of him visiting me at work and pitching in when we were busy. It was sweet that he wanted to help. Maybe he was doing it out of some sense of obligation to my brother, but I wasn't so sure about that anymore.
I was having all these feelings for him, and I was getting ideas about us together in the future. It was dangerous because I wasn't sure we were on the same page. This could just be a fling for him. A way to pass the time.
We stayed at the table until the crowd dissipated, and then we packed everything up.
When we got to town hall with the leftovers, Morgan asked, "You want to shower and change before we go out?"
I looked at the clock. "Yeah, we have time."
He winked at me. "Maybe we can fit in a nap."
I shook my head, feeling the exhaustion set in. "If that's a euphemism for something, I don't have the energy."
He grinned, putting his arm around me. "First sleep, and then we'll see."
I felt warm and happy, as if nothing could penetrate what we had. Everything might be about to change, but today, we were good. The festival was successful. I sold a lot of my baked goods and met new people.
We'd showered, napped, and then we made love. We hadn't said anything, but it felt different, almost like the beginning of a goodbye. We knew everything was changing soon, but we were holding on until the moment we had to separate.
It was heartbreaking to think about. I was so overwhelmed with emotion afterward that I disappeared into the bathroom under the guise of getting dressed to go out. When I was alone, I let the tears fall.
Then I washed my face and promised not to think about it tonight. We were celebrating the success of the festival and the town. I should be happy about that and the renovation, which would be done soon.
I hoped he wouldn't notice my red-rimmed eyes or puffy cheeks. If he did, I'd say they were tears of happiness.
I pulled on a short dress, blow-dried my hair straight, and applied makeup.
Not seeing Morgan in the bedroom, I went downstairs. He stood in the kitchen in slacks and a button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to reveal his forearms. My breath caught. I'd never seen him in anything other than casual or work clothes, which for him was stuff he could get dirty in.
He looked up, his gaze snagging on my outfit. "You look gorgeous."
"You do too." This felt different, very much like a date. "I just realized we've never gone out together before."
An emotion crossed his face. Regret maybe? "Yeah, I'll have to do better."
Before I could ask what he meant by that, he'd crossed the room and pulled me against him.
He cupped my head, nuzzling my neck and kissing me there. "You smell so good; I could eat you."
I smiled. "Too bad we don't have time."
He lifted his head, his beard tickling my cheek. "Tonight."
"Are you sure we have to go out?" There was something about being together like this. What if Tom found out? Would he be upset? Or would he accept our explanation that Morgan offered me a room?
"As much as I want to keep you to myself, this is your night." He grabbed my hand, tugging me toward the door.
"I don't think anyone will notice that we're not there." Most people understood that I woke up early.
He opened the front door to his truck for me. "Aspen texted me and made me promise to get you there. I think Eve wants to talk to you about the renovation. I mentioned the outdoor patio area to her the other day."
"I haven't even thought about it recently." With everything going on, I'd forgotten about it. And I wasn't sure I could handle one more project right now. The thought of moving out of Morgan's place and to the scene of the fire was enough for me to process.
"You might as well do a full makeover all at once," he said, shutting the door and walking around the hood to the driver's side of the cab.
When he climbed into the cab, I said, "Belle's outdoor space is busy. People love the water fountain and the gardens she's planted. But we don't have that kind of space."
"Eve is talking about redoing all the sidewalks so that they're large brick pavers. They'll be wider than what is currently there. It will allow for extra room for seating, especially for the bakery since it's on a corner." He pulled out his phone to show me an example of the finished product.
"That looks really nice." She was making the town better.
He tucked his phone away. "Eve and Natasha are serious about making upgrades that make the town more inviting."
Excited now that I could see what he envisioned, I said, "I can see a few tables and chairs on the side area, maybe even a bench by the front window."
"You can always have planters with flowers in the spring and summer."
"I suppose the space wouldn't get used in the winter. It's too cold."
"You could always add heaters, maybe even a fire pit of some sort. You know the ones that are portable. That way you could put it away at the end of the day."
I chewed my lip. "I can see using heaters, but I'm not sure a fire pit makes sense for a business that closes in the afternoon."
He nodded as he turned on the engine and backed out. "It's an option if you ever want to have evening events."
Now, I was intrigued. "What kind of events were you thinking about?"
"Have you ever thought about parties or themed events? Belle does them based on characters and books. But you could do something similar. In fact, you could coordinate it and make it a town festival."
"You mean she could have people dressed as the characters with trivia, and I could sell themed cupcakes, and Clara could have matching ornaments?"
A smile spread over his face. "Yeah, that just came to me. Do you like that idea?"
"Oh, my gosh. I love it. But how could I do something like that when I'm also responsible for getting up early and doing all the baking? It seems like it would be a lot of responsibility."
He glanced over at me. "That's where the hired help comes in, remember? You get more people to help you in the kitchen, and it frees you up to do other things."
I rested my head on the seat, a little overwhelmed at his suggestion. "I love it. I'm just trying to figure out how it could work."
"I really feel like this is your time to experiment and expand. Your bakery can be anything you want it to be. It doesn't have to be a traditional one that closes in the afternoon. You could open occasionally for nighttime events."
"I was so focused on increasing online orders and catering that I hadn't considered anything else. But I love the idea of partnering with the other shops in town and maybe even hosting a townwide event."
"You might want to mention it to Eve tonight when she asks about the additional patio space. If she thinks it will tie the town together, then she'll probably be more interested."
"You're absolutely right." I felt overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement. "I can't wait to talk to her about it."
He smiled. "She's going to love your ideas."
I laughed softly. "You came up with that one."
"I've been listening to your ideas and hearing what Belle's doing at her shop through Maverick. It just makes sense to coordinate."
I reached over and squeezed his hand. "Thank you."
"You're the reason why the bakery is successful, and whatever you choose to do with the space will be amazing."
My chest bloomed with emotion. "I've never had anyone believe in me like you do."
He frowned. "They should. You're amazing."
I held onto his hand, thinking about my parents and Tom, how they'd discouraged me from opening a business.
How they were worried about me. I wouldn't let their opinions affect me anymore.
I was happy running a bakery, and I really enjoyed being with Morgan.
I wasn't sure I'd get everything I wanted, but I'd sure as hell try.