Chapter 37 Riley
THIRTY-SEVEN
RILEY
“I’m going to pee my pants.” Ellie steps back inside the bakery after her curious mind got the best of her, wanting to see if there were any people waiting to come inside.
“Are there a lot of people?” I ask, making sure the tables are straight and the baked goods in the glass display are perfectly aligned.
“A lot is an understatement.” She wrings her hands, pacing behind the counter. Above her hangs a large, black chalkboard, displaying the special treats for the season, along with teas, coffees, and other refreshments.
We hired someone to make it look pretty after many failed attempts of us doing it. I think my writing is perfect, but not for a chalkboard.
Someone opens the door, and I turn to see Ellie’s parents. Her mom pushes her dad in a wheelchair, and despite his circumstances, he’s glowing.
“Hi, guys!” Ellie rounds the counter and jogs to her parents to hug them.
“I’ve brought plenty of gummies to stir an appetite.” Her dad wiggles his eyebrows while peering at the sweets behind the glass.
“Hi, sweetie.” Mrs. Thompson grabs me, pulling me into a tight hug. I swear, all the stress that I’ve carried these past two days almost disappear.
After I left August’s house, I went back to Hailey’s and told her everything. I didn’t want to go home and be by myself, so I stayed with her. Every single guilt hit me all at once when I couldn’t just tell him how I’ve always felt.
It’s never been easy for me to display my feelings. The idea of someone rejecting them scares me and even though my heart is telling me that August would never reject me, my mind says otherwise. It sucks, to say the least.
Your heart tells you one thing, but your head wins overall.
Someone new enters the bakery again, almost expecting August when I turn around and my heart thunders in my chest. But it’s not August who walks in.
I open my mouth, stunned to see Dad in front of me, with Hailey on his side. He actually came.
“Dad? I can’t believe you’re here.” I make quick work of getting to him. The last time I saw Dad was when he told us he was divorcing Mom and moving out of their house and to the next town over.
Both Hailey and I visited a month after he moved in. It’s a nice space, a simple two bed, one bath.
Dad is the reason I’m as tall as I am. He’s a giant and I need to stand on my toes just to hug him. His dirty blonde hair is cut short and styled. And his brown eyes have a sparkle in them. Something I haven’t seen in a long time.
“Why didn’t you think I’d come?” His deep voice is muffled when I dig my forehead in the crook of his neck. I’ve missed him so much.
When I pull away, I deadpan, and he laughs. His laugh is lively and genuine. Something that I haven’t heard in a very long time. It’s not forced or strained.
“If your mother shows up, so be it. She isn’t stopping me from seeing this great accomplishment of yours.” He brackets his hips and looks around him. “This is incredible, Riley. You and Ellie did all of this yourself?”
I beam, causing my cheeks to work out muscles that they haven’t in some time. “You really like it?”
“It’s awesome,” Hailey says. “Look at the ceiling! Was that your idea?”
All of us check out the bright greenery that almost steals the show in the entire bakery. “Yeah, I was searching for some inspiration, and it kind of popped in my head.”
“I’m so proud of you.” Dad looks proud—excited even.
For the next hour, we take advantage of our time together before we open. We catch up on his new dental practice, which he’s opened where he lives, and plans on checking in on the one here to see how it’s going.
I tell him everything I’ve been up to: Honey Cakes, the yoga studio, but I leave out some other details, like August.
“Alright, guys, I’m turning the sign to show that we’re open!” Ellie has her hand on the square sign.
Rowan stands next to her, rolling his tongue like he’s playing a drum.
“And…we’re open!” She greets customers as they file in, and the space becomes loud with eagerness.
James, Beau, and Addie stroll inside, and we greet them from the counter, practically having to yell across the place. Ellie’s assistant, Emily, made sure to whip up loads of cupcakes, cake slices, pie slices, tarts, and so much more. She and Ellie spent two days prepping.
When the stock behind the glass runs low, another assistant comes and refills it. It’s non-stop madness in the best way possible.
Balloons hang in the corners, some displaying HC, in gold letters. Pop music plays while customers start claiming tables, enjoying a pastry and a drink. I’m sure by the end of the day, my voice will be gone.
Two hours later, people are still coming in. According to some, the line never dies down, and by the looks of it, we may need to start baking more items. Hopefully, it doesn’t get to a point where I need to help, because, well… customers will walk away with a burnt brownie.
Amongst the crowd and chatter, Beau says a name that makes me freeze.
“August!” Beau waves him over to their table, which is full of plates.
August gestures his head to them, then points in my direction, telling them he’s going to buy some things before he joins them.
“Do you have any merchandise by chance?” A lady I don’t recognize asks.
“I’m so sorry, we don’t. But now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ll be sure to come up with some items soon for you to grab.” I ring up her items.
“That would be wonderful. I drove an hour to get here and would love to tell people about your bakery. That's all I’ve been hearing about these past few months.”
We stole Addie away from Rowan for a bit to help with our marketing.
She created many social media platforms for us, posts, and videos to share our progress.
It’s reached people from different states, and at one point, Ellie almost had a breakdown because our accounts garnered over a thousand followers.
It may be small numbers to some, but it’s a lot for us.
August steps forward and lets out a low whistle. “This is what I get for leaving work later and standing in line.”
Gosh, he’s so cute. All he’s wearing is a plain gray T-Shirt and denim jeans, and my knees still wobble.
He tucks his hands into his pockets as he scans the desserts.
“They’re making more in the back.” I point behind me to the white, swinging doors that leads into the kitchen.
There’s slight tension between us, but he isn’t showing any hurt or anger. Maybe the tension is just on my side. He also has a terrific poker face. We don’t necessarily mingle or make small talk. Instead, he focuses on what he’s ordering.
“I’ll take one of those giant Rice Krispies, that brownie with caramel drizzled on top, and a slice of that triple chocolate cake that I’m sure will put me into a sugar coma.” He fixes his glasses and gives me a lopsided grin.
I nod and press the screen on the tablet in front of me before turning it toward him. The option to tip pops up first, and he taps on something, but I can’t see what. Then his finger glides across it, and he tucks his hand back in his pocket.
I swivel it back my way and notice he added a twenty percent tip. Ellie and I decided that all tips will go directly to our two baking assistants and our employee, Jamie, a cheerful teenager with bright braces.
“Thank you for the tip.”
It’s hard to stare at him when I feel ashamed of what happened two nights ago. It feels like I’ve let him down. Let us down. A part of me wants to blame Mom for how I think and act, but I’m a grown adult and can’t use her as an excuse. This is my own doing. And I need to fix that.
Jamie picks out each dessert he’s chosen, putting them in a white box, sealing it up, and stuffing it into a bag. He takes the treats and says thank you before looking at me one more time and turning away.
“Wow,” Jamie says with crimson cheeks, “he’s really cute.”
We watch him walk away, and my eyes go straight to his ass. He really is cute.