CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE #2
She stopped walking. “I need to know something.” She pointed to a bench close by.
It was close to her bakery, and I was antsy.
I didn’t want her to notice it this way.
I wanted more of a grand unveiling than her just looking up and seeing it.
But maybe that would be okay, too. I sat with her, doing my best to give her my full attention and not stare up at the beautiful storefront right across from us.
“What do you need to know?”
“Were you trying to change before the accident? Or was it the accident that brought about these changes?”
I cocked my head thinking about it. “Some of both. I wanted you to feel special and know how much I loved you. That’s why I was planning the party.
But it did take almost losing you to force me to see everything you’d been doing without me.
All of the work you had to handle on your own.
And all of the joy you experienced that I didn’t even know I was missing.
I’ll never be glad you had that accident, Blair.
But I’ll always be thankful that I finally woke up to everything that had been right in front of me all along. ”
She smiled at me and caressed the side of my cheek. “So handsome,” she murmured. My eyes fell to her full lips, and I almost groaned thinking of how soft they were and how good she tasted.
I leaned forward, cupping her face and rubbing my thumb along her bottom lip. Her breath hitched. I looked in her eyes and saw desire—the kind I’d been afraid I’d never see there again. I smiled. “So beautiful,” I said. Then I closed the gap between us and did what I’d been dying to do for months.
I kissed her. It wasn’t one of our usual kisses. I didn’t attack her mouth and claim her. Instead, the kiss was soft, slow, sensual. There was just as much passion in it, but it was restrained, tender. She responded immediately, moving her arms around my neck and pulling me closer.
It was amazing—the kind of kiss I’d never realized could be just as wonderful as our normal hot, rip each other’s clothes off kind of desperate kisses. I started to deepen the kiss, moving one hand to her waist. I heard the box of cannoli hit the ground, but I couldn’t care less.
Then I felt eyes on me.
“Those damn teenagers,” a gruff older voice said. “In my day if you wanted to do something like that, you did it in private.”
A woman made tsking sounds. “Now they’ll just do it anywhere. They have no shame. I swear, there should be a law or something… ooh, look! A new bakery. I wonder when that happened.”
Shit. They were going to spoil the surprise. I pulled away from her reluctantly and heard the older woman gasp. “Dr. Hastings!”
“Hello, Miriam.” I recognized her as one of my patients. I grinned at the look of shock on her face. “You know, even dentists have lives outside of work hours.”
She chuckled a bit nervously. “I know that—it’s just… well, I thought the two of you were getting a divorce.”
I deflated. I had a long way to go before people in our town thought I came anywhere close to deserving Blair.
Blair saved me. “No.” She held my hand. “I think we both realized we had something good to save.”
Miriam beamed. “I’m so glad to hear that.”
Her husband gave me a knowing look. “It’s bad when I see the teenagers making out like that. But a nice young couple? I’m just impressed.”
“Come on, Howard. Let’s let the lovebirds be.”
They waved and walked on.
Blair was looking in front of her. At the storefront.
She had a little frown on her face. “A bakery,” she said.
Then she turned to me. “Does it make me a horrible person that I’m sad?
I haven’t really talked to you about it, but…
well, I wanted to open a storefront so I could expand my cookie business. ”
I couldn’t hold back the huge grin that spread across my face. “Baby. Look at the sign.”
The sign was perfect. It was a fresh, mint green color with lavender lettering and pink accents. The logo was exactly as she’d designed it—elegant, refined, and just a tad whimsical. It was perfect. That Cookie Lady would be open for business soon.
“What?” She looked up and gasped. “Oh my God.” Her eyes shot to mine. “Did you do this?”
I nodded.
“How?” There were tears in her eyes now.
“I need to apologize to you for treating your cookie business as if it was some fun hobby or side hustle. I was an idiot.”
“You really do need a thesaurus,” she joked absently, still staring at her storefront. “It’s exactly like I designed it…”
“I had so many calls from clients of yours—out of town clients, out of state clients, the works. Sutton showed me your website, and I was blown away. I had to put that post on there about your accident so people would quit trying to place orders.”
“I thought Sutton had done that. She designed the website, you know.”
“I was surprised,” I admitted. “I didn’t even know she could do things like that.
She helped me come up with the message and pause ordering.
” I grabbed her hands and forced her to look at me.
“I am so sorry I didn’t realize what a wonderful thing you’d created.
I had no idea. And I know that was my fault.
I can remember you trying to tell me… and I just blew it.
You should have seen my face when I came across your sketches and plans for the storefront.
It floored me. I forgot how talented you are, baby.
” I leaned my forehead against hers and held on to the back of her neck. “I love you.”
She looked dazed, like she might be in shock. “I just can’t believe it.”
“Do you want to go inside?”
She sucked in a breath. “You have the keys?”
I nodded.
She was up and practically running to the storefront.
She ran her hands over the painted brick.
I’d had to get a special approval from Jack to paint the brick white.
It looked phenomenal, though, and I’d seen the appreciative look on his face when he’d come by to see the finished product.
I fully expected other stores might follow suit, modernizing the square even more.
I gave her the keys and saw her hands tremble as she unlocked the door. She walked in and flipped on the lights. “It’s perfect.” She spun around, looking at the chic but welcoming shop. “It has the shiplap walls I wanted,” she murmured, “and the appliances are all the right color.”
I’d found the appliances in her store colors, mint, lavender, and pink, through specialty retailers. The booth seating was also shiplap and alternated between the colors. It was perfectly Blair.
“I love it. So, so much,” she was crying now, and I was glad to see she was still smiling through the tears. She threw herself into my arms. I caught her and spun her around.
“You really like it? The crew I hired was out of Atlanta. I figured if I used local, everyone would know about it in about five minutes. I had them do everything else first, and they put the sign up at around five this afternoon. I was so scared someone would spoil the surprise…”
She cut me off by kissing me. “I love it. Thank you so, so much.”
“You’re so welcome. I only wish I’d gotten my head out of my ass and figured out you needed it sooner.”
“You were wonderful with the children while I was in the hospital, and you gave me my bakery. There’s nothing you could have done that would have been more perfect.
You’ve made me feel seen.” She stopped. “Wait. How did you pay for this? I know we had some savings but not enough to do all this,” she waved her hands around to encompass the counters, the commercial grade kitchen, the display cases.
I smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of my neck. “You know that inheritance I went on about and made you sign a pre-nup for?”
She gave a slight, good-natured eye roll. “Yeah, I’m aware.”
“Well, I dipped into it. I also went by the lawyer’s office and had the pre-nup declared null and void. I was so fucking stupid to start a marriage that way.”
She looked even more shocked, and I realized just how much of an asshole I’d been about the stupid inheritance.
“Thank you. This is so much better than flowers and jewelry. I hope you know that. This is real. Something I wanted to make a dream come true. And you did that for me.”
“I’d do anything for you. Anything.”
We looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, and I could practically feel our relationship deepening. She’d only been home for a few months, yet I felt like I knew her better now than the previous fifteen years we’d spent together.
“Okay, I can’t wait any longer,” she pulled away, her eyes moving over everything in shock. “Show me around the place.”
“It’s all you, baby. It’s completely your design.”
She studied the paintings on the walls. They were simple, yet beautiful. They reflected the colors of the shop, her brand, and looked just right. “Those paintings—where in the world did you find them? They go perfectly with the brand.”
“Sophia painted them.”
Tears came back to her eyes. “Oh my gosh! Sometimes I forget how talented she is as an artist. She’s such a good actress, singer, and musician that I overlook some of her other qualities.
” A few tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’ll be able to look at them while I work, knowing my sweet baby made those herself. ”
“She helped design the menu board, too.” I pointed to the large board on the wall behind the counters. It was printed with staples she made all the time, and there was a chalkboard for daily specials as well.
“Show me everything,” she said.
And I did.