Page 93 of The Plus One Professional

“Sadie? Yes, she does. Sweet Temptations, the best bakery in town. She’s my bestie, the one I was telling you about! This is her and her husband Alex’s house.”

For a moment, I got nervous being at my boss’s house, but then I relaxed. He had hundreds of employees. It wasn’t like he was my ‘boss’. He was the owner of a billion-dollar construction company.

“Hey!” Sadie smiled when Charli approached. The women embraced, and Charli took the baby from her.

“Sadie, this is—” Charli started to introduce me.

“Cole, right?”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t believe she remembered me. The bakery was always busy, and I’d only ever given her my name when I ordered Sara’s cake.

“German chocolate birthday cake for Sara.” As soon as she said Sara’s name, she pursed her lips together. She must have been scared that it was a girlfriend or something, and I was here on a ‘date’ with Charli. Little did she know, Charli would not care if I did have a girlfriend.

“Yep, my sister.”

Sadie looked relieved. “German chocolate. A girl after my own heart.”

Charli and Sadie talked about how beautiful everything was before Sadie excused herself to go check on her dad. We mingled with some of the guests before sitting down. One guest I met was Nick Locke, the co-host of The Duel. I couldn’t wait to tell Carly. Charli explained that Alex, Nick, and another man I was introduced to named Maddox Cruz—whose name I recognized because I’d read about him going public with his business and was now a tech billionaire—had all grown up in the system and were childhood friends.

Seeing the example of three men who all came from nothing and were so successful was inspiring. And I wasn’t just measuring their financial success. It was clear from the way they looked at their wives that they were besotted. Not only that, they all had children that they adored.

That’s all I wanted in life. Not the money so much. I did want to have enough so that Sara and the kids never had to worry about having a roof over their heads, food on the table, or their medical needs taken care of, but what I really wanted was a family to love and to take care of. A wife and kids of my own. But not just any wife; I wanted Bailey.

Within just a few moments of sitting down, music began to play, and the ceremony began. The groom took his place beside Nick Locke, who was officiating the wedding. He was an older man who had a stern look about him, but that stoicism was quickly replaced when he saw his bride. His eyes and expression softened as she walked toward him, beaming with joy.

The ceremony was short and sweet, and there were a few tears shed when the groom talked about losing his first wife and never expecting to find love again, especially not with his first love.

Once Nick pronounced the couple man and wife, the groom kissed his bride, who then lifted her bouquet and shouted, “Alright, now it’s time to party!”

The guests erupted in cheers as we stood. When I turned to watch the newlyweds walk back down the aisle, I saw Bailey standing by the tent where all the tables were. I blinked, thinking my mind was playing tricks on me. But when I opened them again, she was still there.

Her hair fell down around her face in soft waves, and she was wearing the sleeveless turtleneck I’d loved so much. She looked like an angel.

As we walked over to the tent with the other guests, Charli got a phone call. She pulled her phone from her purse. “I have to take this.”

I nodded as she walked away. My heart was beating wildly as I took the opportunity to approach Bailey, who was now only about ten feet away from me.

I smiled. “Hey.”

“Hi.” She didn’t seem surprised to see me. And she also didn’t seem happy. “How are you?”

“Good. How are you?”

“Good, yeah, good.” My palms were damp. My head was spinning. My stomach was on the ground. I was back up on that high dive.

The question was, would I jump?

“Cole!” I turned and saw Charli walking quickly toward me. “There’s an emergency with one of my PT patients. I have to go.”

I nodded.

“I’m just gonna go tell Sadie. I’ll meet you out front.”

“Oh, right.” She was leaving, so that meant I had to, too.

Charli headed straight to her friend, and I turned back to Bailey.

“Well, it was nice seeing you.” Bailey smiled before turning and speed-walking inside the house.

---