Page 41 of A Future in the Bay

The revelation hit him like a sudden clap of thunder.

He wanted to show her how responsible he could be, so that she wouldn’t just see him as someone who was too laid-back for her. And even more than that, he wanted to help loosen her up, and show her how much fun life could be if she would let it. He felt like he’d been doing a good job of that already by taking her out on the boat and showing her that sometimes, things outside her comfort zone could be wonderful.

Maybe,he thought, his heart thumping,maybe although we’re different, maybe we really do complement each other. Maybe she and I could really be a thing together. A great thing.

He felt startled by the realization that he was starting to think about her in a truly romantic way. After all, he’d told his sisterand his aunt Marsha that he wasn’t looking for romantic love, and he’d meant it sincerely when he’d said it.

But now, standing there with Gwen, everything that he thought he knew didn’t seem to apply anymore. She’d turned his emotions upside down, seemingly without even trying to. She was a surprise. A wonderful, thrilling surprise.

All of a sudden, he felt tongue-tied. He was spinning with the revelation that he liked her—helikeliked her—and it made him feel awkward all of a sudden. He felt flushed and a little self-conscious.

“Yeah, absolutely, if you want to come out on the boat again, you’re very welcome to,” he said, feeling as though he had a sudden frog in his throat.

“Okay,” she said, a little hesitantly. It was clear that she could tell that something about his demeanor had changed, and she was probably wondering why. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, realizing all at once that they were starting to get sweaty. “Sounds good. Maybe we could schedule the next boat ride?” she teased gently.

He smiled. “Sounds great. Let me know when you’re free.”

“I will.” She smiled back. “Well, I’d better get going. Good luck with the painting. I’ll help out with it the next time I come by to volunteer.”

“You have to go?” he asked, unable to conceal his disappointment.

“Yeah, I do,” she said. “I have an appointment in a little while so I should get back to the clinic.”

For a moment she hesitated, her expression quizzical, as if she was about to ask him what was on his mind. But then she just smiled and turned around and left the room, waving goodbye as she went.

“See you later!” he called after her.

The moment she disappeared, he ran his hands through his hair. “Oh boy,” he said, his heart pounding a little. For a few heartbeats he just stared at the empty doorway, feeling a rush of unexpected emotions.

Finally, he chuckled, shaking the feeling off.

Time to get back to work, Dunlap, he told himself, squaring his shoulders and trying to force his mind back to the task at hand.There will be plenty of time to think about this new revelation that you have a raging crush on the pretty new doctor. Right now, you need to focus on what you have to do.

But he had a feeling that even while he continued to work, he was going to be thinking about her all day.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Paige took a deep breath, standing at her baking station in one of her favorite classrooms. It was her very last class at Flourish Baking School, and her professor was walking from station to station, tasting everyone’s final projects and explaining to the room what each student had done well and what needed to be improved on.

She glanced at the clock, her heart thumping in her chest. In just a few more minutes, she would be done with school. It was a bittersweet feeling—she’d loved her time at the baking school, and she’d made friends that she wanted to stay in touch with for the rest of her life—but her time at school ending meant that something new could begin. It meant that she could move back to Blueberry Bay and begin her own bakery.

This was always supposed to be a staircase, not a destination,she thought, looking around the classroom at her friends and feeling a rush of nostalgia.And now I’ve climbed it, up to where I wanted to go.

She had to suppress a smile, she suddenly felt so excited. Her professor stepped up to her baking station next, and sampled her final project, which was a lemon meringue pie decorated with miniature macarons.

“This is wonderful, Paige,” her professor said warmly, and turned back to the whole classroom. “Paige mixed the meringue just the right amount for both kind of bakes. And her flavors are excellent.”

Paige inhaled, feeling thrilled. Her professor continued to walk around the room, sampling bakes, for another few minutes. Finally, every station had been critiqued, and the professor stood at the front of the room, smiling at her students.

“Well, everyone, you did it. Congratulations. You’ve just finished baking school.”

At that moment, the bell rang and the room erupted into cheers. Paige and her classmates hurried into a group hug, and for the next half hour, they talked and hung out and tried each other’s final projects. Lots of people told Paige that her lemon meringue pie was the best one they’d ever had.

After they’d all finally spilled out of the classroom together, Paige wandered the school for a while, finding other classmates and professors that she wanted to say goodbye to. Finally, feeling full almost to bursting with a bittersweet ache, she made her way back to her studio apartment, which she’d already packed up for the most part. She put a few remaining items into boxes, finished cleaning, and then started to load up her car. Since it had been a furnished apartment, she didn’t have to bring back any furniture, just her belongings, and the process didn’t take as long as she’d expected it to. Soon she was standing in an empty apartment with a full heart, taking a deep breath and feeling ready to take the next step in her life.

She left her apartment for the last time, leaving her keys at the front desk. As she walked to her car, she glanced in the direction of Flourish Baking School, which she could partially see in the distance.

“Goodbye,” she whispered, smiling quietly to herself. She took one more deep breath, and got into her car.

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