Page 107 of Sweet Somethings

He knew most of his results were good, but the hearing was still an issue. He didn't know how bad it was, because the lab tech running the test had been non-committal. There had also been some limit to the range of motion in his shoulder. Were the problems enough to kick him out of the Corps or at the very least get him reassigned?

He really wished he knew. He was tired of waiting, tired of wondering.

On the other hand, he wasn't quite ready to hear the final decision. Because then he'd have to deal with reality, a reality that might take him away from a woman who'd become very important to him, a woman who wanted nothing more than to put down the deepest roots possible in the town she'd been born in. She wasn't going to want to follow a man around the world. She needed the roots, the community, to be happy. She'd left New York to get them, and she was well on her way to her goals. He couldn't ask her to change those goals for him.

Could he?

* * *

Damn. She'd missed Roman's call. Checking the clock, Juliette saw it had come in fifteen minutes earlier. Maybe he was still waiting to board his plane. She wiped her hands and called him back.

"Hello?" he said.

"It's me. I wasn't sure if you'd gotten on the plane yet."

"I've got about five minutes."

That was nowhere near long enough for everything she wanted to say to him, but she'd take it. "How did it go?"

"It went well. I passed all the combat-ready tests. It's down to the physical limitations. There was some improvement since my last medical evaluation. Will it be enough? I have no idea."

He sounded a bit down, even though he'd just said everything had gone great. "Well, you did everything you could do. When will you find out?"

"Soon. I talked to the commander of my unit, and he said there's something coming up they'd like to use me for, if I get cleared. He was going to see what he could find out."

The idea of him leaving soon made her feel weak, and she pulled over a stool and sat down. "Where would you go?"

"I honestly don't know anything more than that."

"Do you feel ready to return?"

He didn't answer her question right away, then said, "I would be ready if I needed to be." He paused. "How are things going with you? Are you baking right now?"

"I am. I just finished the wedding cake. It looks amazing. They're picking it up in the morning, so I'm relieved to have that done. But I still have a dozen more orders to fill before tomorrow afternoon."

"You're not going to sleep, are you?"

"Does putting my head down on the table count?"

"No. You should take a little break, just so you don't accidentally pour rum into a carrot cake."

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea for a combination."

He laughed. "I wasn't trying to give you ideas."

"I know, and I am making sure to be careful, because I do realize that I'm working on a lot of caffeine and not much else. But Valentine's Day is tomorrow. I want it to be perfect for everyone. Oh, hey, did you talk to your grandfather?"

"No, why?" he asked warily.

"He and Cecelia are having dinner together tomorrow night at his house, and he asked me to make them a cake. Isn't that amazing?"

"I can't believe you took another order for a cake."

"Didn't you hear me? It's not about the cake; it's about your grandfather and Cecelia."

"I heard you. I'm glad they're still talking."

"He sounded happy when he spoke to me, like really happy. Wouldn't it be incredible if they got together after all this time?"

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