Page 110 of Sweet Somethings

"I will do that. When I see her," he echoed.

"Make that soon," Vincent told him. "Don't let pride or fear or doubts keep you apart. You don't want to wait too long to be with the one you love. Sometimes you don't get a second chance."

"I think that's what I said to you."

"Oh, there's one more thing." Vincent walked across the room and picked up an envelope from the counter. "I left this for Juliette, but I guess she didn't see it. Can you give it to her?"

"What is it?"

"You'll find out when she opens it," his grandfather said with a smile.

"All right." He figured the envelope gave him another reason to go to her now.

She'd told him she didn't want to talk to him tonight, but he couldn't wait until tomorrow. Maybe he couldn't promise the future, but he could at least tell her how he felt.

* * *

The kitchen of her bakery looked like a disaster zone. The pots and pans were piled high in the sinks. On every available surface she saw remnants of her mad baking marathon of the past twenty-four hours with flour, sugar, cinnamon, excess dough, miscellaneous fruits, chocolates, and jams all waiting to be cleaned up.

Juliette sighed as she looked at the mess. She really wanted to turn off the lights and go upstairs, but she was too conscientious for that.

Even though Valentine's Day was over, the bakery would be open tomorrow, and while they'd be putting out desserts that were already baked, she would still need to throw a few bread loaves from the refrigerator into the ovens in the morning and make some batches of chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, which would be back in popularity now that the Wish cookies were done.

Those cookies had done the trick for at least a few people, she thought with a smile, as she started to wipe down the counter. Several people had told her yesterday that they were sure their Valentine's Day plans were the result of the cookies. She was happy to be a part of the tradition her father had started. But she was also eager to put it behind her until next year.

She was a little overwhelmed by her own turbulent emotions about Roman and all the couples falling in love around her. Seeing Vincent and Cecelia together had made her heart ache with happiness for them, but she also couldn't help thinking about all the years they'd lost.

She'd always thought love was easy, that when it was right, everything worked out. That's the way her parents' relationship had looked to her. Of course, she had no real idea what they'd gone through. She'd been a child, watching the two people she adored. Had they fought? Had their courtship been more complicated than she'd heard? Had they ever wondered if they could go the distance? Would they have made it forty, fifty, sixty years together if they'd lived?

She'd never know, but they'd be happy forever in her mind, and maybe that was all that mattered.

The bakery bell pealed, and she jumped.

It was probably Roman.

A part of her wanted to stay in the back and hope he just went away, but as the bell rang again, she didn't think he was going to leave.

She walked out to the front and opened the door. "Roman, it's late, and I told you I didn't want to talk."

"But I do." He pushed past her and walked through the store and into the kitchen. When he saw the state of the room, he had one word. "Wow."

"I usually clean as I go, but not today," she said defensively, pushing a strand of hair off her face. "Now do you see why it's not a good time to have a conversation? The flip side of a romantic Valentine's Day is a mess like this."

He gave her a smile that warmed her up despite her best effort to keep him at arm's distance. "I'll help you clean up." He took off his jacket and hung it on a hook.

"You don't need to do that."

"But I'm going to." He rolled up his sleeves and went over to the sinks.

"You didn't come over here to wash dishes."

"No, I came over to see you. I have a few things to say, but they can wait."

"Maybe you should just say them and go."

He turned on the water. "Or you can go upstairs and lie down while I take care of this."

She couldn't believe he was offering to clean up the kitchen. "I can't let you do that."

---