Page 54 of Baking it Merry

“We’re not.”Tilting her head, she studied him.“Have you ever spoken to your father about wanting to branch out?Have you tried telling him that maybe you want to build custom homes?”

“I already do that.”

“Oh, well…or that you want to build giant shopping malls?”

“Did that one too,” he said with a small smile.

“Well…jeez, Tristan!I already know you build offices, homes, and malls.What’s left?Do you want to build an airport?A church?A school?I mean…help me out here.”

“I want to build it all,” he said, shrugging.“But I want to build it because I want to and not because it’s what’s expected.I’d love to design homes like the ones Frank Lloyd Wright designed.I’d love to build mansions and tiny homes or fantastic luxury resorts and smaller rustic ones.Beach resorts, ski lodges, theme park hotels…I want to unleash my creativity instead of sticking to all the traditional things my family has always excelled at.”

“Then you should!My goodness, just because your family has done things one way doesn’t mean it’s the only way!You have a gift and you should use it to do things you love!”

“It’s not that easy…”

“I love to bake, and I didn’t let the fact that I don’t own a bakery stop me.The Board of Health still comes in and inspects my space—and sometimes they hang out for hours watching me work to make sure I’m doing things properly—and that part is kind of a drag.Ultimately, though, I get to bring my gift and love of baking out into the world and it makes me so happy!You really should fight for what you want.No one should be forced to stay in a box creatively just because everyone else lacks the vision to create something new and bold and wonderful.”

How was this woman real?Her perpetual optimism was something completely foreign to him and yet…sitting here right now, she made him want to believe that anything was possible.

And that’s why he stood up, nearly knocking his chair over.

“Come on.Let’s pack up our dinner and get out of here.It’s far too late to be eating in the office.”

Daphne eyed him warily.“Tristan, we’re almost done.It seems silly to pack it all up now and…”

Walking around to her side of the table, he gently pulled her to her feet.“I’d like to go home with you and finish our dinner in front of your Christmas tree.”Resting his forehead against hers, he added, “I was going to suggest my house, but I figured you’d hate how un-festive it is.”

Her giggle was the sweetest sound.“Your tree was very nice.”

That made him chuckle with her.“Nice, but not festive, right?”Before she could answer, he kissed her.“I’ll work on that.But not tonight.Tonight, we’ll marvel at how cheery your home is while we finish our dinners and eat our dessert.”

“Or…” she countered.“We finish our dinner here so we don’t have to reheat it and then head to my place for dessert.”One soft hand smoothed over his jaw before moving down to rest on his shoulder.“All the desserts.”

Grinning, he placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.“I like the way you think.”

So that’s what they did.

A little over an hour later, they were snuggled up together on Daphne’s couch, with the only lights coming from her tree and the twinkly lights on her mantle.It wasn’t something he ever would have considered doing—sitting in the dark with only his holiday lights on—but there was something very comforting about it.

“The cupcakes I brought to the office are the chocolate peppermint ones, but I have others here if you wanted something else.”

“No, those are great.I never thought I would enjoy that combination, but it’s become one of my favorites this season.”

“That makes me very happy,” she softly replied.“Thank you.”

“Well…like you said earlier, you have a gift and what you do is amazing.”

“Wait until you see the cake I’m making for your father’s party.”

“A cake?I thought the whole thing was about handheld desserts.Who decided on a cake?”

“Oh, there’s going to be plenty of cupcakes—we’re making cranky ones based on the Grinch and Christmas light ones—plus all the cookies, and the dessert cups, but your mom and Judith both asked about cakes.And not just basic sheet cakes, but big, themed ones.So we’re making tiered gift box cakes for both ends of the table.They’re going to be fabulous!”

“Gift box cakes?”

Nodding, she explained, “They look like wrapped gift boxes with giant bows on them.Lots of fondant, so they’re a bit time-consuming, but…since the party’s on a Saturday, I have plenty of time to get it done.”

“Seems like a lot of extra work when you’ve already got enough on your plate…”

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