Page 54 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

“I will. Are you guys closing yet?”

“Soon, honey. We’ll definitely drop by later in the evening.” Marge and my father would be joining us after they closed the stores and finished prepping for the next day.

“Marge, do you think I’d be a good pastry baker?”

“Well, your skills are almost as good as Nick’s, and the cake you baked this week was a true work of art. Don’t tell my son, but I don’t think he would have been able to pull off that last minute change.”

I still couldn’t believe how much had happened that week. A private jet, a ginormous ballroom party, and a cake that was the center of it all, which I’d baked all on my own. If time flew by for me at this rate, I’d be back in Nick’s arms sooner than I thought.

“That’s impossible. Nick is amazing.”

“So are you. You have a talent for art. Remember when you guys made a portrait of our houses from different shades of rock?”

“Yeah, but we were only kids.”

“Doesn’t matter. They were beautiful. You have a talent that comes from the heart, and that cannot be learned or taught by anyone. Remember, I’ve seen your work firsthand and would have no objections if you wanted to bake or decorate for me permanently. So yes, I do think you’ll make an amazing pastry chef.”

“Thank you. My father said something similar.”

“If you ask me, I’d say you were born to bake, honey.”

“Really?” I hadn’t realized up until now just how much her approval meant to me, and I smiled. Part of me felt like I’d always be here, in this little town, so now I wasn’t sure why I’d ever thought I could move away to go to college. Deep inside, I’d known that I’d remain tied to Hope Bay, where I was born, grew up, and fell in love.

“Yes. Really.”

Carter’s truck pulled up to the house along with another strong gust of wind.

“Be safe!” Marge waved. Far in the distance, a good dozen miles or so beyond the town limits, the clouds were a dark green color, bordering on black, puffing gray mist through the few breaks of their perfect structure.

“Looks like it’s going to be a wild night.” Carter opened my door and I slipped in. We opened the cupcake box lid and Carter placed the ring we picked out for Daisy right in the middle.

“She’s going to love it.” I sighed, secretly wondering what my engagement to Nick would one day look like.

“You think she’ll say yes?” Carter’s voice vibrated with nerves.

“I hope so, otherwise it’s a waste of a perfectly good cupcake.”

“Hey, that’s what you’re worried about? A cupcake?” He turned on the ignition and backed the car out of the driveway.

“Carter, I’m not worried about anything – which means that yes, I think she’ll say yes.”

“What if she doesn’t?”

“Well, then you’ll have an extra ring to wear.”

“Shit!”

“Carter, I’m kidding. Now concentrate on the road. The wind is getting stronger.”

On the way to the barn, we picked up Daisy, Molly, and Andrew. Everyone was watching the bank of clouds outside approaching our town. It was almost surreal. I remembered seeing a movie,Independence Day, and the puff of cloud that pushed through the atmosphere when the ship approached — that’s what the storm ahead looked like: an invasion.

“Heard anything from Nick?” Molly asked, as Carter parked on the designated grass by the barn.

“He says the training is hard and he misses me.”

“Don’t worry. A year will pass so fast you won’t even know it.”

“Yeah, but what about afterwards? He could be deployed for even longer.”

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