Page 106 of You Cake My Breath Away

Tears leak down my face, surely brought on by the raging hormones. With a laugh, I wipe them away and nod. “I’m so ready.”

I drag my suitcase behind the counter and after greeting my family, I fall in line beside them, boxing up the rest of the orders and rubbing elbows with some of the business owners around. Apparently, flyers went out this morning to the three major college campuses downtown and to the surrounding buildings naming my bakery as the newest hot spot to check out. The news caught onto the hullabaloo and followed everyone over.

“I can’t thank you guys enough for everything you did today,” I say, wiping down the counter and bakery case.

“It was all Archer’s idea,” Dad says, pulling me to his side and kissing the top of my head. “Congratulations, pumpkin.”

I lean into his embrace. For so long there was distance between us, and I’m grateful to Gloria for helping us bridge the gap.

“Don’t forget Sunday dinner.” Nora rests her feet at a table across the way. “And you’re making the desserts because I’m desserted out.”

Everyone laughs, and we share a collective sigh. One by one they leave, and as the day comes to a close, a sense of completion comes over me as I flip the lock and turn off the neons. Finally able to catch my breath, I take a moment and go to the kitchen. It’s a mess of sprinkles, icing, and flour, but I’m astounded by the love the community and my family showed me today by getting my bakery opened.

The door swings open, and my heart pitter-patters inside my chest when Archer steps through. He’s wiping his hands on an apron, eyes lit with desire.

Chapter fifty-one

Tilly

One Year Later...

Wind wraps my hair around the top of Jessica’s bottle and nearly rips it from her mouth as I struggle to close the window. Her rosy cheeks bounce as she sucks, and I snuggle her closer as I move around the house, trying to gather everything we need for Sunday dinner. Shuffling a diaper bag, car seat, and a baby on your own isn’t ideal, but Archer’s flying back tonight after shooting the reunion show of Stud Finders.

The season ended with the two breakout stars of the show, Canon and Bliss, at odds with each other, and everyone is dying for any tidbit of information. I try to keep up with the shows Archer is on, but half the time I fall asleep after pumping breast milk, or I’m too busy at the bakery. Now that we’ve started taking on wedding cake clients, I had to hire another assistant to help with the regular orders we get weekly. I couldn’t be more thankful to the businesses around The Pearl for constantly keeping me busy with lunch time cupcake orders and the occasional birthday cake, but I’m ready to expand.

Jessica coos and promptly follows it up with a loud belch once I put her on my shoulder. She’s been a rough sleeper, but when Archer is home, I don’t hear a peep, almost like she can’t sleep soundly when Daddy is away. I can relate. Thankfully, he’s home for the holidays, and he’staking a break from the shows to focus on expanding the construction businesses here.

I never expected my obsession with yams would bring me this beautiful bundle of joy, but apparently, they are known to increase fertility and cause multiple ovulation, which is why I thought I was safe when our bakery case bang session ended with a ripped condom. Either way, I’m thankful for the blessing of this amazing family.

My phone vibrates along the new countertop. After moving in last year, Archer and I decided to renovate his house and expand the kitchen and garage so we could occasionally work from home. While my house was beautiful, it was mine and Jessie’s. Archer and I needed a fresh start if we were going to be able to make this work, and for Jessica to grow up in a house that wasn’t rife with bad memories for me.

“Hey Shantel.” I answer the phone and put Jessica into her car seat.

“On a scale of one to ten, how much do you love me?”

Pots clang loudly in the background, and I immediately recognize the laughing accompanying the banging as Shantel’s son, Tanner. I never thought I’d be pregnant at the same time as my sister-in-law, but crazier things have happened.

I laugh. “I love you a billion million, why?”

There’s a crash in the background and a chorus of ‘no, no, no’ but Shantel’s back on the line within seconds. “Sorry, Tanner was…on the steps. I need you to stop by the bakery.”

I sigh, wrapping my arm through Jessica’s seat and heading out to the car. “You forgot to pick up the pie, didn’t you?”

Her pause is all I need to know I’m spot on.

“I’ll do the dishes this time,” she pleads.

I secure Jessica’s seat and get in the front. “You’ll do them the next two times,” I counter.

She growls. “Fine.”

I laugh and hang up with her, focusing on the road ahead of me.

Christmas lights swoop between the lamp poles, and the tinny ding of a bell steals my attention. The same Santa from last year stands in the middle of The Pearl’s square, ringing his bell in front of a donation bin. He stops to take pictures with a family and, wrapping Jessica’s cover around her tighter, I get in line behind them. Last year, I made a wish I never imagined would come true, but it did. This year, I just want to say thanks.

After visiting with Santa and snagging a candy cane, I head toward the bakery. The December wind brushes along my bare legs, and I curse myself for wearing a dress instead of comfy leggings. At least I have earmuffs and a scarf, and a small baby who makes things ten times hotter, or else I’d be a popsicle.

I wiggle my keys out of the side of the diaper bag, insert them into the keyhole, and find the door is already unlocked. I pause on the threshold, sorting through last night, trying to remember if I locked the door. My heart thumps as I peer inside the dark bakery, careful not to make any noise.

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