Page 72 of Candygrams

Storm and Gray walk in, take one look, and pull up chairs, “Okay, who made an ass of themselves?”

Gray looks over at Storm, “I’m betting money on Ander.”

They flip each other off in a friendly fashion and everyone starts sharing memories again. This is my family, these people…they hold a special place in my heart because we’ve shared laughter, tears, fears, worries, sadness, and happiness. We’ve shared our children growing up, falling in love, and leaving to make their own families.

Ander looks over at me and takes my hand in his, “You okay, angel?”

“Yeah, just thinking about how lucky I am to have everyone.” I shoulder bump him. “Especially you.”

He grins and my body turns hot and needy just like that. Even after all these years.

“I’m the lucky one, sweetheart.” He leans forward and lowers his voice so only I can hear him. “I still get stiff watching you knead dough, my sweet Lilly.”

I giggle and blush making Candy look over at us, “Alright you two, we got kids coming through the door. No kinky stuff.”

“Aww, but mom…” Ander teases her about the way she takes care of all of us. She narrows her eyes but the corners of her mouth tip up and then turn into a full-on grin. Me and the girls step forward, each with a sweet treat in hand. My three best friends, my soul sisters, my co-workers and co-dreamers. We didn’t do too bad for ourselves for three girls who had a dream of bringing a little sweet into everyone’s life! Not too bad at all.

Bonus Epilogue

Lolly

Twenty-Three Years Later

I walk around the room making sure everything is perfect for the upcoming nuptials. Everything has to be perfect because this wedding is special. We’ve made plenty of wedding cakes over the years -more now because of our special wedding cake episode on the Food Network. We're in high demand with a lot of people wanting one from us. But I’ve never made a wedding cake…for my own child’s wedding.

From the day she was born, our first-born son, Trey, has told me he was going to marry Candy’s daughter Breeze -or Bree, as she prefers to be called by everyone but Trey who always calls her Breeze. I was shocked when he didn’t marry her the day she graduated high school, but instead, he waited for her to turn nineteen.

Apparently, he had given her a year to settle into the fact she was going to be married or something like that. According to Rain, Candy’s first-born son, who married Ariel, the granddaughter of Rachel from the Mayor’s office, he threatened to tie her up on her nineteenth birthday if she didn’t say yes and wear his ring.

Rain and Trey have always been close with Trey being born only months after Rain, so I don’t doubt what he says is true. And just like his father, Trey won’t take no for an answer. Not that Bree isn’t her mother’s daughter. She made him work for her hand in marriage. And according to our daughter who is close to Bree, he sort of kidnapped her the night of New Year’s Eve and took her to a cabin we own about an hour and a half from our cozy little town. Which explains why no one could find them during our annual celebration.

In the end, they worked things out -or Bree didn’t want to be tied to a chair for the rest of her life. And tomorrow, my son is getting married. The same child I taught to walk, to talk, to love, is going to be a married man with a wife -and I’m not kidding myself- a child of his own soon. It’s a lot to process for a mom.

A sound behind me has me turning but not before arms come up around me. I realize immediately who has me. The same man who has always had me. Ander Baxter. My husband, friend, and soulmate. My steady rock and my home.

“Everything is going to be wonderful, love. Don’t spend the night worrying about tomorrow,” he turns me, and just before his mouth lands on me, “when you can spend it in my arms.”

Our kiss is as hot and steamy as our first one, maybe more since we both understand what the other likes and what turns us on so badly. And suddenly, the worry goes out of me, and I am left a limp noodle in my husband’s arms. God, the man knows how to kiss!

Once I finally catch my breath, I try to explain. “I just want it to be perfect for them. I want them to remember the day always.”

“The way we remember ours.”

I smile because he knows me all too well. I don’t have to explain anything to him. He understands I want to make the day a magical one so they will always look back on it and find all the love and happiness that was put into it. The love of family that may not be with them any longer, the love they have for one another, the love they plan to give their babies when they arrive, and the love of the future they plan to make. All of it starts for them tomorrow and I just want to give them the perfect day to start with.

My family wasn’t at my wedding, but my best friends were, and I got to meet Ander’s family who took me in and all but adopted me. And Minni, Storm’s aunt, who also adopted all of us girls since we started the shop where hers used to be located. All the people who loved me and wanted the best for me were there and that was all that mattered. And now I want that for our son.

“Everything is going to be special because he is with his soulmate just like I am with mine.” Damn the man knows just what to say, just how to kiss…he’s perfect. Perfect for me. “And since there is no one out here to stop us, I suggest we take full advantage of the space.”

“What?”

I look around. It is a lovely place. Right by a natural pond that is wide enough you can row a boat across it to the other side, with flowers and plenty of privacy, it has always been one of my favorite places on the farm. The farm Ander bought and gave me as a wedding present all those years ago.

It was Ander who built the pavilion which started as an open-air structure with huge columns and a roof, but over the years he’s added a marble building with rooms branching off from the front room that is covered in glass letting the light in. This is where the wedding dinner is going to be held after the wedding outside by the lake. This is where the couple will cut the cake, where they will have their first dance as a married couple, and where I am trying to make sure everything is perfect. But what does my sweet husband mean by taking advantage of the space? I don’t have long to wait for my answer.

“Oh, sweetheart. I love you so much. Sometimes -even after all these years- you have the sweetest mind and no room for all the naughty things I want to do to you.”

I have a sweet mind? Just last week I was begging Ander to cum on my tits so I could rub it in. But I didn’t notice he’d undone the buttons at the back of my dress before the fabric started gaping open and air brushed against my bare skin so maybe…he’s right.

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