“Hey, man.” Dylan looks around. “This looks really good.”
“I know right? I’m so good.”
“I don’t even have any snarky comment to make.” He throws his arms up in surrender. “This looks really good.”
“Aw.” I place my palm on my chest. “That warms my heart.”
“If you had one, that is,” Dylan chuckles. “Look at that. There was a snarky comment after all.”
“Hey! I may be all hard on the outside, but you of all people know that I’m a softie on the inside.”
“Yeah sure,” Dylan scoffs, “a real teddy bear.” He turns to the tray of cranberry juice, grabbing a cup. I turn to the side as the girls approach. Kaylee flashes me a soft smile before glancing at her watch.
“Oh crap, the speech.” She looks up. “I have to do it now.”
“Go get them tiger.” Dylan pats her back. She nods, giving me one last smile before walking away from the counter. She reduces the volume of the song blaring from the speakers in a corner. The crowd turns to her, talking in low murmurs.
Her speech turns out to be a big hit. All the while I can’t help stare at her on the stage. She cracks a joke, and everyone laughs. Pausing, she licks her lips before continuing her speech. I swallow. It’s only days ago, when that tongue—
“—without further ado, I’ll like to formally welcome you all to Kaylee’s Delight.”
The crowd cheers and claps as she walks away from the makeshift stage and approaches the counter. The waitresses we hired for the party roll out of the kitchen, holding trays and trays of different types of pastries to serve the crowd.
“And she stuck the landing!” Dylan calls she she closes the distance. “That was a beautiful speech, Kaylee. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, Dylan.” She grabs cup of cranberry juice, downing the contents in one gulp. “God I was so nervous. I thought I was going to puke.”
“Well, you didn’t. That’s a win in my book.”
She takes a seat, sighing loudly.
“What now?” Dylan asks.
“Now.” I shift on my seat. “We wait for costumer reviews. Along with the pastries being passed around, we included a note for the customers to fill, to let us know what they think about the improved recipe. It’s like a survey. It’ll let us know which flavors and pastries the people respond better to and how we can leverage it.”
“Alright.” Dylan nods. “Looks like you guys have it all figured out.” He turns to Jessie, intertwining his fingers in hers. “Unfortunately, we won’t be able to stay so long. Jessie and I still have one more place in town we need to hit.”
“Oh that’s fine.” Kaylee waves him off. “I’m so glad you guys took out time of your tight schedule.”
“Anything for you, little sis.” He rises from his seat and hugs her. “Alright man. I’ll see you later.”
I wave to him, watching as he and Jessie squeeze into the crowd and out of the shop.
“Hey.”
I turn to Kaylee; her eyes are fixed on me. She’s biting a corner of her lip while staring at mine. I rise from my seat, closing the distance between us.
“Yeah?” I breathe.
“I don’t think I’ve said thank you.”
“Yeah.” I make a show of stroking my chin. “Yeah, you haven’t.”
“In that case…” Her hands slide up my chest, clutching to the nape of my collar. “Thanks.”
Pulling me closer, she presses her lips against mine in a warm kiss. I close my eyes, wrapping my arms around her waist. I pull back slightly.
“What about the customers? Won’t they–”