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Could I really do this? Run a bakery? Do justice to my Dad's legacy?
"It’s up to you what you decide to do now,” said Cole. “If you want to go back to New York, I support that. We could even try the long-distance thing.”
“No,” I said firmly. “The other thing I never told you, I barely even admitted it to myself, was that I also fell in love with Bluehaven Beach. I don’t want to go back to New York. Not to live there, anyway. This is my home. Here. With you.”
Cole lifted me up into the air, giving me a kiss.
“Woop woop!” cheered Lily. “You owe me a cup of coffee!”
“And you owe me two weeks off work!” yelled Ethan.
"I'm going to do it," I said, holding Cole tight. Then I looked around at all the people who had come here to support me. "I’m going to open a bakery, everyone!"
Everyone—even Mrs. Brown—looked pleased that I’d decided to stay.
“Bluehaven will be all the better for having you in it,” Cole told me.
“No,” I said with a smile. “I’ll be all the better for being in Bluehaven.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Cole, Three Months Later
"Oh, caramel. I fucking love you.” I smacked my lips together in delight.
Elara's eyes pulsed with excitement. "Is it good? Really?"
"It's ridiculously good, El. Like kissing a butterscotch beauty queen."
Elara smiled so wide it made my heart do a backflip. I never got tired of seeing those pretty coral lips looking so happy around me.
"Don't go kissing any beauty queens, confectionery-based or not," she said, holding the silicon spatula she'd been using to stir the caramel like it was a club.
"Don't worry, the only butterscotch beauty queen in my life is you."
Ignoring the spatula threat, I circled her waist with my arms and pressed my lips against hers. She tasted like cinnamon, sugar, all the good things in the world.
"Cole," she said, through the kiss, "we don't have much time!"
I pulled away. "Sorry, you're right, let's—"
Before I could finish my sentence, she'd pounced on me, kissing me just as hard as I had kissed her first.
I ran my arms down her back and squeezed her tight little ass. "How do you manage to keep this body so perfect with all the naughty foods you bake?"
"Lots and lots of sex," she breathed, before reaching up and playfully nipping my lip. "Now come on, we really do have work to do."
"I thought I was on vacation," I said as I passed the bowl of caramel over to her.
I'd conceded defeat to Ethan and agreed to take a couple of weeks off work. He was taking the girls during the day, as he’d promised. He was a little annoyed that I'd be working with Elara for most of the two weeks, but agreed, eventually, that my debt to him had been paid.
"It's very kind of you to help me out." Elara poured the rich, thick caramel into a pie crust that had been cooling for an hour.
I'd been up since five, helping with what Elara insisted on calling mis en place. I called it, "getting shit together."
It had been a whirlwind few weeks getting the bakery ready. The hardest, most expensive part had been demolishing the front wall. We'd needed a large steel bar for structural support, to house the bi-folding doors. But seeing it come together, I knew it was all worth it. Even now, in the lead-up to Christmas, the outside seating area looked good. There were a couple of patio heaters and thick blankets for customers to sit under, and I just knew the locals were going to go wild for it.
"I guess I really am a kind guy," I said, shrugging. "A kind, generous, skilled guy."
