And that’s why I was baking dozens of blueberry muffins at midnight. The cats must have sensed my stress, because they’d been zooming around the apartment for the last twenty minutes.
On the bright side, my last batch of muffins was nearly done.
A knock at the door caught my attention, but I quickly relaxed when I realized it was likely Eliza coming home after her shift at Lake Ridge. She lived across the hall from me and tended to work evenings and nights at the bar with occasional mornings and afternoons leading yoga classes at her studio.
I pulled open the door and smiled when I saw her. I texted Eliza and Jules the short version of what happened during the meeting but wanted to dive into the details when I saw them next, which was at tomorrow’s family dinner. Or, I guess, technically tonight’s family dinner, since it was the next day. God, I really needed to get some sleep.
“Hey,” she greeted, her voice gentler than usual. Her expression softened immediately. “I know you said you’ll tell us all about it at dinner, but I was getting home and saw your light was still on.” Eliza peeked over my shoulder, wincing slightly. “Stress baking?”
She knew the answer before asking, given the open containers of flour, sugar, cinnamon, and milk. My mixing bowls and utensils took up most of the space on the kitchen island, and any open space was covered in flour.
At least my apartment smelled warm, sweet, and inviting as a result.
I let out a breathy laugh and nodded. “I’ve made at least five dozen muffins.” When her eyes widened, I waved my hand. “I’ll sell some discounted at the café sincetechnicallythey’re from yesterday and bring some to family dinner. It’s notthatmany.”
“It is when it’s past midnight,” she huffed under her breath. “And I think that means you have one or two to spare.”
“For you? Always.” I gestured for her to come inside.
As soon as Eliza walked in and saw the mess up close, she ordered me to sit on one of the stools and helped me clean and get my kitchen back in order. I started to tell her what happened but quickly realized we needed Jules here to hear this, too.
The last thing I wanted to do was wake her up, but Eliza told me that Wes had worked late tonight, too, which likely meant Jules stayed up to wait for him. Before Jules, Wes worked all the damn time. He practically lived at Lake Ridge, and late nights were the norm. Since Jules, he’d limited his late nights, opting to hire more help and offload more of his responsibilities so he could spend most evenings and nights with her.
I tapped Jules’s contact in my phone, and the familiar ringing filled the apartment.
“Why are you FaceTiming my girl in the middle of the night?” was the first thing my brother grumbled as he answered Jules’s phone.
“I wanted to make sure you got home okay,” I said to my brother with a smile.
“Liar.” He rolled his eyes with an amused huff.
“Wes, don’t tell me you’re jealous of your sister,” I heard her say in the back with a laugh. Jules came into focus on the screen, leaning her head against Wes’s arm. His face softened immediately as he looked down at her.
“So, when Iaccidentallywake you up when I’m getting home from a late night, you throw a pillow at me, but when Lily randomly calls you, it’s fine?”
“Exactly,” Jules and I said at the same time, grins on our faces.
“Makes no sense,” Wes huffed. He was about to hand the phone back to Jules, but before that, his brow furrowed and he asked, “Is everything okay, Lily?”
I smiled softly. My brother might have been a grump, but he had the biggest soft spot for those he cared about. He was alwaysputting others first. “I had my meeting with Hal and Gabriel today about the building. It wasn’t as straightforward as I had hoped.”
“And? What happened?”
“That’s why she’s calling.” Jules gently nudged his arm. “To tell us what happened.”
“Well,” my brother said expectantly, which caused me to laugh.
When I had first gotten the email from Hal in November, with Gabriel included on it, I had rushed over to Wes and Jules’s place, so my brother was familiar with how all this started.
Jules and Wes got comfortable on the couch as they waited for me to start the story.
As I parted my lips to start talking, Eliza let out a satisfied moan, muffin crumbs clinging to the corner of her mouth.
“I was making muffins,” I informed Jules and Wes. I looked over at Eliza, shaking my head with a laugh. “Do you need a moment alone, or can I start talking?”
She took another bite, waving her free hand. “Don’t let me stop you. You can start talking. I’m listening.” Her words were mumbled, like she was underwater, but I’d known her long enough to understand exactly what she was saying.
“Okay,so, here’s what happened and the mess I’m in.”
