Page 53 of Hot Dad Summer

“They want to take pictures with her because she’s an amazing baker and has a business that people would kill to buy into.” Wes wrapped a protective arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him and farther from the drunk man. “She’s baked cake for two of the last three presidents.”

I turned to face Wes with clear shock on my face. “What? How did you know that?”

He shrugged and smiled again. So many smiles in one day, I felt smile drunk. “I pay attention. I also tried to invest three years ago after meeting you and tasting your food but you told my representative to take a flying leap.”

I gasped. “No!”

He laughed and it startled the half of the bar closest to us. It wasn’t normal for Wes to laugh, especially not loudly with his arm around a woman. “I’ve tried every year for three years. You’re a hard woman to get through to.”

I had tears in my eyes that I had no hope of keeping at bay. “Why?”

“I believe in you.” He said it like it was the easiest thing in the world. He said it like he was stating the sky is blue, like his belief in me was as sure as that.

I threw my arms around him and hugged him tight. “I’m glad I never took your money but you have no idea what that means to me, Wes.”

“You’re seriously still going to turn my investment down?”

I tangled my fingers in the back of his hair before remembering where we were. Wes grabbed my arms and put them back around his neck when I tried to pull away. I had to bury my face in his chest to hide the goofy grin on my face.

“I’m not ashamed of you, Daisy.”

If he didn’t shut up I was going to take his money and drop to my knees right then and there. He was saying everything I needed to hear. It was more intoxicating than he could’ve known and it should’ve scared the hell out of me. Instead, it let hope bloom in my chest.

A new voice broke into our moment. Max. He sounded pissed until he saw that Wes was holding me. His face softened and something passed between us that I didn’t understand. There was no cold aloofness. In its place was a shocking amount of heat and…happiness. Max was happy to see me.

He smacked Wes on the arm and pulled me away. “I came to demand you help me out on the dock but I’ve found better company.”

I laughed as Max stole me away. One look back at Wes showed him shaking his head but grinning. Something had changed. Not just with each of them but with them as a whole.

“You know I’m probably not going to be any help to you out here, don’t you?”

Max pulled me into the boat shop and into a dark corner mostly hidden from the crowd just outside. I didn’t get to ask what was happening before he captured my face in his hands and kissed me.

Lightening bolts shot through my stomach at the feeling of his lips on mine. He tilted my head the way he wanted it and deepened the kiss until I was breathless but careless about it. He kissed me like a promise, like it meant something.

I was gasping for breath when he pulled back and pressed his forehead to mine. Clutching his shirt in my fists, I realized I was holding him like I was afraid he’d run. He didn’t run.

He slid his hands into my hair and just held me there while looking into my eyes without hiding what was in his own. “I was wrong. I’m not the same man I was before Poppy was born and losing control won’t mean the same thing now as it did then. No more hiding from you, Daisy. Got it?”

My knees were a little weak as I nodded. “Uh-huh. I got it.”

He kissed me again and then pulled me out of the shop with my hand in his. “Good. Now let’s get to work.”

41

***Daisy***

Istared down at my phone during a forced break from the marina chaos. The Oopsie Daisy Bakery’s social media account was open, completely under my control, and only my control. I’d never been interested in the media side of things but I’d done enough TV shows and broadcasts to know a little about PR. What Brooke had been doing had killed some of the momentum online for the bakery and I wasn’t surprised. She’d only posted about herself. It’d taken me far too long to take control.

Thinking about Kacey calling me brave, I decided that maybe I was brave. I was either brave enough, or stupid enough, to feel hopeful about having some kind of relationship with three men at the same time. If I was brave enough to face all of Sweetwater Cove after being seen with Max and Wes that morning, I was brave enough to take control of my business’ online presence.

I turned on my camera and made sure I still looked put together before hitting record. Sending out a holiday message to everyone and inviting them all to the bakery when it reopened the next day, I kept a smile on my face that felt real and warm. With the lake in the background, the video felt charming and welcoming. I’d never posted anything of myself before and it was scary to do but I had to take control. Of my business and my life.

Posting it left me anxious enough that I shoved my phone away and went for a walk down the main strip. I was headed back to the marina but I took my time trying to blend in with the tourists because although I was being brave, I was still scared of seeing how the locals would look at me once the gossip reached them. I was mid-thought about potentially dressing normally to blend in when a white sign in the window of Sweetwater Sweets and Treats caught my eye.

Moving out of the throng of people, I had to nearly press myself against the glass to avoid being in the way. The sign was smaller than a notebook sized sheet of paper but the message was huge. The owner was retiring at the end of the summer. A buzz went through me as I read and reread the note. When the summer ended, the bakery would close for good.

I slowly pulled out my phone and snapped a photo while ignoring the constant vibration of incoming notifications. The owner was motivated to sell the building so they could retire to California with their children. Everything around me faded into nothing more than white noise. My heart had even slowed. Was it a sign?