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“Come on, Aspen. I’ll pick up takeout. You can go upstairs and shower, and I’ll bring dinner. You can go to bed with a full belly.” I’m begging, but I don’t care. Just a little time spent with her is worth any amount of begging and pleading that I might need to do to make it happen.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Gloria sticks her head around the door. “Aspen, do you have more of those muffins? They’re a hit,” she says and disappears back upfront as quickly as she appeared.
“Shit. Sorry, Gloria.” Just as she reaches for the tray, the timer on the oven goes off. “Damn it.”
I feel bad that I’m distracting her. “You get the timer. I’m not a baker. I’ll take these up front.”
“Thank you,” she says, relieved, rushing to the oven to pull out another batch of muffins.
“Order up,” I say, walking the tray of fresh muffins out to the front counter.
“Does he come with the muffins?” I hear a woman ask.
I look up at her and smile. “Sorry, I’m taken.”
“I don’t see a ring,” she says bluntly.
“Yeah, well, I have to convince her to marry me first.” I’m teasing her, but I realize that I wouldn’t mind a ring on my finger. Not if that ring attached me to Aspen. It’s a shocking revelation, one I’ll dissect further, but now is not that time. Gloria gives me a wide smile, and I retreat to the kitchen.
“Thanks, Conrad. You saved me there.”
“Anytime. So, what do you say? Dinner?”
“I really shouldn’t. Thank you for the offer. I really do want to get to bed early and get a head start here tomorrow. Things are going well, but I want to do some bookwork before Aurora gets in tomorrow.”
“You’ve done an amazing job while she’s been gone.”
“Thanks.” She blushes. “However, I don’t want her coming back and being stressed, so I’m going to catch up on the books for her.”
“I can help.”
“No. Thanks. It’s a one-person job.” She reaches for a white box. “Here, these are on the house.”
“I can pay for them.”
“No. Please take them. I’ll see you,” she says, turning her back to me, effectively dismissing me.
Not wanting to press my luck, I take my box and head back to the front counter. I stop at the tip jar that I know they all split and drop a one-hundred-dollar bill into the jar. Gloria gasps, but I can’t even find it in me to offer her a wink. Instead, I keep walking as if I didn’t hear her and head to work. I know I’m going to have to be patient, but that’s hard when you want something as bad as I want her.
Chapter 19
Aspen
It’s Saturday, and the lovebirds come home from their honeymoon today. Aurora called me as soon as their plane landed and asked me to meet them at their place. She claimed she had so much to tell me. I told her we could wait. This is her first day home, but she insisted I be there. So, here I am, driving to their place. I know it’s not just what she has to tell me. It’s my sister finally getting answers for what she thinks she saw when we were at the cabin.
Today’s special was magic bars, and I know how much Grant loves them. I also remember it was his first purchase and what might have started his obsession with my sister. Okay, I know that’s not it, but I thought it was fitting, so I grabbed a dozen and set them back since I knew I was coming to their place this afternoon.
Pulling into their driveway, I’m surprised to see the garage door is up, and my sister's SUV is inside. Grabbing the box of magic bars and my phone, I make my way to the door. I don’t even get to knock before it’s flung open, and my sister is hugging me.
“I missed you!”
“I missed you too, Rory.”
“Babe, let her in the house. It’s cold as balls out there.” Grant laughs.
“Thanks. For that, you get these,” I say, handing him the box once my sister releases me.
“Aw, sis, you love me.” Grant opens the box and swallows hard. “You do this on purpose?” he asks me.
“Nope. That’s all your wife. She plans out the daily special.”
“You plan this?” he asks Aurora.
“No. Not intentionally, but it’s fitting.”
“I thought so,” I agree with her.
“Love you.” He leans in and kisses her a lot longer and deeper than he should be since they’re standing in front of company.
“I’m gonna go.” I take a step back. Aurora pulls out of the kiss and grabs my wrist.
“No, you’re not. We have so much to catch up on. My husband is going to go eat his magic bars while we do.”
“My wife is right. These are calling my name. They brought me my magic already.” He kisses her again and walks away.
