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Chapter Eleven
It's mid-November.The leaves have fallen and winter is in the air. I have never known time to go so slowly yet so quickly at the same time.
Westin is finally back in California. He called me yesterday when he landed. And while I wish he were here, with me, it feels good to know he's at least back in the country. Maybe now I can have an actual phone conversation with the man without it being interrupted or service dropping out on us.
The last few weeks haven't been ideal, but I’m proud of myself and the way I have managed to handle everything. While of course, I still worried about everything the entire time, I also managed to find some sort of peace with our situation.
Jamie has kept me busy with wedding planning when the bakery is closed, and Kari has me so overloaded on special orders, that during work hours, I barely have time to breathe, let alone sulk about how much I miss Westin.
But even as busy as I've been, I haven't missed the fact that Carson has disappeared completely. Even before we started our relationship, for lack of a better word, he would stop by the bakery from time to time, even more frequently once we became somewhat of an item. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he doesn't want to see me. Especially considering the damage Westin did to his face the last time we were out together.
“Hey, you just about finished?” Kari pulls my attention to her, and I glance up as she walks into the kitchen. Leaning against the island, she looks over the cake I'm currently working on, her head nodding in approval.
“Just another dot here and... Yes.” I take a step back with the icing bag still in my hand, to look over my final product. “What do you think?” I ask, already knowing that it's amazing. I mean seriously, not everyone can build a cake of Harry Potter's face and it actually look like Harry Potter. I'm pretty impressed. “It's not scheduled to be picked up until morning.” I slide the cake into a box and fold over the sides, assuming that’s why she came in here.
“Oh no, they're not here,” she says, clearly seeing that I misunderstood the reason behind her 'are you done' question. “I just wanted to see how much longer until you were finished for the day.”
“I'm done now.” I turn, sliding the cake box into the refrigerator. “Unless you need me for something else.” I glance at the clock to see it's already after eight in the evening.
“No.” She shakes her head, helping me clear the dishes away from the island. “But someone is here to see you.” She flinches when I drop one of the aluminum bowls in the sink. It bounces around, echoing noise off the walls around us, before finally coming to a stop.
“Who?” I say, not able to hide the excitement from my voice as I turn back to face her.
If it were Jamie, she would have just come back, as well as just about anyone else I know. The fact that Kari is announcing their arrival can mean only one thing. “Who, Kari?” I ask again, a smile stretching across her face as I do.
“Why don't you go out there and find out?” She tilts her head toward the door. “I'll finish up here.”
“Okay,” I say, surprised by the sudden shake in my voice. I don't know why I'm so nervous, but suddenly everything feels weighted and heavy. Each step I take feels like I’m pulling cement blocks behind me.
When I exit the kitchen, I’m surprised to see that the dining area of the bakery is already closed down and the lights are dimmed so low that only a soft yellow glow lights the space.
Confused, and not seeing anyone, I walk out from behind the counter and immediately freeze. All the tables in the dining area have been cleared away and only one solitary table now takes up the middle of the floor.
With a single candle centerpiece and silver platters sitting in front of two empty chairs,Layershas somehow been transformed into an intimate dinner setting that has my eyes scanning the room to find the person intending to occupy the second chair.
It takes my eyes a moment to spot him. His body is mostly hidden in shadows, but the moment I catch sight of his silhouette I know it's him.
“Westin!” I cry, running toward him. Within seconds, I’m in his arms and his lips are on mine, kissing me so deeply that I know, without a doubt, he missed me just as much as I missed him.
He breaks away from my mouth too soon and takes a step back to look at me. Only then do I realize that I probably look awful. I've been knee deep in flour and icing all day and didn't even think to check myself out in the mirror before coming out. My hair is tied up in a messy bun and my jeans look like I rolled them in cake batter before putting them on.
“When did you get here? How did you do all this? I must look awful,” I say, looking down at my appearance and then back up to his smiling face.
“You look beautiful.” He leans down to place a soft kiss to my lips once more before pulling away again.
Taking a deep breath, I try to compose myself. “When... I mean, how did you do all this?” I ask, gesturing around the room.
“Kari,” we both say in unison.
Westin laughs lightly and then explains. “I came in about two hours ago. Kari let me peek in on you. I planned to announce my arrival right then and there, but you were so immersed in what you were doing I couldn't bear to disturb you,” he says, laughing again when I smack him lightly across the arm.
“You were here? And you didn't tell me?” I gape at him.
“I wanted to give you a chance to finish what you were doing. It's not fair that I continue to show up unannounced and you have to rework your life because of it. You shouldn't have to drop everything the moment I arrive.” He reaches out to tuck a stray strand of hair away from my face. “Besides, it gave me a chance to do something special for you.” He gestures around the space. “Kari called Jamie and had her make us dinner. I was so sure you would walk out and discover what we were up to an hour ago, but you were so tied up in what you were doing back there.”
“Jamie was here?” I ask, completely certain that there is no way I was that into my cake decorating that I didn't notice any of this going on around me.
Of course, now that I think about it, I can't remember leaving the kitchen at all today. And considering the dining area is completely out of sight from the kitchen, I guess I really am that oblivious to what's taking place out here while I'm in my own little world back there.
