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The sign in the window reads Sold.
So much for my big dream. It was too expensive, anyway. Commercial leases in Ridgeview have pretty much put my plans on hold until I sell a kidney to get my startup.
Connor has been offering to get me going. I keep turning him down because he does so much for me. He already pays for our apartment. In a year he’s grown his finances even more, officially a self-made man from releasing an app he built that took off for its uses in preventing security breaches and identifying threats, especially predators. He doesn’t want what happened to me to happen to anyone else if he can help stop it. He has been amazing in helping me cope with the fallout of my trauma, and I’m proud he put his skills to use for something good to help others.
But his scavenger hunt note led me here, promising my path to the future if I open the door.
“Okay. Here goes nothing.” I pull a face, bracing as I twist the knob. “Please don’t let me get arrested for breaking and entering.”
“You’re too cute for that,” Connor says, grinning from across the room. He’s leaning against a polished wood counter with the sleeves of his henley pushed up, painting a very attractive picture. “You’re about twenty minutes later than I expected.”
I hold up the paper as I enter the building, glancing around. It’s lit in warm muted light by the thin kraft paper covering the bay windows. “Leave better clues, then.”
“What? Which one was hard?” Popping out of his slouch, he plucks the note from me as his arm finds its way around my waist. “Number seven? No way, I made that one obvious.”
“Number three!” Gripping his biceps, I press on my tiptoes to kiss him. He tilts his head, a smirk playing in the corners of his mouth. “Hi. Going to tell me what mischief you’re up to today?”
“Thinking about it.” His hands slip inside my coat, fitting to my waist over my long black skirt with big sunflowers printed on it. He dips into the high slit with one hand as his other teases beneath my cropped sweater, tracing exposed skin. “Thinking about something else, too. Especially when you wear this.”
“When aren’t you thinking about that.” With a sardonic smile, I shrug out of my white wool coat—a replacement from the one I had last year—and drape it over the counter. It looks newly built. I don’t remember the photos on the real estate website having anything inside, but now it seems like whoever owns the place has been getting it ready. “Are we allowed to be in here? I saw the sign out front. I know you love bad ideas, but—”
“We’re allowed. This is actually one of my better ones.”
He follows me as I explore the main room. I imagine how I’d paint the wall, make the one behind the counter a chalk wall with an artistic display of the daily menu, and fill the back one with a similar poster mural of inspiration and positivity just like my old bedroom. I have one in our apartmen
t that grows every time I find something new to add. It would look perfect in my bakery to create an uplifting environment that will make people smile.
“Do you know who bought this place?”
Connor tucks his hands in his pockets. “I do.”
“What are they going to put here? It looks like a shop.”
He hums as if he’s pondering, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “A bakery, I think.”
“Really?” My face falls. A second later, I shake my head and turn in his arms. “That’s so great. Maybe I can get a job here instead of the coffee shop!”
Connor’s smile turns fond. “Baby. The building is for you. I bought it.”
It takes a moment for his words to register as I’m lost in the process of how to quit my job. I blink, digging my fingers into his shirt. “Wait what?”
He chuckles, kissing my cheek. “I’m saying it’s yours, all of it.”
“You…” I gape, gaze flying around the room. “And you built…”
“Yes. You kept showing me your Pinterest vision board, and I had Maisy help me design the style you saved most.”
I’m speechless, mouth working helplessly. Tears of joy prick my eyes. “Oh my god.”
“I want to give you the world. Help you achieve all of your dreams.” He brushes a knuckle under my eye to catch a stray tear. “Do you like it?”
“Like it? I fucking love it, you crazy, wonderful man!” Laughter bursts free as I crash into him, hugging him tight.
“Oh, f-bomb. I know I got it right when you start letting those slip.” He kisses the top of my head. “Love you, sunshine.”
“I love you, too. This is the best surprise. Oh my god.” I can’t stop saying it. “I’m opening a bakery.”
“You are.” Connor grins into the kiss he gives me. “I have one more surprise.”
