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He slaps my ass then walks out of the room, already barking orders to some poor asshole on the other end of the line.
I stand alone in the master bedroom. In my master bedroom. Where soon I’ll have a bed, and a husband that I love, and a future, and a baby. I press my hand against my belly, grinning to myself, laughing a little. There are no regrets. No hesitation.
Only this is right.
“Keely,” Nolan calls from downstairs. “Come here and let’s order something to eat.”
“Coming,” I call back, hesitating as I stare at the empty room, filled with only the smell of our sex and our clothes in a pile, then follow him down into the kitchen.
Chapter44
Keely
They sit on the trays like puffs of heaven.
Each donut represented hours of work. Not only baking, but testing, refining, perfecting. Glazed, sugar, powder, crumb, vanilla and chocolate, sprinkles and cream-filled, cake donuts, twists, apple-filled, Boston cream, even a few bear claws. Maple buttermilk, toasted coconut, crumb cake, glazed devil’s food, blueberry and strawberry. Donut holes by the fistful.
And right in the center, the exact same donut I used to make with my grandmother. Vanilla with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles. The perfect donut, with that ideal fluffy interior texture and that slight texture on the outside, the glaze a deep chocolate bite, masterfully dipped. Everything about them, perfect.
“I’m getting emotional,” I announce, staring at the trays. “I’m getting emotional over donuts.”
Jamila laughs as she puts an arm around my shoulders. “I think that’s pretty normal. I mean, it’s our first batch, right?”
“They’re perfect,” Ash says from her perch on a nearby workbench.
Bernie agrees. “Couldn’t have done better.”
“I could have,” Fulco grumbles.
I flip him off, but he winks at me, and I laugh.
The whole Smoke team pitched in to help make this happen. We don’t have a staff yet, though Jamila’s already going through resumes. In a few more weeks, we’ll have employees, we’ll have processes, we’ll have customers.
But for today, it’s only my family.
“Everyone, can I say something?” I turn to face them, feeling strangely nervous. All eyes are on me, and it hits me then.
I’m the boss here. I’m the one in charge, Jamila and I. Ash, Bernie, Fulco, they’re just my friends pitching in, but they’re looking to me for leadership.
It’s strange, being the one everyone relies on.
But for the first time in my life, it feels good.
“This better not be sappy,” Fulco says. “I do not have time for sappy.”
“Don’t be a prick.” Bernie punches his arm. He grimaces. “Go ahead, Keels.”
“I just wanted to thank you all for getting up at the crack of dawn to help make all this stuff.” I gesture at the deep-fried bounty. “Jams and I worked really, really hard to get the recipes just right, but we wouldn’t have been able to do all this in time without you three. So seriously, thanks.”
“Thank me by paying me,” Fulco grumbles, which earns him another punch in the arm. But this time, he’s grinning.
“We’re proud of you,” Ash says, hopping to her feet. “Seriously, we’re proud of both of you.”
“Didn’t think it would happen, but here we are,” I admit, looking around the kitchen with a real sense of pride. “Ash, I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for your friendship. Really, that goes for all of you. Including Fulco.”
“Damn right.” He laughs.
Everyone laughs with him. I hug Jamila, then hug Bernie and Ash and even Fulco gets one, despite his protests. We’re a family, even if I don’t work at Smoke anymore. We’ll always be a family.
