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“Youdid good,Nugget.Ilove my ring.AndIlove you,”Itell him with a smile, dragging my eyes away from my pretty ring.Thesapphire is more teal than anything.It’sperfect.Amassive oval sapphire with five marquise diamonds on either side, that almost look like white lilies in bloom.
“Wemay need to revisit you calling meNuggetafter we’re married.”
Bitingmy lip,Ishake my head at him. “Never.Atleast not if you want your wife to keep on fucking you and loving you likeIdo.You’llalways be myNugget,Jackson.”
“Andyou’ll always be my baby.”
Jacksonholds me tight and we watch the last few minutes of the sunset together before the night sky goes dark.
epilogue
selena
It’sfinally here.Thegrand opening ofLadycakes’ firstCanadianlocation.Righthere inWesternSprings.
“I’mstill mad at you for buying this bakery without telling me,Nugget.”
Jacksongrins down at me. “No, you’re not.You’rejust nervous.Butit’s going to be great,Ipromise.YouandLadycakesare going to have people coming from all the surrounding towns.Hell, you’ll have people driving all the way fromVancouver.”
“You’rejust saying that because you’re obsessed with sugar.”
“I’mobsessed withyou.I’mactually very picky about whereIget my sugar.Andyour baking is fucking amazing, baby.Youhave nothing to be nervous about.Everything’sperfect.Becausethe place is yours.Andyou’re perfect.”
Mylips twitch beforeIjust give in to it and give him a massive smile. “Andyou’re only a little bit biased?”
“Iam all the way biased.Butthat doesn’t make it any less true.Lookaround you.Youdid this, baby.Thisis all you.”
Withhis hands on my shoulders,Jacksonslowly turns me around to take in a full three-hundred-and-sixty degree view of the cute storefront onGroveStreetthat is now the home ofLadycakes’ firstCanadianlocation.
Thebrick walls have been sanded down so only bits of the previous white paint show through, along with the rust color of the natural brick.Everythingis white, chrome, and glass to make the small space feel open and bright.Littlewhite bistro tables and chairs are dotted everywhereIcould fit them.TheLadycakeslogo runs over the windows across the entire front of the shop, with a new black-and-white-striped awning outside.Moretables line the wall underneath the windows inside.Whenthe weather’s nice, we can put more tables outside for people to drink their coffees and eat their breakfast sandwiches or pastries.Theservice counter is white with a big glass case to show off our baked goods.AndJacksoninsisted on buying me a brand new, insanely expensive espresso machine fromItaly.
Everyonehelped out.Lilymade me a custom plant art installation on one wall.Jackson’sbrothers helped with painting and sanding and refinishing the floors.Gettingthis place open was a group effort.ButJacksonwas the general contractor, the cheerleader, and my shoulder to cry on whenever things got stressful.
Thisplace isn’t as big as the location inL.A., but in a town of twelve-hundred people,Idon’t need to have a kitchen big enough to make a thousand wholesale cupcakes every day.Thisplace is exactly whatIwanted.Acute cafe inWesternSpringswhere people can get a delicious iced coffee in the morning.
AndIhope people come in here the rest of the day, too.We’regoing to do sandwiches, pizza, and salads at lunch.
Butthe thingI’mmost proud of is thatLadycakesis going to supply the hospital with free baked goods every day, so families don’t have to eat the crappy food we did whenJackson’sdad was in the hospital.
“Thankyou,Nugget.”
“Whatare you thanking me for?Youdid this, not me.”
“Thankyou for letting me invite myself to your family emergency when your dad was hurt.Ican’t imagine what my life would look like ifIhadn’t come with you.”
Jacksonpushes my hair back behind my ear. “Don’tyou worry about that, baby.It’dlook just about the same.Iwasn’t going to let you out of my sight untilImade you fall in love with me.”
Smiling,Islap my hand at his chest. “Oh, please!Youact like you knewIwas going to fall in love with you.”
Jacksonshrugs. “Iknew whatIwas working with.Myrabid littleRaven’sRavinefan.Youwere into me in the elevator.Itwas only a matter of time before you were all mine.”
He’sright.
Iknow he’s right.
AndIwill admit that to him over my cold, dead body.
“Oh, please.Youdid not know that.”
