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“I’ve got to go open the bakery and get to work. Help yourself to whatever is in the pantry. I’ll set the coffeemaker up so all you have to do is hit the button. If there’s nothing up here or in the bakery you want to eat, call The Workshop and have them bring you something. When you’re ready, come join me. Feel free, however, to go back to sleep.”
She laughed at him. “What will you do for breakfast?”
“I’ll make something downstairs, and you are, of course, welcome to join me, but I’m going to have customers yelling at me if I don’t get a move on. You’re gorgeous. You’re my fated mate, and I love you.”
He dashed out the door before she could respond. She flipped over on her back, waiting for panic to set in. It didn’t. Instead, his words had started a warm glow that seemed to center in her belly and radiate outward until she felt as though it was sunshine in her veins and not blood.
Deciding anything Hutch made would be better than anything she could cook, she followed suit and darted into the bath, taking a shower before getting dressed. The jeans and boots she’d had on the night before were fine, but all black seemed a bit much for morning. Nora rifled through Hutch’s dresser and found a gorgeous, oatmeal colored silk sweater. It had long sleeves and a deep V-neck. She pulled her hair back, using a black scrunchy she always kept on hand.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she couldn’t help but notice that she looked different. Sure, the sweater was too big, but she often wore baggy sweaters. Nora often went without makeup and usually had her hair pulled back. Nothing unusual, so what was different? She’d been trained from an early age to notice even the smallest variations. As she gazed at herself, she spotted it—the corners of her lips were lifted in a smile.
Nora was smiling. She was happy. She tried to remember the last time she was truly happy and could not recall a time like that from her past. She wasn’t some sad sack that moped around. She had all the money and material things she could ask for, but she realized she’d settled for just existing.
Hutch was her fated mate, and he loved her. That was what made her happy. She didn’t even question it. She’d known from the moment she was in his presence that they were mates, but she’d never dared to dream she would find her mate, and he would love her.
Happy—deliriously happy—she ran out the door and down to the bakery, slipping behind the counter and pulling on an apron.
“You go ahead and bake. I’ll handle the customers.”
He grinned at her, pulled her close for a kiss which she returned enthusiastically to the well wishes being called to them from customers. “I love you,” she whispered.
“I know,” he grinned.
Nora rolled her eyes and batted at him. “Go bake, we have hungry customers.”
He nodded. “I will, but you grab one of the ham and cheddar croissants or the bacon, scallion and onion scones.”
For the next several hours, she waited on customers. Those with bigger orders just nodded as they went behind the counter and into the kitchen to grab their orders. Others waited patiently in line as she figured out how to use the cash register, and the customers made their own coffee. Everyone was patient and welcoming.
One of the customers with a large order was Trudy. Shaking her head and smiling, she said, “Hamish said he was pretty sure you two were fated mates. Should I send your things?”
“Yes,” called Hutch from the back.
“I guess so,” laughed Nora, “but I’ll pay you for the rest of the week.”
“You’ll do no such thing. I was trying to figure out where I was going to put a group of guests we have coming in. You being with Hutch makes it easy.” She laid her hand on Nora’s arm. “He’s a good man. You can trust him, and most everyone else here in town.”
“That may take some getting used to,” Nora admitted, “but I’m going to try my best.”
“Good. I’ll see you a little later on.”
“Thanks, Trudy.”
“Don’t give it a second thought, and don’t worry about how fast it happened between you two. That seems to be the norm here in Mystic River. I’m beginning to think there must be something in the water.”
Trudy left with her baked goods, and Nora turned back to the bakery’s customers. The smells wafting out from the back were nothing short of divine. She ended up having both the croissant and the scone. They were heaven.
Several hours later, the morning rush had died down, and Hutch came out and directed her to one of the tables, sitting her down and getting her a cup of coffee. He went to get himself one and brought back several different pastries for her to try. She noticed Hutch made the usual things, but some of his flavor combinations seemed bizarre until you bit into them. He was a master at flavor profiles.
When the shop had emptied and he didn’t need to be back watching the ovens, he kissed her hand and smiled. “Thanks. It’s usually busy in the morning, but today was nuts.”
“My guess is you are usually down here a lot earlier than you were this morning. I borrowed one of your sweaters.”
“It looks good on you. Feel free to take or borrow anything you need. At some point you can figure out what you want to do with your Beacon Hill place…”
“Sell it.”
“Just like that?” he laughed.
