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“It does, doesn’t it. I have to admit I do like having your business here. It means we can prepare orders anytime we need to, and we’re always together.”
“That’s my favorite part. Who knows, maybe we can figure out something else. But I do like the idea of a restaurant space.” He slipped his hand into mine once I’d started the car and put it in gear, and didn’t let go until we pulled up in front of the supermarket.
Two
Randy
Eli was so much more than I would have ever dreamed. He was sweet and loving, and always upbeat. Which was something I needed in my world since I lived in a constant state of grouchiness. I didn’t mean to be rude or difficult, and I never wanted to hurt Eli or make him unhappy. He was everything to me, which was part of the reason I thought moving the business was a good idea.
I still couldn’t believe I’d thought he was somehow my competition. Working in the kitchen together, we were baking perfection, and in the bedroom, I’d never had anyone make me feel the way he did.
“What do you think about getting a room at Tahoe for Valentine’s Day? We don’t have to gamble, we can go to a showand have a nice dinner,” I asked and turned to look at him just as he pulled up to the supermarket.
“You and me at a hotel alone?” he asked and waggled his eyebrows.
I laughed, because he always made me laugh. “You and me,” I whispered before pulling him in for a kiss.
A sharp rap on the window startled us both. I clutched my chest as I turned to meet Shelly’s eyes. She immediately dissolved into laughter before Rick, Eli’s cousin, walked over to her side. “Geesh, babe, you almost gave him a heart attack,” he said.
“Rick, what’s going on?” Eli asked as he got out of the car. Rick opened the door for me and I managed to get out even though my heart felt like it was going to explode.
“Not much, Shelly and I are going to cook dinner together, so we needed to grab a few things.” He was working hard at looking cool but all three of us saw through it. Shelly was the one who called him out.
“Rick, I told you this already. I’m with you, you don’t have to impress me.” She rolled her eyes before taking his hand and pulling him close. Rick had been Eli’s roommate for a few years, and Shelly was friends with us all. She worked at her dad’s sandwich shop that was next to the gift shop Eli worked at and the two of them had lunch together often. After Eli and I got together, Rick finally told her he had a crush on her, and he wasn’t just spending time with her to play the video games she loved.
“What are you guys doing today?” Shelly asked as the four of us walked into the supermarket and grabbed two shopping carts.
“We need to bake some cookies for Valentine’s Day,” I said and pulled out my list.
“Oh, are you doing anything new? I want to place an order,” Shelly said.
“Maybe,” Eli said. She answered with a play shove.
“Rick, you need to let me know if you find out about any new cookies,” she said to him. He looked at Eli like he held the answer to all his happiness which Eli rolled his eyes at.
“I have two new recipes planned and a few different ideas for gifts. They’ll be on the website as soon as we test bake them and get it all figured out. You know Eli and I like to share our cookies as soon as we know they’re up to our standards.”
Eli took the cart from where Rick still held it and after saying goodbye, we went straight to the baking aisle.
“Have you asked Shelly’s dad about selling cookies there?” Eli asked.
“No, I wasn’t sure how it would work with us already selling them next door.”
Eli picked up a new can of baking powder as he spoke. “What do you think?”
“We could always test it. Do different flavors than what you sell at the gift shop. Plus, you guys make them more like a gift. We could market them to him as single servings to put in a bag lunch.”
“That’s a great idea. I know they have meal deals where they include chips, but a cookie would be a great addition. Maybe we could make them a little smaller or a pack of two or three so they can choose?” Eli suggested as he loaded more items in the cart from my list.
“You’re so good at this. Those are great suggestions.”
“I’m great at shopping?” He smirked at me.
I bumped him with my hip as we continued down the aisle. “I want us to do something really special for Valentine’s Day. I know we talked about going to Tahoe. If that sounds good to you then we could book a nice room, and maybe get a massage. I don’t even know, what do couples do when they go spend a special holiday together?” I was so bad at things like this. It wasusually Eli that came up with the romantic dates we went on. He was so much better at it than I was.
“I like that idea a lot. As long as we’re together, it doesn’t matter to me what we do.”
“You make me so happy. I really want to make it special for you.” Eli had taken the time to show me a special night when we were first together. It made me feel so special and so loved. I wanted to do the same for him because hewasspecial. And I loved him more than I ever would have imagined.
