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“I just wanted to let you know that me and Mom are leaving Pineville,” he says. “Dad called right before whatever went down went down. We got to his compound in time to see the fire department putting out the last of the flames.”
“So that’s why you’re leaving?” I ask.
I don’t know why I’m asking anything. What I should do is tell him to have fun and walk away. Their leaving does nothing except relieve me, so why I’m asking him for details, I do not know. He tilts his head to the side, his eyes finding mine, and for a split second, I find the boy he once was in his gaze.
“It’s time for us to go. There’s nothing here anymore.”
“But with him, with that building, there was?” I ask.
He nods his head once. “There was hope that he would let me in, that I could make something of myself here. Not any longer. The Cotton last name is stained in Pineville. You’d do good to marry that biker you’re fucking and change your name.”
I open my mouth to respond, but instead, a deep voice murmurs, and it vibrates throughout the room.
“You might want to reword your little speech,” the deep voice says.
Shifting my attention to that voice, I can’t help the smile that plays on my lips at the sight of him. My man, not just some guy I’m fucking, but my man. I love him. The sight of him, the feel, the presence. I love everything about him.
“I’m out of here. Have a nice life, Shawn.”
Without another word or an opportunity for me to respond, he turns and walks out of the bakery. He brushes past Elvis, who is still at the door and does not budge as he does. After my brother makes his way out of the building, Elvis closes and locks the door behind him. Then he turns to face me.
“He came here to tell me that he and my mother are moving,” I say.
Elvis dips his chin in a single nod. “Noticed that the bed of the truck was filled with shit. Hoped that’s what was going on.”
“I feel relieved,” I whisper.
His lips curve up into a grin, and he dips his chin once. He doesn’t say anything as I move closer to him. He moves toward me, closing the distance between us. I stop in front of him and place my hands on his chest as I tip my head backward to look up into his eyes.
“I love you, Elvis,” I say.
“And I, you,” he mutters.
He releases my cheeks and reaches down, grabbing hold of my ass and picking me up. I wrap my legs around his waist, and he moves us around so he’s pressing me against the wall. His lips touch mine, his tongue sliding across the seam of my own.
He breaks the kiss, then lifts his head and looks into my eyes. “You good with them leaving?” he asks.
“So good,” I exhale.
He hums but doesn’t say anything else as he cups my cheek. Then something happens. I don’t expect it. He leans forward and touches his lips to mine before he murmurs against my mouth.
“Poison is gone. Your family is gone. Nothing can get between us or in our way, sweetness. You’re going to make this bakery fucking famous, and I’m going to watch it all unfold.”
He slams his mouth against mine, his tongue slips inside, and he tastes me. Every worry I ever had, every second of stress, all the thoughts about my family. It all disappears. He’s kissing me, he’s holding me, and I am at peace.
EPILOGUE
SHAWN
ONE MONTH LATER
The line is out the door and starting to round the corner. I’ve never seen anything like it in all of my life. I don’t know what to do, what to say. And I’m too busy to even think, which is absolutely amazing. I move through the line, helping each person one by one.
But what I do know is that I can’t wipe the smile from my lips. Every single second is magical. And when the last customer leaves, my body slumps as I let out one last breath and click the dead bolt locked, then turn the open sign to closed.
I spin around and slowly sink down to my ass, my back against the door, and I smile as I stare straight ahead at my empty bakery case.
Everything.
