She looked at me for a beat, then tossed me an apron. I caught it and put it on, tying the strings in the back.
“You look cute.” River smirked.
It was pink with ruffles and Amelia’s Cookies written in bold black letters.
“I look good in anything,” I teased with a wink, and her cheeks flushed.
Something about her reaction made my chest poke out a little.
“Anyway, since you are here, I’m putting you to work for real.”
“That’s cool. Just let me know what you want me to do.”
After she gave me the ingredients and supplies for what she wanted me to do, I washed my hands, then stood in front of mystation. River gave me step-by-step directions for the batch of cookies I was tasked with making.
I watched her with hers first, then focused on mine. I made sure to mix the ingredients like she said. Every so often, I would catch her looking at me, but played it off. I knew how therapeutic baking was for her, so I wanted to give her a moment in case she was still in her head about everything.
“I think I’m done with mine,” I told her as I put my last piece of dough on the baking sheet. The only cookies I made before were prepackaged, but making them from scratch wasn’t as complicated as I thought.
River put her pan in the oven, then walked over to me. She mirrored me with the same apron, but underneath, she had on a dark blue shirt with dark blue leggings to match. I wore a grey shirt with black sweatpants. The only reason my shirt wasn’t black was because I wanted River, and anyone else, to see me and not think I was lurking around while I waited for her outside.
“They look good,” River complimented as she looked at my cookies. “I’ll put them in the oven. I hope they taste good.”
“They will.” I walked over to the sink to wash my hands again. “So how are you feeling?” I asked River as she stood next to me, washing her hands.
Once she turned the water off and dried her hands, she focused on the window of the big ass commercial oven in the kitchen.
It didn’t take long for the aroma from the cookies to start filling the air.
“I feel a little better. Still scared but also optimistic.”
“Glad to hear it.” I glanced down at my watch. I knew her staff would be arriving shortly. “Do you think you’ll be down to have lunch with me?”
She bit her bottom lip and looked in my direction.
“Don’t think too hard about it. You don’t want your people catching me here, do you?”
“Yes, to lunch, and no, I don’t.”
“Okay.” I kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you for lunch. Come lock up.”
The staff usually entered the back door whenever it was closed, so if someone were out there, they wouldn’t see me since I went to the front door.
“Thanks for your help, Coye. I’ll text you when I’m ready, in case it gets too busy.”
“No problem.”
I pushed open the door and stepped outside. The sun was slowly rising in the air, and there was a slight chill. I made sure River locked the door, then jogged to my car.
I was anxious about lunch because it was time to tell her how I felt.
Hours later, River texted me letting me know what time she would be ready. She insisted on meeting me somewhere, but I insisted on picking her up. I wanted to grab a box of cookies anyway. It took some convincing, but she finally agreed.
After I left the cookie shop, I went home and got myself ready for work. I had a couple of meetings, so it worked out that River wasn’t ready until later in the day.
When it was time to go, I shut down my computer and grabbed my keys.
My store wasn’t too far from the shop, so I decided to walk since the weather was decent. It was fall, but the sun was out, making it feel warmer.
