“Good job because I have cakes to bake!”
I chuckle. “You know what I mean.”
“I do. We’ll use them when we both feel ready.” He leans over the handbrake and kisses my jaw. “No pressure.”
“None at all.”
* * *
“Is there anything I can do to help?” I ask as I park close to A Spot of Tea. “You’re late getting started because of me.”
Fitz unclips his seat belt and squeezes my hand. “No, I’m late becausewewanted to go shopping.” He flashes me a grin. “You could keep me company while I bake furiously.”
“I can do that.”
I lock the van, and then we walk to the shop. Fitz locks the door once we’re inside and doesn’t turn any lights on until we get to the kitchen. He busies himself washing his hands, putting an apron on and then getting things out of the cupboards and fridge.
“I’m thinking about hiring someone else to work here,” Fitz says as he weighs ingredients.
“Really?”
He nods. “Someone who can help with the baking.”
I raise my eyebrows. “So you can take time off?” I’m aware of the hopeful lilt to my voice.
Fitz gives me a sheepish smile. “Yeah. I’ve had one day a week off since I opened the shop.” He sighs. “I’m getting tired.”
“Getting? You must be exhausted.”
“It helps that I love what I do.” He puts the mixing bowl on the stand mixer but then pauses and sweeps his gaze around the kitchen. “Sometimes, I think this is all a dream.”
“Why?”
He shrugs. “Because it’s hard to believe that I started this business. That I made it a success.”
I move behind him and circle my arms around his waist. “It’s not hard to believe at all,” I promise him before kissing his neck. “You’ve got so much drive and determination. No one doubted you when you decided to open your own business. No one.”
Fitz leans against my chest and tips his head back so he can look up at me. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Being you.” He turns and wraps his arms around me. “You know you’re the reason I took the plunge and opened A Spot of Tea, don’t you?”
“I am?”
He chuckles. “Yes. I thought you knew?”
I shake my head.
“You spent hours listening to my daydreams. You encouraged me to turn those dreams into reality,andyou gave me the financial stability to be able to do it. You’re the reason A Spot of Tea exists.” His eyes get a dreamy, faraway look as he smiles softly. “You even helped me name it.”
“Now that Idoremember.”
“We spent hours trying to come up with names,” Fitz says.
“And they were all shit.”
He laughs. “They were. Thenyousuggested we play word association games to see if that would help.”
