“I’m proud of you,” she says, catching a hint of sadness in her voice.“After your dad left and you stopped coming in here, I missed seeing you.I’m glad you took me up on the job offer, and now you’re going to open a bakery.”
“Thanks,” I say softly.The mention of my dad makes my chest clench, a tightness that nearly brings tears to my eyes.
“Watching it all happen again, though, that was really fucking tough.”As the words leave her mouth, she walks over to where I’m standing.The tears begin to pool, hating that my past is still such a struggle for me.
“It really was, but we’re moving past it, and that’s good,” I reply, blinking back the tears as I take a deep breath.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” Lisa now says, a mock seriousness to her tone.
“What’s that?”I narrow my eyes, taking her in, wondering what she’s about to say.
“Once you have the bakery up and running, you let me put some things on the menu here.Pies, cake, whatever you think.”
“Oh my god, of course,” I practically shout.“After everything you’ve done for me, you can have whatever you want.”I toss a soft elbow into her side, and she pulls me in for a hug.
“But not for free.Never for free.I’m paying for it all.”
“Lisa, stop it.Just having my baked goods on your menu will bring people down to the bakery.It’s like free advertising,” I tell her, but she shakes her head, a stern look on her tanned face.
“Businesses don’t work like that, darling.Nothing is ever free, and it’s good you remember that.”Winking at me as she pulls back, shooing a hand in my direction now.“Go.Learn how to put down some flooring.I hear YouTube has some great tutorials.”
Before pulling out of the parking lot, I shoot a text to Miles, letting him know I’m on my way over to the house.
Me: No rush, but Lisa let me go early, so I’m heading over to the house to get started.Unless you want me to wait for you.Not like I know what I’m doing anyway.Lol.
Miles: I’m already here, babe.
Me: What??Miles!You’re killing me!
Miles: Whatever.Just get your ass here.
I giggle at his response, loving that despite everything, we’re falling back into our old habits, and there are times I forget we ever broke up.
Stopping off at my mom’s, I change my clothes and toss a few things into a bag for Miles’s house.I’ve pretty much been spending every night there since we got back together, and it’s going to be great when we can just officially move in together.
Kai has got to be getting sick of us, and to be honest, I’m pretty tired of wondering who he’s going to bring home each night.Finding them in the kitchen in the morning, wearing his T-shirt and nothing else as they drink our coffee and eat our food.
As soon as I reach the street, I can see the little run-down building that will one day be the bakery I dreamed about.I still can’t believe it’s happening, and I remind myself that once we’re done with the cottage, I need to meet up with Sloane and Nate to get to work on designs for a sign and branding and all that stuff.
I pull around back, parking my Jeep behind Miles’s SUV, a surfboard strapped down on the roof rack, and it makes me smile.There will come a time when we live here.Our cars and our surfboards will be here, our life will be in this little cottage together.
The sound of the saw buzzes as I push open the front door, finding Miles already working.He’s laid half the floor, and I’m shocked by how different the cottage looks.
My mouth falls open, taking in the beautiful color and the warmth it brings to the room.We chose a color called beach sand oak, and it seriously does look like the color of sand, and I’m obsessed.
“Holy shit,” I say when the saw stops and Miles looks over at me.He pushes his safety glasses up onto his head, smiling.
“Pretty fucking great, right?”he counters, beaming as he takes in the work he’s done so far.
It looks like a real house, not some disastrous shell of a home that smelled musty and dirty, overwhelmed with years of filth and grime.
I can’t even begin to answer him, never thinking we’d get to the point where we’d be back together, but here we are, creating a home together.That feels bigger than anything I’ve ever done in my life.
“You wanna cut the planks and I’ll lay the floor?”Miles asks me, pulling his T-shirt up to wipe the sweat off his face.
But I still don’t respond, sucking back a breath that I hope quells this sudden urge to burst into tears.This is really happening.This is going to be our first home together.
“Daze?”Miles says, walking over to me.
