He smiled and nodded against my collarbone. "Mmhm. That was amazing." He noticed the mess he made on the ground and blushed. "Oops. Sorry."
I kissed the corner of his mouth. "Don't worry about it."
Chris placed his hands on his soft belly. "Wow... We could be having a baby together."
"Are you excited?" I asked.
He beamed at me, the stars in his eyes brighter than the ones in the sky. "Absolutely. Just wait 'til I tell Zoey she's gonna have a sibling."
I grinned in return before helping Chris to his feet. "Speaking of Zoey, we should go check to see if Ulysses is still alive or if the kids got him," I joked. "But first, let's get cleaned up, shall we?"
9
Chris
Two weeks had passedsince Zoey and I moved in with Roshan. At first, I was excited to live in his home but I was afraid of breaking the lease on my apartment. Roshan reassured me that it wasn't a problem and accompanied me to the rental office for moral support. As soon as I told the receptionist we were leaving early, she glowered at me, but Roshan immediately paid the penalty fee for breaking the lease. The receptionist gawked when Roshan pulled out his wallet stuffed with hundred-dollar bills and handed the fee over like it was nothing.
It sure made walking out of the rental office that much more satisfying.
Since Roshan confessed his love for me, life had been a dream. I was happy, and so was my daughter. I was a simple man, and that was all I needed.
Though Roshan shared his wealth with me and I didn't need the wages from my job at Puff Patisserie anymore, I loved my job so I didn't quit. Still, knowing I had the option to leave my job at anytime was liberating. It was the first time in my life I truly felt free.
Today Roshan was taking Zoey out on a field trip to the museum. They loved spending time together, which warmed my heart. He'd stepped up to the plate as a parental figure where Tripp had failed miserably.
But Roshan wasn't Tripp. I knew in my heart he would never abandon her the way my ex did.
Forest strolled into the room as I was adding the final touches on some champagne-infused muffins.
"What's on the menu today?" they asked.
I handed them a spare muffin I'd made with extra ingredients that would've gone to waste otherwise. "Here. Just for you."
"Aw, thanks, Chris. You're the best." They took a bite. "Mm... I'm not just saying this because we're friends, but you're the best chef the bakery's ever had."
I blushed. "Thanks."
They tilted their head, regarding me with a smile. "You know, ever since you started dating Roshan, there's a light in your eyes. You seem so happy."
"I am," I said honestly. "I should thank you for introducing us."
Forest laughed. "Hey, all I did was tell you about the guy. You two did all the work." They popped the last piece of muffin in their mouth, then pointed to the full tray I'd just completed work on. "Want some help carrying these to the front?"
"Yes, please! The last thing I wanna do is drop them all..."
We took the tray of fresh muffins to the front of the shop and began setting them up nicely in the display case. As we chatted, a bell rang, indicating a customer had arrived. Since I was a baker and not front of the house like Forest, I finished up my job and let them take care of the greeting.
"Hi there, welcome to Puff Patisserie," Forest said in an upbeat tone. "What can I help you with today?"
"Yeah, baby, don't worry about it. Iknow. Geez, will you be quiet for a second? I'm trying to order a friggin' cake."
I froze. It was a good thing I'd just finished putting the last muffin in the display case because otherwise I would've dropped it on the floor.
My eyes slowly rose above the counter to see a familiar man standing in the middle of the store.
It was Tripp.
He was on the phone and wearing a scowl. I realized a second too late that he was observing the very same display case that I was standing behind.
