I kept the lilies.
Those are for my mother. They were her favorite.
Noah wraps his arms around Jamie’s waist as Jamie’s wrap around him, swallowing Noah in his arms. Jamie’s huge, and it doesn’t take much to make Noah disappear.
We’re not charging a door fee for this. It’s casual. People can come in, look at or buy art, try some samples. They can buy some drinks or any of the desserts I made and put in the case.
“Do you have the order forms out?” Noah asks.
“I—”
“I put them out,” Aiden says. “I also made a suggestion box, in case there’s anything people would like to see or events they want us to hold in the future.”
“Pretty and smart.” I squeeze his hand.
Hunter, Mark, Bo, and Cam walk into the bakery followed by Amira. She’s an artist who’s friends with Bo and Cam. I think she and Jamie have gotten close as well.
With a smile on her red lips, she looks around the space. “Wow. This is amazing.” She has some canvases in her hand. “Can I start hanging?”
She came by the other morning and put some up already. Her artwork and Jamie’s are polar opposites but both stunning in their own way. Amira does abstract landscapes with bold, bright colors. Jamie sticks to realism, and has a lot of pictures of animals he’s done.
“Hey, Sugar Bear?—”
I look over at Noah and realize he’s talking to Aiden. “What? Sugar who?”
“Excuse me, Bakery Booty, I was talking to that gorgeous man you’re banging. Sugar Bear.” Aiden’s hard eyes flit to me for help.
I throw my hands up. “Bakery Booty is staying out of this one.”
Noah grabs Aiden’s hand. He turns and mouths “Sugar Bear” as Noah drags him away.
“I still don’t know why I don’t have a nickname.” Jamie pouts.
“I still don’t know why you want one,” Hunter whispers.
“I don’t have a nickname,” Mark says.
“Oh, you have nicknames . . .” Jamie says.
“Can I have a minute?” Hunter asks me. I follow him to the door, opening it for him and then following him through.
“What’s up?”
Hunter shoves his hands in his pockets and shrugs. “I just want to say?—”
“Don’t get gooey on me, please.”
He laughs. “Shut up. I’m so fucking proud of everything you’ve accomplished this year. It’s been hard and I fucking miss her, and I know if I miss her, I can’t even imagine how much you do. She’d be really proud to see this.”
My eyes sting. Fuck, I hate this. “Asshole.”
He laughs, hugging me. “I’m so happy for you.”
I honestly can’t believe it. Everything is falling into place. The road to get here was super fucked up and weird, but honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I now have Aiden, Katya, and even Koda, although I haven’t seen him in a month.
He’s living with Kenji now, and according to Aiden that’s not something any of us want to get roped into.
For the first time in Koda’s life, he’s free.
