SADIE
“Come on,”I mumbled under my breath as I searched for my shoe.
How could one shoe be next to the couch and the other totally missing?
I’d come up to the apartment to take a nap after this morning’s rush. I was living with Alex, Lexi and Mrs. G but Alex insisted that I keep the apartment—which he owned so I really couldn’t argue—so that I could take naps during my pregnancy and have the baby close after I gave birth and went back to work.
We still didn’t know if I was having a boy or girl. We decided that we wanted to be surprised. Lexi was sure she was having a little sister and had already named her Penelope. Well, Princess Penelope Alexis Vaughn, actually.
Alex and I hadn’t come to any decisions on names but we still had five months so there was no hurry. For a name, that is. Finding my shoe was another story.
I picked up the throw pillow and my search was over.
“There you are!” I exclaimed as I shoved the clog on my left foot and hopped up off the couch.
Even though I still got tired after the morning rush, I did have a lot more energy in my second trimester than I’d had in my first. And, thankfully, the nausea had subsided. I’d heard of some women having to deal with that and worse through all three trimesters.
I’d had a pretty textbook pregnancy up till now. Which I knew because my dad called with daily questions and facts about what I should be feeling and doing.
I wasn’t sure which man in my life was more of a worrier, Alex or my father. It was a tight race and I was a lucky girl.
After securing my footwear, I slid my apron back on and headed down the back stairs with an extra pep in my step. The forty-minute power nap had done me a world of good.
“Hey!” I called out as I walked into the back of the shop.
“You’re late,” Yana pointed out without looking up from her workstation.
“I know.”
“You have tasting in two minutes,” she informed me gruffly as she put the sprinkled sugar atop the flaky crust of her signature pastry.
“I know. But all the samples are ready.” I wasn’t sure if I’d ever stop feeling like I worked for her and not the other way around. Not that it mattered. The truth was, she was just as much a part of this shop as I was.
Alex, with the help of Yana, had hired two employees after the mugging incident and they were working out so well, I decided to keep them on.
My phone buzzed and I pulled it out to see a text from Alex. It read simply:I love you.
When I saw the words, a warmth spread through me.
Then I noticed that I’d gotten a text from my dad when I was napping asking if I’d gotten the blood pressure machine he sent me.
I quickly replied that I had gotten it, but hadn’t opened it yet.
My dad had gone home a week after the mugging and it was the first time he’d gotten on a plane and not looked like he was going to throw up. He approved of Alex and knew that I was well taken care of. I was settled, and for all intents and purposes had a family.
I stared down at my belly. There still wasn’t a pooch, but I knew that there would be soon.
I texted Alex back telling him I loved him and adding three red heart emojis then I grabbed my iPad. When I walked out into the tasting room, I stopped in my tracks. The entire space was filled with flowers. I was sure that Alex had done this, and as much as I appreciated it, I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain it to the bride and groom I was meeting.
I was standing in the doorway, my jaw on the floor when Alex appeared from behind the far wall.
“Hi,” I smiled. “What is all this?”
“These are flowers,” he stated in his dry wit.
I chuckled as he stalked across the room and planted a kiss on me.
“As much as I love all of this. I have an appointment.”
