“Then what’s with the happy, upbeat appearance?” Monte asked.
“That’s the mark of a man in love,” Stephanie retorted.
“That is the mark of the love of a good woman,” Josiah countered.
“Are you about to run over there?” Mia asked.
“As soon as that line eases up. She’s busy now, and I don’t want to distract her,” I answered.
I sat down in my chair and kicked it with everyone for about an hour since I didn’t have any appointments. Every now and then, I would glance over there to check the line. On the one hand, I was happy for her because she deserved all the businessand success she could muster. On the other hand, I wanted my baby with me in my arms.
I stepped back to my office to pay some bills, and I had just returned to the front when I heard the bell tinkling over the door. Baby’s beautiful face appeared in the doorway with a brilliant smile and a sparkle in her cognac-colored eyes.
Everyone was greeting her, and she was replying to them. I noticed that she had a large tray of cupcakes in her hands and a large bag looped around her wrist.
I rushed to her side, and she beamed at me.
“Hey, babe,” she greeted when I dropped a kiss on her lips.
“Hey, yourself. What are these for?” I asked, taking the tray of tiered cupcakes from her hand.
“I just wanted to bring something over for the staff and customers.”
Everyone piped up, talking at once and thanking her. A few of them stopped what they were doing, left their client in the chair, and rushed to grab a cupcake.
I shook my head and snickered as she held up the bag from Two Slices.
“Did you eat yet?”
“Nah, I’ve been on the go all day.”
“Good. I ordered us a couple of pulled pork barbeque sandwiches. This is the first time that I was able to take a break all day. I looked at the clock on the wall and noticed it was a couple of minutes after two.”
“Come on back to my office. We can eat back there.”
She followed me back and waited while I set up a space for us to eat.
“How are you feeling, sweetness?” I asked her as we started eating.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I was just thinking about how far I’ve come since I was fired. At the time, I couldn’t see it, but nowI realize that it was a blessing in disguise. God was setting me up for something so major that I had to get out of the way to receive what was for me.
“I have the sweetest customers too. More than a few tell me that they have been waiting for me to bring this to their neighborhood forever. Can you believe that?”
She smiled and bit into her sandwich, and I smiled, watching the happiness radiate from her.
“Hell yeah, I can believe it. I’ve been waiting for you forever too.”
She blushed and then asked, “How’s your day been, bae?”
“It’s been cool. I finally got over there to check on the rental property on Sugar Bell Drive.”
“How’s it going?”
“It’s going. They’re on hold for some supplies that are on back order, but because they were already ahead on the project, that puts us right on schedule. I don’t think that I’ll be paying for two mortgages out of my personal funds next month.”
“Have you thought about selling the properties? I mean, not having any real estate income and just selling them altogether. It seems like it’s a headache that you don’t need.”
“I honestly don’t, but it is what it is,” I replied absently.
