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The Jeep comes to a stop, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I sit forward, listening to the world around me to try and figure out where the hell I am. Cars pass by us on one side but they aren’t moving very fast so we have to be somewhere in town. I can also hear people talking nearby but no one is close enough to make out what they’re saying. Something smells vaguely familiar but I can’t quite place it.

Dalton’s door opens and closes. I listen to the sound of his boots against the pavement as he rounds the hood of the car. Then, my door opens.

“Hang on, gorgeous,” he instructs but before I can do anything, I’m being lifted out of the Jeep. I let out a yelp and wrap my arms around the back of his neck as he shuts the door behind us.

“Dalton,” I murmur. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t need to be carried everywhere?”

He chuckles. “I don’t know, baby. Why don’t you try again and we’ll see if it sticks this time.”

“We both know damn well that it won’t.”

“Well, then maybe you should just give up,” he offers and I can hear that cocky grin in his voice. My lips scrunch up and I shake my head.

“Not a chance.”

“That’s what I thought,” he says as he sets me on my feet. I hold my hands up, trying to orient myself as he gently grips my shoulders and turns me so my back is pressed against his chest. “You ready for your surprise?”

I nod. “God, yes.”

He reaches up and grabs the tie of the blindfold, giving it a tug and it falls away from my eyes. Harsh mid-day sunlight assaults me and I hold my hand up in front of my face as my eyes flutter open.

“For fuck’s sake.”

His chest rumbles with a laugh as one hand finds my hip but he doesn’t say anything. As my eyes adjust to the light, I glance up, my belly flipping.

What?

“Dalton,” I ask, my brows knitting together. “Why are we at the bakery?”

“Because it’s yours now, baby,” he whispers, his arms wrapping around my stomach as he presses a kiss to my neck as I stare up at the Sugared Magnolia sign.

What?

“What do you mean it’s mine?”

He presses another kiss to my neck before pulling back and spinning me to face him. He’s got a wide grin on his face and holds something up in front of me.

It’s a key.

Attached to an adorable, ridiculously large cupcake keychain.

“Turns out, Calvin is ready to retire fully now and he was ready to sell.” He flips the key into his hand and holds it out to me. “So, it’s all yours now.”

I shake my head, taking the key from him and staring at it as my mind struggles to function. “He passed it on to me?”

“No, baby. I bought it. For you.”

My jaw drops and I glance from the key in my hand to Dalton’s face before going back again.

The bakery is mine?

Images of early mornings in the kitchen fill my mind. The feeling of the dough beneath my hands and the banter with customers comes back to me.

And now, it belongs to me?

Tears fill my eyes as I look up at Dalton, shaking my head. “What?”

This isn’t real.