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Among the people from the office are more people from the neighborhood. Some of them say they’ve been waiting for this place to open up, and others tell me they were passing by and wanted to stop in and see what was going on.
The biggest surprise is when I see people I recognize from my old bakery.
That almost brings me to tears when a man who was one of my regulars shakes my hand and grins. “I was hoping you’d open back up,” he says. “My wife loves your cupcakes and she hasn’t been able to find anything half as good since you closed down. She’ll be so happy when I get home later.”
“I’m so glad,” I say, putting a hand over my heart. I send him home with an extra cupcake on the house, just because it means so much to me.
He’s not the only one who comes by to say they’re happy I reopened, and it gets so overwhelming after a while. I keep up with the flow of customers, my guys letting me handle things for the most part. Sometimes the line gets a little long, and Xavierwill jump in to help, charming the customers with his easy smile and calm demeanor.
The bell jingles again, and I look up to see Jonas coming inside. He beams as he looks around, taking it all in.
“Congratulations, Ms. Penelope,” he says warmly. “This is amazing.”
“Thank you so much. And thank you for coming. Please, help yourself to cookies, and let me know if you want to buy anything, but no pressure.”
He laughs. “Oh, I will definitely be buying things, don’t you worry about that. I have a bit of a sweet tooth, and so does my entire family. I think we’ll be frequent customers here.”
A loud cheer catches my attention, and I see Xavier’s siblings pushing their way inside, looking excited. Bella immediately pulls me into a hug, and I laugh, hugging her back.
It’s a whirlwind of chaos from there, and I barely have time to catch my breath, let alone have a conversation with anyone.
I’m explaining ingredients and making change and trying to make sure everyone has what they need.
Eventually the rush dies down, and I have a chance to eat a cookie and drink some water. The men cluster around me, and it’s not surprising that Xavier has a cookie in his mouth when he comes over.
“We knew you could do this,” Dominic says. “But it’s still nice to see how it all turned out.”
“Hearing you talk about the bakery and your plans for it made it seem so real, but this is more than we could have imagine,” Tristan adds.
“It’s no multi-billion dollar company,” I say with a smile and a shrug. “But it’s mine.”
Xavier shakes his head. “It doesn’t have to be on that scale. This is just as big. Just as important. Look at how happy you’re making people.”
I glance around and see what he means. All the table are occupied, and there’s a group of people in the corner reading nook, chatting and eating cake.
My heart warms at the sight of it and at Xavier’s words. “Thank you,” I tell him. I look at all three of them in turn. “Thank you to all of you. You made this possible for me. I couldn’t have done it without your help and your support.” My throat gets tight with emotion, and I don’t even know how to explain to them how much it means to me.
Even without them buying the building for me, they believed in me, and that’s more than a lot of people have done in my life.
“We didn’t do a lot,” Dominic says.
“Yes you did! You have no idea how much you’ve done for me.”
“You did the hard work,” Tristan points out.
“Yeah, but you were helping me every step of the way. When I was nervous and doubting myself, you all were there. If it was just me, I would have gotten all in my head and ended up taking twice as long to get here. You made me realize I can do this, and it wasn’t my fault that things failed last time. That really, really helped.”
“We can’t take all the credit,” Xavier says. “But we will accept payment in treats.”
I laugh while the other two roll their eyes, and I just feel so warm and cared for in the moment. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before, and I’m caught up in it, so happy to be here with them. There’s no one else I’d want to share this with.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell them I love them, to say those big words that I’ve been feeling in my heart, undeniable now. I’m coasting on this success, and it feels natural to just let it out in the moment.
But before I can get the words to come out, a voice that’s chillingly familiar cuts through the crowd.
“Well, well.” The deep voice is cocky and snide. “Look who we have here. Little Rebecca, trying to be somebody.”
Chapter 42