Page 45

Eight weeks later

The last time Adam had felt this light, he’d been flying. Today was opening day for Once Upon a Potato, and he was walking on clouds. He and Syd had worked hard to get to this point, and part of him couldn’t believe the day had actually arrived.

The other part of him couldn’t believe that Sydney Marlowe was his girlfriend.

Soon to be his fiancée, if all went well.

He planned to ask her in a few months, on Halloween.

They were going to dress up and hand out candy together.

He was going to be Frankenstein’s monster, and she was going to be the bride of Frankenstein.

Mackie would be Dr. Frankenstein, and Sugarbelle was set to be his nurse.

Seemed pretty perfect to Adam.

As crazy as it sounded, he was now grateful that Veronika had upended his life. Without that, he’d never have had all of this.

And it was so much more than anything he’d dreamed of.

They were parked in a prime location by the lake.

The water was behind them, and in front of them was a row of shops.

He was dicing sweet onions, one of their fresh toppings, and Syd was outside, writing on the chalkboard to advertise their first ever Potato of the Day, which was a cheesesteak-topped potato.

He finished with the onions and looked to see what else needed to be done. Nothing. They were fully prepped.

Syd came back into the truck. “Okay, the chalkboard is all set up with our Potato of the Day. Are we ready? Because there’s a crowd out there.”

“There is?” He’d expected a few people who’d told him they were coming, but a crowd?

She nodded. “You’ll see when you open the window.”

“Might as well do that now. It’s nearly noon, and I want to get this lunch crowd fed before they go somewhere else. I’m ready if you are.”

Her smile was everything. “Our first day of business! I am so ready.”

They were both in their Once Upon a Potato aprons, which featured their logo of a cartoon potato loaded with toppings.

“Here we go.” He released the latches on either side of the long, awning-style window and pushed it up, the hinges straightening and locking into place.

Syd had not lied about the people waiting. There were a few familiar faces but a lot of others he didn’t know. “Wow,” he said softly.

“Told you,” Syd said, coming to stand beside him. She looked down at the first person in line, a dad with two kids. “Welcome to Once Upon a Potato. What can I get you?”

“I’d like one with just cheese, one with chili and cheese, and one Potato of the Day.”

“Would you like butter, salt, and pepper on all three?”

“Yes, please.”

“And to drink?”

“Three bottles of water.”

“And a name for your order.”

“Greg.”

“Thanks, Greg. It’ll just be a few minutes.

If you can swipe your card through the reader, we’ll be all set.

” Syd punched the order info into the tablet in front of her, and it popped up on the screen in front of Adam’s prep station.

He went to work, pulling three potatoes from the warming oven, splitting them across the top, then giving them each a squeeze to open them up.

He loaded on the toppings. It was important to him that people get their money’s worth and think of the food as a good value. He was counting on repeat customers.

Order after order came in, making the day fly. He said hi to people when he brought the potatoes to the window and called out names for pickup. Syd smiled at everyone and posed for a few pictures. No doubt she was the reason some of these people had shown up, but he was fine with that.

Birdie was one of their first customers, as were Nick and Willa.

By quarter to six, they were sold out. He’d made two hundred baked potatoes and seventy-five sweet potatoes, and they were all gone.

He couldn’t believe it. He leaned toward the service window. “Sorry, folks, we’re all out. We’ll be back again next weekend, though. Thank you so much. Be sure to follow us on social media for updates.”

Still in a bit of shock, he brought the awning window down and latched it. He turned to Syd, who had a similar expression on her face. “We did it,” he said. “We not only opened to a crowd, but we sold out. That’s … amazing.”

She bit her lip, smiling. “I told you the sweet potatoes would sell.”

He laughed. “Yeah, you did. Between the Burnt Marshmallow and the Caramel Bomb, I don’t know which one was more popular.”

She tapped the tablet screen. “Burnt Marshmallow by three. Although we sold a good number with just cinnamon butter.”

He grabbed her hand and tugged her close. “I can’t believe we just did that.”

“I know. Crazy, right?”

“So crazy. What do you say we go home, sit in the hot tub, and dream up new topping combinations?”

She snorted. “And you said we’d never use that hot tub.”

He shrugged. “I was wrong. But it was a lot of money. And you’ve already spent so much on the truck.”

She planted her hands on his chest. “Based on today, I think it was a very wise investment.”

He kissed her. “Thanks for believing in me.”

She smiled up at him, her arms going around him. “Thanks for believing in us . So … you’re not the least bit sorry about passing on the Chicago job?”

“Not at all.” He settled into the moment, letting the intense happiness of it wash through him. It felt as if a new kind of magic had come over him and the words that burned on his tongue had to be said.

“I love you, Sydney. I love you and everything you’ve done for me. I cannot imagine my life without you.”

She sniffed. “I feel the same way about you.”

“Let’s get this machine packed up and get home. I’m sure the dogs are wondering where we are.”

“Probably.”

She started to move, but he held on to her. “Any chance you might wear that blue gingham bikini tonight?”

She laughed, then her expression turned coy. “That depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether or not I have to make dinner.”

He chuckled. “Sweetheart, you will never have to make dinner again for the rest of your life if you don’t want to.”

“Tonight, I really don’t want to. Even though I said I would. I’m a little worn out.”

He nodded in understanding. It had been a great day, but they’d been going nonstop. “What do you say to Salvatore’s? Then we can just eat our dinner in the hot tub.”

She held him tight, eyes bright with love. “I’d say you were definitely the right man for me.”