Page 349 of The Maxwell Brothers

"I love the way you light up whenever you’re home," Declan said into my ear.

I smiled. "Yeah. It makes me happy. And being with you here, it’s even better."

My bakery was exactly where I expected it to be. It was doing well, and I was on the right track. Honestly, that was all I ever wanted. And in my downtime, Declan treated me like a princess, always taking care of me. I loved that my bakery was close to his office. Whenever he worked late, I went to his office with treats and spoiled him right back.

I was visiting Helen three times a week. I always took goodies with me, and whenever I tried out a new recipe, she tested it for me.

I also spent a lot of time with the Maxwells. Travis dropped by the bakery a couple times a week, giving me marketing pointers while grabbing a donut—he loved the powdered sugar ones—and Luke spent an entire weekend at the bakery building shelves in my supply room. Luke was a fan of the bear claws, so I always made sure I had some fresh ones tucked away for when he stopped by.

Even though my family was here, I found I had a family in Chicago as well.

Still, I got a bit emotional when I stepped into my parents’ house and hugged the living daylights out of everyone.

Mom cooked my favorite meal: roast turkey with mashed potatoes and salad. I couldn't be happier. Last year on my birthday, my life was… well, I wouldn't say "in shambles" because I didn’t like to be negative, but I was ready for a do-over. My ex and I had just broken up, and I still hadn’t recovered from my injury. I would never have thought I'd be here this year: with my family surrounding me, waiting to hear how my bakeryis doing, and with this amazing man by my side. The cherry on top? My niece was perfectly healthy.

"Declan, we're glad to have you back again," Dad said.

"I know both of you are busy, but I so love seeing you two," Mom added.

"We'll always make time for family," he replied, looking straight at me.

"Yes, we will," I murmured.

"Then why aren't you staying longer?" Rose asked.

I laughed at my sister. She was even better than Mom at guilting me into everything.

"My employees are overwhelmed whenever I’m not there. And I don’t have the budget for more right now.”

"Babe, we've talked about this," Declan said.

"Yes, and we agreed that I was going to wait for sales to increase before hiring someone else."

The corners of his mouth tilted upward. "No," he said, "I'm still going to convince you that you need help so you don't overwork yourself."

"Oh, I like you more and more by the minute, Declan," Rose said.

"But anyway, we have to go back because Declan's parents have prepared a party to celebrate my birthday.” Reese even hinted at going out for drinks afterward. She was going through a bit of a rough time. The interview she gave got a lot of attention. To put it in her words, it made dating even harder. To be honest, I think it made it more difficult for her to move on.

"By the way, Mom, this is delicious," I exclaimed. Turning to Declan, I added, "It's my favorite dinner."

"I know," he said with sass. “You told me a couple times.”

"Well, we don't have our baby here too often," Mom chimed in.

I was thrilled to be here with my family and the man I loved.

"I'm glad we all get to hang out together," my sister said.

While we ate, I updated them on how the bakery was going. Sales were still a bit lower than I hoped, but I was on the right track, and I was very proud that I already had loyal customers who came in every day. I absentmindedly patted my stomach—it was already full from so much food. I felt the scar beneath my fingertips, but it didn’t bother me like it once did.

As we all finished, Dad looked at us with a twinkle his eye. "Who's ready for a scavenger hunt?"

I grinned, glancing at Mark and Rose, then at Mom, and finally at Dad. "Really, you prepared one? I thought it was exclusively our Christmas tradition."

"It is. But as your mom said, we don't often get our baby home. We wanted to make the most out of it."

I turned to look at Declan. "Be prepared. You're going to see my family in action."