Page 26
PIPER
It’s so hot. Not only is the summer morning blazing, but the ovens are adding to it with their yeasty steam until I hurry to the back door and throw it open. The back of my forearm meets my sweaty cheek as I swipe up a drop before it falls onto the counter. Fuck. Got to start all over again.
The swinging door squeaks as Shirley pops it open with her generous hip. A few strands of her gray, frazzled mane sneak beneath her pink headwrap. “Any more orange scones? Old man who comes in every Thursday wants to know.”
“Not today. I can barely keep up with the doughnuts!”
“We need more help, Miss Thing.”
She never calls me boss or any sort of formal title. I actually really appreciate it. It’s less pressure on me to perform as the owner of a bakery. Like, Shirley and I are just hanging out, making fun cakes and cookies. We’ve become best friends, despite that she’s in her late sixties, has about a gazillion children, grandbabies, sisters, and a husband that’s “retired so much, he looks dead half the time.”
“Tell your sister to come over here and help us! I’ll give her the same rate I do you. We can’t keep going like this.”
“She’s too lazy. Let’s get one of those high school kids after school. My niece— Another customer.” The door swings with a groan as she heads back to the front.
Can I afford that? Adon says I can. With the way sales are going, things are rapidly accelerating until I may need to expand. In space and staff. It’s only been two years since I started, and Rosy Sweets has done better than I ever could have dreamed. Shirley is a huge part of that.
She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s about to become co-owner. Her family recipes, combined with my “newfangled” ideas, have helped this place be successful. That and being the only bakery near campus for the university kids.
As quickly as she left, she returns with a scone in her hand, wrapped in a napkin. With a heavy sigh, she shakes her head. “Man out there says there was something in this one. He looks pissed.”
My brow furrows as I inspect the sweet. It looks fine to me. I dust off the flour from my hands onto my apron and take it from her. “What’s wrong with it?”
“Don’t know. He’s causing a scene, I think.”
“He didn’t even taste it! Ugh! Probably just looking for money back.”
“He said he found something in the last one he bit into, so he was afraid to bite into that one. Maybe one of the cranberries was hard, I don’t know. I’ll try to shoo him off.”
Shaking my head, I snap it in half and freeze.
A ring drops onto the stainless-steel surface where I had been rolling dough. The intricate pewter sides are cut like it’s vintage. Something from the art deco era. And just my style.
My hand slaps over my gasping mouth. “It’s a diamond…”
What in the world?
I take the ring and wander to the front of the shop, where Adon stands across from the cash register, a bouquet of red roses in his hand. A creeping grin tugs at the corners of his lips when he spots me.
“Adon, did you do this?” I ask breathlessly.
In response, he drops to a knee. Customers loitering about watch with little smiles and gasps as I round the counter, holding out the jewelry, in utter shock.
“My beautiful rosy girl, you have brought color into my black-and-white life. Sweetened every bland moment with your spices. And heated the cold parts of my heart with your warmth. My children adore you. And I love you. Please, become part of our lives forever and marry me.”
Tears have seeped out onto my cheeks, and I swallow before giving my squeaky reply. “Yes! Absolutely!”
His fingers attempt to take the ring from me, but I’ve already jumped into his lap and wrapped my body around him until he’s sitting on the pink tile floor. He laughs the same as I do and grabs my face with both hands, then kisses me in a way that leaves me dizzy.
My regulars drinking coffee and eating their pastries clap and yell their congratulations as I hurriedly give the diamond to Adon, then hold up my hand with a flourish.
“Put it on me! I want to be your wife now!”
After two years of hesitation and working through more things with a new therapist, I’m not only ready, but I’m eager to become Mrs. Adon Griffin. He’s the hero I needed by my side to overcome my past. Someone who accepts me for exactly who I am. He knows I’m still hesitant to have kids, but he’s more than willing to give me the space and time I want before making a final decision about that.
“How did you get the ring into the scone?” I ask as we stand and straighten up.
Adon’s dark brown eyes meet Shirley’s. “I had help.”
“And now you’ve got help the rest of the day, Miss Thing. Take off and spend it with your old man,” she says.
“Did you hear that, old man ?” I ask him, and he takes my hand, taps a kiss to the back of it, and smiles.
“Yes, little girl. Let’s go before your lip gets you in even more trouble.”
As his hand presses against my lower back, leading us out the front door, I smirk.
“What if I want to get in trouble?”
Adon slips his hand into mine as we walk down the busy sidewalk. He doesn’t answer for a minute, but when I look up at his beaming face, he tightens his lips, then says, “Then daddy will have to punish you.”