“Come on. Your mom isn’t that old-fashioned. I’m sure if you and Rory wanted to live together, she’d be okay with it.” She tossed the suitcase on the bed and then plopped beside it.
Deirdre unzipped the case and flipped the lid. Maybe her mom wouldn’t care. Rory always seemed to think it would be an issue. Just like he wanted to wait to have sex. Now he’d sent her back to Chicago.
That unsettled feeling returned.
“Leave this for later. Let’s go have tea and catch up.”
“Don’t you have to get Shane?”
“Not till later. We have plenty of time.”
Back in the kitchen, Aunt Eileen was filling the teapot. A plate of cookies sat beside it on a tray. The same way her mom served tea at home.
Without turning, Eileen said, “I’ll have you know that I spoke with the McDonoughs. They’d love to have you back at the bakery.”
Maggie snickered.
“What?”
“I just think it’s ridiculous that the McDonoughs have owned that bakery for probably longer than I’ve been alive, but they leave the name Blackstone’s.”
“Blackstone’s is an institution.” Eileen’s voice stiffened.
Deirdre wasn’t sure if she was being serious.
“If I owned a bakery that was that good, you better believe I’d have my name plastered all over it. I’d want people to know it was me.”
Deirdre didn’t understand that. She’d be happy in the background. It was enough to create something that people would enjoy, even if they had no idea who had done it.
Eileen lifted the tray. Deirdre rushed forward. “Let me.”
They moved to the dining room table. She found comfort in the routine of having tea and cookies. As different as life was in Chicago, she liked knowing that family traditions were consistent.
* * *
Tommy’s phone rang as he finished giving his client after-care instructions. He said good-bye to the client and answered the phone. “Hey, Jimmy, what’s up?”
“I need you to get Norah’s birthday cake from Blackstone’s.”
“Why me?”
“Because Sean isn’t answering and Norah shouldn’t have to get her own cake. It’s all paid for. Just pick it up.”
He hadn’t gone to Blackstone’s since Cupcake had gone back to Ireland. He’d never gotten the chance to ask her out, and going to the bakery would just be a reminder of his failure. “Get Kevin to pick it up.”
“Not gonna happen. Stop being a dick and get the cake for our sister.”
He was being a dick, but he didn’t need Jimmy to point it out. He also needed to get over it. There were other girls. He’d barely had a conversation with Deirdre, even at the urging of Moira, who was Deirdre’s cousin and Jimmy’s fiancée. “Fine.”
He disconnected and caught Kai staring at him. Tommy thought that his boss would’ve lightened up since getting together with Norah. Some things, unfortunately, didn’t change. “Yeah, Kai, I took a personal call, but I was done with my client.” Then a thought hit him. “You want to pick up Norah’s birthday cake?”
“Why the hell would I want to do that?”
“She’s your girlfriend.”
“She’s your sister. And it’s your family that wants to do dinner. Besides, I have to go pick her up.”
Tommy sighed. Back to getting over himself. He waited a little while, hoping for a walk-in client, but only one came in and Puck, the other tattoo artist, beat him to the counter.
“I’m out of here,” Tommy called to Kai. “See you at the house.”
Outside, a blast of cold wind slapped at him. He couldn’t wait for spring. He wasn’t as bad as his brother Sean, who couldn’t wait for warm weather so he could ride his motorcycle. For Tommy, it was just being outside, hanging with people. During the winter, everyone tended to disappear and hibernate. Loneliness always hit him over the winter.
Which was why he missed having a girlfriend. A steady girl kept the loneliness at bay. And the regular sex didn’t hurt, either. He drove to the bakery and found a parking spot in front. It was near closing and the business was empty.
He walked through the door and a sweet scent filled the air. The place hadn’t changed much over the years. The fake cakes they had on display were different, changing with the times, showing popular themes, but the classics remained on a high shelf near the ceiling.
One of his earliest memories was coming here with his dad and Jimmy to pick out his birthday cake. His dad had hoisted him up on his shoulders and told him to pick any cake design he wanted. He couldn’t have been more than four or five. It wasn’t long after his mom had been killed, but the memory was such a happy one. He didn’t remember feeling sad.
That realization made him feel crappy.
No one came from the back, so he called out, “Hello? I’m here to pick up a cake.”
From the back room, with her head down, she came toward him.
“Cupcake,” he whispered.
She moved to the counter opposite him and turned her back to dig through a stack of order slips. Her reddish-brown hair trailed down her back in a ponytail. Without any greeting, she asked, “Name?”
“O’ Malley.”
She spun with the pink slips in her hand. Her light blue eyes were wide, and the sprinkling of freckles across her nose reminded him how cute she was.
“You’re back,” he said.
“Another cake for O’Malley?”
He lifted a shoulder. “There are five of us.”
“It’s good to know you’re not eating all this cake. I was beginning to think you had a wicked sweet tooth.”
“Uh, your cousin Moira told me you went back to Ireland.”
The papers in her hands crinkled, and a blush swept across her cheeks. “I did.”
“Are you staying long?”
“I’m not sure.” She focused on the slips, flipping through them, looking for his order.
When she found it, she pulled it from the stack and looked up. She waved it at him with a smile. “I’ll be right back.”
She disappeared to the back room, and Tommy sucked in a deep breath. This was it. He
