“Where do we start?”
“Invitations, I think. We should get something up on social mediaand email our existing client list.” Given the number of wedding cakes andlarger orders she did in an average year, it was a big list.
“Do you want me to,” Tanya paused and made a face, “designsomething?”
Tanya had a pretty solid hate-hate relationship with technology.Even though she teased Tanya about it, she did her best not to inflict it onher. “I’ll enlist Julia’s help for that.”
Tanya’s eyes lit up. “Oh, she’s fantastic at that stuff.”
She was. Her artistic eye and penchant for detail had made thegrand opening of Rustic Refined a smashing success. And since she’d helped withthe catering for that event, she had no doubt she could rope Julia in. “How doyou feel about starting on the menu?”
“Now you’re speaking my language.”
In under an hour, they’d sketched out a full menu. The sweetscame easy—a smattering of their most popular items scaled down in size. Thesavory fare took a bit longer. Amanda had been brainstorming the lunch menu,but she couldn’t get past the feeling she was missing something. Tanya huffed.She shifted in her chair and sighed. And then she rattled off half a dozenideas Amanda would have paid a chef to come up with.
“You’ve been holding out on me.”
Tanya sniffed. “I’ve had too much time on my hands.”
They settled on three items to be part of the party menu, but shehad plans to incorporate them all into the rotating offerings. They spent a fewminutes strategizing drinks and setup, then theorized how many people mightactually come. With a four-hour window and an open house format, she hopedseveral hundred would work their way through. That might be wishful thinkingsince school was starting, but she’d rather over plan than under.
* * *
“Close your eyes.” Quinn didn’t expect Amanda to obey, butthought it would be cute. When she did, without hesitation or a word ofprotest, Quinn’s breath caught in her throat. Did Amanda have any idea thepower she held?
“How long are you going to make me wait?”
Her tone was playful and her eyes remained closed, but it yankedQuinn back to the moment. “Sorry.”
Amanda chuckled. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a bit eager.”
Amanda’s eagerness—about her bakery, when she was tryingsomething new, in bed—was one of Quinn’s absolute favorite things about her.“You have every right to be.”
She took Amanda’s hands and led her slowly forward. “Okay, I’mgoing to take you up the new ramp.”
Even with her eyes closed, Amanda beamed. “I love that you madethis happen.”
“I love that it was important to you.” Enough to take on theexpense even though the building was old enough to qualify for an exemption.
“It will allow for strollers and walkers as much as wheelchairs.It’s a win all around.”
They moved up the ramp and to the new entrance. They’d been ableto salvage both original doors and set them in a single frame to create Frenchdoors. Not only did they look great, it would make it easier for customers tocome and go at the same time. Of course, Amanda had seen those already.
She stepped to the side and placed one of Amanda’s hands on thehandle. “I’ll let you do the honors.”
Amanda turned the handle but didn’t immediately open her eyes.She pushed the door open and stepped over the threshold. “Now?”
“Now.” Quinn smiled and maybe held her breath.
Amanda gasped, then let out an, “Oh.”
The cases stood empty and nothing hung on the wall except themassive chalkboard Amanda wanted for the menu. Still, the new counter gleamedand the furniture had been arranged. It looked, not wholly unlike the original,but significantly different.
Amanda stepped farther inside. Her hands went to her heart, andshe turned a slow circle. On the second time around, she stopped so they wereface-to-face. “Quinn.”
“Do you like it?” She didn’t really need to ask. Amanda had beendeeply involved in the decisions and had seen much of the work in progress. Butfor some reason, Quinn needed to hear the words.
Amanda did another sweep of the space. This time, when she lookedback at Quinn, her eyes glistened with tears. “I love it.”
A strange mix of relief and pride spread through her. Not unheardof when she got to unveil a completed project, but this feeling was unlikeanything else. Because it wasn’t the project making her heart beat erraticallyand her head almost dizzy. This particular feeling had nothing to do with theproject and everything to do with the woman standing in front of her. “I lovethat you love it.”
Maybe part of her wanted to say I love you, but the timing wasn’tright. That shouldn’t get caught up and potentially confused with the emotionalintensity of the day. Soon, though. The thought of it might terrify her, butshe wanted—needed—Amanda to know how she felt. And, if she was being honest,she needed to know if Amanda felt the same.
“It’s so much better than I imagined. Is that silly to say, givenI was here only a week ago?”
“Not at all. There’s nothing like seeing it all put together forthe first time.”
Amanda took a step toward her. “It wouldn’t have happened withoutyou.”
Despite having a healthy confidence in her work, her instinct wasto deflect the compliment. To assure Amanda that the heart of the design camefrom her own wishes for the bakery. But the truth of the matter was the finaldesign was so perfect because it had come from both of them. And maybe it wasoverkill to hang too much on that, but she didn’t care. “I could say the sameabout you. That’s why it’s so great. We did it together.”
Amanda nodded and smiled, even as a tear made its way down hercheek. “You’re right.”
Realizing how close she was to spilling her heart at Amanda’sfeet, Quinn grabbed her hand. “Come on. I want you to see the rest.”
She led
