“I’m so jealous!” Devra, Quinn’s wife, forked a bite into her mouth and closed her eyes on a hum as she neared Morgan. “How did you get this to be so moist? And the flavor! Is that lemon raspberry? A hint of mint? It looks like candy but tastes like five stars.”
Morgan jumped up and down, then squished Devra to her for saying so. The restaurateur had high standards when it came to food and she’d nailed the flavor profile exactly. “That means so much coming from you.”
“You know… If Joe is going to be here, working on some projects for the gang, maybe you and I could collaborate on stuff for the restaurant. I have a whole area up front I’ve been toying with merchandising for carryout products. I would put in a bakery case in a second if you were there to fill it for me.” Devra eyed her slyly over another forkful of cake.
Morgan looked to Joe, but he simply shrugged and left her to discuss her business with Devra, who ran her own as well. He had always trusted her to do that and so she knew, deep down, that she needed to give him the same respect. If he wanted this job, she was going to stand behind him and create new opportunities for herself while she was at it.
It wasn’t until much later, as they were in the car headed back to their house—rather, the place they’d rented, even if it already felt like it could be home—that Joe completed the final piece of the puzzle for her.
“Did you see the pups?” he asked.
“Pups?” She shook her head as she looked over at him.
“Sorry, you were talking with Devra and I didn’t want to interrupt, but yeah, I guess Buster McHightops found them abandoned somewhere, out in the woods. He carried them back to Hot Rods.”
“Kind of like Tom did for the mechanics.” There was some kind of poetic resonance with that. Each of the Hot Rods had been adopted by Tom after passing through the youth shelter his wife had founded before her tragic, early death.
“And sort of like Bryce did for Buster when he rescued him from that scrap metal behind the shop.” Joe nodded, never taking his eyes from the road, brightly illuminated by his headlights, guiding the way for them. “I’ll show them to you tomorrow when we go back over there. There’s this one. It’s super playful and really sweet. I was thinking…if things work out…it might be old enough for Nathan by summertime.”
Morgan’s heart swelled. After everything they’d done and shared that day, she knew that nothing would mean more to Joe than to surprise their son with the wiggling bundle of cuteness he’d dreamed of for so long. There was no chance she’d say no to that regardless of what else they decided to do.
“God, I love you,” Morgan whispered, her hand sliding over his on the seat between them. “Every time I think it’s not possible to love you more, you do something and prove me wrong again.”
He turned into the driveway and parked at the foot of the stone path that led up to their house before coming to help her out as he always did. “And even still, you can’t possibly love me as much as I love you, cupcake.”
“It was really good to see you smile so much today.” Morgan hugged Joe tight. “I’m glad you had such a good time.”
“It’s going to be an even better night,” Joe promised. And she believed him. “But what about you? What did you think?”
They strolled up the path together, hand in hand.
“You should accept their offer.” Morgan paused and made sure to look him straight in the eye when she spoke, so he could see she really meant it.
“Seriously?” He seemed to stop breathing.
“Yes.” Morgan filled her lungs for them both then said, calmly, “The kids will be done with school in six weeks. That should give you time to put out a call for crewmen, finalize your designs, and file for permits. I’ll talk to Rosie and see if she feels comfortable running Sweet Treats for three months. We’ll come out here for the summer, rent this house, build Eli’s place, work on Kyra’s project, collaborate with Devra, and see if this is really what we want. Get a sense of how the kids might adjust. And give them the puppy they’ve been asking for forever.”
Joe whooped and twirled Morgan around. “You’re a genius. Yes. That sounds perfect. It feels right. Doesn’t it?”
“I know there will be sacrifices…” Morgan swallowed hard as she thought of being so far away from Kate, her best friend since they were kids, and the rest of the crew.
“Big ones.” Joe grew somber.
“But, yes.” Morgan nodded. “It feels right. I can’t wait to see what you do for the Hot Rods. Plus Devra and I have so many ideas that could lead to new prospects for me too. It’s—”
“Exciting!” Joe laughed as he unlocked the door then walked inside backward, drawing her first up the stairs and then toward the bed.
They hadn’t had this kind of energy zinging between them since the early days when she’d been fighting to make her shop a success and they’d tried so hard to start a family. Maybe they’d gotten too comfortable in their current lives. Because now that a challenge was laid out before her too, he was right. It was exhilarating to contemplate leveling up again.
He continued, “And scary as fuck. But as long as we’re together, everything will be perfect. You were right about that.”
Morgan clung to Joe as they toppled, bouncing together on the mattress. They both grinned before they came together, making out as enthusiastically as they had when they’d first met and gotten hooked on the taste of each other.
It was a beginning, and maybe also an end. Until right then she hadn’t realized it was possible to mourn and be overjoyed at the same time. It was bizarre and confusing, but also made her feel alive in a way she hadn’t in a while.
Joe only enhanced that pleasure when he lived up to his promise to make love to her all night long. Energized and reinvigorated, it seemed like each epic orgasm he gave her topped the last. Just like in life. Every time they survived one of these twists fate threw at them, they ended up closer together.
And this time would be no exception.
10
“You’ve been grinning like an idiot since you got back from Middletown.” Mike might have acted casual when he said it, but his shoulders were damn near hiked to his ears as he marked some cuts on the back of the tile they were installing in their latest flip project.
“Some alone time with Morgan is always a good thing.” That was part of it. But not all of it. Joe finally felt like they were both on the same page. It was the Powertools he was still hiding from.
“When are you going to tell the rest of the crew what’s going on?” Mike asked.
“The time never seems right.” Joe shrugged, using his forearm to wipe sweat and dust from his brow. The motion also blocked his eyes from Mike’s stare. “Besides, nothing’s set in stone yet. We’re still thinking about what the next move should be. Maybe going out there for the summer if Morgan can get coverage for the bakery.”
“That’s fine. But you owe it to the guys and Devon to give them a heads-up. Even if it’s only a maybe. Because I think it’s actually more than that.” Mike snapped the tile along his score mark. He chucked the cut-off section into the pile of debris in the corner hard enough that it shattered into a million pieces.