I laugh and yelp as he attacks my neck with kisses. No matter what happened before, I’m safe and loved now. The shining truth of it glows in my chest.
“Okay, enjoy the make-out time,” Maisy says as she herds Devlin and Blair through the back door. “Don’t get too frisky. Or do. You know, self-care. Peace, bitches.”
“You heard her,” Connor murmurs, angling my head back for a languid kiss. “Mm, you always smell sweeter when you bake. I love it.”
I shift around on his lap so I can face him, looping my hands around his neck. “How does your arm feel? I know you think you’re superhuman, but the sling only came off a couple weeks ago.”
“It’s good.” He takes my hand that was cut and brings it to his lips, kissing each of my knuckles. His gray eyes meet mine, full of warmth. He’s quiet for a moment, taking me in. “You hold my heart in your hands. Promise you’ll take care of it, okay?”
I give him an impish smirk, cupping his jaw. He drops another kiss to my healing palm. “Like take it for walks and keep it fed? Easy, it’s just like caring for Constantine.”
Connor wraps his arms around my waist with a playful growl, dragging his mouth over my skin. “You know how I like to be fed, baby.”
“My heart is yours, too,” I say after he stops teasing me. “It always will be.”
When he kisses me again, we lose all track of time, warmed by the fire and our love.
Epilogue
THEA
December, 11 Months Later
Squinting from the cryptic note Connor gave me to the numbers above the row of shops on the main street in downtown Ridgeview, I huff. After a quick kiss good morning, my boyfriend disappeared from our apartment, leaving behind a handwritten note that sent me on a wild scavenger hunt all over town. He loves these games, and I usually end up delighted by his surprises, but I would have enjoyed it more if we spent the morning cuddling in bed instead of roaming all over Ridgeview.
“This can’t be right.”
I glance up and down the street, standing in front of an empty storefront with big windows covered in paper. The shop sits between a florist and an art gallery, both decorated for the holidays. It was recently for sale. I secretly passed by it every day on my way to work making pastries at the coffee shop, imagining how nice a mural would look on the wall inside. It would be a big sun and moon celestial painting surrounding the name of my future bakery—Eclipsed Tarts Baking Co.
The sign in the window reads Sold.
So much for my big dream. It was too expensive, anyway. Commercial leases in Ridgeview have pretty much put my plans on hold until I sell a kidney to get my startup.
Connor has been offering to get me going. I keep turning him down because he does so much for me. He already pays for our apartment. In a year he’s grown his finances even more, officially a self-made man from releasing an app he built that took off for its uses in preventing security breaches and identifying threats, especially predators. He doesn’t want what happened to me to happen to anyone else if he can help stop it. He has been amazing in helping me cope with the fallout of my trauma, and I’m proud he put his skills to use for something good to help others.
But his scavenger hunt note led me here, promising my path to the future if I open the door.
“Okay. Here goes nothing.” I pull a face, bracing as I twist the knob. “Please don’t let me get arrested for breaking and entering.”
“You’re too cute for that,” Connor says, grinning from across the room. He’s leaning against a polished wood counter with the sleeves of his henley pushed up, painting a very attractive picture. “You’re about twenty minutes later than I expected.”
I hold up the paper as I enter the building, glancing around. It’s lit in warm muted light by the thin kraft paper covering the bay windows. “Leave better clues, then.”
“What? Which one was hard?” Popping out of his slouch, he plucks the note from me as his arm finds its way around my waist. “Number seven? No way, I made that one obvious.”
“Number three!” Gripping his biceps, I press on my tiptoes to kiss him. He tilts his head, a smirk playing in the corners of his mouth. “Hi. Going to tell me what mischief you’re up to today?”
“Thinking about it.” His hands slip inside my coat, fitting to my waist over my long black skirt with big sunflowers printed on it. He dips into the high slit with one hand as his other teases beneath my cropped sweater, tracing exposed skin. “Thinking about something else, too. Especially when you wear this.”
“When aren’t you thinking about that.” With a sardonic smile, I shrug out of my white wool coat—a replacement from the one I had last year—and drape it over the counter. It looks newly built. I don’t remember the photos on the real estate website having anything inside, but now it seems like whoever owns the place has been getting it ready. “Are we allowed to be in here? I saw the sign out front. I know you love bad ideas, but—”
“We’re allowed. This is actually one of my better ones.”
He follows me as I explore the main room. I imagine how I’d paint the wall, make the one behind the counter a chalk wall with an artistic display of the daily menu, and fill the back one with a similar poster mural of inspiration and positivity just like my old bedroom. I have one in our apartment that grows every time I find something new to add. It would look perfect in my bakery to create an uplifting environment that will make people smile.
“Do you know who bought this place?”
Connor tucks his hands in his pockets. “I do.”
“What are they going to put here? It looks like a shop.”
He hums as if he’s pondering, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “A bakery, I think.”
“Really?” My face falls. A second later, I shake my head and turn in his arms. “That’s so great. Maybe I can get a job here instead of the coffee shop!”
Connor’s smile turns fond. “Baby. The building is for you. I bought it.”
It takes a moment for his words to register as I’m lost in the process of how to quit my job. I blink, digging my fingers into his shirt. “Wait what?”
He chuckles, kissing my cheek. “I’m saying it’s yours, all of it.”
“You…” I gape, gaze flying around the room. “And you built…”
“Yes. You kept showing me your Pinterest vision board, and I had Maisy help me design the style you saved most.”
I’m speechless, mouth working helplessly. Tears of joy prick my eyes. “Oh my god.”
“I want to give you the world. Help you achieve all of your dreams.” He brushes a knuckle under my eye to catch a stray tear. “Do you like it?”
“Like it? I fucking love it, you crazy, wonderful man!” Laughter bursts free as I crash into him, hugging him tight.
“Oh, f-bomb. I know I got it right when you start letting those slip.” He kisses the top of my head. “Love you, sunshine.”
“I love you, too. This is the best surprise. Oh my god.” I can’t stop saying it. “I’m opening a bakery.”