Chapter 3
Are you en route? Or do I need to have Alice come over and push you out the door? – E
She practically did push me out the door. But I'm on my way. – B
Remind me to thank her when I see her again. – E
So how long is this journey you've got me on? – B
Nice try, baby. Did you open your gift? – E
Opening now… - B
I put my phone down and slide another Starburst between my lips. I got so caught up with my reminiscing that I forgot all about the box and card next to me.
Sliding the box onto my lap, I untie the navy-blue ribbon that holds the card on. I've always been sentimental. From the time I was little, my dad used to tease me for holding onto everything, from notes my friends wrote me in elementary school, to birthday and Christmas cards. I make sure to remove the envelope without tearing it and slide the card out.
Sweet, Beautiful Bella:
If you're reading this it means you're in the car, which means you're that much closer to me.
Red was never one of my favorite colors … until you came along and changed everything. I'll never forget the first time I saw you standing behind the counter at your bakery, with your red apron and that ridiculous looking baker's hat. I wanted to laugh at you, but the look on your face left me so turned on I could barely think straight.
I developed a healthy appreciation for red that day, Bella, and I haven't stopped loving it since.
I stop reading and lift the lid from the box. A dozen long stem red roses are nestled inside. I reach out and run my fingers over the soft petals. Edward got me roses once or twice before, but these are especially exquisite, and the first long stem ones I've ever received.
There aren't enough flowers in the world to convey just how much I love you, baby. But I hope these will do the trick for now.
I'll see you soon, beautiful girl.
Love,
Edward
P.S. – There's a special treat under the flowers. Make sure you have some privacy when you put it on.
I lift the rose stems up ever so gently and see a silver piece of tissue paper at the bottom of the box.
Before I can retrieve the item, memories of the first time Edward ever visited the bakery slam into me, as vivid as if it just happened yesterday…
"We're totally swamped Alice," I shouted over the mixers. "There's no way I'm going to make it to the boat on time."
"Can't you get Angela or one of the other girls to stay late?" Alice's voice took on the crying puppy tone, and for a moment, I was thankful that we were only talking on the phone. Her guilt trips were much more difficult to deflect when we were face-to-face.
"Angela is staying late, along with Heidi. I feel awful, but Ben is out with a broken leg and Eric is on vacation, which means we have to finish these orders and handle all of the deliveries."
Alice sighed. "Fine. But you get to explain to Jasper why you missed his big birthday bash."
"Jasper doesn't even know you're having the birthday bash, Alice. I'm sure my absence won't kill him." We said our goodbyes and I hung up, tossing the cordless phone across the counter.
Business was booming, something I felt grateful for, but I couldn't help but wonder if we were growing too big, too fast. Over the past week we'd gotten slammed with graduation orders. Everyone from Andover to Apple Valley wanted cakes, cupcakes, or some combination of the two.
Despite having no free time, I still managed to spend at least a few hours each day obsessing over the fact that it had been a week since I met Edward, and he had yet to call me. I went from being the girl who couldn't care less about guys to the girl who couldn't stop thinking about a guy. I grabbed a piping bag and twisted the top roughly, taking my confusion and stress out on the tray of cupcakes in front of me.
"Easy there, Bakery Babe. You'll mess up those gorgeous frosting flowers." His voice startled me and I jumped back, squeezing too hard on the piping bag. The tip flew off and before I knew it, I had a pile of icing on my shoes.
"Shit," I muttered, dropping the piping bag and wiping my brow with my forearm.
"Everything okay? Did I drop in at a bad time?" I looked up at Edward, noticing the guilt in his expression.
"Things are a bit chaotic around here right now." I gestured to the mile-high stack of boxes on the counter behind me. "We have a bazillion deliveries and our drivers are both out, and there's cakes to bake and cupcakes to frost…" My voice trailed off and I threw my hands in the air. "So no, everything's not okay, but it isn't your fault. How did you figure out this was my shop?"
The crooked grin I came to appreciate all-too-well on the airplane appeared. "I'm not going to lie, I Facebook stalked."
My jaw dropped. "Seriously? Who does that after college?"
He tipped his head back and laughed. "I do, apparently."
"You could have just texted me and asked, you know."
"I could have," he agreed, "but when Wednesday rolled around and I still hadn't had a chance to call you, I started feeling like a tool. So, I thought a drop-in might be in order."
"Murphy's law would have it that you'd drop in on the busiest day of the season." I toed my Converse off and reached down to grab them. "Can I get you anything? Do you see any goodies that tickle your fancy?"
Edward looked at the cases and then back at me. "Can I help you?" Seeing the confusion on my face, he continued. "With deliveries," he explained. "It just so happens I have nothing on my schedule tonight."
"That's kind of you, but— "
"I drove for Pizza Hut in high school," he goes on, "and my sister runs a catering company, which I help out with from time to time. I think I meet the qualifications."
"You're hired." I glanced over at Angela, who had appeared out of nowhere. "We need all the help we can get," she hissed.
I looked back at Edward and shrugged. "You've got yourself a gig for the night."
I showed Edward around to the back of the building, where we kept the delivery van. After a brief rundown of our organizational system and what orders needed to go out that night, he got busy loading the van while I returned to my desecrated cupcake tray.
I couldn't help but sneak a peek at him, marveled by the way he moved so effortlessly around the space, chatting with Angela and asking Heidi questions. While we worked to finish the last of the orders, he took care of the deliveries, and to my surprise, we were finished with the night's work by nine.
"You saved our asses, Edward," Heidi gushed as I locked up the shop.
"It was nothing, really. It's the least I can do to help a friend in need." Edward tossed a glance in my direction. Chagrin crept up my neck and cheeks and tiny beads of sweat lined my forehead.
I cleared my throat and looked at Heidi. "This might be a horrible time to ask this question, but can you come in early at all tomorrow?"
Heidi put her hand up and saluted me, then winked. "Aye aye, captain. What time are you thinking?" We solidified plans and said our goodbyes. Edward offered to walk me to my car, even though it was only up the street.
"Thank you so much for what you did tonight." I came to a stop and turned to face him. The streetlights amplified the brightness of his eyes. "I can issue you a check tomorrow if you want to come by."
"I don't want your money, Bella." I watched as his tongue peeked out from between his lips, wetting them. The longer I stared, the harder it was to resist the urge to stand up and press mine against them.
"I can't not pay you, you were working for— "
"Have dinner with me," he interrupted. "That's the reason I came all the way down here. Well, that and to see your beautiful smile again."
"I'm not sure that's a fair exchange," I whispered.
Edward palmed my cheek, running his thumb along my jawline. "Trust me, Bella, it's more than an even exchange. I'd say I'm the one profiting off this deal."
I closed my eyes and leaned into his palm. I barely knew anything about this man, but I could already tell falling for him would be one of the easiest things I'd ever do.
"It's a date."
A/N:
I deviated from my planned hourly update schedule! Apologies for that! Work is crazy, and ... yes. #supervisorlife
I don't know about you, but I kind of want a cupcake. ;)