Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81375 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81375 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
I mostly work in the back of the bakery while Archie and Susan help customers, but Dulcie and I often go out in the evenings, and gradually, I start to shift the way I think. I go from dreading it to focusing entirely on Dulcie and the delight she draws simply from being with me.
She spins around and wheels in front of me, preventing me from walking any further. She tears a piece of pastry off and holds it up. I let her feed it to me, licking her fingers after. She visibly shivers, shaking her head and tsking with her tongue at me. “Behave. We still have rides to get through. Actual rides. Not you.”
Soft pink creeps into her cheeks. She tucks one of the strands of hair she left down behind her ear, smearing powdered sugar over it.
“I wanted to ask you something,” she suddenly says.
My pulse picks up at the way she licks her bottom lip nervously, but her eyes never stray from mine. “Sure.” I try to sound casual, but it comes out more as a croak.
The crowd parts around us, but there’s lots of space out here. I barely see anyone or anything other than Dulcie anyway. I’m entirely focused on her.
“I talked to my parents about moving to New York.” She swallows hard. “They didn’t try to talk me out of it, but they did present me with a different option.”
Her mom and dad have really come around to the idea of us being together. It’s nothing I did, really. It has everything to do with the fact that they know their daughter. If I’ve learned anything about Dulcie, it’s that she’s a hard worker, kind and compassionate, and loyal to the very center of her being. Once she decides something, she goes for it. She’d set her heart and soul on me, and that was it. When Archie and Susan saw that it was real and not just some wild and crazy storm of lust that would blow over eventually, they softened.
I was able to give Archie a proper apology a few weeks ago. He listened, and then he gave one right back.
Tonight, them giving us their blessing to go out and have fun together was them saying so much more than just have a great time.
“They’d like me to spend this year working at the bakery,” Dulcie continues. “They want to put it up for sale, seeing as they’re already planning their retirement.”
Disappointment hovers on the periphery, but it never sinks in. I know she wouldn’t be asking me this if she didn’t have a plan in mind.
“I know you have to go back to New York for surgeries, your parents, and your house. It’s a lot to ask, but I thought maybe we could split our time between here and there. You could find a house to rent here. Nothing crazy or anything, but it would get you out of the hotel. We could help with the bakery, not because we’re obligated to, but because we love it, and it’s not going to be around forever. Or at least, my parents won’t be running it forever.” She balances her plate in one hand and reaches for my hand, linking our fingers. “I know you don’t want me there for your surgeries and your recovery time, but I’d really like you to change your mind. Maybe not right away, but hopefully after. I’m always going to love you, Luca. At your best and at your worst. There’s no limit on it.”
Fuck.
My eyes are hot, and my throat aches.
“Okay. If you want to spend some time in New York when I have to be there, I’d… appreciate it.” Shit. I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry in the middle of a freaking fair. I’m not.
Dulcie draws herself in and hugs me, wrapping both arms around me and nearly splattering that elephant ear all over my back. For her, I’d gladly wear it. Just saying.
I want Dulcie in the best and worst too. In mine. In hers.
I’d like her to meet my parents. To birdwatch with me. To take the canoe out on the lake in the evenings and swim with me in the early mornings. I’d like to cook together, dance together, and hang out with Adam together. He’s not mad that I’m out here. He didn’t want to take money for work he wasn’t doing, but I insisted he babysit the house for me and keep feeding the birds, and if he were going to do that, then he’d have to take his regular salary.
When Dulcie sees the worst, she turns it around into something that isn’t ugly at all.
“After my mom and dad sell the bakery, I’m not sure what their plans are. Honestly, I can’t believe they’re actually doing this. I’d like to move to New York full-time then, unless you have some very specific and wild dreams about buying a bakery and living a small city life with a small town girl.”