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I nod a little too quickly. “Sure,” I go ahead so they can follow me.
I shouldn’t care about what Ronan thinks of this arrangement since it means I’m keeping my client, which should be the major focus of every business owner. But I find that I care. I care about how he feels. I know I’m grateful that Barbara wants to work with me, but Ronan shouldn’t have to suffer. Both of us shouldn’t be subjected to suffering.
As Barbara slings her arm to hook with his, guiding them into the store where Ruth, my apprentice,smiles, defusing the tension in the air, I try to get a reaction from him. As usual, he is devoid of any emotion that reveals how he feels.
I used to be able to slip through and bring it out of him, but I’ve lost that ability. I have lost much more than that.
“Hey,” Riley comes to my side and runs her hand up and down my back. “Are you good?” She whispers, and I nod.
“Thank you,” I whisper back. “It’s good to see you again, Riley.”
She smiles affectionately, as she has always done, and follows Ronan and Barbara into my store.
The cake samples are already lined up on a table in the corner. My store doesn’t have a sit-in but for cases like this, I have a few round tables and comfortable chairs.
I keep trying to read Ronan’s body language as Ruth leads them to the table with the cakes on display. But now, I’m trying to see if he is impressed with my store or not.
I never thought about it before now, but now that he is actually here, I want to know what Ronan thinks of my business.
I wonder if he finds the name as confusing as most people do or if he remembers that it was my grandma’s name.
Amalia.
Named after my grandma from my father’s side of the family, who passed away while I was in culinary school in France. She was the one who encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Sadly, I never had the opportunity to bake her anything after graduating or give her one of the gourmet dishes I created for my final year project.
I miss her.
“Welcome to Amalia,” Ruth gives her welcome speech a little late as they sit down in front of the table with themini-cakes. Ruth smiles at me and pulls a puppy face to show she's sorry.
“Go on,” I tell her, anchoring her to serve the cakes on the white saucers on the table. Both Riley and Barbara start to smile and adjust with excitement, like they have been waiting for this moment.
Ruth serves the first cake, which is a lemon cake with chocolate chips inside. Ronan shakes his head at Ruth when she offers him some and both Barbara and Riley reach out at the same time to grab the saucer. Barbara pouts and lets go of it but Riley hands it back to her.
Ronan leans to the side, disappearing mentally from the scene as Ruth keeps serving the cakes, from the red velvet with strawberry syrup filling, to the banana cake with vanilla cream, and the white chocolate cake with dark chocolate filling.
I’m swelling with pride, explaining all the ingredients I used. I confirm that neither the bride nor groom have any allergy to the ingredients used or dietary restrictions as Barbara keeps eating them all with a heightened level of excitement.
“I’m good with everything,” Barbara shrugs, munching on the white chocolate cake.
“I’m good,” Ronan answers, although he hasn’t tasted a single thing we served.
“In that case,” I exhale, “Let me get more samples, including the curated menu for the big day.” I slap my hands together. “And we have something for the bride, a special treat packed just for you.” As expected, Barbara’s brown eyes light up, and my heart swells some more.
I love what I do. But I love it a little extra when the people I do it for love it.
“Take care of it, please,” I give Ruth the order, and she nods eagerly.
I then whirl away and vanish into the little passageway next to the counter leading to the pantry. I enter the pantry and take a long breath.
Ronan is getting married. Ronan is out there and this is the first time in over a decade that we have seen each other. Ronan is in love with another woman. Ronan is…
“What are you planning, Olivia?”
My blood turns cold in my veins as I recognize Ronan’s familiar husky baritone. I clear my throat and stand straight.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, facing him. He is standing beside the now-closed door, his eyes fixed on me.
“Trying to find out what you are planning, Olivia, because I know you know. Barbara is my fiancée and you…”
