Page 16 of The Plus One Professional
As I watched her go, I knew this was just the beginning. She would be twelve in a few months, and before I knew it, she’d be a teenager. After that, it would be the twins’ turn.
Carly needed me. The twins needed me. My sister needed me.
They would always be my priority. It didn’t matter how I felt about the green-eyed, golden-haired goddess in black slacks and a sleeveless turtleneck that hugged her curves and made me sweat; it wouldn’t be fair to ask someone to understand that they would come first. Always.
7
BAILEY
“Thanks for the Peterson referral.”Sadie beamed as she grabbed one of her Sadie Special cupcakes and two cinnamon rolls and placed them in the pink box.
“Of course!” I told her. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”
The Sweet Temptations bakery was across the street from the bridal shop and was on our preferred vendor list. Billie, Birdie, and I always sang Sadie’s praises to all of our clients. Jolie Peterson wanted to go the untraditional wedding cake route and have a cupcake tower, which we knew Sadie would dominate, because cupcakes were her specialty.
And the referrals weren’t a one-way street. Sadie had sent quite a lot of business our way as well. Especially since she got engaged to San Francisco’s Most Eligible Bachelor a couple of years ago.
“How are things going with my dad and Mrs. G?” she asked as she filled a to-go cup with piping hot coffee.
“Good.” One of the referrals Sadie had given us was her father’s upcoming nuptials to his long-lost love. The two had not seen each other for over forty years before reuniting unexpectedly.
“Is my dad giving you a hard time? He seems intimidating, but I promise he’s a teddy bear.”
I understood where her concerns might stem from. Tom Burke had spent the majority of his adult life as a police officer in Boston; he retired as a homicide detective. He was not a man I would ever want to be on the wrong side of.
“All he cares about is making Mrs. G happy.”
A huge grin spread on Sadie’s face. “Good, I’m glad.”
Mr. Burke and Mrs. G’s story was one of the reasons I loved my job—also one of the reasons my job was probably very detrimental to my personal life. Hearing stories, day after day, of how people met, fell in love, and decided to spend their lives together reinforced all of my hopeless romantic delusions. I wanted my fairytale. And the only prince I’d ever imagined was Simon.
Which was why the dream I had last night was so unnerving. It was a recurring scene that often came to life when I was sound asleep. I was in my grandma’s backyard, and there were string lights hanging from the large oak trees. A band was playing Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and I was dancing with my husband.
Except this time, when I looked up to gaze into the eyes of my groom, blue eyes stared back at me, not brown. And not just any blue eyes—they were the blue eyes that belonged to Cole. Ten minutes and one sneeze in the bathroom with him, and my subconscious had recast Simon. My leading man was now Cole…whatever his last name was.
“That’s eleven eighty-three,” Sadie said as she slid the box of donuts and coffee across the counter.
“How are the babies?” I asked as I tapped my debit card against the reader.
“Good. They’re getting so big.”
“I bet.”
When Sadie opened this shop, she was the age I am now, single, and on a dating sabbatical. She’d sworn off men completely. Not even a year later, she got engaged to San Francisco’s Most Eligible Bachelor and now had not one, but two, of his babies.
It just showed that God, the universe, karma, whatever you believed in, had their own plans for your life. I just wished mine would include my happily-ever-after.
“Thanks.” I grabbed the box and coffee, and I headed out and crossed the street to Bliss Bridal Boutique.
The morning sun shimmered over the bay as I sipped on my coffee. The water reminded me of the color of Cole’s eyes. The eyes I’d seen in my dream last night.
It had been a week since our brief lock-in, and in that time, I’d thought about him so much more than was healthy. The ratio of time I’d spent thinking of him against the time we’d actually spent together was probably a hundred to one. Maybe not quite that bad, but it wasn’t good.
And if I wasn’t thinking about Cole, I was checking my phone incessantly to see if I’d missed a call or text from Simon. I hadn’t. The last time he’d tried to contact me was when I was in the bathroom with Cole, and I hadn’t taken it. Since then, nothing. Nada. Not even an email.
As I unlocked the glass door to the shop, I wondered if I was in the wrong business to find a man. All the men I met were engaged. The ones I met in the industry all seemed to be married or in long-term commitments.
Billie never seemed to have a problem finding dates. She had a much more active social life than either Birdie or me, but her relationships never lasted past the six-month point. You could almost set your watch by it.
