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)
“If that’s what you want, I’ll do it in a second,” I say without hesitation.
“I don’t know, Luca. It’s a big change. When my parents dropped that bombshell on me about this not being all they wanted to do with their lives, it totally threw me. I understood, but the bakery was basically pie-level sacred because it was a family thing. I’ve never thought about it not being run by my family, even though they tried to prepare me for that exact eventuality. It’s a wild thing to realize my parents have unfulfilled dreams. I should have seen it before. I feel quite silly and willfully blind. Out of touch. Tone deaf. All the bad terms.”
“You’re not willfully blind. You just grew up in a place where this was your life.”
“And I loved it.”
“If you want to stay, we can stay. I’d be more than happy to run this place with you. Doing anything with you would be a dream.”
Her face pinches, her nose wrinkling, and her lips pursing. She looks like this when she’s lost in thought.
People continue to pour around us. It’s loud out here, with fair music and the shouts and laughter from the rides.
“I think what I’d like most in the world is for my parents to be able to do the things they haven’t been able to do yet, especially after working so hard. My dad’s been left with a heartbreaking choice. Chase his dreams or betray his heritage. I know I could take it over, but they don’t want me to have to do it. I think the best solution is to keep it in the family. I’m sure I could convince them to find someone to take over the business on a short-term lease, or even a longer lease, but the building would remain theirs. That way, they could live their dreams, we could live ours, and one day, if we want to take over the bakery and run it, we could.”
Dulcie is so smart. I don’t know when her parents had this conversation with her, but it must have been recently. She wasn’t trying to keep the information from me. She was trying to find a way for everyone to be truly happy.
She could have asked me for money. I would have gladly given it to her, or lent it to her parents, but she didn’t. She’s never wanted me for what I can give her materially. She’s more than strong enough to stand on her own. I know that in time, when we make the decision to move in together, I’ll be able to convince her to share assets. I don’t want her to feel like I’m taking care of her, because she’d hate that. When people get married, or after a while, they share finances, bank accounts, and jointly own property and possessions. She’s extra cautious now because we’re still so new, and I get that. She’s trying to keep me protected.
“That’s an incredible idea, and a suggestion that would benefit everyone.”
She tips her face and looks up at me so eagerly. “I know it’s an impossible hope, that everyone can be happy, but I’m still out here, just putting it into the universe with my whole heart.”
I know we haven’t known each other for very long, and I don’t want to scare Dulcie, or scare myself, but I have to say it. “I’m also putting things into the universe with my whole heart.”
Our gazes are locked. She doesn’t get scared, and I don’t get scared.
Love isn’t a concept that scares either of us. Growth, change, staying constant, hard decisions, wild spontaneity, bad days, great days, and all the stuff in the middle. We’re both here for it, for our families, friends, and for each other.
She draws a heart on my shirt right over my real one, then presses her hand against it. “I love you so much, Luca. I’m so happy you’re here and that we could share this together. I still don’t believe in curses, but if there ever was one, it’s been broken.”
“By your courage to come and find me, to bring me back here, and to help us all heal,” I say.
“And by your courage to forgive me and come with me.”
“I love you, Dulcie Piecroft.” We’re in public, and I’m sort of shy about PDA, but I graze her lips. She sighs, cupping my cheek with the same tenderness she’s always shown me. I treasure even the smallest touch from her. So freaking much.
“Let’s finish eating and then do the Ferris wheel, just so we can tell my parents that we did at least one ride. Then we can talk about the shared experience, and after that, we can go back to the hotel. I’m exhausted.” She winks at me. I think that translates to all that stuff about different kinds of rides.