by Bryce Oakley
That took Emilia by surprise.
"Why?" She asked.
"Dark haired woman in a dark SUV outside of your shop?" Cody said, her brow furrowing.
"Oh," Emilia said quietly, staring at her hands.
"I don't know what I would have done if it was you. It's bad enough that it was Frankie, but the terror when I thought..." Cody’s voice trailed off.
"I asked her to get the car. We were all about to leave. It could have very well been me," Emilia said.
"What were you celebrating?" Cody asked.
"Those Dickens books sold," Emilia said, unsure how much information to give her.
Cody smiled for one of the first times that day. "That's fantastic," she said, sounding genuine.
"For $300k," Emilia explained, and watched Cody’s jaw drop.
"What? Seriously? That's fucking incredible," Cody exclaimed, holding up a hand to high-five her.
Emilia laughed, returning the high-five as quietly as possible.
"Is it okay that I'm here?" Cody asked.
"I'm glad you're here," Emilia confessed, wringing her hands. "You make all of this unknown so much less scary. I can't even get ahold of my parents. I think they're in Bucharest somewhere?"
"She's going to be okay," Cody said, setting a hand over Emilia’s fidgeting pair.
They were both quiet, and Emilia knew they were both hoping she was right.
"She's soaking up this attention, though," Cody stage-whispered.
Emilia rolled her eyes. "Did you hear her ask that nurse for her number? She's shameless."
Their laughter faded after a few moments, and then the awkward silence began to linger as Emilia realized they were practically holding hands, leaning into one another.
"Thank you," Emilia said, trying to cut through the tension in the room. "For being here today."
"I didn't even do anything," Cody said, shrugging.
"You did a lot for me," Emilia said, staring down at her lap. Admitting things like that had always been difficult for her, especially now, after so much had happened between them. "You had to leave the life-saving to the ones in uniform, but you took care of me all day, standing by my side. I've always felt like Frankie's protector. It's a role that I took over when we were pretty young. She may only be a year younger than me, but sometimes it feels like a day and sometimes it feels like a decade between us. She's the risk-taker, and I'm the one who catches her when she accidentally jumps off a cliff without her parachute. Or, at least, I'm the one screaming after her that she forgot her parachute." Emilia paused, smiling.
"It feels pretty appropriate that my parents aren't here and are unreachable. It's always been Frankie and me fending for ourselves in a world that mostly ignored us, or just thought we'd be fine along for the ride, you know?"
Emilia was rambling, but she couldn't stop.
Cody nodded, offering her a reassuring smile.
"I guess, in a way, owning the bookshop with Frankie is my way of taking control of our lives. We make the decisions. We're the bosses," Emilia said.
Cody quirked a brow but remained silent.
"And I have lived for the bookshop for so long. It's been the biggest relationship of my life. It can't fail, or else Frankie and I lose the one stable thing we've ever had in our lives," Emilia explained, staring up at the ceiling to hold back the tears that threatened to stream down her face. "I don't know what it is about you, or about us, but something has shifted for me in the past few weeks, and that scared me. It scared me to lose that stability because it was comfortable and safe, but risky only in the ways I knew how to handle."
"I don't want you to lose that," Cody said, reaching to take her hand. "My whole life, I've feared being tied down. My childhood was so boringly normal, and I couldn't wait to leave town and explore the world, you know? I was a paramedic in four different cities in seven years. I've always craved change, and I've always feared being, well, stuck, I guess."
Emilia felt a lump growing in her throat.
They were so different, and they wanted entirely different things.
"But something has shifted for me, too," Cody continued. "And you planning to buy the bakery's property scared me not only because I felt guilty about not wanting to take over the bakery myself, but also because it took away the constant that tied me to you."
Emilia frowned. "That's not true. It's not like this is only a matter of convenient geography," she said, gesturing between them.
"I know, but the bakery and you are intertwined for me now," Cody whispered.
Emilia nodded, even though she didn't quite understand. "So, what do we do?"
"I was an asshole before, and I hope you can forgive me," Cody said, lowering her voice and rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.
"Of course, I forgive you. I should have told you about the expansion idea before it got to that point. I hope you can forgive me, too," Emilia said, squeezing Cody’s hands in hers.
“I didn’t know you didn’t want to take over the bakery. When did that happen?” Emilia asked.
“I never wanted to take over the bakery. I just felt like I had to, you know, to keep it alive. But then my pride got in the way,” Cody explained. “I should have been honest with you.”
Emilia nodded, her throat thick with emotion.
“I want to be with you.” Cody said, and Emilia's entire body hummed in excitement at that confession. "These two weeks without you… then I thought it was you in the car… I need you, and more than that, I want you, and…” She paused, swallowing as though she was trying to find the courage to continue. “I love you.”
The tears began to slip down Emilia’s face easily. "I love you, too,” Emilia said without thinking, and Cody reached for her as they held on desperately to one another in a tight hug.
Cody buried her face in the crook of Emilia’s neck.
"So how do we fix this whole mess?" Emilia asked in a whisper.
Cody pulled her face back, brushing to tuck a strand hair behind Emilia’s ear. "Well, this morning I talked to Henry, and I told him I don't want to take over the bakery. But what about your space?"
Emilia furrowed her brow. “You know that Frankie and I have been talking about partnering with a few larger venues so that we can bring in bigger name authors. That way we don't have to think so radically about expansion."
"Bigger than Johanna Kissler?" Cody asked, raising a brow.
"I'm talking like Oprah," Emilia said with a grin.
"Wow, I like it when you dream big," Cody said. "Confidence is very sexy."
"I had another idea," Emilia admitted, biting her lower lip. "But you might not like it."
Cody raised her eyebrows in reply.
Emilia paused, weighing the reasoning for telling Cody a plan when it didn’t have any kind of detail behind it. But she trusted Cody, and after the long day they had, she realized that she wanted a partnership with Cody, where they could talk openly about their lives. And a big part of her life was the bookshop. Cody would have to get on board with that quickly.
"Well, it's a bit complicated. We were considering the possibility of buying the bakery business, and then renovating our space to include a small cafe. Frankie had this great idea to lease out the bakery kitchen in the afternoons and evenings to a non-customer facing catering bakery. You could be as involved as you want. That way, part of the bakery lives on," Emilia said quickly, her heart thumping.
"There's a lot of factors at play here, like how you're going to manage a bakery, and if Henry would even support that idea," Cody said, looking up towards the ceiling as though she was considering the idea.
Emilia knew it was risky. But then again, everything about Cody was a risk, and yet, she had never been so sure of anything in her life. Cody may be a risk, but the reward far outweighed the danger. Now she was the one leaping off the cliff, but holding Cody’s hand in hers. Parachutes at the ready.
"It's a fantastic idea," Frankie said, startling both of them. "Not just beca
use it's mine." She giggled. Her eyes were wide and bright as she turned onto her side to look from one of them to the other. "And we already talked to Henry about it. He’s on our side. He said he knew you wouldn't want to take over the business."
Cody looked as though she was thinking over the idea. "If Henry gives it his blessing, then I’m all for it. Em, I trust you, and I trust your vision," she said, squeezing Emilia’s hand.
Emilia’s stomach flipped in excitement. "That means so much to me," she said.
Cody smiled and leaned forward to give her a kiss on the forehead. “Well, you mean so much to me. And I’m not fucking this up again.”
Frankie made a gagging noise in the background.
"How long have you been awake?" Emilia said, giving her a skeptical look.
"Long enough," Frankie said, yawning. She reached for her phone, switching to Kacey Musgraves. "Now can you two shut up and get out of here so I can sleep without you two being so grossly in love?"
"Since when are you the bossier one?" Cody laughed, standing. She pulled Emilia up and steadied her on her feet.
"Are you sure you'll be okay? I'll be back first thing in the morning," Emilia said, leaning over to hug Frankie as well as she could.
"Go away," Frankie joked, swatting at Emilia. “Go celebrate Christmas with lots of whiskey and sex.”
Emilia and Cody exchanged the same incredulous look.
“Sorry, you think lesbian sex is the way to celebrate Christmas?” Emilia said, laughing in surprise.
"Let's blame that one on the drugs," Cody said, squeezing Frankie's foot through the blanket before reaching for Emilia. "Though that does sound like a very fun idea," she said, grinning mischievously.
Emilia rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, trying to hide a smirk. "Lord, what have I gotten myself into?"
"You're stuck with me now," Cody said, wrapping an arm around Emilia’s waist.
"Good," Emilia whispered back, leaning in to kiss Cody again.
"Gross, get your own hospital room!" Frankie teased, shooing them with her hands.
"This was your idea," Cody said to Frankie, then turned her face back to Emilia, "A room will be hard to find, but are you opposed to a roomy custodial closet? I know a place," Cody teased, planting a few more kisses on her lips.
"Lead the way," Emilia said, wiggling her eyebrows.
Emilia laughed as they walked out of the room. Her heart was full, and more than that, her world felt exciting and unstable.
It'd take some getting used to.
She knew the path forward wasn't a straight one, that there'd be obstacles and closures and a lot that would be difficult for them to navigate, especially with the changing business. It wasn’t exactly a future wrapped up nicely in a bow. But she was strong, and she was stronger with Cody beside her.
But first, about that particular Christmas celebration…
Epilogue
One Year Later
Emilia frantically walked through the bookshop. The list of things she had to get done was ever-growing.
PA system working? Checked three times just that week.
Frankie's meticulously crafted playlist that included more than just classic rock Christmas covers? Hard to get, but in the end, she had conceded to some newer additions.
RSVPs all counted and double-checked? Check and check.
Boatloads of extra wine and beer and whiskey delivered? Already taste-tested… more than once.
Decorations? The Christmas decorations had been overseen by Frankie and Cody, who had added lights, garlands, tinsel, trees, and wreaths throughout the space.
Hors-d'oeuvres ordered?
Wait, the hors-d'oeuvres were being made in-house.
The Christmas Eve Party/Grand Opening of Between the Covers was in full swing in approximately... Emilia checked her watch.
One hour.
Emilia looked around the space, her hands on her hips. In just one year, they had come so far.
They had knocked out the wall between the bookshop and the bakery first. Thankfully, it hadn't been a historical feature because planning around those details had been a nightmare that only wine and Cody's calm voice had gotten her through.
They had moved the bookshop cash register to the opposite wall and opened up the space to hold more tables for diners and coffee drinkers. Nico's idea to add a bar with wine and beer on tap had proven an excellent way to make use of the bakery counters once the bakery closed at 2 pm. Cocktails and books were a perfect combination, who knew?
The name was the hardest part. They had talked for months about coming up with a new name. Between the Covers had meant so much to Frankie and Emilia as a shop name, and the idea of parting from it made her panic.
In the end, it had been Cody's idea to take Henry's Bakeshop off the front of the building and instead, place the sign inside, behind the bakery counter.
An unofficial homage, she had called it, and Henry had been delighted by the idea.
Emilia was sad to see the outside sign go, but seeing the sign inside felt like a particularly nice way to respect Henry's legacy.
Some of her favorite areas remained the same, but they received a fresh update. The kid's corner was now on the first floor and handicap accessible per Cody's suggestion, and they now hosted a twice-weekly meet up for mothers of children with special needs. It had been an enormous success so far, and it was something Emilia looked forward to every week.
The space had been "soft" open for about a month, and most of the kinks had been worked out, but there were still a few things Emilia was getting used to.
Cody and Henry had overseen the bakery transition and had done a fantastic job with coming up with a small cafe menu that was overwhelmingly popular, especially the chocolate croissants. The catering business was growing quite popular, too. Some people were even requesting a dinner service, though that'd be a few years in the making, if ever.
Cody was also transitioning out of her manager role to begin a new role as a paramedic and firefighter for the City of Denver. She lit up when she talked about it, and Emilia knew it was the right decision.
Cody would still help out with the bakery and have the final say, but she was ready to get back to saving lives. Emilia couldn't argue with that.
"Don't worry, babe, it's going to be fine," a voice whispered in Emilia’s ear, breaking her reverie, as muscular arms wrapped around her from behind. She sunk back in Cody's chest, the familiar warmth enveloping her.
Honey, a touch of bitter chocolate, and something else… pine? Emilia turned in her arms to see her in nice dress pants and a button up.
"Well, don't you look fancy," Emilia said, reaching out to straighten Cody’s tie. She tugged on it and pulled Cody closer, unable to resist.
Cody cupped Emilia’s face in her hands, giving her a quick, tender kiss. "Go get ready, I'll take it from here," she said, pointing to the office.
Forty-five minutes later, after Emilia had finished curling her hair in the mirror in her office, she paused to take a look over herself.
She wore a well-tailored dress in deep purple that Cody had surprised her with earlier that week. She had a suspicion that Nico had helped Cody pick it out.
Cody was such a thoughtful girlfriend, but Emilia also respected her as an incredible bakery manager.
Cody liked to joke that Frankie and Emilia would always wear the owner pants, but really, she had that bakery under control, and they trusted her completely.
Henry had even overseen the transition and given his blessing, which Emilia knew had meant more to Cody than she'd ever admit.
Emilia stared at her face in the mirror. Those familiar butterflies of nervousness before a big event began to creep up.
"You are a badass," She said to her reflection. "You're going to kill it tonight because you are smart and—"
She was cut off by the office door flinging open. Austen stared up at her with a huge smile, wagging her tail. "Really? I thought you couldn't figure out this new door
knob." Emilia laughed, reaching down to scratch behind Austen’s ears. Frankie was not too far behind the wiggle monster.
"You know you can't have Austen here now that we're serving food, or at least keep her hidden in the office and storage room," Emilia scolded Frankie. Now they had to worry about health inspectors who wouldn't look kindly upon a dog, no matter how cute.
"Yeah, yeah, but think of this as her final farewell. Her swan song, if you will. We're not ‘selling' food tonight, so what's the harm?" Frankie said, bumping Emilia with her hip to push her out of the way of the mirror.
Emilia laughed, looking down at her sister's shoes. "Trade me, yours are cuter," Emilia said, pointing to Frankie's sparkly shoes.
"They don't go with your outfit," Nico said, appearing in the doorway.
Frankie raised her eyebrows. “I win this round, Emmy.”
"You guys ready?" Nico said, and Emilia saw that she was already holding a beer. "Em, do you want me to keep the register open during the event?"
"No, let's just enjoy tonight and not make it all about business," Emilia said. That was a sentence she thought she'd never utter. Maybe she had come a long way in the past year, too…
They had hired several more staff members and blended all of the bakery and bookshop employees almost seamlessly, but she was still the proudest of Nico.
Nico was still in charge of all barista and coffee operations, transitioning to bar manager in the early evenings. Nico, Frankie, and Cody had made the entire renovation possible, helping with catering and online sales while the shops were closed for a few months, never once complaining about change.
"What do you know about enjoying yourself and not making it all about business?" Frankie teased.
Nico laughed, adding, "Is it cold in here? Has Hell frozen over?"
Emilia smirked, shoving them all out of the office. Cody was standing outside, apparently just about to interrupt by the surprised look on her face at the group of giggling women spilling out of the office.
"You ready, babe?" Cody said, reaching for her. "I've got a surprise for you."
"Ooh, do you?" Emilia asked, just as she noticed her parents were standing right behind Cody.