“That doesn't sound like her,” Liam said, looking toward the dessert case.
“That is what everyone apparently thinks. I don't know. Maybe she got a better job opportunity someplace else. She got a promotion at EM but maybe someplace else wanted her.”
“Maybe,” Liam agreed.
“Alright what the hell are you looking a...” Eric's eyes fell on the dessert case, his words trailing off.
There was a different assortment there than usual. Plump chocolate chip cookies with pieces of macadamia nuts and almonds sticking out, a cinnamon swirl bread, and doughnuts topped with powdered sugar. He looked up toward the top of the case, a big sign that read, “Lena's Baked Goods, Stars Landing, PA” on it.
His head snapped up to Liam's. “What the fuck is going on?”
Liam rubbed his forehead. “Well... Lena baked me some desserts.”
“Yeah,” Eric said, his tone sharp. “I see that. Why does the sign say Stars Landing on it?”
“Because she's back.”
“What? When?” He almost yelled, slamming his mug down on the counter, making the contents spill all over.
“She came in here yesterday...”
“And you let me drive all the way to the city?”
“You had already left, man.”
“I have cell phone you know.”
“She asked me not to tell you,” Liam said, shaking his head.
“What?” Eric asked, his voice quiet. “Why?”
“She didn't say. I swear,” he said as Eric leaned forward. “she didn't say. She gave me the baked goods and the sign. She said if they sell well, she and I can work out some sort of deal in the future.”
“Where is she? Is she at the inn?”
“No,” Liam shook his head. “I asked Emily. She asked me to point her in that direction though so she could apologize.”
“So no one knows where she is staying?”
“No,” he said, looking down at the counter. “I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll run into it her sooner or later.”
“Yeah,” he said, turning around and walking out of the shop. He stood out on the street, looking in both directions, hoping to just... see her walking around somewhere.
So she was back. She was back in Stars Landing. And apparently had some kind of plan to stay. But she hadn't come to see him.
She was back because she liked the town. Because she saw it as a chance to start over and pursue a dream. It was new, but familiar. People would be nice to her again. Probably overly so because of guilt. And Liam would buy her baked goods. She would have a small little business going for herself. Nothing like the life she would have led if she stayed in the city, but a small, happy little life.
That she obviously didn't want him in.
Eric sighed, turning and going into the grocery store, buying food for the rabbit as well as some things to fill up his refrigerator. It had been nice to have things to just grab when he needed something to eat. He had that to thank Lena for.
He made his way back to the garage a while later, his arms overflowing with bags. He wasn't exactly sure how many carrots or how much lettuce a rabbit ate, so he grabbed more than enough to feed a stable full or horses.
He went around his kitchen, trying to find places for groceries he never had to worry about before.
“Did you go food shopping?” a voice asked from the doorway.
Eric turned quickly, his heart slamming in his chest. “Lena.”
Lena leaned against the door jam smiling at him. God, it had felt like ages since she saw his face. It somehow seemed even more attractive than she remembered.
“What could you possibly need all those carrots for?” she asked as he stared at her.
Eric shook his head, as if he expected her to disappear. She looked like herself, but different. Her hair was down and she wore jeans and a blue t-shirt, but she had ankle-breaking heels on.
But more than the change in clothes, she seemed relaxed, happy.
“What are you doing here?”
Lena felt the accusation in his tone, feeling a slight twinge of guilt at not having been the first one to tell him she was back. “I live here now,” she said, smiling.
“I heard,” he said, his tone cool.
“I should have told you sooner,” she said, watching his stern face. Maybe she shouldn't have come at all. Maybe he didn't want to see her after all.
“You think?” he asked, going back to putting groceries away. “Maybe before I went to the city looking for you.”
“You what?” she asked, looking at him.
“I got in a suit. Got into my car. And drove to your work. Where I met up with Hannah who told me you quit.”
“Oh geez,” Lena said, covering her eyes. No wonder he was being so cold.
“Yeah. So then Tad was nice enough to bring me to your apartment.” He watched Lena who was shaking her head, looking at her feet. “Exactly,” he said, smirking.
“You wore a suit?” she asked, finally looking back up at her.
“Yup,” he said. “I looked damn good.”
“I'm sorry I missed it,” she said, walking toward the kitchen. She could only imagine how good he looked in a suit.
“You should be sorry,” he said, noticing a sensual glow in her eyes. Maybe she wasn't mad at him after all. Maybe it wasn't a lost cause. Especially if she was back and he could have time to woo her back. “So you quit your dream job,” he said, watching her lean forward against the counter.
“Well it turns out it wasn't my dream anymore,” she said, twisting her hands. God, it felt good to say that. To get what she had been feeling for over a week out in the open.
“No?” he asked, looking down at her. “what is the dream now?”
“Well, baking obviously. But I have a plan,” she said, perking up and sounding excited.
“Of course you do,” he smiled. “So what is the plan?”
“Well, I thought that diversity would probably be my best bet. So I created three separate, exclusive menus. One for the inn, one for the diner, and one for the bookstore.”
“So you couldn't get the same food in more than one place,” Eric nodded. She really was quite clever.
“Exactly. And I can change each menu every few weeks or whatever so no one gets bored. And I can make desserts for the town meetings, personal parties, etcetera. It won't be a whole lot of money but...”
“But it will be enough for you to live here,” Eric said firmly, so she didn't doubt herself. Money went a lot further in Stars Landing than it did in the city.
“Exactly. And I figured maybe down the road when I streamline everything a little bit...” she trailed off, shaking her head. She was getting ahead of herself. She needed to keep her focus on the present. Enjoy the journey for a change. “Nevermind.”
“No, tell me,” he said, his tone coaxing. And, for the first time with a woman, not because he wanted to create a sense of intimacy, but because he genuinely wanted to know.
“Well...” she said, sounding almost shy. “I was thinking that maybe I could try to branch out to the lodge. Or maybe even Lenny's restaurant one day.”
“I think that's a great plan,” he said and she looked up with her hazel eyes.
“Thanks,” he said, feeling relief. He was the first person she had told the five-year plan to. It seemed too big, too abstract an idea to tell anyone else about. She looked down at her hands, pushing at her cuticles. She needed to ask. She needed to ask or she would forever wonder. And then there would be no chance. “Eric...” she started, not able to look up. She was going to come off so needy and jealous.
“Yeah baby?”
“Um... the night before I left...”
“Yeah?” he asked, leaning closer. Maybe this was it. Maybe there was going to be some kind of explanation for what happened. “Come on... talk to me,” he said.
Lena took a deep breath. She just had to get it over with. “You were gone mo
st of the night. Were you...”
“Was I what?” he asked, charmed by her awkwardness.
“Were you off somewhere with another woman?” There. It was out.
Eric stood back up, looking down at her for a second, shaking his head. So that was it. That's what it was about. She was hurt because she thought there was someone else. That maybe he didn't think she was enough. He couldn't blame her for jumping to that conclusion. It wasn't exactly out of character for him. If it had been any other woman, it might have actually been the case.
The silence seemed to drag on forever, making her wish the floor would just open up and swallow her. It was such a humiliating worry and it was out there for him to know. Poor, insecure little Lena.
But then Eric laughed, a short, humorless sound.
Her head shot up, looking at him oddly. Was he actually laughing at her?
“Awe baby,” he said, moving closer, reaching for her hand. “no. I wasn't with another woman. I haven't been with anyone else since I met you.”
Lena tried to deny the overwhelming rush of relief. “Where did you go then?”
“I went for a hike,” he said, shrugging.
“A hike? Seriously?”
“Yeah... I needed to clear my head. I... ah... couldn't stop thinking about this girl,” he said, reaching out and wrapping a hand around her hip.
“Oh, yeah?” she asked, moving up against him.
“Yeah, she's pretty incredible. She's got these gorgeous hazel eyes I just want to get lost in,” he said, touching her cheek. “And she's a terrible, terrible singer,” he said, his tone amused.
“Hey,” Lena objected half-heartedly, moving to press her face against his chest.
“Yeah... and she's smart and clever,” he added.
“Mmmhmm,” she agreed, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Anything else?”
“Oh plenty,” he said, his arms holding her tightly. “she's also the best sex I've ever had.”
“How romantic,” Lena teased, swatting his butt.
“Yeah... and...” he trailed off, his heart hammering in his chest so hard it was making him feel unsteady.
“And...” she prompted.
“And I think I'm kinda in love with her,” he said, looking down at her.
Lena smiled against his chest, feeling her stomach flip-flop. That was it. That was what she needed to hear to know that she had made the right decision. She pulled slightly back so she could look up at him. “She's a lucky girl,” she said, smiling slightly. “I think she might kinda be in love with you too.”
“Then I'm the lucky one,” he said, pushing her hair behind her ear. He looked at her for a long moment. “I love you, Lena,” he said, leaning down and taking her lips in his.
Lena sighed against his mouth, something inside of her falling into place. For once she wasn't worried about work. She wasn't worried about what was going to happen the next day, week, year, decade. She wasn't making lists and plans and back-up plans. She was just there. She was just present. Open. Fully experiencing the moment.
He kissed her gently for a long time, his hands coming up to frame her face. Like she was something precious. Like she was something worth holding onto.
“I love you too, Eric,” she said, slowly opening her eyes. She looked up at him as his thumb stroked across her cheek. She turned her head slightly to the side. “What is that noise?” she asked, the sudden insistent thumping noise too loud to ignore.
“Oh,” he said, smiling a unusual lopsided smile. “yeah. I got you a present.”
“A present?” she asked, feeling herself smile widely. No one she had dated had ever gotten her a random present before.
“Yeah,” he said, reaching down and taking her hand, leading her toward the living room. “I bought it on the way to your office. Your boss seemed to... like it,” he said, chuckling.
“Oh my god,” she said, letting go of his hand and falling down on the floor next to the strange makeshift cage. “You didn't.”
“I did,” he said, rocking back on his heels.
“You remembered,” she said, her tone breathless.
“Of course I did,” he said, moving to kneel down next to her. “He still doesn't have a name.”
“Can we call him Ben?” she asked, looking up at him with amused eyes.
We. Can we. Eric smiled. They were a we. “We can call him whatever you want.”
Lena reached down and stroked his soft, fluffy white hair, leaning her head against Eric's arm. “Thank you,” she said, smiling.
Eric turned his head and kissed her cheek. “He's going to need you close by to take care of him.”
Lena looked at him, smiling. “I think that can be arranged.”
Epilogue
Lena stood barefoot in the kitchen, stirring a bowl. Ben jumped around the floor, tickling his toes when he stopped to lay next to her. “That's not a good place for you, mister,” she said, looking down. “I have a lot of baking to get done today.”
“Why's that?” Eric asked, coming into the room and scooping the rabbit off the floor.
“Because Emily is going to need an extra large batch of these brownies.”
Eric dropped the bunny into his cage, coming back into the kitchen and snaking his hands around her waist, watching over her shoulder as she stirred. “Because...” Lena turned her head slightly so that he could see her profile, smiling a bit wickedly.
“What are you keeping from me, woman?” he asked, leaning down and biting her earlobe.
Lena laughed, setting the bowl on the counter and turning in his arms. “Today is going to be one of the worst days of her life.”
“That's... dramatic.”
Lena shook her head slowly. “Today is the day that James Michaels is coming into town.”
Eric's brow quirked up. “That seemed fast.”
Lena rolled her eyes. “It's been like... five months. He wanted to come in the fall for some reason.”
God. Had it really been five months? He looked down at Lena, a smear of flour on her cheek, her face flushed. Happy.
She had already carved out a name for herself in the town. Liam sold out of the doughnuts faster than she could make them, the inn served her high-brow desserts, and the diner wanted her to handle the pastries.
She was constantly falling into bed with sore feet from standing all day, but she would stretch out slowly, working the tightness out of her muscles and then curl up into his side. Like it was the only place in the world. Like there was nowhere else she would ever want to be.
He reached up, rubbing the flour off her cheek. “I love you,” he said, the words rolling easily off his tongue.
She tilted her head to the side. “I love you too,” she said, leaning forward and kissing him quickly. “Now let me get back to my baking.”
Eric slowly let her go. “Alright. I am going to run out for a minute.”
“Where are you going?” she asked, already picking up her bowl again.
“I am going to go buy that man a bottle of scotch,” he said, moving toward the door with a smile. “If he is going to have to deal with Emily, he's going to need it.”
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