“What’s that?” She pulled back slightly and pointed at the ring box in my pocket.
My heart started to pound as I searched for something, anything, to divert her attention.
“I’m here! What do you want me to do?” Darby yelled loudly. “Can I have a piece of that cake first?”
Grinning at his perfect timing, I pulled back so that Desi could be seen by the rest of the room.
“You can have as much as you want as long as you’re willing to work.” Desi clapped. “Pretty much. I need all these boxes emptied. I need the big strapping guys to help me with the shelf in the storage room.”
I looked over at the cake that she was talking about and shook my head.
“Babe.” I laughed. “That’s like eight cakes.”
“Actually, it’s nine.” Another woman entered the room. Candy. And she was carrying a chocolate cake with M&M’s decorating the outside. Banks’ favorite. “This one is apparently another special that she’s offering.”
Banks groaned, and I turned to see him following Candy with hungry eyes. I couldn’t tell if it was due to the cake, or Candy herself.
Probably both, if I had to guess. But again, I wasn’t going to go there. I was going to mind my own business.
Desi hurried over to the table at the back of the room behind the display cases and moved the cakes over to make room for the one Candy was holding.
“That’s my favorite type of cake,” Banks muttered.
“The one on the end is my favorite,” I said.
White on white. My stomach grumbled.
“Fuck,” I heard Darby say. “This is so good!”
I looked over to see him biting into a pastry.
“Jesus Christ,” Ace said. “How much are we sampling?”
“Everything?” Desi laughed.
I licked my lips.
“Let’s get started,” I said. “You’ll be eating this food with us, right?”
Desi grinned. “Yep.”
I winked at her.
“Show me what you need done,” I ordered.
“First, let me get everyone’s pizza orders. Then we can start.”
Four hours later, Booth and Bourne were eating again—cold pizza with a side of cake—and Nico and I were holding up a large picture of a coffee and a cupcake.
“That looks perfect,” Candy said.
Banks nailed a nail into the wall and then helped us hang it up.
We all stepped back to admire the handiwork.
“I think we’re done,” Desi said as she offered pink napkins to Nico’s girls. “What do you think, Candy?”
“It looks good,” Candy replied. “I think the only thing missing at this point are the cakes and pastries in the display cases.”
I agreed. What there was to set up had been set up, now the only thing missing were the customers and the food.
“I think you’re ready, baby,” I said to the girl that had just come up and wrapped her arms around me.
She pressed a kiss to the middle of my shoulders and hummed. “Yep. I’m ready.”
I pulled her around to my front and dropped a kiss to her forehead.
“What about tomorrow? Are you ready to tackle tomorrow?” I wondered.
A smile lit her face as she stared into my eyes.
“You have no idea how ready I am for tomorrow,” she said. “I gave it a lot of thought today. And I’m ready. I’m going to kick ass as long as I have you there with me.”
I squeezed her a little tighter as I said, “You’ve got me, baby. For however long you want me.”Chapter 18I love all races. Except marathons. Fuck running.
-Desi’s secret thoughts
Desi
“I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” Codie whispered as she paced the living room. “I’m going to throw up. I just know it.”
That had me grinning as I looked at my best friend.
“If it makes you feel better,” I said jokingly. “I’m going to name my first child after you.”
Codie snickered, and she turned thoughtful for a moment.
“That does, a little bit at least,” she admitted. “But you better have a beer or something waiting for me at the finish line.”
I looked at Codie. “You’re not even a big fan of beer. How about I have a chocolate shake waiting for you at the finish line?”
She pointed at me. “That’s why we’re best friends. Because you know everything there is to know about me.”
“Everything?” Ace asked as he arrived in the living room. “Why are y’all yelling? It’s too early in the morning for that.”
“We’re not yelling,” Codie told him. “We’re discussing the merits of dropping out.”
Ace’s amused eyes turned to his woman. “You’re not dropping out. You’ve trained hard for this. You’re going to rock it.”
Codie rolled her eyes. “So everyone keeps saying.”
I felt familiar hands wrap around my belly, and I looked up and over my shoulder to see Callum’s sleep-filled eyes taking me in. “You ready to go?”
I nodded once.
“Y’all get something to eat?” Ace asked over a yawn.
“Yes,” Codie said. “Desi made us protein drinks and made me eat a banana, which then reminded me that I don’t like having thick things in my mouth before dawn.”