Valentine's Sugar Rush (Ashton Sweets 2)

“Well,” I reached for the cupcake. “The husband of the couple decided that he needed to remind his wife how much he loved her.”

“He did?”

“He did,” I nodded.

“Bob, is this story about us?” Helena’s voice was only a whisper, and I smiled as I opened the little box that housed the cupcake.

“Thirty years ago, we celebrated a very special Valentine’s Day together,” I reminded her.

“We shared a cupcake, too.”

“And a promise.”

“I remember it well.”

I broke the cupcake into two pieces. Somehow, it didn’t crumble or fall everywhere. I was happy about that. I handed half to Helena, and I gripped the other half in my own hand, holding it as though my life depended on it.

“Thirty years ago, I promised to love you.”

“I made the same promise.”

“I think we lost sight of each other along the way a little bit,” I told her.

She was quiet, holding the cupcake, looking at it.

“With this cupcake, I want to make you a promise.”

“A promise?”

She looked up at me, her eyes bright.

“We’re two halves who fit together in the very best way,” I told her. “We might be a little crumbly, and we might be a little messy, but we complete each other, Helena.”

I felt it, too. In all of my years, I’d never met anyone who made my heart soar the way she did. Helena always seemed to know how to make me smile. She always knew just how to get my blood pumping and how to get me feeling excited about the world, about everything.

I wanted that for her, too.

I wanted to remind her that she was my everything.

“I promised to love you, and to cherish you, and tonight, I want to make that same promise to you, sweetheart.”

She bit her lip, but then nodded.

“I promise to love you, Helena. I promise to take care of you. I promise that no matter what happens, I will always be here for you.”

“I promise you the same,” she looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. “For better or for worse, Bob.”

“Oh, darling, it’s going to be for better. It’s got to be.”

We bit into our cupcakes, looking at each other as we did, and as we let the sweet frosting overwhelm our tastebuds, I let myself relax with the woman of my dreams. She’d been busy loving me for years, and I’d been busy loving her right back. We’d made plenty of mistakes, and we’d make more in the future, but right now, we had a special chance to remember where we’d come from.

We had a wonderful chance to remember where we were going.

We finished our cupcake, and then we stood. I kissed her there in the moonlight, silently promising her everything I’d already said out loud. I was going to love Helena for the rest of my damn life. I would give her the world if she’d only let me.

When she pulled away, she smiled.

“Now, that was a date,” she laughed.