Chapter 32 Kelly Kaplan

Talk Like a Pirate Day

The Day After Christmas

I draw in a deep breath as I pull open the door to the bakery.

“Oh my God, Kelly! What are you doing here?” Ava asks from just behind the counter when she sees me walk in.

It’s the bakery’s downtime—not off time since that doesn’t exist, but less crowded than the rush times—and she rounds the counter to give me a hug.

“I came home with Austin,” I say with a grin. I pull out of our hug and flash my hand at her, and she grabs it and screams.

“Oh my God!” she squeals. “He proposed?”

“He did!” I squeal back.

“And you said yes?”

“I did!”

“Ahh! Congratulations!” She jumps up and down with her hands on my forearms, and I jump up and down with her.

We come to a stop, and we hug again.

“Thank you! And you know I need you to be my matron of honor, but we haven’t set a date or even talked about it yet. It’s all just so surreal still.”

He walks in behind me carrying both Mia and the gift bag with a present for Ava.

“I’m so happy for you two!” Ava says, hugging him next and pressing a kiss to Mia’s cheek as she steals her from Austin’s arms. She makes silly faces at Mia, who giggles like she always does when her Auntie Ava is holding her.

“Thanks,” he says to Ava. He turns to me with a twinkle in his eye. “You made quick work of that.”

I lift a shoulder with a smile as I take the present from him. I hand the bag over to Ava. “This is for you.”

“Oof, it’s heavy,” she says, and she hands Mia back to Austin as she carries it over to the counter. She digs through the tissue paper I stuck inside, and she pulls out a bottle of vodka and a bag of Doritos—Cool Ranch, our favorite.

She laughs, her eyes sparkling, and she leans in for a hug. “You’re so sweet, Kel. Stay right here. I got you something, too.”

She disappears into the back and returns with a gift bag a moment later.

I tear out the tissue paper, too, and I find a bottle of vodka and a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos inside.

“You really are two of a kind, aren’t you?” Austin says, and the two of us just laugh. We know what we like, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

“I got Mia a few things, too. They’re in my office if you want to come on back,” Ava tells us, and we follow her back to her office, where we find a huge box. And by huge, I mean at least four feet by four feet, and that’s not the only gift in here.

“What did you do?” I ask.

She giggles and shrugs. “Sorry. I couldn’t help but spoil my girl.”

I tear off the wrapping paper and find a backyard wooden playhouse inside, and the next box has all sorts of goodies to decorate the house, like stuffed animals, pillows, and play mats.

“You didn’t have to do all this, but she’s going to love it once Austin puts it together,” I tease, and Austin gives me a look in jest.

“It’ll be perfect in the room I’m planning to turn into a playroom for her,” he says, elbowing me a little, and I laugh.

“Cookie,” Mia says, and all three of us turn toward her.

“Did you just say cookie ?” I ask.

“Cookie!” Mia says again.

“Oh my gosh, she said cookie !” I squeal, and Austin picks her up and twirls her around.

“I think she deserves a cookie since she asked for one,” he says, and he carries her out toward the counter so she can pick one out.

“So the holidays are over now. Are you ready to move in with him?” Ava asks, nodding toward his retreating figure.

“I’m ready. And I need to talk to you about something else.”

“Uh oh. This looks serious.” She perches on the edge of her desk. “What’s going on?”

“Um…I’m not sure how to say this.” I stand in place and fidget with my ring, twisting it around for a few beats before I glance up and find her watching me carefully.

“Are you leaving me?” she asks. “Because I can take it if you are. I knew this wouldn’t last forever.”

“No! No. Except…” I trail off. “Yes. Kind of. Not permanently. I don’t know.”

“Spit it out, Kaplan,” she demands.

I clear my throat. “I need to cut back hours. Significantly. I’m going to start a wreath business, but I don’t want to give up what we have here, so I can still help out with scheduling and things. Whatever the most important tasks are that you need me to handle, I’m here. But I also understand if you need to hire someone else full-time.”

Her jaw drops a little as I babble. “Wait a minute, wait a minute. You’re starting a wreath business?”

“Kaplan’s Crafts. Actually, Austin gifted me the business license and some other stuff for Christmas.”

“Holy smokes, Kel. An engagement ring and a business? How’s he ever going to top this one?”

I lift a shoulder and make a face. “I’m not sure. A monthlong trip to Hawaii, maybe?”

She laughs, and she jumps down from her desk and gives me another hug. “I’m so happy for you, and honestly, you can work as much or as little as you want. I love, love, love working with you, but I’m excited to see what you can do with your wreaths. I always knew you were destined for greater things than sitting in an office.”

I set my hands on her upper arms. “But you gave me the job that allowed me to work the entire first year of my daughter’s life with her right by my side, and I will never be able to thank you enough for that.”

“Oh! Wait! What if I gave you a rack or two in the café to sell stuff from while you get things up and running?” she suggests.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” I say, shaking my head.

“Why not? You’re already selling stuff out of my bakery anyway. May as well give you some prime real estate. And make some Vegas Aces wreaths. Dude, people would go nuts for those.” She raises her brows. “My mom had a different wreath on our front door every holiday when I was growing up. They don’t have to be limited to just Christmas, you know. Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day…hell, Flag Day, ooh, Talk Like a Pirate Day—they all need wreaths.”

“Talk Like a Pirate Day?” I repeat, narrowing my eyes at her.

“What? It’s totally a thing. Ask Grayson. And ask him what he did to me on that day last year.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, and I don’t doubt he dressed up like a pirate and saved the damsel in distress with his…peg leg.

Austin walks back into the office, and he’s holding Mia, who’s eating a cookie with green and red frosting on it. He clearly took a bite since he has a little bit of green frosting on the side of his mouth, and he also has some red garland around his neck that Mia is playing with as she eats her cookie.

I stare at these two loves of my life as this wave of pure happiness washes over me. Two months ago, back when Austin was being a scrooge since he felt like he was second best in every aspect of his life, I never would’ve seen us here. Our journey has been filled with bad timing and tough choices, but my second down Scrooge and I are finally on the same page, and I can’t wait to build our future together.