Sweet Pleasures ✔︎

[20] 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆

Status : Unedited

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A happy, dream-like fog surrounded Jupiter as she went down to the bakery early Monday morning, Sunday had been as magical as Saturday, if a little more fatigued. She'd thought Josh might get antsy about the lack of Wi-Fi, but it had appeared to be the last thing on his mind. Instead he'd wandered the grounds, danced with her, played hacky sack, made treks to the food stands to buy coffee and sandwiches for everyone in their camping circle, and given her warm forehead kisses while simultaneously patting her rear.

Jupiter had never before had such a good time at Codswallop. Her mind filled with all the other things she wanted to do with Josh - folk festivals, rainbow gatherings, street fairs, bonfires, community gardens. He'd embraced Codswallop so easily, fitting into her world as if a place had always existed there for him. Maybe it had, just like in the place in her heart.

And although his impending business trip cast a shadow over the coming month, they would find plenty of ways to breach the physical separation. Talking, texting, emailing, maybe even finding some creative things to do with video calls...

Hmm. Since CEO King's business trips were probably filled with boring meetings and reports, it would be up to Jupiter to make certain that his downtime was especially fun.

Her mind had been zinging with ideas as she prepped for opening the bakery. Clementine came in with the announcement that a new reporter and cameraman had stopped into the bakery on Saturday afternoon, claiming they were working on a segment about the news interest in reality baking shows.

"I tried to call you, but your phone was down and I know the connection at Codswallop is iffy at best." Clementine stowed her bag under the counter. "Apparently the reporter is a cousin of one of the Knight Security men. She was hoping to interview you and didn't want to wait until Monday. So I gave them permission to film because I thought we could use the publicity."

"We still need all the help we can get."

Because one day, Jupiter would have to keep the bakery going by herself. Clementine would be gone, and though Josh hadn't given her a time limit for his business expertise, a day would likely come when he wouldn't be here to answer questions about budgeting or profit margins. And even if he was, Jupiter had always intended to run the bakery independently and under her own power, exactly like her mother had.

During a mid-morning lull, she sat at a mosaic table with her laptop to continue putting vendors into the new accounting software.

"These are different." Isabelle sat at a table by the window, a book open in her lap. She waved a cookie at Jupiter's direction. "What did you do to them?"

"Cheaper ingredients," Jupiter replied "Mum always had the best ingredients, but I couldn't afford them anymore and had to downscale."

"Well, that sucks."

"Believe me, I know." Jupiter glanced up at the sound of the wind chimes jingling above the door.

Josh's brother Evan was holding the door open. A dark-haired woman wearing a stylish wrap dress, gold-rimmed eyeglasses, and dangling earrings entered, sweeping her gaze over the display cases. She was accompanied by a slender, blond man decked out in a suit and bow tie, holding a large carrying case.

A memory of her encounter with Julia spread over Jupiter like a bad rash, and she reminded herself to give these people a chance. Josh had been kind enough to set up a meeting with interior design firm partners about remodeling the bakery, and Jupiter couldn't be churlish enough to refuse.