Page 82 of Walkoff Wedding

“Cher?” My gaze whips to Amos, who’s standing on the sidewalk next to me. “Are you okay?”

Numbly, I nod, clutching the blanket tighter around me. “Yeah. I’m just sad. And angry. And scared that we’ll never be able to fix everything that was broken tonight. This place is so important to me, Amos.”

“I know, darlin’.” He takes a seat on the curb next to me before curving his arm around my shoulders and tucking me tightly against his side. “I’m sorry that you had to go through that this morning. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to protect you.”

The sad, remorseful tone of his voice has fresh tears stinging in my eyes and a ball of emotion rising in my throat. I lay my head on his shoulder as a moment of quiet settles over us.

I guess the adrenaline is starting to wear off because I just feel exhausted. Overwhelmed with everything that’s happened this morning.

I hate this. I hate that it’s affected not only me but the people that I love. Amos, Earl… Grant.

“It’s not your fault. Please don’t apologize. I came in early because I was planning on making a special batch of cream cheese croissants for Grant.” I laugh humorlessly, swiping at the tears on my cheeks. “I guess that plan isn’t happening now.”

Amos tightens his arm around me and lays his cheek on the top of my head. My eyes flit back to Grant, and I sigh defeatedly.

“It’s going to be okay, cher. I know it might not feel like it right now, but it will. We’ve got insurance, and they’ll cover the damages until the police arrest whoever’s responsible for this.”

I scoff. “You know who’s responsible for it.”

“I have an idea, but we don’t know that for sure. That man’s a lot of things, but I don’t think he’s that foolish. And I know this is devastating to us both, but I want you to remember something. Okay? I want you to remember that no matter how dark it gets, that sun is gonna shine again. And when you feel those warm rays on your face, all of the darkness that you suffered through will be a thing of yesterday.”

I nod, sniffling. “I know.”

“I think I’ve been telling you that since you were a little girl. Goodness, you would run around the bakery, hiding behind my legs from your mama when you played hide-and-seek. I still remember those days like they were yesterday.”

I could never forget growing up in the bakery or the time I had with my mom before she passed. Most of my memories include Amos—he loved her as much as I did.

Grant strides over to our perch, dropping to his haunches in front of me. He reaches out, brushing my hair back from my face with a softness in his eyes that’s so tender it makes my chest ache. “You doing okay, baby?”

“Yes. I-I think…” I whisper quietly. “I will be okay.”

Amos presses his lips gently to the crown of my hair before sliding his arm off and pushing to his feet. “I’m going to go do some cleanup inside, make some calls to the insurance company, and see how quickly I can get someone out here to replace the front windows and repair the display case. Probably should get the locks changed just in case.”

God, I hadn’t even thought that far ahead. I hadn’t really thought about anything other than making it through this morning. I was exhausted before I even got here, and now that the adrenaline has begun to wear off, my eyes are heavy, and my brain is not functioning properly.

“I’m coming too,” I say as I pull the blanket off my shoulders and stand, swaying slightly from how quickly I got up from the curb.

Grant reaches for me, immediately wrapping his hand around my arm and steadying me. “Baby, you’re dead on your feet. You need to rest.”

I shake my head adamantly, bringing my fingers to my temples and attempting to rub away the ache. I can’t just leave the bakery. Amos and Earl need me to help clean up the disaster that’s inside.

“Grant, I can’t just leave them with this mess. This is my responsibility.”

“I understand,” he starts, gently pulling me to him and wrapping me up in his arms, practically holding me up. “But you also need to take care of yourself, Addie. You went through something traumatic this morning. You need to take a moment, get some sleep. I called in some help… I figured we could use it.”

My brows pinch in confusion. I try not to fixate on the fact that he referred to the situation at the bakery as we and how it made my heart flutter.

“What do you mean?”

“Davis and a few guys from the team. They’re going to come by in a bit and get a tarp up over the front window to prevent anything getting in.” He pauses to look over at Amos, who has the smallest hint of a smile that I can’t quite read on his face. “They’re at your beck and call, Amos. Put them to work. Anything you need, they’re here to help. I figured with their help, we can get the place cleaned up today, secure it as best we can until someone comes out to replace the windows and we can order new supplies.”

God, my heart squeezes with each word that comes out of his mouth. I’m on the verge of tears again as I stare up at his ridiculously handsome face.

I think he might be perfect, and until now, I wasn’t sure the perfect man existed.

But he does, and he’s my husband.

“Grant,” I whisper, and he glances back at me. His dark blue eyes are a hurricane of concern within the depths, and I can’t take another second without touching him. I rise on the tips of my toes as I slide my arms around his neck, and then I lean in, sealing my lips to his.

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