Page 66 of Second Down Scrooge

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—notofftime 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.

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