Page 149 of Almost Love

EPILOGUE

SEPTEMBER

“Welcome to the new and improved Pretty Baked!”

Cheers echoed in the shop space, balloons and a small amount of confetti falling from the ceiling. Oakley looked around and smiled at the familiar faces. She’d done it. His girl had not only spent most of her adult life building a business that was famous, but she’d poured her heart and soul into it every single day. Then she’d gone and opened a new space with more seating and a far more extensive menu. And everyone was there to support her.

Frankie and Milo, still with their newlywed glow, were admiring Mack’s mural. Oleander and Jackson, who he finally got to know during a weekend trip, were seated at a table, smiling at each other. Everleigh was forcing Lachlan to pose for selfies, which was quite something to see. Ginny and Gavin were standing with Daisy and Rafferty, in front of the large display case. Mack was somewhere behind him, his deep Scottish accent floating his way every so often as he flirted with Jesse. They were fucking cute.

When his eyes finally landed on Clementine, his heart did a little dance. She looked happy, which was the only thing thatmattered. Especially since it took much longer than any of them expected for the place to be ready. For the last three months, she had been frowning and scowling more than necessary. She’d had a few panic attacks and crying fits that left her moodier than usual. And she’d been stressed out of her mind. He had done the best he could to be there for her, but it was clear she needed to do it herself.

First, the second batch of tiles that she ordered showed up broken and the supplier refused to take responsibility or replace them. So she had to find someone else and spend more money getting new tiles—which wasnotpart of her budget, as she liked to remind him. Then there was an issue with the furniture; some of the pieces were polished and ready, others would need more time. Oakley and Mack had flown to Austin to meet with the guy to understand the issue and discovered that it was a lack of people to help. But that didn’t ease her tension. Then stuff got stuck at customs and the food inspector couldn’t make it on any of the initially marked out dates.

It was safe to say that Clementine was on edge for three whole months.

The only time she really allowed herself to breathe was the 4thof July weekend with the gang. Frankie had walked into his apartment one morning while they were making out in the kitchen and announced that they were invited to a big weekend bash. Then she set a key on the counter and walked out. Apparently she’d had a spare key to his apartment for months, butforgot about it.

So they went to Bethany Beach with their friends—which was shocking to him, because he still didn’t know half of those people properly—and spent the weekend at a gorgeous beach house. They partied for two days straight, ate and drank their weight in everything delicious.

The minute they got back, she was stressed again. She leaned on him and Mack, letting Ginny and Daisy step in whenever they could. Even her staff were on the ball, making calls and following up with suppliers. Oakley took as much off her shoulders as possible. It was worth it to see her relaxing every now and then, even simply cuddling with Gracie on the couch at the end of the day.

Now, three and a half months later, Pretty Baked was open to the public and it looked exactly like the vision they’d discussed not too long ago.

“Oak! Oak! Gracie needs to poo. Can I take her out?” Indigo rushed over to him, carrying an unhappy looking Gracie. Their new best friend, Rafferty’s son Callahan, was a few steps behind.

“Sure. Remember to pick it up when she’s done!” he called out as the kids ran out of the bakery. He sighed and adjusted his glasses before turning back to the crowd.

“You better be paying my kid for all the dog-sitting they’re doing.”

He smirked, sneaking a look at Mack who was now standing beside him. “Your kid is most likely planning a dognapping, so no.” Looking past him, Oakley forced himself not to smile wider as he said, “Where’s yourfriend?”

Mack glowered, but held up a mug with the Pretty Baked logo on the side. “Glad you managed to stick around.”

“Nothing in the world could have made me leave,” he countered, tapping his mug against Mack’s as his eyes landed on Clementine again. While she was still smiling, he could see that she was ready to drop the façade. “Speaking of which…I’m gonna save her.” He took a sip of his drink—a modified version of Clementine’s famous filter coffee—and moved through the guests until he was able to wrap an arm around her waist. “Excuse us for a minute,” he told the couple she was talking to and then guided her towards the kitchen.

“My god,” she groaned once they were through the doors and dropped her smile and flexed her jaw. “Thank you.”

“We can hide out here as long as you want.”

She nodded and set her head on his shoulder, arms wrapped around his waist. He kissed the side of her head and slid his free arm around her.

“So proud of you, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Oak. Pretty fucking proud of myself too.”

“As you should be, you brought your vision to life,” he whispered, swaying with her slightly.

“Ourvision,” she corrected and kissed his jaw as the kitchen door swung open and the servers came through in a group. They froze and Oakley nodded to let them know they could continue doing their thing.

“Maybe we should get out of the way.”

He laughed and pulled back, linking their hands so he could tug her to her office. Much like the one at the old space, a desk filled the room, a brand new couch was tucked against one side and the walls were covered in articles and accolades Clementine had achieved over the years. His favorite thing was the photographs that had been added to the collection. Tons of the two of them, lots of Mack and Indigo, a bunch of her with Ginny and Daisy and a group shot from their 4thof July weekend. There were even pictures of her parents and siblings.

“Oak.” He turned to find her leaning against her desk, one eyebrow arched. “What’s on your mind?”

“Thinking about how incredible you are.”

She rolled her eyes and slid back so she was sitting on her desk. He took a moment to appreciate his woman, because even exhausted and tired of smiling, she was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. Her black skirt was tight and hugged her hips all the way down to mid-calf. She wore a sheer top with little cupcakes on it, that had been custom made by a fan, and a darklacy bra-like thing underneath. Her hair was luscious and loose, light makeup highlighted her face and black pumps graced her feet.

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