Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 59951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
“I knew I could bake, but… Thorne, thank you. I feel like I’ve said that a million times over the course of this week.”
“And I’ve not said it enough. You made it possible for me to enjoy a trip like this. I wouldn’t have taken the time to take things in, to observe, if I hadn’t met you, if you hadn’t changed me. You’re thanking me, but this is really all because of you.”
Riley shook his head. “We’re a couple of saps.”
“We’re newlyweds; it’s expected.”
“As long as you go back to being arrogant and cynical next week,” Riley said.
“And you go back to laughing at me because of it.”
“Deal.”
The door jingled again, and Thorne and Riley both turned to look. Two men entered. They both looked to be in their seventies and were wearing tan pants and button-downs. Riley had the sense that was as casual as they got.
“The usual?” the woman at the counter asked.
“Yes,” said the taller of the two.
“No, wait.” The second man reached for the other’s hand and drew him to the display case. “This is new.”
“That’s blueberry streusel cake,” the woman said. “One of the bakers was playing around with the recipe, so we’re trying it out.”
“Let’s get it,” the second man said. They continued to hold hands, and Riley couldn’t look away.
“Are you sure? We always get a cinnamon bun.”
“We can change things up, you know. Or you can just be boring, and I’ll try something new.”
“You try it, I try it.”
“So two blueberry cakes and two black coffees?”
“Yes,” the taller man said. The other man let go of his hand and moved toward a table.
“No,” the taller man complained. “Get our usual table. We’re not changing more than one thing at a time, not at my age.”
“Your age? I’m two years older, as you like to remind me.”
The taller man made a noise of disgust. “Fine, but sit where we always do.”
The woman at the counter gestured toward the tables. “You can both have a seat. I’ll bring it out.”
“Thank you.”
The couple settled into a spot in the center of the room.
Riley was glad they hadn’t taken the men’s table by accident.
The two older men continued to talk animatedly. As Riley watched them, he noticed the way they looked at each other and wondered how long they’d been in love. “Will we be like them in thirty years?”
Thorne smiled. “I hope so, but you’ll be a lot younger.”
“And I still won’t care.”
“I love thinking about all the years we have before us, all the things we can do: you running your bakery, me retiring and convincing you to hire some hot young baker so we can travel more. All the things we can teach each other.”
Riley looked at the older couple once more. They were holding hands across the table. He sighed with happiness, turned back to Thorne, and lifted his coffee cup in a toast. “Here’s to our future. May we be as happy as they are.”
Thorne’s eyes sparkled as he clinked cups with Riley. “Here’s to knowing we will be.”