♡ TWO MONTHS LATER ♡

I inhaled the sweet aroma of freshly baked goodies as Daisy and Liz danced around me to some song from Aunt Mimi's playlist of music from the early 2000s.

Cake Me Up was back. The official opening wasn't until tomorrow, but Aunt Mimi invited a small group of us for a pre-grand opening.

The interior was as bright and colorful as before. There was a cake display filled with adorably decorated cakes and cupcake towers in the window. Streamers in pink, yellow, blue, and purple hung from the ceiling. A balloon arch stood as the backdrop for a makeshift photoshoot area where a familiar face was manning the camera.

Nathaniel had finished taking pictures of Cash. The thirteen-year-old attempted to be sexy, I guessed, as he went through a myriad of poses.

"Hey, is Nessa here yet?" Cash asked me as he straightened the tie of his green suit. Everyone dressed up in suits or gorgeous dresses. Aunt Mimi demanded that we celebrated in style.

My eyes rolled at his little crush. "You know she has a boyfriend, right? She's also four years older than you."

He shrugged. "Mom is five years older than my dad. And, no offense, Nate, but Lorenzo has nothing on me."

Nate's lips pursed as he held in a laugh. I wanted to point out my brother that a five-year age difference after you're thirty was less weird than when you were a teen, but he was already walking away.

"Sorry you had to deal with him," I said, turning to Nate. He also wore a suit. Blue and fitted perfectly to him.

"Nah, I admire his confidence," he said, a slight smirk on his face. "Reminds me of a younger me."

"Of course." A smile spread across my face as I remembered what happened two months ago.

Nate spinning me around when we found out we won Bake-A-Palooza. The sprinkles the judges rained on us. The comically huge check they presented us with that Nate was absolutely losing his mind over. The stolen kisses in the elevator as Nate and I went back to our room, where we were met with some of the loudest cheers I'd ever heard.

Now we were standing in a new bakery that our oversized check helped bring to life. It took some convincing to talk Aunt Mimi into accepting the money, but Nate and I weren't taking "No" as an answer. But we couldn't do it on our own.

After our win, news got out about what had happened to the original Cake Me Up and donations started flowing in. One donor I didn't expect was Lynn Goffney, Aunt Mimi's old business partner. She was there to celebrate with us and, from the way they were whispering in each other's ears over in the corner, I didn't think their partnership stopped at business.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, nudging me with his shoulder.

I looked up at him, his face open and patiently waiting to hear my thoughts. "The competition. Well, everything that's happened this summer. How we got here from that first meeting in Cake Me Up."

A knowing grin pulled at his lips. "You mean when you were trying to pretend you weren't checking me out?"

My eyes narrowed, despite the blush rising in my cheeks. "I wasn't checking you out."

"If you say so." He chuckled, staring down at the camera in hands. "But I get what you mean. A lot has changed."

Something flashed across his face so fast I thought I'd imagined it. But I had a feeling I knew what it was.

After the insurance money cleared and Aunt Mimi paid off Nate's uncle, he skipped town. From what I'd gathered, Nate's uncle was supposed to give some of the money to Cheyenne for her part in the set-up. She learned the hard way that her brother valued money over family.

Nate was still staying with Lorenzo, the situation with his mom still too weird, but she was his mom. I'm sure he wanted her there to celebrate with him.

Reaching out to take the camera from his hands, I ordered him to stand under the balloon arch. I swear he blushed as he took his place. He gave a winning smile that completely contradicted his previous shy act.

"You should get it printed," I said, showing him the picture. "Maybe give it to your mom?"

He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "I don't know. Maybe."

I dropped the subject, realizing he didn't want to talk about it, and lifted the camera to snap a picture of us together. Nate's lips caught my cheek at the last moment. My entire body warmed, still not used to being someone's girlfriend after all this time. Unlimited access to surprise kisses was almost too much to handle. 

There was a knock at the door. The windows had been covered with flyers for tomorrow's grand opening and articles from when Nate and I won Bake-A-Palooza, so no one could see in and we couldn't see out.

My dad opened the door and Nessa came in a gold mini dress that shimmered under the lights. Her little sister, Gabrielle, came in behind her, wearing the same dress but in red. Lorenzo followed them in wearing a simple black suit, his locs up in a bun.

As expected, Cash dropped everything to greet Nessa, leaving Liz to dance by herself.

My best friend was prepared, though. She pulled her sister forward, interrupting whatever flirting Cash was about to drop on her. "Cash, meet my sister, Gabrielle."

She smiled politely. "I prefer Gabe, actually."

Never in my life had I ever witness my brother speechless. His jaw was on the floor and Gabe blushed under his stare.

Nessa smiled triumphantly, stepping around them. She ran over to me, giving me the tightest hug ever. "I can't believe I'm standing in the new and improved Cake Me Up!"

"Yeah, it's a little surreal," I agreed, linking my arm through hers and walking away from Nate and Lorenzo, who were talking about some new video game. "Did you get it?"

Nessa gave me an "of course I got it" look before opening her purse to show me. Nate's Nintendo Switch was nestled between her make-up bag and cellphone. "It was easier than I thought it'd be," she said. "I just asked Lorenzo and he didn't even question it."

"Are you aware of how good you look in this dress?" I said. "He probably would've given you his kidney if you asked."

"True." We discreetly switched the game from her bag to mine. "What do you plan on doing with this anyway?"

"Something I should've done a long time ago."

"Charm, do you know how much that thing costs? You can't smash it up!"

My eyes widened at the accusation. "I'm not going to 'smash it up'. Why would I do that?"

"You did complain a lot about how much he was on it," she pointed out.

"That was when I was secretly in love with him and trying to deny it."

"Is that right?"

I froze at Nate's breath on my neck. The words he whispered in my ear sent goosebumps down my arms.

Nessa tucked her lips in, holding back a laugh. She scurried away to join Liz and Daisy at the photo booth to take selfies.

"How long have you been standing there?"

He stepped in front of me, a hint of a satisfied grin on his face. "Just long enough to know you're in love with me."

On second thought, maybe I would smash his game. Right over his head. "I could've been talking about anyone."

He ducked his head, so we were at eye level. "Really?"

I nodded, holding his eye contact and failing to keep a straight face. Then he kissed me and I laughed against his lips.

Suddenly, Nate flinched and pulled away from me. He touched the back of head, his gaze shifting to the frosted sugar cookie on the floor beside his shiny dress shoes.

My eyes shot to my dad and Samir, who were too enthusiastic about the cookie display for it to be genuine.

"Seriously?" My mom took the words right out of my mouth. "Aren't you two a little too old to be starting food fights?"

My dad shrugged, all innocent. Samir pointed to my dad, blaming him for everything. I shook my head, a smile at my lips. My family was weird.

While my mom talked to my dad and Samir, I took Nate's hand and led him into the back where the kitchen was. Industrial ovens and shelves of raw ingredients lined the walls.

Aunt Mimi and I spent hours in that kitchen the night before, baking different desserts for the party and preparing some things for the opening tomorrow. Nate was still one of her employees, but it had been so long since it was just my aunt and me baking together, he didn't join us.

"Your dad threw a cookie at my head for kissing you in public," he said, leaning against the counter with his ankles crossed. "What is he going to do if he catches us back here alone?"

I chewed the inside of my cheek as I thought about it. "Probably stuff you inside one of these giant ovens."

He stared at the oven, slight horror on his face. "I believe that," he said. "You're lucky I love you, Cupcake." He paled, realizing what had just tumbled out of his mouth.

I was about to yell at him for calling me cupcake—even though I secretly liked it—but then... My heart lodged itself in my throat. Did he just...

He tugged at the collar of his dress shirt like he suddenly couldn't breathe. I knew the feeling. He slowly dragged his eyes up to meet mine.

"Charm—"

"Turn around."

His brow furrowed. "What?"

"Turn around." With a look a pure confusion, he turned to face the wall. "And close your eyes."

When I was sure his eyes were closed, I allowed myself to breathe, hoping the music on the other side of the door was loud enough to cover up my shaky breath. Did he seriously just say that?

"You're lucky I love you."

It sounded so natural coming from him. Like it was something he said to me all the time. I love you.

Reaching into my purse, I pulled out his Switch, my hands shaky as I pulled off the controllers.

"You looked mad," he said, eyes still closed shut. "You're gonna go get your dad and you're gonna help him put me in the oven, right?"

I dug around in my purse for what I needed. "I am mad—" he moved to face me and I shouted, "Turn around!"

"Look, I know that came out of nowhere." He paused for a beat. Then, in one breath, he said, "But I meant it. I love you. I knew it for a while, but after what happened the first time I told a girl I loved her—I didn't want to scare you off, too." The silence that followed was filled with music and laughter and the pounding of my heart in my ears. "Did I? Scare you off?"

He was usually so confident and sure of himself that the insecurity in his voice shocked me. I had no idea he felt that way. That he was afraid to tell me how he felt.

"You can open your eyes." I was standing beside him now, his game reassembled and hidden behind my back.

Slowly, he turned to face me, caution and hope shadowing his features. Without a word, I handed him the game.

A crease formed between his brows as he looked down at his game and the new skin that covered it. When he flipped it over, recognition flooded his face.

It was a custom skin that I probably paid way too much money for. The collage of pictures from his closet door now covered his game. His mom was all too willing to let me in to take pictures of it. She probed me with questions about her son and I gave her basic answers, leaving out things I wasn't sure he'd want her to know.

"I'm mad because you ruined my plan," I told him in a huff, fake pouting as I crossed my arms. "I was going to surprise you with this and tell you that I loved you."

A wide grin flourished across his face and I could've died right there. "This is...You're incredible, you know that?"

I shrugged, shy under his intense gaze. "So I've been told."

He stepped closer, his arm circling my waist. Deep brown eyes stared down at me like I was the most amazing thing he'd ever laid eyes on.

That time I didn't shy away from looking him in the eyes. "I love you, too."

Those words had been bouncing around my head since the competition. Saying them out loud and watching his face light up, it was like biting into a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie. The warm, gooey kind that left you speechless.

Nate must've felt it, too. He responded, not with words, but with a kiss that said everything I needed to know.

He loved me.

\\

THE END

I can't believe it's over :'(

Thank you for the comments and votes and love for Charm and Nate's story. I had so much fun writing this and I hope you had just as much fun reading it! 

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