“Is someone getting married tomorrow?” Juls asks, walking toward me. She stops when she sees Brooke’s apron. “Aww, I love that.”
“Joey got it for me,” Brooke states, smiling over at my thoughtful assistant as he walks into the back.
Juls darts over to him and wraps her arms around his waist. “You’re the sweetest, JoJo.”
“Christ, it’s just an apron. I didn’t propose or anything,” he counters.
“Babe, hurry up and show Dylan what we came here for. I need to get back to the office.” Ian walks over to the assembled cakes and studies them, leaning in closely. “These will get frosted, right?”
“Yes,” all four of us answer in unison, the obvious implication evident in our voices.
He straightens and stares at us like he hasn’t just asked a ridiculous question.
Who the hell wouldn’t ice a wedding cake?
“Okay, are you ready?” Juls asks, opening her envelope and waving over Joey and Brooke. We all three huddle around her as she pulls out the tiny black and white photo and holds it out for us to see. “Look at my little nugget.”
“Oh, my God!” I snatch the photo out of her hand and run my finger over the image. Tracing over the tiny splotch, because that’s exactly what it looks like, I can’t contain the magnitude of emotions beginning to course through me.
My best friend is having a baby.
When I glance back at her, it’s through teary eyes. “Juls! I love your little nugget!”
“Give me that.” Joey grabs the picture and studies it with Brooke. He gasps, looking from the picture to her stomach. “Can you feel anything yet?”
She shakes her head, wiping underneath her eyes. “No, not yet. But we heard the heartbeat today. That was amazing.” Ian comes up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. “Wasn’t it amazing, babe?”
He kisses her neck. “It was. I wish I could’ve recorded it.” He removes one hand from around Juls and takes the picture away from Joey. “Let me see my baby again.”
I watch as the proud father-to-be looks at the sonogram with his wife. He whispers something into her ear and she nods, tearing up again. It’s a private moment and I let them have it, turning around and busying myself.
At the sound of the shop door, Joey disappears up front, returning moments later and carrying the familiar white box. He sets it down on the worktop in front of me. “Not sure how he’s going to top a set of car keys,” he says jokingly, tugging at the white ribbon.
I open the box and pull out the card, not bothering to contain my excitement. I can’t. I’m marrying this amazing man tomorrow, my best friend just showed me a picture of her little nugget, and I have the two best employees a girl could ask for.
I know tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life, but I’m finding it hard to imagine topping this moment.
I open the card as Joey sifts through the tissue paper, stopping to read over my shoulder.
Dylan,
You asked me to keep my eyes on you before when you danced to this song, and I’ve never taken them off. Dance for me now.
X, Reese
Joey pulls out Reese’s iPod and darts up front with it as I tuck the note into my apron pocket. He returns moments later with the docking station, plugging it in and setting everything on the worktop. “I love how he knows we dance on Fridays. Could he seriously be any more perfect?”
“No,” I answer, earning myself an annoyed look from him.
He cues the song up and seconds later, Beyoncé’s “Naughty Girl” fills the kitchen. Juls, Brooke, Joey, and I all begin dancing around the space and when I glance over at Ian, he’s holding his phone out with it focused on me.
“What are you doing?” I yell over the music, moving in between Juls and Brooke.
“What I’ve been instructed to do.” He smiles and motions for me to keep going.
Oh. Well then.
My man wants me to dance for him? Okay. I can do that.