Chapter Four.

Day Three. The last day of the promo sales.

Rose looked around her shop. Plates of cookies and sticky buns and small cupcakes covered the counter. The small wooden table at the far left of the shop held a tray of pancakes, a bowl of syrup, a bowl of honey and a jar of strawberry jam. While the small table at the center held a big bowl of ice cream and a big bowl of smoothie.

People were everywhere. She prayed this would be her little pastry shop's normal after this was over.

A middle aged woman walked up to her, a half-eaten cupcake in her hand. "The cakes are really good!!"

"Thank you." She smiled at the woman. "Have you tried the sticky buns?"

"No, but I will!"

She chuckled, watching the woman make her way to the counter.

Rick came over to her side. "You liking what you see?" He wiggled his brows.

She looked up and her breath got locked up in her chest. Rick looked breathtaking. The t-shirt he wore hugged his skin, highlighting his broad shoulders. And his hair...

Did he just get a new hairdo?

She dredged up grin. "Yeah."

"From reports I've been hearing, they like what are tasting. They are going to come back, Rosie. I feel it in by bones."

She felt her heart swell within her. "That's the aim, isn't it?"

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her hair. "I'll be right back. I need to go tell more people the amazing pastry chef you are."

"Rick..."

He ran his finger down the side of her face, causing the rest of the words to die on her tongue. He cupped her face with the other hand. At the touch of his fingers, heat flooded her face. To be honest, when his fingers closed around her cheek, the room seemed to grow hotter. She saw his eyes fall on her lips and darken with desire.

"Rick." She whispered, breathless.

He lifted his eyes to hers and smiled. "I should get going."

She could not mutter a word at that moment, not even if her life depended on it. All she knew was she needed air. Lots of air.

******

Rick put on a smile as he approached Phillip and the fire captain. His hand was still burning; his heart, still beating. His reaction to her presence had been getting stronger recently. It was like every time he saw her, he always felt like gathering her in his arms and kissing her senseless.

But she wasn't his, yet. If anything, he was more determined in getting her to say yes.

******

Rose ran into Bonnie as she hurried out of the shop.

Bonnie grabbed her by the shoulders and steadied her. "Easy, baby. What got you rushing out like that?" Bonnie brought her face close to hers. "And why is your face so red?"

"The shop is hot."

"Last I remembered, your shop has large ventilation. Is an handsome gentleman trying to woo you?"

Well, Rick was exceptionally handsome tonight and he was sure trying to woo her.

"I just need some air, Bonnie."

"Ignoring the question. So that means yes, there is an handsome gentleman. Come introduce me to him."

"Bonnie!!"

Bonnie grabbed her hand and dragged her back into the shop. "So where is he?"

She sighed.

Bonnie nudged her. "Come on."

Searching for Rick in the crowd, she nodded at him.

Bonnie's mouth dropped open. "O.M.G."

"My thoughts exactly." She whispered.

"What is with the smoky black jeans and the body hug? And did he just get a new hairdo? Cause the last time I saw him, his hair wasn't falling over his forehead."

"I guess he is really pouring it real thick."

Bonnie looked at her and smiled at her strangely.

"What?"

"Nothing." Bonnie smiled strangely again. "Nothing."

Just as she was about to wring the answer out of Bonnie, a person caught her attention. "Is that Jane?"

"Uh?"

"Jane, the owner of the bakery down the street."

"Oh." Bonnie looked at Jane. "You goan say hi?"

"Yeah." She walked up to Jane. "Hey."

Jane turned and smiled. "Hey. Nice thing you got going on in here."

"Thank you."

"And your tart is..." Jane inhaled deep. "Heavenly."

"Thank you. That means a lot to me."

"Well, I only call 'em as I see 'em. Your pastries are amazing."

"Wow." She placed her hand on her chest. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. Alright, I gotta be on my way. Just decided to drop in and join in on the fun."

"I'm glad you did. Thank you."

Jane leaned in and gave her a slight hug, then walked out.

Wow.

"What got you smiling so wide and so pleased?" Rick nudged her shoulder.

"Jane just complimented my pastries."

Rick grinned. "You're a really great chef, Rosie. Everyone with a good sense knows that." He tugged at her cheek. "You just have to see that."

Her full heart overflowed as she looked up to her ever time hero.

"Cause if you don't, you will never see the success you have become."

I love you, Rick.

He let his eyes roam the shop. "Never see that all these are actually the result of the work of your hands." He tweaked her nose. "So yeah, Jane was just stating the fact."

"You're the best friend I could have ever asked for."

"I'm still in the friend zone?" He raised a brow.

She reached up and cupped his cheek. "You'll always be."

"Still being a hard nut?" Though he smiled, she saw the disappointment fill his eyes.

"Because, whether or not we get married, you will forever the best friend I could have ever wished for. "

The light came back into his eyes with full force. He pulled her closer, bent his head and kissed her lips. Pulling back slightly, he whispered across her lips. "Even when we get married, I will still be the best friend you could have ever wished for."

She smiled. "Whether or not we get married."

He straightened, a wide grin on his face, turned and walked away.

******

"So where will the party be?" Bonnie asked, sticking her head in the space between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat.

"McDonalds?" Rose suggested.

"Hmmm. Okay." Bonnie leaned back on her seat, then stuck her head back. "Drive thru or staying?"

"Staying." Rick answered.

"Okay."

Rick pulled up in front in front of McDonalds and they alighted. They all ordered for hamburgers and milkshakes.

"Geez, I'm so beat, I feel like a trailer ran over me." Rose leaned her head back on the headrest.

Bonnie sipped her milkshake. "My legs are on fire."

"No one asked you to wear heels." Rose cocked her brow sassily.

"Uh huh. And I wasn't asking you to feel my pain."

She stuck out her tongue at Bonnie.

"Today was a good day." Rick smiled at them. "The reviews were more than I expected."

"You can be sure to always have your shop flooded with customers." Bonnie eyes shone with satisfaction.

She smiled wide as she let that reality sink in. "And everyday I will have my legs sore from standing too long, but it will all be worth it." She turned to Rick. "Thank you. I can't say it enough but thank you."

He brushed his knuckles across her cheek. "For you, it was nothing."

Bonnie cleared her throat. "Sorry, I'm still here."

Rose rolled her eyes. "My, no one would have guessed."

Rick grinned wide, his eyes laughing. "Should I call one of Phillip's buds to make it even?"

Bonnie glared at Rick. "I didn't say I needed a date. All I'm asking is that you both tone it down."

"There wasn't any spark flying."

Rick leaned close to her ear and whispered. "And here I thought the electricity I was feeling was two sided."

Heat swirled in her belly, her body declaring it was two sided.

"It was pretty getting hot in here." Bonnie raised her brows.

She kicked Bonnie's leg and glared at her. Stop it!

Bonnie leaned back on her chair and looked out the window. "Remember when we were teenagers and we thought the world was at our finger tips?"

"And we were full of big dreams." She said, memories of night outs under the stars filling her mind. "You dreaming of owning a large fashion house."

"And you dreaming of having the largest pastry and sweet shop." Bonnie smiled at her.

"And me being so eager to join the army because I thought I could save the world." Rick's eyes filled with nostalgic sadness.

"And you did." She covered his palm with hers. "You did."

"You are a hero Rick, for every time you stood in the battlefield. Teenagers and children are free to dream big because of what you and other soldiers do. I can't do half of the things you have done." Bonnie shook her head. "Trust me, if I ever come to face with a battlefield, I'm going to pee myself out."

Rick chuckled. "The great and fearsome Bonnie?"

"The great and fearsome and mighty Bonnie." Bonnie chuckled. "Yeah, the great and mighty Bonnie." She paused. "I hated growing up when I was a teenager, but you, Rose," she chuckled. "You were so in haste to grow up."

She laughed. "I still have no idea why I was so impatient."

"Why are you so nostalgic tonight, Bonnie?" Rick folded his arms on the table.

"You bring me to McDonalds, to the place where we used to hang out after school, and you are asking why I am so nostalgic?" Bonnie shot him a 'come on' look.

"I remember." She smiled. "We would spend hours hanging out everywhere and anywhere."

"We were so free from responsibilities." Bonnie snickered.

"I want to be a teenager again." Rick sighed.

"Too late." She chuckled.

"Don't say." Bonnie looked at her. "He might meet the Janitor/Spirit guide who would grant his wish and cause him to be seventeen again."

Rose rolled her eyes. "You have been watching too much movies, Bonnie, so much that you can't separate fiction from reality anymore."

Rick laughed.

"What do you plan on doing now, o ye retired soldier?" Bonnie asked.

"Hmm." Rick struck a thinking pose. "Marry Rose and assist her in the pastry shop."

She shook her head, laughing. "That ain't going to happen, suga'."

Bonnie leaned forward and hit his shoulder. "Come on, Rick! What happened to the Rick with the wild dreams?"

"He got placed on the battlefield." Rick replied, chuckling. "Okay. Seriously, I don't know yet...the only focus on my mind is how to heal and getting Rose to marry me." He winked at her.

She smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Where can you say you are on your healing journey?" Bonnie asked.

"On a scale of 100 per cent, 60 per cent. As much as the nightmares have reduced, flashes still come frequently. I often just find myself feeling sad. So, I still have a long way to go."

"Do you have a therapist?" Bonnie asked.

"I had before moving back here." Rick replied.

"When are you going to find another?" She asked.

Rick opened his mouth and closed it then said "I don't enjoy lying on a couch and telling my woes to someone who listens so passively and objectively...I came home because the one person I want to share my woes and demons with is you, Rose."

Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes refused to look away from those beautiful green depths.

"I feel like I should excuse myself." Bonnie whispered.

Rick threw back his head and half groaned, half laughed. "You just had to do that, didn't you?"

Bonnie shrugged. "It was beginning to get real thick and mushy." Bonnie slid out of the booth. "I'm going to get some fries."

"Rick." She whispered his name.

He shrugged. "It is true. You're the one I want to open the darkness of my soul to, not some objective therapist who doesn't know me like you do, whose shoulders weren't the ones I cried on when I lost my parents or when the first and only girlfriend I ever had broke my heart."

She smiled and stroked his cheek. "You can pour it all out. You will always be safe with me, I promise."

"I know." He whispered, captured the palm on his cheek and kissed its inside. "I know."

******

"Hey, Rose." Rick called.

"Yeah?" She walked over to the table where he was seated. "What's up?"

"Phillip just texted me." Rick raised his phone. "He said you should check out Foodz and Blog recent post. What is Foodz and Blog?"

"Foodz and Blog is a famous blog that critique foods." She brought out her phone and typed out the blog site name on her browser. She clicked on the recent post. "Oh, my."

"What? What does it say?'

She handed him the phone.

"Have you seen it?" Bonnie screamed, running into the shop.

"Seeing it now." Rick replied, raising her phone, his voice full of excitement.

"I can't believe this." Rose covered her mouth. "It's like I keep telling myself to wake up."

"You're awake, darling." Bonnie dropped her bag on the counter, grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "You are awake and this is real. Foodz and Blog did an article about your free buffet.

She let out a quiet excited scream.

"The quaint pretty pastry shop, Sweet and Creams, held a free buffet." Bonnie read the article out loud. "To be honest, I was shocked and curious when I was told about it, plus a little bit skeptic because I thought it was probably a new shop with not so good pastries trying to get attention. So I went, with my mind made up to be disappointed. But I got shocked instead. And I can tell you I am not one to get shocked easily. The cupcakes melted in my mouth the moment I bit into them. The pancakes were just right in the texture and taste. I loved it to a T. The sticky buns were indeed sticky and delicious; I ate till I was sure I would throw up if I ate another one. Then I began to marvel at why a shop with remarkable pastries be throwing a free buffet. So I asked around and found out that not enough people knew about this amazing shop, hence the free buffet to enlighten customers. There and then I decided that I would dedicate a post to join in the enlightenment. So, dear readers, if you have not, please visit Sweet and Creams. It is right down the corner on Mary's Avenue. It is definitely worth every bill you give in exchange of a pastry. And Sweet and Creams, thank you for such a delicious experience." Bonnie looked up, a wide grin on her face. "The end."

"Wow." Was all she could breathe out.

"That's right." Rick chuckled. "Wow."

Bonnie wrapped her arms around herself. " I am so happy I want to scream!"

She laughed. "Please do."

Bonnie screamed while Rick just kept laughing.

"I didn't even know he came." She whispered, joy, surprise and excitement still running through her veins.

"Rose." Rick cocked a finger under her chin. "You are a badass chef."

"I am a badass chef."

"You are a badass chef." Bonnie echoed