I tipped my head at him and carried the tray to a table. Shelly followed with her own lunch. “So, how is it living with your boyfriend?” she asked, not wasting any time.

  “It’s been over a month, and we haven’t killed each other yet. I call that a win. Plus, he’s not a slob, and we always have baked goods.” I tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into the broth. “This is really good by the way.”

  “Thanks, it’s an old family recipe,” Shelly said and took a bite of the sandwich she’d made herself. “So, is it everything you hoped it would be?” she whispered as she leaned in close.

  I leaned in close to her. “It’s so much more. I never thought I could love someone so much.”

  “Aww you two really are adorable.”

  “How’s it going with you and Rick? I guess he doesn’t miss having a roommate?”

  “He probably misses your share of the rent, but he seems happy living alone.” She smiled and the faraway look in her eyes told me she didn’t mind me not being there either.

  “Did you guys figure out your plans for Valentine’s Day?” I asked.

  “Nope, not yet. Neither one of us wants to make a big deal of it. We really are happy to stay home and watch a movie. Are you two still going to Tahoe?

  “Yes, which reminds me I need to book our room because Randy’s been busy,. Any suggestions?”

  “I haven’t been to Tahoe for a while, and it was with my parents, so they booked it. Hey, Dad, any suggestions for hotels in Tahoe?” Shelly asked.

  “Sure, I can recommend a few. Who’s going?” he asked, and Shelly filled him in on our idea to spend a night or two there.

  “Don’t wait too long. Valentine’s Day is always busy,” Willis said before naming a few hotels he thought would be good. “You could also stay at the other side of the lake, it’s not as busy there.”

  “Thanks, neither of us have been there alone and I want it to be special.”

  “I would tell you to take a ride on the Tahoe Queen but it’s still so cold at night. You could always order room service then go to a show. Or go to a dinner show.”

  “I asked Randy about those same things. I think I just need to book it and tell him what we’re doing. He’s going to see what else we can do but he’s always working so hard I want him to have a special night.”

  “Hey, you work hard too,” Shelly said, and the two of us laughed.

  “I guess I’ll see what shows are available that night. I wish I’d thought of this sooner so I could have had more time to book it. I really didn’t think about things being booked up.”

  “Just do what you can, he’s not going to care what you do. Only that you do it together.”

  I smiled then. She was right. “It’s our first Valentine’s Day, I still can’t believe it.”

  “Me either. You two were both so stubborn.”

  “Hey, he was the stubborn one,” I said and took another bite of soup.

  “Speak of the devil,” Shelly said and pointed toward the door. There was Randy rushing across the street.

  “Wonder what he’s doing down here?” I mumbled.

  Ten

  Randy

  My feet walked in the direction where I knew I’d find Eli, but then when I was in front of the gift shop, I had a second thought and crossed the street hoping he didn’t see me. I wanted to share the news with him so bad it hurt. But Eli had helped me so much. I decided to see if I could get the place set up before I took him there. I wanted to surprise him, and I also wanted him to be a full partner in the business. Not just someone who did all the work and got nothing in return.

  I stepped into the office of a local lawyer—well, really, he was the only lawyer in town—and asked at the reception desk if I could speak to him.

  “Well, Randy Miller, I haven’t seen you since the Christmas party, how’s everything going?” Roger Peyton asked from the doorway to his office. He’d been a friend of my dad for years, so it just felt natural to go to him for advice.

  “Hey, Roger. Things are going well, which is what I wanted to talk to you about. Are you busy?” I took his proffered hand and shook it. He was my dad’s age, but he somehow seemed younger, or maybe it was just that he had a lot of energy. His silver hair was always neatly cut, and he seemed to wear a suit at all times. I’d literally never seen him in casual clothes, but he was always friendly and never made me feel like I shouldn’t talk to him. I hoped this was no different.

  “No, I have a few minutes free. What can I do for you?” he asked as he led me into his office and closed the door after waving off the receptionist.

  “Well, I think you know Eli and I started a cookie business. So far, we’re doing deliveries to different local businesses, and accepting mail order deliveries online.”

  “Yes, and congratulations by the way. I’ve had several clients mention how much they admired your business sense and especially how good your cookies are.”

  “Thanks. I just spoke to Emily Jones, and she’s offering to let us use business space in her building basically rent free until we get on our feet. I could move everything out of my kitchen and into that space. Plus, there’s more room for storage, and it already has ovens and workspaces set up.”

  “I wondered who she was going to offer that space to. She’s had it for a while and usually tries to help out a new small business.”

  “It really shocked me when she offered it to me pretty much rent free, but I don’t want to miss out on such a good opportunity.”

  “Then what’s the problem? It sounds like your mind is already made up.”

  “Oh, it is. I’m going to take her up on her offer. The issue is I want to make sure Eli is a full partner in the business. We’ve talked about it and we both agree to it, but there’s nothing in writing. I want to make sure he legally has a stake. I mean he does half the work, and he’s contributed more than I could even begin to list.”

  He held his hand up stopping me. “Okay, you’ve convinced me. It sounds like you two need a contract that shows you both as equal partners. Is that what you had in mind?”

  “Yes, whatever it takes to make him an equal partner.” Just saying it out loud I could feel how right this was.

  “I can do that. How soon do you need it?” He scribbled a few words on a yellow legal notepad he had on his desk and looked up to meet my eyes before his brows raised.

  “Oh, sorry. As soon as you can. How much do you think it’ll cost?” I realized I had no clue how much anything legal cost, and even if Roger was a friend he deserved to be paid.

  “Let’s call this one a freebie, then if you ever need anything else be sure you come to me for advice.”

  “I really appreciate your offer. Are you sure I can’t pay you?”

  “Not this time, but don’t worry. If your business is as successful as I think it’s going to be, there will be more than enough times for you to pay me.” He grinned and wrote a few more things down. He knew Eli too but asked for a little more personal information before he was done. “Okay, I think that’s all I need. If there’s anything else, I’ll call you. When did you want this by?”

  “Valentine’s Day,” I blurted out before I had time to think about it. It wasn’t flowers or candy, but it was something that meant a lot to me, and I knew for a fact Eli felt the same way. After a few more minutes of him asking about what cookies we had planned for said holiday, I walked back outside into the crisp air.

  I drew in a deep breath and couldn’t hold back a smile. Glancing toward Carol’s Gifts, this time I caught a glimpse of Eli through the window. Hard at work like always. My feet were in motion before I realized it and as I walked into the store and Eli turned around with a look of shocked surprise, I rushed up to him and took his face in my hands before kissing him.

  “Well hello to you too,” he panted out when I released his lips.

  “I love you. I knew you were here, and I just wanted to stop by and say hello.” His hand reached up and covered mine that still held his face.

  “You can stop by anytime,” he breathed out with a grin.

  “Did you already eat lunch?” I wasn’t even sure what time it was, but I knew he and Shelly usually ate early.

  “Yeah, sorry, if I’d known you were going to be downtown today, I would have waited.”

  “I had a few errands to run, and I happened to be in the area and there was no way I could be this close and not stop by to see you.” He gave me an odd look and for a split-second I thought he didn’t believe me. Even his smile didn’t look quite right but I wasn’t sure why. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m glad you stopped by. You just surprised me is all.” He smiled then and I took a step back.

  “What time will you be home tonight?”

  “The usual. We’re nearly done with all the new stock, and we’ve packed away most of the winter items. Now to finish the Valentine’s Day display.”

  “I can’t wait to see it. Don’t worry about dinner, I’ll make sure there’s something to eat when you get home.”

  “Thanks, Randy, I guess I’ll see you after work,” he said, and again looked unsure. Leaning in I kissed him again.

  “Bye, Eli,” I said before walking out the door. It took everything in me not to tell him what I’d done, but I hoped he’d think it was the perfect Valentine’s Day surprise the same way I did. Now to figure out something for dinner.

  Eleven

  Eli

  Istood at the window and watched as Randy walked away until I couldn’t see him anymore. He was so happy, but I wasn’t sure exactly why, and even though I didn’t want to dampen his happiness, I wondered what had really made him so happy.

  “Eli? Are you okay?” Aunt Carol asked as she walked out of the back room.

  “Yeah, sorry. What did you want to work on next?”

  “Let’s get the Valentine’s stuff all set up then we won’t have to worry about it.”

  “Sounds like a brilliant idea,” I said, and hoped the day would stay busy so I didn’t lose myself in my thoughts all day.

  “Any idea when the cookies we ordered will be ready?” she asked.

  “Yes, we baked them all this weekend and decorated some yesterday, so we should have them ready by Wednesday. You know you’re a priority customer.” I smiled at her, and she patted my cheek.

  “You’re a good one, Eli,” she said, and walked toward the backroom.

  I glanced out the window again and shook my head. Randy hadn’t given me a reason not to trust him, or to be suspicious, but I just had a feeling something was up. The Valentine’s display got my attention, and I wondered if it had something to do with what I thought was strange behavior. I smiled to myself. That had to be it. Which meant he had a plan—and I had none. Fuck I need to get busy. I took out my phone and opened a travel app and scrolled the different hotels in Tahoe. There were way more to choose from than I wanted to think about. I looked at reviews, compared, and did everything I could think of to narrow it down until I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Eli? Are you sure you’re okay?” Aunt Carol asked, her brow furrowed in worry.

  “Yeah, I just can’t figure out which hotel to book for Valentine’s Day. I want to have it all booked and ready so I can drive Randy there and surprise him but there’s forty million hotels in Tahoe and I can’t narrow it down.”

  “Well, I don’t know if there’s forty million but come on, I’ll help you.” We walked over to the counter, and she searched for hotel rooms in Tahoe, and just like when I’d searched myself, there were a lot to choose from.

  “How much do you want to spend?” she asked, her fingers poised over the keys.

  “Oh, I’m not sure. What do you think?” I had no clue what a hotel room cost and hoped she did. “I don’t want it to be in the most expensive place, but I want to make it special. This is our first Valentine’s Day and I want him to know I love him.”

  “Is there anything you want in the room? King size bed? Hot tub?”

  “King size bed, but I don’t care about a hot tub. We were joking about it but it doesn’t really matter to either of us. I know he wanted to plan it with me, but he’s been very busy adjusting to running the business. I think if we could get a hotel room that’s right downtown then go to a good restaurant and maybe see a show, it would be perfect. What do you think?”

  She shrugged her shoulder as she continued to scroll different places. “I’d be happy with a place that has room service.” She smiled before laughing. “Oh, how about this place? It’s fairly new, the rooms are all suites, and it’s close enough to downtown you could walk to the casinos. If you look, there’re a lot of new restaurants that are by famous chefs. Maybe that could be fun?”

  “That’s right. Gordon Ramsay has a place there, and several others. I forgot about that.” I scrolled on my phone and found out there were still a few reservations open that night and booked one because there was no way that Randy wouldn’t freak out about eating at Gordon Ramsay’s place.

  “How does that hotel sound?” she reminded me. “I don’t think you’ll find much better, and it’s very close to where you’ll go to dinner.”

  “Okay, let me book it.” I moved to push her aside, but she held fast.

  “Glad you’re happy because I’ve already booked it, my treat. You two work your asses off, it’s the least I could do.” She smiled before slapping her hands together and walking over to the stack of boxes we still needed to unpack. “Well, don’t just stand there, get over here and grab a box. We’re nearly done.”

  “Thank you, but you really don’t need to do that.”

  “I know, but I wanted to, so I did. Now come on, let’s get this done so we can get home.”

  We managed to get everything finished between helping a steady stream of customers. As soon as we were done, I hurried to my car and drove straight home. I couldn’t wait to see Randy but remembered I wanted to surprise him. Then I had an idea. I’d tell him we were going to Tahoe but not tell him exactly what we were doing or where we were staying. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about how to get him there. I’d just need to tell him what to pack.

  I pulled up to the house we now shared and couldn’t believe how lucky I was that we’d found each other; sure, it took a while for us to work things out—well it took Randy a while—but now I knew he was very driven, and he’d seen me as competition. That thought still made me laugh. We were so good together, and now that I had a plan for a special getaway, I couldn’t wait to tell him. But not until Valentine’s Day.

  Twelve

  Randy

  “Hey, babe, how was your day?” Eli asked as he walked in the door.

  “It was good.” He pulled me in for a kiss that I had been waiting for since I left him at the gift shop. “We got everything rearranged and either stored away for next year or put on clearance. What did you end up doing today?”

  “Well, like I told you earlier, I was checking on orders downtown, and we actually got more orders while I was out, so guess what I’ll be doing tomorrow?”

  He smiled at me and brushed his thumb across my cheek. “Would that have something to do with decorating a bunch of cookies?”

  “Why yes it would. Good guess,” I said making us laugh.

  “Do you think we baked enough?” Eli asked.

  “Yes, I think it’s plenty. We can do some of the flavored cookies too just in case. Everyone always loves chocolate chip cookies, and oh! What do you think of making those little white cookies your Aunt Carol makes? Those might be perfect for Valentine’s Day.”

  “That sounds good. Those cookies are very easy, and they’d be good fillers for any gift boxes you sell,” Eli said and walked past me to the kitchen. “What should we do for dinner?”

  “I actually made us lasagna.” I had gone to the grocery store after I’d visited him, and I was filled with so much adrenaline at the prospect of surprising him I needed to burn it off somewhere.

  “You did?” he asked, his voice full of surprise.

  “Didn’t you tell me it’s one of your favorites?” I hoped I was right. I could have sworn he’d said that the other day when we were having a random food conversation while watching a cooking show.

  “It is, and I haven’t had it for months.” He opened the oven and took a big breath of the garlic and basil scented air. “I knew I smelled something that wasn’t cookies. Are you ready to eat?”

  “Yes. I was just waiting for you.” I took out plates and we served ourselves then sat at the counter to eat.

  “This is so good, thank you.” Eli grinned at me before taking another bite.

  “Hey, I wanted to ask you, did you decide you definitely want to go to Tahoe Valentine’s Day? We still need to book if we’re going.” I had to bring it up because I was going to burst if I didn’t.

  “I still like the idea of Tahoe, but I haven’t thought about it since we talked.” He gave me an odd look where he glanced at me and quickly looked down at his food, and if I didn’t know Eli as well as I did, I would have sworn he was lying.

  “Should we book a room?” I asked and waited for his reaction.

  “Sure, we can look. I asked Aunt Carol today and she said most of the rooms might be booked. Maybe we should plan to go somewhere else this year?” The words tumbled out of his mouth in a very unlike Eli way and I knew something was up. But then I remembered I had a secret too, and I wanted to make it special for him. If he had plans he wanted to keep quiet, I’d go along with it, or if he made no plans at all that was fine too. As long as we spent the holiday together that was all that mattered.

  “We could look at the other side of the lake, it’s not as busy,” I suggested, and knew he would hate that idea. He’d mentioned going to a show and I had a feeling he really wanted to see something. “Then maybe we could get tickets to a show and drive there.”

  “Yeah, I guess. It would be so much more fun to stay where all the casinos are though. It would have been fun to be able to walk around.” He poked at his lasagna, and I hated that I’d upset him, but I didn’t want to ruin the surprise either.

 

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