A Gingerbread Romance

by Lacey Baker

  Adam nodded sadly and kissed Brooke on the forehead. “I wish that were true, honey. I really do. But life has been known to happen in good and bad ways. So let’s get this finished up and head down to the Marketplace for the judging. Tonight’s a big night and you have to get to bed to wait for Santa!”

  Adam had tried to add more enthusiasm about the holiday than he’d felt at the moment. And to her credit, Brooke did too.

  “Okay, Daddy,” she said and eased off his lap. “Let’s go to the gingerbread competition.”

  Adam smiled and stood up. Through heavy hearts and sadness, just like before, they would move on, together.

  Taylor arrived at the Marketplace with Wendy, her son and daughter. As one of the volunteers, who coincidentally was also her neighbor and friend, Wendy had given Taylor a ride today. They walked toward the exhibit stage with the kids wandering over to different stands every now and then.

  “My kids have been asking me every day for the past week when this day would come,” Wendy said after she’d wrangled the kids up one more time.

  She positioned them between her and Taylor this time so they wouldn’t wander off again. Taylor had smiled down at them and recalled the time she’d walked through the Marketplace with Brooke. No matter how many times they’d come to the marketplace Brooke had always wanted to see another stand and another, even if she’d already seen them all before.

  “Well, I promise, we won’t disappoint.” She tried to sound optimistic and unbothered and hoped it was working.

  “I never thought you would. You and Adam made a great team.”

  Past tense. As in, it was over. She walked with slower steps, the lack of energy she felt either from tossing and turning all night or the deep turmoil still ripping through her.

  “I know. It was the best of luck that he baked the cake for the office party. If he hadn’t, then we would never have met and I probably wouldn’t have gone to him with my crazy request.”

  “Exactly! That was definitely amazing luck or fate. Either way we’re about to find out how that’ll all play out.” Wendy signaled for her children when they arrived at the atrium in front of the exhibit state.

  She put on a bright smile and forced her tone to a more cheerful level. “Well, I guess it’s showtime.”

  “I know,” Wendy clapped her hands together. “I’m so excited! You designed a great house that actually tastes good too. I’m sure you’re going to win.”

  This had started out with winning being the priority, but that had definitely changed. “Thanks, Wendy, for all your help. I really appreciate it.”

  Before she left, Taylor looked down at the children. “Hey guys, you know what? After the competition is over there’ll be lots of gingerbread and other goodies that we had leftover that you can have.”

  “Yes!”

  “Cool!”

  The kids yelled and Taylor smiled at them. “See you in a bit,” she said to Wendy and walked over to where she saw Adam and Brooke standing.

  “Hey,” she said when she was close to them.

  “Hey,” he replied.

  “Hi, Taylor,” Brooke’s tone was softer than it had ever been with Taylor, even during the time when she was sick. And she hadn’t looked at her when she spoke which meant that Adam had told her she was leaving.

  “Hi, Brooke.” Taylor spoke with an upbeat tone and tried to give her a smile, but Brooke only stepped back to stand closer to Jenny. Stricken with guilt, she held back a gasp and looked at Adam. “About yesterday, Adam, I’m sorry I didn’t mention it.”

  He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I’m happy for you.”

  “It’s starting!” Brooke said and pointed to Mayor Arnold as he stood on the stage behind that same green podium where he’d first announced the contest.

  “Glad we made it on time,” Jenny said when she walked up to join them with Ray right behind her.

  Jenny waved to Taylor and Taylor waved back. Ray winked at her and Taylor smiled at him in return.

  “Happy Holidays, everybody, and welcome to the judging of our first-ever Giant Gingerbread Competition!” Mayor Arnold announced.

  The stage had been decorated even more since the houses were now complete. There were life-size gingerbread people standing between each house and gift boxes along the edge of the stage. Lights blinked on the sign with the name of the competition that was stretched over the stage.

  A huge crowd had showed up for the judging and they clapped with the mayor’s announcement. Taylor stood and nervously stuck her hands into the pockets of her coat.

  “Can I please have our teams approach the stage?” Mayor Arnold asked. “Come on up!”

  Adam, Taylor and Brooke walked up and stood at the front of the stage. Taylor looked to her side to see Bradford and Annabelle taking their position. To her other side the two other teams stood as well.

  “Now it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for,” the mayor continued. “May I present our first gingerbread house, Snowman Sanctuary.” The mayor pointed toward the house built by the teachers from the high school who called themselves Design Collective. It was a blend of modern and traditional, with huge gumdrops around the perimeter of the house and a candy cane pathway leading to the front door.

  After applause from the crowd, the mayor continued. “Our second entry, the Elf Castle.”

  This one was impressive as well. Taylor had watched with interest as team Excelsior—the culinary students—had put together the castle-shaped house. She’d thought the idea was unique, and really liked the execution with the snow-topped turrets and glazed sugar windows.

  “Next we have the Northern Tower,” Mayor Arnold announced Bradford and Annabelle’s house and Taylor looked to Adam.

  “This is gonna be tough,” she whispered.

  “No worries,” he said and when she looked at him, he smiled.

  The instant clench in her chest seemed like her heart was smiling in return. She was going to miss seeing Adam like this—relaxed, calm, confident in his element.

  The crowd clapped even more and Taylor looked around to see a very proud—and rightfully so—Bradford and Annabelle. Nick Brexley, the investor, was also standing with them.

  “My goodness, that can go in a museum someplace, am I right?” the mayor asked the crowd as he pointed to Bradford and Annabelle’s house.

  A few cheers and a couple of chuckles came from the crowd.

  “And now, may I present our final gingerbread house, A Home for the Holidays!” For the first time today excitement bubbled inside her upon hearing the name of their house being announced. Her lips spread into a wide grin as she clapped and looked to Adam, Brooke and the rest of their team who were doing the same.

  She thought there was louder clapping coming from the crowd. Ray, Jenny, Josephine, David, Wendy and her kids were definitely enthusiastic, adding hoots and whistles to their applause. When she saw Jenny give Adam and Brooke a thumbs up, her heart melted.

  Brooke began counting, “Three, Two, One!” and the special effect that Adam rigged to the chimney of the house exploded into the hair. Confetti drizzled over the house and onto the stage and the crowd stared in awe, clapping even louder.

  As confetti rained down over the house, happiness felt like snowflakes falling over her. “Told you I love fresh snowfall.” Everyone was clapping now and staring at the still-falling confetti, even Bradford and Annabelle.

  “Well, to say all of our entries exceeded expectations would be an understatement. But, this is a contest, so unfortunately, we have to pick a winner. Judges, your results, please.”

  A lady walked up to the podium and handed the mayor a slip of paper.

  “And the winner of our first Giant Gingerbread Contest is…” Mayor Arnold paused to open the envelope and Taylor held her breath.

  She released it slowly when Brooke reached up to grab h
er hand. That clinching that started in her chest a few minutes ago exploded, spreading warmth all over her and she happily wrapped her fingers around Brooke’s. When she looked up it was to see Adam smiling at both of them.

  “A Home for the Holidays!” the mayor announced and the crowd erupted with loud cheering.

  Taylor clapped and Brooke yelled, “Yay!” Adam clapped and shared a high-five with Taylor.

  Jenny hugged Ray and the rest of their volunteers all exchanged hugs.

  Taylor was very proud of their accomplishment and she was excited for the win, but the very best part of the moment was when Brooke turned to hug her and seconds later Adam pulled them both into a big hug. This was it, every spark of joy, happiness and love pouring through her at this moment, was everything she was going to give up. She inhaled deeply trying to absorb every feeling, memorizing it so she would never forget.

  “You did it,” he said when their hug broke.

  “We did it,” Taylor corrected him. “And I bet your investors are pretty impressed. Speaking of which, I saw him over there with Annabelle.”

  Adam shook his head. “I did too. And it’s okay. I’ll come up with something else.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Don’t be.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is we won.”

  “Congratulations,” Annabelle said when she walked up to them.

  “Yeah,” Bradford added. “That was really something.” He pointed to the house and the still-falling snow.

  “Ah, thank you. I mean, your house is spectacular,” Taylor told them.

  “Yeah, we’re pretty proud of it,” Bradford said.

  “Adam, your flair for design is quite exceptional,” Annabelle told him.

  “Thank you. And you’re impressive as always,” he replied.

  “I understand you’ve already met Nick Brexley.”

  Nick, a tall slim man with crystalline blue eyes smiled and extended his hand to Adam.

  “Nice to see you again, Adam,” Nick said when Adam accepted and shook his hand.

  “You too, Nick. How did you enjoy the competition?”

  Adam didn’t seem irritated or uncomfortable at all, and Taylor admired him for that. There were so many things she admired about this man.

  “I enjoyed it very much. So much so that Annabelle and I have come up with a proposition for you.” Nick looked to Annabelle, and Taylor held her breath.

  What was happening here?

  “Yes, well, as you may or may not have heard, I am looking to expand, with two more restaurants throughout the state and with a possibility of eventually opening more throughout the country. I would need to train a new baker to help run one of the locations.” Annabelle stated while keeping her gaze on Adam.

  This was fantastic. Taylor resisted the urge to begin clapping again. If Adam went to work with Annabelle, it would allow him to use his own designs, and the fact that Nick Brexley was standing there offering his approval with a smile meant the investor also knew how much talent Adam had. Still, Adam wouldn’t own his own shop.

  “Thank you, both, but I already have a job.” Adam gave his answer just as Ray and Jenny came up to join them.

  The slight wavering of her smile signaled Annabelle’s disappointment, while Nick only nodded at Adam. “Fine. But if you ever do open your own place, please do invite me to the opening,” Annabelle said.

  “And me too,” Nick added.

  “I certainly will,” Adam replied.

  “Great job, you two. Congratulations again on the win. Taylor, I’ll be seeing you around.” Bradford said before he and Annabelle walked away.

  “We’re gonna go over to the food court to get something to celebrate. We’ll see you guys over there,” Jenny said before walking away with Ray.

  Taylor, Adam and Brooke remained standing in front of their winning house. There was so much to say and then nothing left to say.

  “So, when are you leaving?” he asked her.

  “I fly out tonight,” she said hating the sound of the words.

  “Thank you for believing in me. I’m glad we made it happen.”

  “Me too,” she replied.

  “Are you really leaving on Christmas Eve?” Brooke asked.

  Taylor leaned down to look at her. “Aww, sweetie, I have to. But I had a great time.”

  “I did too.” Brooke hurried to swipe away a tear that had fallen. “Bye, Taylor.”

  “Bye, Brooke,” Taylor whispered and hugged the little girl so tightly she thought she might crush her.

  When she released Brooke, Taylor stood, blinking rapidly in order to hold back her tears. This was too hard. Leaving had never been this hard before. Adam took Brooke’s hand and they started to walk away. Taylor shouldn’t have stood there watching them. She should have turned away and left.

  Adam looked back and said, “Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas,” Taylor replied.

  Chapter Twenty

  Two hours later Taylor zipped her last suitcase. She rolled it close to the door and came back into the living room to look around. The tree that Adam and Brooke had brought for her was still decorated, the lights flashing in the corner. Wendy had insisted she leave it up and said she would take it down the day after Christmas when she took hers down.

  “Wendy, thank you so much for doing this,” Taylor said when she turned to see Wendy carrying one of her boxes from the dining room and sitting it down on the floor.

  “Are you kidding? It’s the least I could do,” Wendy said. “My kids are so excited about all those snacks you sent them home with. I had to hide them, or they would have eaten them all tonight.”

  “They’re wonderful children,” Taylor said, her voice a little more wistful than she’d intended.

  “Thanks,” Wendy said and then tilted her head to stare at Taylor. “Are you sure about this? I mean, are you really choosing work over what you had with Adam and Brooke?”

  Taylor shook her head adamantly. “It’s the wrong time. Or maybe I was right when I was younger and decided that I wasn’t meant to have the family and house. I don’t know. I just know that this job in Paris was my goal, so I’ve gotta go.”

  Wendy nodded. “You’re beautiful, Taylor, and you’re good at what you do. But I think you’d also be good at doing your job and being a mom. You were terrific with Brooke. I saw that and so did Adam.”

  And Taylor had felt it. But it wasn’t enough. She’d made her decision. There was no turning back now.

  “The movers said they’d come the day after Christmas. Much of everything was boxed up. If you could just give them the keys.” Her quick change of subject was all Taylor could do at this point. She’d been over and over all of this in her mind and this was what had to happen. It was the way it had to be.

  Wendy smiled. “Consider it done. We’ll miss you. But Paris for Christmas, I guess you’ll be calling the City of Light your new home.”

  “Yes,” Taylor said with another sigh. “Home.”

  A horn sounded outside.

  “That must be your shuttle,” Wendy said.

  “Yeah. Merry Christmas, Wendy.” Taylor hugged her and thought that not only was she leaving Adam and Brooke, but she was leaving a friend, or rather two. She’d said her goodbyes to Josephine before she’d left the Marketplace, even though she was certain she would speak to her over the phone frequently whether for business or personal.

  “Have a good flight,” Wendy continued when they pulled away from each other.

  “Thank you.” Taylor walked to the door. She grabbed her coat and the suitcase she’d put there moments ago.

  She opened the door and started to walk out, but then she stopped and looked back at Wendy because leaving felt all too familiar to her. Wendy gave her a hesitant smile.

  Taylor turned an
d kept going. She climbed into the back of the shuttle and she stared forward. Always moving forward, never looking back. That’s what she used to tell herself when she was younger and they were moving. There was nothing in the past to look back on.

  But that had been then, and this, unfortunately, was now.

  “Christmas is tomorrow. You think I can order a gingerbread house?” a customer asked Adam.

  After they’d had a slice of pizza as their celebration meal, Adam told Ray he would come back to the bakery and work the rest of the day. Jenny was taking Brooke to the mall with her for last-minute shopping, and Adam hadn’t wanted to sit in his house alone. He would have just thought about Taylor if he did.

  “I’m afraid I don’t have the time. I’m so sorry. Would you take a pound cake as a Christmas present?” he offered.

  She smiled happily. “You’re a lifesaver, Adam!”

  He turned around and selected a boxed cake out of the display case and handed it to her.

  “Merry Christmas!” she said.

  Adam replied, “Merry Christmas.” Even though the last thing he was feeling at this moment was merry.

  “Well, that’s another one,” Ray said from behind him. “You’re turning away customers, Adam, by not giving them what they really want.”

  Adam stepped away from the register and walked closer to where Ray was standing.

  “You know I don’t have time to do those custom orders. We’re behind on ginger snaps. The sugar cookies are running low.”

  Ray held up both hands. “Adam, slow down, I can get help for all of that.” He turned and leaned against one of the tables in the back. “We’re a neighborhood bakery, selling to people what they expect. Now, all of a sudden we have people coming in here every five minutes asking for your cakes. This line is outside the door.” He pointed outside.

  “Ray,” Adam began. “Is this your roundabout way of saying you’re firing me?”

  “Firing you?” Ray asked and shook his head. “I’m talking about making you a partner.”