The Perfect Mistake✓ (Perfect #1)

Chapter Thirteen

I arrive at the bakery with a huge smile on my face. I have been smiling since I woke up. The boys thought I was going crazy or something since it's rare that I'm this happy in the morning. When they asked me why I was so happy I just gave them some lame excuse that it was going to be a good day today. The weather wasn't helping my cause either it's so windy that the trees are whipping back and forth.

My date with Cage last night is what's making me so happy this morning.
It was the very first thing on my mind the moment I woke up. I really hope he asks me out again sometime soon. I had a great time last with him. I'll be honest though If he doesn't ask me out again, sure I'll be disappointed but last night showed me that it's time I go out and try to find love. If it isn't with Cage then that's okay. If it's meant to be it's meant to be. No point in trying to force something you know?

I really hope it's with Cage though.

"Good morning Mr. Ericson. How's your breakfast?" I ask him on my way to the kitchen in the back.

"It's great like always. Especially the coffee this morning." Mr. Ericson says while lifting up his coffee cup.

"Good! I'm glad you like the coffee we just changed it the recipe a little bit."

"Don't change it back. This is the best cup of coffee I had in years. Don't tell my wife I said that, she would smack me with a wooden spoon."

Mrs. Ericson, Mr. Ericson's wife, is the sweetest lady ever. I swear she is sweeter than sugar. You ever need someone to just be there for you despite her being sixty-two she'll be there for you. When I first opened my bakery she helped me make some of the sweets and even gave me her treasured chocolate chip cookie and her pineapple upside-down cake recipes. The pineapple upside-down cake Mrs. Ericson used to only make once a year at the town's annual town park picnic. She doesn't make it anymore, and now I only make it in the springtime. When word got out that I had her pineapple upside-down cake recipe I swear the bakery was the busiest it has ever been. Every spring is always the busiest time for us now.

I mimed zipping my lips closed to Mr. Ericson as I walk backwards to the kitchen. I spin back around, Mr. Ericson's laugh following me all the way to the kitchen. Wave hello to Hannah before walking through the kitchen door.

When I'm in the kitchen I see Quinn rolling out gingerbread cookies.

We start serving those the first day of December and stop serving them on the last. What I like to do is sell them not decorated and let the kids decorate them themselves. Each cookie comes with some frosting and a few candies to decorate them. All the kids have a blast doing that.

The boys and I were decorating gingerbread cookies at home, Kohl said something about how we should have other people decorate them at the bakery. Ever since then, we have been doing that ever since.

"Good morning Quinn!" I walk over to the sink and wash my hands so I can help her.

"Morning Rory. What's got you in a good mood today?" Quinn asks me. "I don't think I have ever seen you smile so much before.

I grab one of the huge balls of gingerbread dough and place it on the counter after I sprinkled some flour on it.

"I went out on a date last night with Cage," I tell her then begin rolling the dough out trying to make it one-fourth an inch thick.

"Oh my gosh, are you serious?" Quinn asks me, more like squeals, and places her rolling pin down.

"Yes really. He took me on a picnic at his land where he's building his house. We ate by this pond that's on his property and stayed there and watched the sunset. It was really pretty there."

"Aww, that's so romantic! Do you think he's going to ask you out again?"

"I hope so."

Before Quinn can ask me anymore about my date Hannah one of my employees comes rushing into the kitchen.

"Hey Rory I'm so sorry but I have to go. Family emergency."

"Okay go go. Quinn will take over for you until Jay comes in."

"Thank you so much. I'll make it up to you both." Hannah says rushing over to the closet where we keep our coats, she grabs hers then leaves.

I'll be honest I don't have high hopes of Jay coming in. He calls in sick at least two times a week. Before you get mad or annoyed with me and tell me you're seriously upset that he's calling in sick so much? What if he has cancer or something? He doesn't. I ran out to get some stuff for the bakery a few different times and saw him walking about with his friends, as healthy as can be. Plus I talked to his mother and she says he hasn't been sick. The only reason he has a job is cause his parents said if he's not going to college, and is going to live at home he needs to get a job.

He is more than likely going to get fired soon. When is at work, which he always comes in late to, he is always slacking off. He'll be in his phone and he'll grab pastries out of the display case without using tongs. Maybe being fired will teach him to be more responsible?

One can only hope so.

"To the front counter, I go." Quinn sighs and walks over to the sink and washes her hands before leaving.

I finish rolling out the gingerbread dough and check the oven. Seeing that Quinn already had the oven heated at three hundred and fifty degrees. I grab the cookie cutters that are shaped like gingerbread boys and girls. I cut as many cookies as I can out of the rolled-out dough from both Quinn's and mine. After I cut out as many as I can I place parchment paper down on a baking sheet and place cookies on them. The leftover dough I just roll back into a ball so I can roll it out later. Then I place the baking sheets in the oven and leave them to cook for eight to ten minutes.

While those are all cooking I grab clear plastic party gift bags and place one already cooled gingerbread cookie in them. After that, I place green, red, and white mini frosting packets in each bag along with some candies and sprinkles for decoration. I twist the bags up and tie them up with a red ribbon in a bow.

By the time I'm done with all of that the other cookies are done.

I put on my oven mitts and take the three baking sheets out of the oven. Each baking sheet has ten cookies each on it. The cookies will need to completely cool down before I can do anything with them. To have them cool down faster I take the cookies carefully off the baking sheet and place them on a cooling rack.

"Quinn?" I call for her.

" What's up Rory?" She says when she pokes her head into the kitchen.

"Can you help me carry all these gingerbread cookies to the front?"

"Sure. Do you want them in the display case or should we put them in a basket by the cash register?"

"Let's put them in a basket. I just bought a new one."

We carry all the gingerbread cookies to the front. Once we have them all out here I go to my office and grab the new basket I just bought. It has a huge red bow in the front of it and then another smaller gold bow in front.

"Oh, that's cute. I love it this time of year the place always smells like Christmas," Quinn says.

Quinn started working here around this time last year. She moved here all the way from New York after she found out her boyfriend at the time was cheating on her with her best friend. After she found that out she packed up her stuff and left him. Her stopping here was an accident, her car started to give her trouble so she stopped at the closet town. Which happened to be Rushmore. While she was waiting for her car to get fixed she explored our town and loved everything about it. So this time of year kind of just represents a new beginning for her.

"Me too. We should string up some lights in here soon. I still need to decorate my house and get our Christmas tree out."

"I'm sure the boys will start bugging you about that soon since it's the beginning of December."

"They definitely will be."

We fall quiet and I start placing the gingerbread cookies in the basket. While Quinn gets back to work behind the counter.

I have a feeling that this year is going to be the best Christmas ever.

Follow/Vote/Comment