I smiled down at my phone, heart lifting. Only three more days until he returned. I could make it. We’d survived the whirlwind of the holidays apart. Now I was ready to start this new year together.
The next evening after closing the bakery for the night, I decided to test a new molten lava cake recipe to surprise Sam with when he got home. Home… When had I started thinking of my apartment as our home?
I was whisking the chocolatey batter when I heard the gentle bump of the front door closing and the click of the locks setting into place. Heart kicking up its pace, I leaned back and peeked around the corner.
“I couldn’t wait three more days to see this gorgeous face,” Sam said as he came to stand in the doorway, revealing a frosty bouquet of wildflowers from behind his back.
Dropping everything, I let out a joyful shriek and ran into his open arms. Sam lifted me off my feet, spinning me around. “I missed you so much.” I laughed into his shoulder, overwhelmed with happiness at this perfect surprise. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Like I said, I couldn’t wait,” he reiterated, kissing me soundly on the lips.
“You should have called. Texted. I would have picked you up!”
“And ruin the surprise?” he scoffed, kissing my smiling lips again.
Over lavish homecooked steaks courtesy of Sam and his skills in the kitchen and my decadent lava cake that turned out perfectly, Sam told me all about the conference, complete with mishaps and networking disasters, but mostly the good stuff, like the new gear his captain had ordered that would no doubt save more lives and keep him and his crew safer. “I hated being away for so long, but it helped me realize what really matters,” he said softly, toying with my fingers on the tabletop.
“And what’s that?” I asked, my tone matching his.
“You,” Sam said simply. “Building a life with you, Luce. However that looks as we grow together.”