Leith and Lachlan walk in first and immediately stop at the threshold of the shop. Leith presses his hand to Lachlan’s chest. “Holy shite, it smells good in here.”
Lachlan sniffs around and then grasps Leith’s hand. “Hell, I was just brought back to secondary school, when we used to sneak in here and steal butteries with Rowan.”
“Told you, lass,” Rowan whispers to me before turning to Leith and Lachlan. “Take a seat, lads.”
Hamish and Shona walk in next, and since they haven’t seen the changes we’ve made to the shop, I giddily watch the awe in their eyes as they take it all in.
“Wow,” Shona says, “it looks great in here.”
“Thank you,” I say, stepping up next to them. “We have some pictures of the hairy coo we still need to hang, and Rowan still needs to install the inside shutters that match the outside ones. And he needs to make some shelving for merchandise, but that’s last.”
“It’s quite lovely,” Hamish says, taking a seat and running his hand over the new tables. “Are these from Campbell’s?”
“Aye,” Rowan says. “He let us do some mix-matching.”
Shona takes a seat as well. “I love it. Och, darling, Finella and Stuart are going to love these changes.”
Pride surges through me as Rowan places a plate of our baked goods in front of everyone, as well as a small cup of tea and a small cup of coffee.
“Bonnie made classic butteries, tattie scones, and then cherry cake. On the table there is jam and butter, and the tea and coffee, whichever you prefer.”
“We hope to offer five varieties of tea and ten different coffee drinks,” I add. “We don’t want to do more than that. We’ll keep it simple, but with a little bit of flair.”
“Good choices,” Hamish says, looking over the little mock-up menu we have on each table as well. “These will work well for the tourists coming in and out. Now, you’re just sticking with these three baked goods?”
I nod. “Yes, we figured if they want more they can go to the bakeshop. We also didn’t want to step on Isla’s toes.”
“Aye,” Hamish says.
“Dig in,” Rowan says as he takes my hand and sits me down at one of the other tables, facing away from everyone. “Time to taste test, lass.” He hands me a plate, and I gaze down at all the hard work I put into today. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be living in Scotland, baking traditional treats with a hunky Scotsman, but here I am, living out the wildest dream I never knew I had.
I’m about to pick up my buttery when a long, loud moan erupts from behind me. I turn around to see Leith slouched in his chair, buttery in one hand, his eyes nearly rolling to the back of his head. “Sweet Jesus, these are outstanding.” He takes another bite. “God bless America and Bonnie.”
I chuckle just as Lachlan has the same reaction. “Hell’s bells, these are phenomenal.” He takes a huge bite, nearly stuffing it all in his mouth.
The nerves I was feeling quickly vanish as pleased sounds fill the coffee shop. Rowan winks at me and takes a bite of his buttery. As he chews, a smile plays at his lips.
“Bonnie, these are really fucking good.”
“Yeah?”
He slowly nods. “Aye. They’re perfect, lass.”
They’re perfect, lass. I don’t believe anything I’ve ever done has been perfect. I’ve never found that something that has made me special. I’ve never uncovered a hidden talent that set me apart from everyone else. Never once have I exceeded expectations. I’ve been average. Average my entire life.
But to hear Rowan say something I created is perfect?
It brings tears to my eyes. For the first time in my adult life, I actually feel accomplished. I feel like I’m contributing to something bigger than myself, and I’m not just running errands and making sure there is a certain kind of candy in someone’s dressing room. I’m actually providing a service with my very own hands—and it makes people happy.
And even though this moment feels monumental to me, one person is missing, and I want her approval more than anything. I wish she could have seen Leith’s and Lachlan’s reactions, could have heard Shona’s kind words.
My best friend’s—the one opinion I truly care about.
I might have done a good job, but it feels bittersweet.
“Bonnie, you okay?” Rowan asks. “You haven’t taken a bite yet.”
“Oh, yeah . . . fine.” I try to push back my thoughts of my floundering relationship with Dakota and enjoy this moment. I lift up the buttery and smile. “Here goes nothing.”