Always the Baker

Prologue

H er

Her heart felt like it would explode out of her chest into pieces smaller than dust. The question was simple: Why do you do what you do? But for Billie to accurately answer, she’d have to take them into her heart… into a dream she’d had since she was a little girl.

When her best friend, Ember, told Billie that she’d signed her up for an episode of their favorite inspirational podcast, Billie cried. She didn’t believe there was anything inspirational about her life. In her mind, she was a simple, small town girl with a big dream. Still, Billie prepared for the interview as best as she could. No amount of preparation equipped her for that question… although she knew it was about to come.

Clearing her throat, Billie sat up slightly and licked her lips as she stared at the microphone in front of her. She’d shared with them how she worked at her parents’ printing company and painted but her true passion was what she did on the side—baking. Specifically, baking wedding cakes.

“Well, I help my parents at their company because that’s the noble thing to do, right?” She smiled softly as her head bobbed once. “It’s a family business and that’s my family. My mom took over back in two thousand and eight, I had a hand in the day to day duties. The role shifted over the years, but it’s always been there.”

“And painting?” Vanna, one of the two podcast hosts asked.

“Ah…” Billie squeezed the back of her neck with a light laugh. “That one’s a bit trickier. I do love to paint but I do it mostly because of my mom. She was an artist and gave up her dream when she found out she was pregnant with me. When she realized I could draw, she immediately began to help me perfect the skill. So… I guess you can say I paint as thanks to her. Not just for giving me life but for the sacrifices she made over the years to make sure I had a good one.”

“Mm, I love that,” Melissa replied. “And what about baking? Your eyes lit up earlier when you talked about that.”

“Yeah, I’d say baking is truly my passion. I love creating of all kinds, clearly, but there’s something about wedding cakes that brings me great joy. I think it’s because I love love. I’ve always been obsessed with fairy tales and weddings. As a kid, I was the little girl playing in makeup and dresses in preparation for my wedding day. Creating wedding cakes is… I guess a way I am able to be in weddings all the time. They may not be mine but that counts, right?”

As they shared a laugh, Vanna asked, “I have to know… Why haven’t you tried to open a business for your baking? Ember recommended you for the show because of your family’s business, but I think the most inspirational thing about you, probably, is your baking.” She pulled the sheet of facts she had on Billie closer. “You bake three wedding cakes a year, free, for women who may not be able to afford them. I think that’s awesome.”

“Well, to me, your passion doesn’t always have to be about profit. I think that’s a trap a lot of people get in. Not having a full time business baking is what keeps it magical for me when I step into the kitchen.”

She didn’t want to tell them the whole truth.

She didn’t want to tell them that she once dreamed of having her own bakery but her mother’s insistence that she followed in her footsteps with art and help with the family business made it difficult to keep the priority.

She didn’t want to tell them she was growing weary of baking wedding cakes for women while she was still unmarried. Her boyfriend had promised they’d be married after a year into their relationship, but as their three year anniversary approached, Billie wasn’t sure that would be the case.

She didn’t want to tell them that the main bakery in their small town of Jasper Lane got the bulk of the business, and she wouldn’t have had enough clients to pay her bills.

Instead, Billie told them a partial truth as she dug her nails in her palm in her lap and hoped the interview would be over soon.

The home Billie shared with her boyfriend, Ian, was cold and dark when she arrived. As usual, Ian didn’t bother grabbing dinner or fixing any. Knowing she had an interview after work, he’d still rather starve and wait for her to come home and cook than worry with feeding himself. With a low, heavy breath, Billie kicked her shoes off at the door before going to find him.

His hushed voice seeped under their closed bedroom door. Ian’s eyes lifted, and at the sight of her, his smile fell.

“Let me uh… call you back,” he said quickly before disconnecting the call, not giving whoever he was talking to time to respond. Standing, he shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels. “Hey.”

“Hey. How was your day?”

“Cool. You?”

“Good. Did you hear the interview?” She stepped further into the room and headed toward the closet.

“Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about it.”

“Okay, wassup?”

Ian released a shaky breath as Billie pulled her loose-fitting shirt over her head. As she stepped out of her boyfriend jeans, her curiosity had her wondering what Ian wanted to discuss. He waited until she was in the bedroom before he said, “Nothing’s changed.” His head motioned for her to have a seat on the small bench in front of their bed. “In the past three years, you haven’t really done any of the things you said you wanted to do.”

Her brows wrinkled and head tilted as she processed his words.

“What are you talking about?”

“When we first got together, you had all these plans and dreams. All this potential.” Ian sat next to her and took her hands into his. “That’s what made me crazy about you. I thought you were a hustler like me. I thought you’d become this… well known artist or open your own bakery, but you can’t, because all your time and energy goes into your mother’s business.”

Her eyes rolled as she pulled her hands out of his. “This again?”

“Yes, this again.”

“Ian, there’s only so much I can do. Mom needs help and she can’t afford to pay someone else. What do you want me to do? Not help her?”

Ian sucked his teeth. “I just don’t understand why you value struggling with her more than you do building something for yourself. Hell, we can’t even spend time together because of how tired you are after work. She has you working all these long hours, and for what? A few hundred dollars a week?”

Scoffing, Billie crossed her arms over her chest. “We don’t spend time together for more reasons than one. It’s not just my job.”

“Yeah, but that’s a lot of it. Truth is…” He paused and shifted slightly. “I’m not as attracted to you as I used to be. I’m not as invested in this relationship anymore. You’re not the woman I thought you were.”

Her heart contracted and eyes watered, but she had too much pride to let any tears fall. “How long have you felt like this?”

Ian shrugged but wasted no time saying, “Maybe a year.”

Chuckling, Billie nodded as she stood. “So for the last year, all the times I asked you about our future, our next steps, when you were going to propose… you never thought to mention this?”

“It never seemed like the right time.”

“But now is?” When he didn’t respond, Billie headed toward the closet. With no clear destination in mind, she grabbed her suitcase and opened it, lying it flat on the carpeted floor.

“What are you doing?” he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

“What does it look like?”

“Are you leaving?”

“Uh, yeah. You just said you’re not attracted to me and invested in our relationship anymore.”

“Well, yeah, but you don’t have to leave tonight. Where are you going to go?”

Billie released a bark of laughter as her eyes blurred with tears. “Like you care.”

“I do. I mean… I want us to be over, but I still care about you.”

“Wow.” She wiped a quickly fallen tear, in complete disbelief over how her day was ending. Things may have been kind of dry between them lately, but she never thought it would have been because of that. “You know what? I’m just gonna go now. I’ll get my things when you’re at work tomorrow.”

As she breezed past him, Ian tried to grab her hand, but she jerked it away. His touch made her shiver—and not in a good way. The last thing she wanted to do as she grabbed her purse and keys was go back to her parents’ place, but there was no way in hell she’d spend the little pocket money she had on a hotel room. She briefly considered going to Ember’s apartment but didn’t want her asking a million questions. Ignoring Ian calling her name, she slipped into her shoes and headed out of the door just as quickly as she’d came.