Years of running a popular food truck in Boston did not prepare me for running a bakery.

I thought it would. Hell, I thought the bakery would be easier. It’s just cupcakes, muffins, and a few brands of coffee. That couldn’t possibly be more difficult than the variety of choices and nit-picky requests associated with tacos, burritos, and all their fixings.

Ironically, Hot Sauce was a cakewalk compared to Muffin Top Two.

Vincent is easing me in. We’ll run a half-schedule until I’m used to the ins and outs of bakery life and I’m now very, very grateful for his power of foresight. I’ve trained with that guy for weeks, watching as he gets up at three in the morning every single day like a fucking machine, all the while raising a cute son and caring for his very pregnant wife.

Not a bad role model, truth be told.

“Boss, you have a phone call!”

I look over at my employee, Trudy. That’s the other part of this that feels strange and unusual. I’m somebody’s boss. I’ve never been on this side before but it feels a lot more natural than I ever expected it to.

“Who is it?” I ask her.

She extends her hand, holding the landline phone in my direction. “It’s the big guy,” she says.

I take the phone from her. “Hey, this is Jake,” I say into it.

“You screw up yet?”

I chuckle. “No, Vincent. I have not.”

“It’s okay if you have,” he says, seriously. “You can tell me.”

“We are running smoothly,” I say. “Trust me. I just have to follow your recipes, right?”

“I would trust you, Jake, but you were fifteen minutes late this morning,” he reminds me. Again.

“Yeah, you can blame your sister for that, man.”

“Why?”

I clear my throat. “Anyway, thanks for calling and checking in, but I assure you, we’re fine. By the way, people are loving these new hot sauce-flavored sugar cookies I threw out on a whim today. They’re gonna be a hit.”

There’s a long pause. “Is that a joke?”

I smirk, jabbing his one weakness. “Bye, Vin.”

I hang up. The crowd has thinned out somewhat and I take a deep breath to try and relax. I glance at my watch again. This place seems to have the same spikes and lulls as Hot Sauce did. I’ll take the mini victory.

My cell phone vibrates in my pocket. I sneak a peek at it, hoping for a nice, encouraging message from Anna.

Don’t screw this up.

Translation: I can kill you with a whisk.

I sigh, laughing softly. I wonder how long it’ll take before Vincent Silva actually begins to trust me.

Maybe I’ll fair better once he finds out we’re going to be brothers-in-law.

I bite my cheek, thinking back over the last few months of my life. Four months ago, my life was unrecognizable. I’m not who I used to be, not by a long shot. It wasn’t even a conscious choice, either, and it certainly didn’t happen overnight.

Still, there’s a piece of myself that feels incomplete. A loose end dangling from the edge.

“Hey, Trudy, I need to make a call,” I tell her. “Let me know if you get backed up, okay?”

“You got it, boss!”

I smile and walk into the back. I stop and lean against the sink, staring at my phone in my hands for a several minutes before building up the courage to just do it. Will it be different this time? Or will I feel that same regret and anguish I always did before?

Finally, I force myself to dial his number. The line rings twice, each sound burrowing deep into my brain as I keep it all together.

“Hello?” he answers.

“Lance, it’s me,” I say.

I hear a soft murmur on the other end, shortly followed by the sound of a latching door.

“Hey, brother.” He clears his throat. “It’s been a few months.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I say. “I’ve been busy.”

“To be honest, I never expected to hear from you again. Thought maybe you were sitting in a cell somewhere, staring at a blank wall and talking to yourself,” he jokes.

I laugh. “Nah — well, almost, but I got lucky.”

“As usual,” he says with a chuckle. “So, what’s going on? You need more legal advice?”

“No, I just wanted to catch up.”

He pauses. “Catch up?”

“Yeah.” I bite my cheek. “How are things in Chicago?”

“Things in Chicago are good,” he says slowly. “Working on a big case that should make me partner if it lands in my favor. Fingers crossed.”

“Crossing all toes. What’s the case?”

“You’ll read all about in the press soon enough, I’m sure.”

“I’ll keep an eye out, then.”

“And you?” he asks. “I assume you didn’t call me up just to talk about me?”

I take a deep breath. “Actually, no. I wanted to extend an invitation to you. It’s a little short notice. Well, about a month out, but still, it’s all right if you can’t make it. You’re under no obligation to say yes.”

“Okay. Invitation for what?”

I close my eyes as I force the words out. “My daughter’s birthday.”

“Your daughter?”

“It’s a long story, Lance.”

“I’ll bet. You got a picture?”

“Yeah, hold on.” I look at my phone and swipe through the photos until I land on one I took the other day in this very kitchen. Little Charlotte sits on the counter with flour dust sprinkled on her cheeks next to Anna. Both smile right into the camera. Right at me.

I push send. “Should be coming in now,” I say into the phone.

Lance’s phone pings and my chest clenches for a few seconds.

“Well, she’s adorable,” he finally says.

I laugh. “Yeah, she is.”

“What’s her name?”

“Charlotte,” I answer, beaming. “She’s four going on twenty, man. It’s crazy how smart she is. I didn’t even know kids could be smart, you know?”

“And who’s the pretty lady?” he asks.

“That…” My heart skips. “That is Anna, her mother. My… my fiancée. As of this morning, actually.”

“Wow…” he says slowly. “Sounds like things are really coming together over there for you, Milo.”

“Jake,” I correct him.

“Is that right?” he asks, audibly smiling.

“Yeah, that’s me,” I say. “Look, I’ll fill you in on everything some other time but you should come out to Boston next month, if you can. I’d really like for you to meet them.”

“Boston, eh?” he asks.

“Boston,” I repeat. “Been here a few years now.”

“Well, Jake, I’ll have to check my schedule, but I’m sure I can work something out.”

“Awesome,” I say, sighing quietly. “Thank you.”

“And if you guys are ever in Chicago, you should let me know,” he adds. “We’ll get dinner.”

I nod. “We will.”

“All right.” He pauses. “It’s good to hear from you again, brother. I’m happy for you.”

The entry bell chimes up front. I crane back to check and see if Trudy needs help and my tongue trips up when I see Anna walking in. Charlotte follows by her side with her little hand nestled in Anna’s and my heart skips all over again.

“You, too,” I tell him. “Bye, Lance.”

I hang up and drop the phone back into my pocket as my girls step up to the counter.

“What are you ladies doing here?” I ask, smiling wide.

Anna lifts Charlotte up and sets her down on the counter between us. “We didn’t want to miss your first big day. Did we, Charlotte?”

“No!” she answers.

I poke the edge of her cheek just beneath her eyes. My eyes. “Well, I could not be happier to see you. You want a cookie?”

“Yes!”

“Half a cookie,” Anna says to her. “No spoiling your lunch.”

I tisk. “Oh, come on, Mom. One cookie ain’t spoiling nothing.”

I reach into the case by the counter and grab a heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie off the pile. Anna glares at me with hidden amusement but she doesn’t stop me from handing the whole cookie to Charlotte.

“And how about you?” I ask, leaning over the counter. “Would you like some sugar?”

Anna leans in with a smile but halts an inch away. “Still full from this morning, I think,” she says, backing up. “But thank you.”

I cringe in playful disappointment. “Well, you let me know. I’ll be happy to donate more. Any day. Any time.”

Her eyes roll. “Speaking of which, don’t forget that we have Evey’s baby shower tonight at the bar.”

“Already prepared,” I say. “A dozen bright pink cupcakes are in the fridge. Baked them myself this morning.”

She smiles. “Well, you’ve been keeping very busy.”

“I have.”

“Too busy to have some coffee with me?” she asks, grinning at Trudy.

Trudy shrugs. “I don’t mind. Go nuts.”

“You’re a true professional, Trudy,” I tell her, flashing a wink.

“Tell it to my paycheck, boss,” she quips.

I turn around and fill two to-go cups to the brim with coffee and a third cup with milk for Charlotte. Anna claims the table in the corner and we each take a seat on either side of Charlotte as she devours her cookie.

“Thank you,” Anna says as I set her coffee down.

“Decaf,” I say. “Just in case.”

She rolls her eyes. “Vincent is teaching you some very bad things.”

I laugh, taking a soothing sip from my cup. My eyes fall to her left hand, instantly seeing that ring on her finger. It looks just as good on her as I pictured in my head.

Anna motherfucking Silva.

She looks at the ring, too, and smiles at me. Her eyes flick suddenly toward Charlotte and she silently nudges twice in her direction.

I read the gesture and nod.

Anna takes a deep breath. “Hey, Charlotte,” she says, pausing, “we have something to tell you.”

Charlotte looks up from her cookie, her little, multicolored eyes flicking between us.

“Charlotte, Jake and I are getting married,” she says. “Do you know what that means?”

She shakes her head.

“It means,” I say, smiling wider, “that your mother and I love each other very much and we want to spend the rest of our lives together.”

“And,” Anna says, looking at me, “that he is officially going to be your daddy and he’s going to spend the rest of his life with you, too.”

For a second, my heart stops. My throat tightens and it takes everything in me not to break down in front of them.

“Yeah,” I say, getting lost in Anna’s soft, brown eyes. “That, too.”

Charlotte turns back to her cookie. “Oh, okay,” she says, taking another large bite.

Anna looks at me and shrugs. “Well, I’m excited for us,” she jokes.

I set my hand palm-up on the table and Anna takes it, flashing her ring finger with pride.

“So am I,” I say.

I bring her hand to my lips to kiss her knuckles. Anna smiles at me and I sit back, wondering when that regret and anguish is going to take me over. But it never does.

So, this is what family really feels like.