Epilogue

 

Gerri Wilder rushed to the kitchen to take the whistling teakettle off the burner. As usual, the day was getting interesting with her eclectic variety of new clients, and she needed her afternoon tea to replenish her creative well. Love truly had no bounds. Her latest matches were quite a doozy, but that was why she loved her job.

As she steeped her chamomile tea in one of her finely decorated china cups, a knock came at her front door. She hurried to answer it. A deliveryman stood there, holding a medium-sized square box secured with twine.

“Afternoon, ma’am.” He tipped his brown baseball cap.

Gerri furrowed her brow at the man. “Yes? What’s this all about?”

“Special delivery for Ms. Gerri Wilder.” He handed her the box and held out a clipboard and pen. “Please sign here. And here.” He pointed to the blank signature lines on the paper.

Holding the box waiter-style on the palm of one hand, Gerri signed the appropriate spaces. The man took the clipboard, tipped his hat again, and left.

Gerri stared at the box a moment, wondering what it might be. The box was light but unmarked. Perhaps it’s from a secret admirer? She certainly had plenty of those. Back inside her apartment, she set the box on the kitchen counter. She sniffed at the box, her wolf senses picking up something sweet and edible inside. Curiosity consumed her.

She tugged the string, undoing the simple bow. Then she carefully opened the box. Inside was a small single-layer cake laced in blue-and-white-gradient fondant, decorated with fancy curlicues and designs, and trimmed with a black ribbon around the middle and bottom. On the top of the cake, a message was written in white icing in fancy script:

 

Thank you, Gerri, for being amazing!

–Love, Aniyah, Gauge& Kaylan (on the way)

 

Gerri beamed. Aniyah and Gauge. It had been two months since she’d last talked to them. The relationship was much more than a success. Aniyah had found out how to tame that feisty cub, and now she was going to be a mother. Aniyah would get her ultimate happily-ever-after, and couples like her and Gauge were why Gerri loved her job so damn much. Gerri ran her finger along the bottom of the cake until it was coated with blue-and-white icing. As she licked the delectably sweet sample from her finger, she noticed an envelope at the bottom of the box. She picked it up and pulled a letter from inside. Her grin widened as she read:

 

Dear Gerri,

I hope you enjoy the special blueberry cake I made just for you. I did my due diligence learning more about the woman who completely changed my life. Gauge Reed is everything I’ve ever wanted in a mate and more. And now I’m happily living my dream with my very own bakery here in the suburbs and a wonderful, encouraging man to share this life with. Thank you for everything!

-Aniyah

 

P.S. I’m still waiting to learn that famous teacake recipe of yours!

 

Gerri smiled so widely, her cheeks hurt. Getting letters like that was another reason why she loved her job. Love was a special thing, and when spent with the right person, it could become magical. She would make a point to stop in and visit Aniyah’s bakery very soon. Rereading the postscript, she considered the request. While she wasn’t ready to divulge her actual secret teacake recipe, she knew how to come pretty damn close for inquiring minds.

After retrieving her warm chamomile tea, she began perusing the many recipe books she’d collected over the years for the cake combination that would blow Aniyah away.

 

THE END