Everything happened so fast. One moment, Sasha introduced the idea of buying the bakery to Kallie. The next thing she knew, he’d gone and done it.

Katia and Lev invited them to dinner at the bakery to celebrate the change in ownership. The four of them sat at two tables pushed together, set with a fine tablecloth, Katia’s best china, and lit with a grouping of tea candles. Sasha and Kallie had dressed for dinner as though they were going to a five-star restaurant. They were served by a waiter in a tux.

“I know you must be disappointed we aren’t at a fancy restaurant. But I have only been to dinner two times in this restaurant. Tonight, of course, being one of them,” Katia explained, her voice rough with emotion. She gripped Lev’s hand. The two quietly exchanged looks, finding strength in one another.

Sasha and Kallie held hands as well.

“The first time was the night that it became ours,” Katia finished.

She turned away and touched her palm to her mouth.

“We bought it, of course, from my grandfather,” Lev explained with a slight smile. “Our children aren’t interested in the business. We put them through college. They give their blessing to Sasha as the new owner.”

“Kallie and I will own it together,” Sasha said, tightening his hold on Kallie’s hand.

Kallie suddenly felt overwhelmed with the responsibility buying the bakery entailed. She wasn’t signing her name to a small business. She was buying a piece of local history. She’d known that before she sat down to dinner with the Attmans. But sitting here, across from them and bearing witness to the tragedy of needing to let the business go, she was overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking on such a project. Especially one that meant so much to so many people.

“We know that things will be a little different...” Katia said hesitantly.

“Right.” Sasha nodded. “We’ll keep everything as is here for a while. I’ve purchased the place next door with an eye toward giving the bakery more space, with an expanded dining room. Things will carry on here same as they always have while the work is done in that space, then the bakery will move next door to continue operation while this side is given a facelift to match. That way we never have to close doors or risk losing any customers. Then, when the renovations are complete, the wall will be removed between the two units. I think you would be pleased with the results.”

Katia’s eyelids fluttered. “This is all so much!”

Sasha touched her hand. “I know it’s a lot,” he said softly. “We, of course, will not be changing the exterior; we’re even keeping the name of the salon on the side of the other building. The neighborhood wouldn’t look right if I took it down.”

“That place has been around since before you were born,” Katia said with a smile. “I was so sorry when they closed last year.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Sasha replied. “You’ll find very little changing here inside the bakery. The menu, everything you have built will be very much the same—with maybe a few extras added in.”

The meal had been delicious, but a little heavier fare than Kallie was used to. Between the rich food and so many emotions running high at the dinner table, she wasn’t feeling too well by the night’s end. Katia and Lev set the papers out in duplicate for all parties to sign. Foolishly, Kallie didn’t even bother to read. She pretended to, out of respect to the older couple, but she just wanted to step outside and get some air. Suddenly, she didn’t really care about the deal and just wanted the whole thing to be over and done with.

How could an evening that began with warmth, nostalgia, and some tears end with everyone picking up pens to sign contracts? Sasha handed Lev and Katia a cashier’s check. From what she gathered in their conversation, there would be more as agreed in the way of an under-the-table arrangement. Maybe that was Sasha’s way of doing the old couple a favor of some sort. But the businesswoman in her disliked the whole matter, and she wished she hadn’t been made part of that particular piece of the business deal.

It caught Kallie off guard, the fact that the deal wasn’t straightforward and some of it had been arranged between the men. Was this just how Sasha always did business? Sasha had negotiated without her and surprised her with it at the signing.

So, what did it matter if they did? What could possibly happen? She’d already gone through the worst in her own business; nothing here could possibly blow up the way that had. Why was she so worried?

I just don’t like it. It’s too risky. Why would Sasha conduct any part of the purchase and sale off the record and under the table? What does he get out of it?

Unsettled, Kallie accepted hugs from Katia and Lev. She felt as though they were taking her into part of their family. Maybe in a sense she was. As the new partial owner of the bakery, she was officially part of the community history. They each kissed her on the cheek and bid her goodnight. They looked exhausted, and she worried for them as they tottered to their old car, each holding the other up as they went on their way.

Kallie sympathized. She was absolutely exhausted. Maybe Sasha was energized by such things, but she surely wasn’t. For her, the evening itself was so much to take in and to process that she was only mildly disappointed when Sasha informed her he couldn’t stay. As he drove her to the town house, it sank in that the bulk of the details had been hammered out before the dinner, without her. Kallie slouched against the door, thinking tired thoughts, and getting more and more annoyed. What was the point of the dinner if everything was said and done without her even there?

She wanted to ask him that question, but she didn’t. She did feel really tired, and she thought better of starting such a conversation without sleeping on it first. Maybe some time to themselves tonight would be a good thing. Healthy even. Sasha was distracted, and certainly seemed to need some time alone. Truth be told, she did, too.

As quietly and distantly as Katia was when she pressed her lips to Kallie’s cheek, Sasha was just as far away when he kissed her forehead after walking her to the door. Were they still on the same page? He seemed apologetic.

“It’s okay,” she assured him. “It was emotional for me, and I don’t even share the history that you do.”

“Well, you do now,” he said with a smile. “Can’t take it back.”

“I can actually,” she reminded him. “There is a rescission clause.”

“Think you might change your mind?” His tone was light and playful, but his eyes betrayed his worry. He was unsure. It was strange to see Sasha lacking confidence.

She reached for his hands. They connected their fingers loosely, swinging their hands lazily between them. “I don’t think so,” she said, looking up at him and trying to smile despite her exhaustion and her own doubts.

Sasha leaned in to kiss her softly, fully on the lips. He lingered there, nuzzling her cheek, showing her the same passion that he did when they made love. He adored her. It was obvious he adored her.

So why was she worrying?

She stepped inside the house, peering out the window until she saw him get into his car and drive away. She watched until he was out of sight, then sank down on the nearest chair to figure out what had just happened.

Everything always happens so fast. Our relationship. Buying the bakery. Why must everything hurtle along like this?

But that was Sasha. It was the way he thought, it was the way he did business. He conceived of an action and then, well, he acted on it. Plain and simple.

Can I live with that?

Or was the question, more succinctly put, could she live without him? Even with his flaws—even when the things he did were questionable?

She wasn’t sure she liked that particular answer.