The shop door dings open as I set my empty saucepan back on the stovetop. Juls comes walking into the kitchen, carrying a small envelope with Ian right behind her. She’s dressed chicly as usual, while Ian is wearing the same attire I’m used to seeing Reese in.

“Is someone getting married tomorrow?” Juls asks, walking toward me. She stops when she sees Brooke’s apron. “Aww, I love that.”

“Joey got it for me,” Brooke states, smiling over at my thoughtful assistant as he walks into the back.

Juls darts over to him and wraps her arms around his waist. “You’re the sweetest, JoJo.”

“Christ, it’s just an apron. I didn’t propose or anything,” he counters.

“Babe, hurry up and show Dylan what we came here for. I need to get back to the office.” Ian walks over to the assembled cakes and studies them, leaning in closely. “These will get frosted, right?”

“Yes,” all four of us answer in unison, the obvious implication evident in our voices.

He straightens and stares at us like he hasn’t just asked a ridiculous question.

Who the hell wouldn’t ice a wedding cake?

“Okay, are you ready?” Juls asks, opening her envelope and waving over Joey and Brooke. We all three huddle around her as she pulls out the tiny black and white photo and holds it out for us to see. “Look at my little nugget.”

“Oh, my God!” I snatch the photo out of her hand and run my finger over the image. Tracing over the tiny splotch, because that’s exactly what it looks like, I can’t contain the magnitude of emotions beginning to course through me.

My best friend is having a baby.

When I glance back at her, it’s through teary eyes. “Juls! I love your little nugget!”

“Give me that.” Joey grabs the picture and studies it with Brooke. He gasps, looking from the picture to her stomach. “Can you feel anything yet?”

She shakes her head, wiping underneath her eyes. “No, not yet. But we heard the heartbeat today. That was amazing.” Ian comes up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. “Wasn’t it amazing, babe?”

He kisses her neck. “It was. I wish I could’ve recorded it.” He removes one hand from around Juls and takes the picture away from Joey. “Let me see my baby again.”

I watch as the proud father-to-be looks at the sonogram with his wife. He whispers something into her ear and she nods, tearing up again. It’s a private moment and I let them have it, turning around and busying myself.

At the sound of the shop door, Joey disappears up front, returning moments later and carrying the familiar white box. He sets it down on the worktop in front of me. “Not sure how he’s going to top a set of car keys,” he says jokingly, tugging at the white ribbon.

I open the box and pull out the card, not bothering to contain my excitement. I can’t. I’m marrying this amazing man tomorrow, my best friend just showed me a picture of her little nugget, and I have the two best employees a girl could ask for.

I know tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life, but I’m finding it hard to imagine topping this moment.

I open the card as Joey sifts through the tissue paper, stopping to read over my shoulder.

Dylan,

You asked me to keep my eyes on you before when you danced to this song, and I’ve never taken them off. Dance for me now.

X, Reese

Joey pulls out Reese’s iPod and darts up front with it as I tuck the note into my apron pocket. He returns moments later with the docking station, plugging it in and setting everything on the worktop. “I love how he knows we dance on Fridays. Could he seriously be any more perfect?”

“No,” I answer, earning myself an annoyed look from him.

He cues the song up and seconds later, Beyoncé’s “Naughty Girl” fills the kitchen. Juls, Brooke, Joey, and I all begin dancing around the space and when I glance over at Ian, he’s holding his phone out with it focused on me.

“What are you doing?” I yell over the music, moving in between Juls and Brooke.

“What I’ve been instructed to do.” He smiles and motions for me to keep going.

Oh. Well then.

My man wants me to dance for him? Okay. I can do that.

I playfully spin around, bringing my eyes back to Ian’s phone every few seconds, pretending I’m looking right at Reese. Imagining him sitting behind his desk and watching me with that focused stare of his. I don’t dance sexy at all, because I’m still kind of dancing for Ian and that would be entirely too weird, so I keep it fun, letting Joey spin me around and dip me. Grabbing onto Brooke and waltzing her around the kitchen. It’s the best Friday dance party I’ve ever had with the most amazing people I’ve ever known.

After Ian and Juls leave, Brooke and I get started on icing the wedding cake for the other bride. That part itself is relatively easy, considering the bride didn’t request any intricate piping work or anything besides the sugared orchids. And those won’t be added until tomorrow morning. My cake, however, contains a ton of complex detailing that will take me the rest of the day to create. I wanted my cake to be very romantic, yet still traditional in a sense. Nothing modern or edgy. I was inspired by my dress when I came up with this design, wanting to mimic the lacework I instantly fell in love with. And sticking with the theme, which made my mother overly-ecstatic, I decided on a pale-gray lace pattern which will adorn my five-tiered cake, tying it into the bridesmaid dresses.

It takes me five-and-a-half hours to finish my cake, leaving me with just enough time to take a quick shower and get ready for my rehearsal. Reese is driving straight to the Whitmore from his office so I’ll be meeting him there, which is perfect because I wanted to surprise him tonight with my outfit. I actually had something else picked out to wear tonight: a deep plum-colored halter I picked up a few weeks ago. But when he surprised me earlier today with my dance party song, the memory of that day inspired me.

Apart from the engagement ring on my finger, I look exactly like I did the day I met Reese. My black strapless dress still looks brand new, considering I haven’t worn it since that day. My hair is falling in soft curls over my shoulders, and my makeup is fresh and elegant. After grabbing my clutch, I walk toward the door but stop, taking a look around my living space.

It doesn’t look like my loft anymore.

The only thing left in it that hasn’t changed yet is my bed, which I’ll be sharing with Juls and Joey tonight at our last sleepover. Everything else is packed away in boxes, except for what I’ll need to get ready tomorrow. All my pictures are gone, my kitchen counters are bare, even my decorative screen is folded up and leaning against the wall. Reese is having all my stuff delivered to his condo tomorrow while we get married, that way we don’t have to worry about it. Then my landlord will be making some changes to the loft so the future tenant doesn’t have to go through the bakery to get to it, which I’m extremely grateful for. For security reasons alone, I wouldn’t want someone walking through my shop all the time who doesn’t work for me. I suppose until it gets rented out, I could still come up here if I wanted to, but I’m not sure I will. My new life starts tomorrow, the one I’ve been counting down toward, and I’m excited to move in with Reese and put my single life behind me. So tonight, with my two very best friends, I’ll soak in my last night in my loft and every memory it holds.