She pulled in a deep breath. Okay, he wasn’t selling it. That was good. But he was still on an airplane right now.

“Then why is he going back to Chicago?” Maybe he just needed to get more socks or something from his apartment.

“He’s not going to Chicago. He’s on his way to Texas. For a nursing home conference.”

She took that in. “Oh.” She frowned. “Oh.” He was going to a conference. To learn. To network. To figure some things out. “Wow.”

“And I fully expect that in a year, he’ll be presenting at conferences like that one, teaching other people about how to implement programs like the ones he’s going to be doing at Sunny Orchard.”

She smiled at that. “You think so?”

“I do. Because of all the things you said.” Grant leaned in. “Look, of all people, I get where you’re coming from. The things Dax does are short term, fun, frivolous. But that’s all on purpose. Those things accomplish his goals. But this is… different. It’s more than that. He doesn’t want this to be short term, and he knows it will take time and there will be ups and downs.”

“He does?” she asked.

Grant hesitated then nodded. “He probably does.”

She laughed lightly.

“Listen, Dax is brilliant. And he’s got a huge heart. He’s a pain in the ass, but I’ve been lucky enough to be his friend for nine years. I could have taken a number of jobs and made a ton of money and hung out with people more like me. But I need Dax. I need them all, but sometimes I think I need Dax and Ollie the most. The dreamers. The guys who are willing to go big. The guys who are willing to make me ask ‘what if?’ once in a while.” Grant smiled. “I like to play it safe. Thanks to those guys, I have adventures too.”

“And it always works out?” Jane asked, her heart hammering.

“Definitely not,” Grant said. “But we’re still here. Nine years later. Laughing.”

She nodded. “So I can trust him to put his heart into this and do his best?”

“Absolutely. And,” Grant added, “when you get one of us on your side, you get all five of us. And we’re a pretty formidable team.”

Jane smiled and nodded again. “Seems that way.” She felt lighter. Her stomach hurt a little, but it was definitely now because of overdoing the sugar and butter for two days. “I feel like I’m going to want to kill him from time to time,” she admitted.

“Oh, you will,” Grant agreed.

She laughed.

Grant got to his feet. “It was nice meeting you finally,” he said.

“You too.” She hesitated but then asked, “Hey, Grant?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t suppose… this is really unlike me to ask, but I think maybe this once I need to be a little over the top for Dax. I don’t think people do that for him much, and I was thinking that might be good for me too.”

“Okay.” Grant looked amused.

“And, what the hell, I guess I might as well be a little bold and ask you… I don’t suppose you would be able to help me get to Texas to where he is? Like today? Like soon?”

Grant smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I could do that.”

Her heart flipped and she nodded. “And I also don’t suppose you know where I could get a gigantic gummy bear?”

That surprised him a little more, evidently. But he nodded again. “Well, I have known Dax Marshall for nine years. I know more about gummy candy than any man should.”

“So you could get me and a gigantic gummy bear to Texas in the next few hours?”

“Yes, I could.”

She grinned and hopped up out of her chair. “Don’t tell Aiden, but you’re my favorite boss.”

He chuckled and started for the bakery door. “I’ll have Piper call you in a little bit.”

“Great!” Jane felt happiness washing through her and reached for the rest of her unfinished strawberry pie. She was now celebrating after all. For just a second her brain—and stomach—asked, are you sure about this? But she refused to ever be in a position where she was sick of strawberry anything. She scooped up a big bite.

Just as Josie came through the swinging doors from the kitchen.

Her gaze landed on Grant who stopped at the door, looking over at her.

They both froze for a moment, and Jane felt her eyes widen watching them.

Then the kitchen door swung back and hit Josie in the butt, startling her and making her take an awkward step forward.

When she’d caught her balance, she looked up at Grant again.

“’Bye, Josie,” he said, a slight smile curving his lips.

“Um, bye, Grant.”

“Maybe I’ll see you again. Soon.”

Josie nodded slowly. “Do you like sweets?”

Grant’s smile grew and he nodded. “I do. Though I’m very particular.”

“We can do whatever you want. Special order,” Josie said.

Jane put a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggle. She wasn’t sure her friend even realized how flirtatious she sounded.

But Grant did. His grin grew almost wolfish. “I’ll keep that in mind. For sure.” Then he stepped through the door, pulling it shut behind him, the little bell above tinkling merrily.

Josie continued to stare at the door for almost ten seconds.

“You’ll do whatever he wants, special order?” Jane finally demanded, allowing herself to laugh out loud.

“What?” Josie asked.

Zoe was laughing too. “Do you like sweets?” she asked, mimicking Josie’s voice but batting her eyelashes. “You little hussy!” She swatted Josie playfully with the towel she held. “Willing to give Grant your sweets just because he caught you heroically in his arms not once, but twice.”

Josie’s cheeks were pink but she laughed. “That is not what I meant.”

“Uh-huh.”

“We run a bakery,” Josie insisted. “He said he’d see me again. I’m sure he was talking about my cupcakes.”

“I’m sure he was talking about your cupcakes too,” Phil piped up from his table.

George nodded.

Jane, Josie, and Zoe all burst out laughing.

“Well, I have to say,” Josie admitted. “The name Hot Cakes is taking on a whole new meaning with these guys in charge.”

Jane couldn’t agree more.

Comic-Con was four million times better than Nursing Home-Con.

This thing wasn’t even called Nursing Home-Con. It wasn’t even that cool. Dax left the conference room at the hotel with a thick packet of handouts, feeling like he was in way over his head. Which, of course, he was.

They’d been talking about financials and Medicare payments and the pros and cons of contracting therapy services versus hiring your own in-house staff. All. Damned. Day.

Not one mention of innovative activity programs. Not one hint of anything having to do with goats.

At least they were playing Frank in the lobby. He heard the intro to "I’ve Got the World on a String" overhead as he stepped into the atrium.

But he came up short as his gaze landed on the woman standing under the massive chandelier in the center of the marble floor.