The next few days felt like a strange mix of war and celebration.
Every morning, Lena opened the bakery to more petition signatures, more media attention, and more customers eager to support "the little shop fighting the corporate giant." The mayor had even ordered three dozen cupcakes for a town hall meeting, promising to mention the bakery during her speech.
But with the momentum came pressure.
Walker had spent most of his week juggling internal politics, trying to keep the board calm while Lena rallied the town. He was constantly on the phone, constantly in meetings—and constantly thinking about her.
On Thursday evening, he finally managed to break free and show up just before closing. He stood in the doorway, his tie loose, watching Lena swirl frosting onto a batch of cupcakes with the kind of concentration usually reserved for heart surgery.
"You look like you're trying to frost your way through a midlife crisis," he said, grinning.
Lena laughed, not looking up. "It's either this or scream into a cinnamon roll."
He walked behind the counter, gently placing his hands on her waist. "How about a break?"
She finally turned to him, exhaustion in her eyes. "Five minutes. That's all I can give today."
"I'll take them," he said, and led her outside to the bench in front of the bakery.
The street was quiet. The sunset bathed the brick buildings in soft gold. Lena leaned into his shoulder, letting herself breathe.
"I thought once we got those thirty days, things would calm down," she murmured.
"They never do," Walker said. "But we're stronger than we were last week. And next week, we'll be stronger still."
She looked up at him. "You sound like you're giving a TED Talk."
"I've been listening to business podcasts at night," he admitted with a sheepish grin. "They're weirdly motivational."
Lena chuckled, then grew serious. "I never thought I'd be in a position like this. Rallying people. Standing up in front of cameras. It's not me."
Walker took her hand. "It is. It always was. You just didn't have the right reason before."
She leaned her head on his shoulder again. "Do you think your board will vote against you once the freeze ends?"
"They might. But I've got a new strategy."
"Which is?"
He pulled out his phone and showed her an email draft. The subject line read: Proposal for Hart & Hearth Collaboration with Harper Holdings.
"You want to partner with me?" she asked slowly.
"I want to invest," he corrected. "Officially. Turn the bakery into a model for community-focused business. Franchise it on your terms, with your recipes, with you at the helm. Let the board see that profit and preservation can coexist."
She stared at him. "You'd really do that?"
Walker looked at her like she was the only thing worth betting on. "I'd do anything to protect this place. And the woman who gave it life again."
Lena felt a swell of something too big to name.
Not just love.
But partnership. Purpose.
And maybe even… a future.
They sat there until the sun dipped below the rooftops, their fingers entwined, their hearts finally in sync.