“Hi,” he replied, grinning down at her. He nodded toward the camera. “I’m enjoying seeing you in action, Charlie Goodwin.”

She turned back to the camera, realizing as she did that her sister was right: a hiatus wasn’t what she wanted at all. “I assume you’ve all met Jake, our sexy resident firefighter?” She had realized something else: she loved being on camera. But she loved it most when it was with a group of people she enjoyed being with. At Sweet & Salty, that had been almost entirely true—she liked and respected so many people on the team, like Sydney and Priya. But having someone like Austin in the mix was—well, it was the icing sugar in the sourdough starter. One wrong ingredient ruined everything.

She was never going to let that happen again in her professional life, she decided then and there. Cass was right. She was better than that; she deserved better than that. As she chatted to the camera, and bantered with Jake, Miguel, Walter, and Cass, an idea began to take shape. She reached into her pocket and tapped out a text to Priya. It was Christmas Eve—and the Sweet & Salty crew would be together, wrapping the marathon.

Any chance you can get Sasha in front of a screen for a few minutes?

She gave the name of the Woodburn Live.Li channel. A second later, Priya wrote back.

Way ahead of you, friend. We are freaking rapt over here. The entire crew. This is quality entertainment! Like FRIENDS meets a reality baking show.

Charlie smiled and put her phone away, then turned her attention back to the bakery she adored and the people she considered dear friends—and, in the case of Jake, something more. As she picked up a cooled loaf to package up for the party in the town square that night, she felt a deep sense of contentment.

“Hey, wait,” she said to Walter. “How did you even do this? Last I saw, the Woodburn Breads starter was on life support.”

Walter grinned. “That reminds me . . .” He leaned toward the camera and said, “Just a reminder, for all your dog biscuit needs, turn to Top Dog, www.topdog.com. Use code STARLIGHT for free shipping.”

Charlie’s eyebrows raised. “What in the . . . ?”

“I’ll explain it all later,” Walter said. “Meanwhile, keep on packaging! We’re almost there!”

Jake swatted at her good-naturedly with a dish towel as she passed and Charlie threw a handful of flour at him—but half of it got on Cass, who jumped off her stool and tossed some back at her sister.

“Focus, everyone, focus!” Walter called out. Charlie smiled. Walter blossomed under the spotlight, and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride over this fact.

She retrieved the next batch of loaves from the oven, breathing in their comforting, spicy-sweet, and yeasty scent. It was the smell of home, family, and everything that was important to her. She glanced over at Cass and saw she was doing the same thing: her twin was just taking it all in.