Devin spoke up. “She hasn’t seen the movie yet. Guess I’d better plan on getting the DVD.”
“That’s okay,” Kaitlin informed Bri solemnly. “You didn’t know that I hadn’t seen that movie, whatever it is.” She turned to regard her father with raised eyebrows, as though to say, “Why have you allowed my education to suffer so?”
Devin ignored her implied criticism and asked, “Isn’t there something you should say to Miss Galen?”
“Thank you for the cookies, Miss Galen,” Kaitlin said. “Would you carry them to the kitchen and set them up on the counter for me? I’m afraid I might drop them, and I don’t want them to get broken before I have a chance to eat one of them.”
Bri glanced at Devin, not sure he’d want her going that far into the house, but he immediately nodded. “Let’s all go to the kitchen. The pizza is warming, and if you don’t mind, Miss Galen, we’ll eat in the breakfast area, which is much more informal than the dining room.”
Bri quickly agreed and followed Kaitlin down a long hallway and eventually into a large kitchen with windows overlooking a deck. Flames from hissing gas logs in the fireplace at the end of the room cast a warm glow over the tile floor and onto the oak table and chairs sitting under a dark wood ceiling fan with three fluted glass globes. The table was already set for three.
Devin placed the cake box on the counter and looked at Bri. “I have adult beverages or soft drinks, and Mrs. Lang left us a gallon of her orange iced tea.”
“Definitely the tea,” Bri responded immediately. She still held the cookies. “Shall I set these on the counter?”
“Please.” Devin pushed the cake box to one side to give her space to set the cookies. “I’m going to get the pizza out of the oven. Would you mind getting both of us a glass of tea and Kaitlin some milk?” He nodded toward three glasses sitting on the counter beside the refrigerator.
“Happy to,” Bri said. She appreciated Devin making her feel at home by including her in the preparations for the meal. By the time she had their drinks ready, Devin was setting two large pizzas on the granite-topped bar separating the kitchen and breakfast area.
“I didn’t know what kind of pizza you liked, so I got half a cheese, half a veggie, half a pepperoni and the other half with everything.”
Bri laughed. “I think you covered the bases very well. My favorite is everything, but I can eat anything as long as it’s pizza.”
“Me too,” Devin said, “but Kaitlin will only eat cheese, so we’ll save that for her.”
Five minutes later the three of them were seated around the table, each munching on a piece of pizza. Bri was amazed at how comfortable she felt, especially considering the rocky start she and Devin had experienced. Of course she wasn’t doing much talking because Kaitlin was carrying the bulk of the conversation.
She entertained them with stories about her classmates, her schoolwork, and her plans for Valentine’s Day when her class was having a party and exchanging homemade valentine cards. A couple of times her dad had to remind her to eat and also to chew her food well, but that didn’t slow her down long, which was fine with Bri because she thoroughly enjoyed the little girl’s chatter.
Soon it was time for dessert. Bri cut pieces of cake for Devin and herself, but Kaitlin chose to munch on Dorothy, preferring to devour the character she didn’t recognize as opposed to the two she did.
With her cookie eaten, Kaitlin asked her dad if she could watch a DVD for a while before bedtime. He glanced at his watch, then gave his approval. “But only until eight o’clock, young lady. Then it’s teeth brushing time.”
“Okay, Daddy,” Kaitlin called over her shoulder as she ran out of the room.
Bri watched Kaitlin leave, then turned to Devin with a smile. “She’s a delightful little girl. You must be very proud of her.”
A shadow touched his eyes but was gone so quickly that Bri wondered if she’d imagined it. He returned her smile. “Thank you. She was certainly at ease with you. You seem to have a knack for dealing with young children.”
“Do you think so? I like children but haven’t been around them very much.”
“No younger siblings then?”
Bri shook her head. “I’m an only child. I don’t even have any young cousins to spoil.”
“Me either. Like you, I’m an only child, as were both of my parents. But I’ve tried to do right by Kaitlin, mingling love and discipline as best I can, although I fear sometimes she knows just how to get around me.”
“Oh, I think all children are born with that knowledge. It’s probably build into our genes as a survival mechanism. After Mom and I moved to Knoxville, I remember her telling about an exasperated neighbor back in Cedar Hollow who said she’d sometimes like to murder her kids but she couldn’t because they were hers.”
Devin chuckled. “A strange philosophy although I can almost relate to it. There are times when Kaitlin really tries my patience. But you mentioned moving to Knoxville. Was that after your freshman year in high school?”
“It was.”
“That’s a short answer. Should I drop the subject?”
Bri sighed. “It wasn’t a happy time in my life but I don’t mind talking about it. Do you remember hearing about an oil rig accident in Alaska in which three local men died?”
“Now that you mention it, I do remember that. Why?”
“My father was one of those men. He couldn’t get work around Cedar Hollow at that time, and although we had a little farm, he couldn’t make a decent living on it, so when a friend asked Dad to join him in the oil fields, he decided to go for a while because he could make so much money in so little time. He’d worked there for only seven months when he was killed.”
“Ouch,” Devin said, grimacing. “I’m so sorry.”
Bri took a deep breath. “Mom was devastated. She said she couldn’t stay here because the memories were too painful. We moved to Knoxville and she got a job in a department store. We lived in a small house on the bus route, and I went to a large high school in the city. It took a while for me to get used to it, but I eventually did. Mom and I were always short on money, so I took a job in a bakery and discovered I loved baking things. After high school, I moved to Atlanta to go to culinary school.”
“So,” Devin said, “you moved south and I moved north. Did you like living in Atlanta?”
“I did. Did you like living in New York?”
“I did. So what brought you back to Cedar Hollow?”
Bri was aware of his abrupt change of subject when she asked about New York, but that was okay. Considering he was a successful author, the demise of his marriage had been widely publicized when his famous wife left him for another man. Bri understood why he preferred not to discuss that time in his life.
“Well,” she said, “I didn’t intend to come back to Cedar Hollow. I was engaged to an Atlanta businessman and planned to spend the rest of my life in Atlanta. But we ended our engagement, and soon after that, my mother had a heart attack and died. When I came back to Knoxville to plan her funeral, I got quite a shock.”
“Oh?” Devin sat up straighter in his chair. “May I ask what?”
“Mom’s attorney informed me that because my dad’s death had been the result of carelessness by the company he worked for, his estate had been awarded three quarters of a million dollars. The attorney said Mom considered it blood money and wouldn’t touch it. She put it in the bank in my name. By the time I found out about it, the interest had increased the value to almost nine hundred thousand dollars, which was one of life’s great ironies.”
Devin frowned. “Ironies? How so?”
“The reason I’d broken up with Michael was because he insisted that I sign a pre-nup. His company was doing very well and he knew that I was as poor as a church mouse. And while logically I could understand his point of view, emotionally I couldn’t bring myself to agree. To me, it was as though we were giving our marriage permission to fail before it even got started. Then, less than a month af
ter we broke up, I discovered I was worth as much or more than Michael. That’s why I say it was ironic.”
Devin grinned. “I’ve got to ask, did you call and tell him about your inheritance?”
“I was tempted, believe me, but I didn’t. I decided to be a bigger person than he was.”
“Oh, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that,” Devin said, grinning. “He sounds like a real jerk.”
Bri shrugged. “Turns out I’m better off without him. When Mom passed away, I did what I knew she would want. I brought her back to Cedar Hollow to bury her in the churchyard beside Dad. That’s when I discovered there was a bakery in town that was for sale. A Floridian had started it but discovered he didn’t like cold weather as much as he thought he would, so he was eager to sell. I had inherited the farm Mom left behind when we moved to Knoxville. I bought the bakery and had some needed repairs done on the house. Then I moved back to the farm. I like it here. I work hard, but that’s okay because I love what I do.”
“You’re one of the lucky ones then. So am I. Fortunately, I love what I do too. At least most of the time. But say, I’d better stop bending your ear and get your opinion on the cupcake decorations before it gets too late. You’ve got to open the bakery tomorrow, and I’ve got to pry Kaitlin away from her DVD and make her brush her teeth.”
Bri nodded. “Good point. Very well, lets see what you found.”
Five minutes later she had approved of and admired the various decorations he’d laid out on the table: heart-shaped sprinkles in various sizes in pink, red, and white; pre-made icing hearts; gumballs in various colors; and red edible diamonds. He’d also found some plastic picks shaped like Cupid’s arrows and some with red hearts on the top.
“The children will have so much fun with these,” she assured him as she got to her feet and retrieved her tote bag. “Thanks for helping out.”
“My pleasure. I’ll walk you to your car. Do you want to say goodbye to Kaitlin first?”
“I’d love to.” She stifled a laugh a minute later when they discovered the little girl curled up on the sofa in the den fast asleep.
Devin shrugged. “It won’t be the first time I’ve had to wake her to take her to bed. Come on, I’ll walk you outside first.”
Bri didn’t object. She’d enjoyed the evening and was delighted that she and Devin seemed on the verge of becoming friends rather than enemies. He appeared to feel the same because when they reached her car, he took her hand and pulled her to a stop.
He looked into her eyes before speaking again. “I’ve really enjoyed tonight, and I was hoping—”
“Daddy! Where are you?”
Both turned to look toward the porch where Kaitlin stood. “Daddy?” Her voice took on a panicked edge.
“I’ll be right there, baby,” Devin called. He released Bri’s hand. “I’d better go. I’ll call you. Drive careful.”
He was halfway up the steps before she got her seatbelt fastened and he had picked Kaitlin up and turned to wave by the time Bri started her car. She frankly wasn’t sure whether she was glad or sorry that Kaitlin had interrupted them. She liked Devin but she’d vowed to steer clear of highly successful men. She just wasn’t sure she wanted to compete with their ambitions.
Which meant she’d better try to make sure that Devin’s and her relationship lasted no longer than the cupcake decorating class.
Chapter Four
Devin devoted the next forty-five minutes after Bri left to getting his little girl ready for bed. The changes in Kaitlin’s life—from her mother disappearing to the move to Tennessee—had left her unusually clingy, especially at bedtime, so Devin was always careful to stay with her until she drifted off to sleep.
Most evenings when he was sure she was settled for the night, he’d go to his office to write, but this evening he needed to return to the kitchen and put away the cupcake decorations he’d had out to show to Bri.
There was also extra pizza to freeze and the German chocolate cake to put away. Not to mention the two remaining cookies that needed to be carefully stored so Kaitlin could enjoy them tomorrow and the next day.
Looking at those cookies brought a smile to his face. Kaitlin had been so thrilled with them. Obviously Bri knew what would appeal to a little girl.
And truth be told, he found Bri herself very appealing. She had a good sense of humor, was obviously a hard worker, and was certainly physically attractive. The problem was, he feared that falling for Bri would become a case of history repeating itself.
On the other hand, there was no reason to think she would be as self-centered as Francine. Sure, he’d thought a couple of times that Bri’s behavior was somewhat on the selfish side, but it turned out that he’d misjudged her. Of course he’d also been wrong about Francine when he first met her, which convinced him that he needed to move slowly.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t easy to do. He found he just couldn’t stop thinking about Bri, especially after he’d settled down at his desk and opened the file for his current chapter. And since he couldn’t concentrate on his writing, he realized that he’d have to do something about Bri. He needed to spend enough time with her to enable him to get a better feel for her character.
Which meant he needed an excuse to see her again.
He knew he was running this cupcake decoration business into the ground, but he couldn’t come up with a different reason for approaching her tomorrow. He had most of the German chocolate cake and Kaitlin’s two cookies left over from tonight, so he couldn’t use the need for bakery goods as an excuse for visiting her store, which left the cupcake decorations.
So he’d call her in the morning. He’d apologize for not thinking to give her the decorations tonight and he’d ask if he could stop by the bakery around noon and drop them off so she’d have them on hand for the class.
If he was lucky, she wouldn’t ask why he couldn’t just bring them with him when he came in on Monday. If she did, he’d think of something.
And finally, knowing that he would be seeing Bri again the following day, he was able to get back to work and make progress on his current chapter.
As usual on Saturday mornings, Kaitlin slept late, which suited Devin. Since Mrs. Lang didn’t come on weekends, he took advantage of his time alone to pay some bills and catch up on emails. He still paid an assistant in New York to manage his social media for him, but he preferred to reply to fan mail himself.
He’d been working for a little over an hour when he heard Kaitlin coming down the stairs. “Daddy?” she called.
Devin clicked “Send” on his last email and jumped to his feet. He didn’t like Kaitlin ever to feel alone. “Good morning, Miss Muffin,” he called. “I’m on my way to the kitchen. You ready for some breakfast?”
Kaitlin met him in the hallway and dashed to throw her arms around his legs. He bent and picked her up, thankful that she was still small enough for him to carry.
“Morning, Daddy. Can I have a cookie for breakfast?”
“No, you may not. You may have oatmeal or French toast.”
She heaved a sigh. “French toast then.”
“Okay. Did you wash your hands?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl.” He lowered her into her chair at the table and pulled a skillet out of a base cabinet.
“What are we going to do today, Daddy?”
“I’m not sure. I need to talk to Miss Galen. We might be running into town to take the cupcake decorations to her. The cupcake decorating class is Monday, you know.”
“Yay! I can’t wait. What color cupcake do you think I should choose to decorate?”
Devin stifled a sigh. This was just the scenario he’d been dreading. He bit his lip. “Uh, do we know what colors will be available for you to choose from?”
Kaitlin frowned. “I guess we don’t, but you can ask Miss Galen and then we’ll decide.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Devin broke a couple of eggs into a flat bowl, beat them for a few seconds, th
en soaked a slice of bread in the egg while he melted a little butter in the skillet. Finally he placed the bread in the skillet to brown while he retrieved the cinnamon and syrup from the cabinet.
“I’ll call Miss Galen as soon as we finish breakfast,” he said.
“And will you ask her what color the cupcakes will be?”
“I sure will, Miss Muffin. Now here’s your French toast and I’m going to fix me a bowl of cereal. As soon as I finish, I’ll place that call.”
Twenty minutes later, Devin smiled to himself as he dialed the number for the bakery. He very much looked forward to seeing Bri again. His smile faded when a masculine voice answered the phone. “Bri’s Bakery. Can I help you?”
“Oh, eh, yes. I’d like to speak to Bri, please.”
“She isn’t here.”
“When do you expect her back?”
“Miss Galen doesn’t come in on Saturdays. Can someone else help you? Mrs. Sandler’s here.”
“No, I really need to speak to Bri. It’s about the cupcake decorating class on Monday.”
“Well, you could call her on her cell phone.”
“Okay. Can you give me that number?”
Devin fully expected the fellow to say he wasn’t allowed to give out Bri’s number. Instead, he called the digits off immediately, and Devin wasn’t prepared. “Wait a minute,” he yelped, then pulled out a kitchen drawer and scrambled for a piece of paper and pen. He ended up with a grocery receipt and a crayon. “Okay, give that number to me again.”
Two minutes later, he dialed Bri’s cell phone. When she answered after only a couple of rings, she was laughing out loud. It took a few seconds before she actually managed to say hello.
“Bri? This is Devin.”
“Oh, hi, Devin. Sorry, but I can’t stop laughing at these silly kittens. They’re so much fun at this age.”
“Kittens? Where are you?”
“I’m in the barn. At home. Did you need something?”
Devin was almost positive he heard another voice in the background. A man’s voice. “Never mind. It wasn’t anything important. I was just calling to see if you wanted me to take the decorations to the bakery today so you’d have them before I get there on Monday. Oh, and Kaitlin wanted me to ask you what color—”
My Cupcake, My Love Page 4