After what seemed like hours of just staring, her eyebrows drew together as her lips began to quiver. She seemed to struggle as she lifted her chin stoically and tried to push through whatever she was feeling.
“Oh, shit,” Charlie heard Jonah mumble. “That’s not good.”
“Well, damn,” Mike grumbled.
“What’s not good?” Klarissa asked, wrapping her hand around Charlie’s bicep.
Charlie looked down at Klarissa’s hand, then lifted his gaze back to Lucy. He shook his head no, as if to say This isn’t what it looks like, but he knew she’d already made up her mind, and it wasn’t in his favor.
What the hell did it matter, anyway? They were done; he’d made that perfectly clear.
Lucy drew in one more painful breath that nearly killed Charlie, because, really, he could feel it, too. She closed her eyes and turned around to go back in the direction she came from.
When Charlie could no longer see her, he grabbed for another shot. He raised one brow to Jonah, who was looking at him with concern.
“Fuck it, right?” Charlie said, and threw back the shot.
“Right,” Jonah said quietly, but his expression said different.
Chapter Seventeen
Lucy wiped down the counter at the café and tried to ignore the constant ache in her chest. Whenever she didn’t feel that ache, however, it usually meant her stomach was turning instead. The night before, the two hit her all at once and it literally made her sick.
It had been days since she’d seen Charlie and the woman who’d had her hands all over him, but the realization stayed with her every second: Charlie had moved on. Not only was he done with her, but he was also out drinking and picking up women. Had she really misjudged him that much?
She stopped wiping the counter and removed her apron. She still had to send the cupcakes off for the benefit tomorrow, which meant her day was far from over. Fortunately, Lydia was helping her with the final steps.
“Are you about done here?” Lydia asked from the kitchen doorway. “I think I have everything all set back here. I’m going to start bringing out the boxes.”
Lucy turned and smiled the same fake smile she’d been trying to keep on her face for days. “Yep. I’m just waiting on Dylan to get here so I can load everything up for her. Go ahead and start bringing them out.”
Lydia regarded her for a moment. “Okay,” she finally said, and headed back into the kitchen.
Lydia and Grace could surely see through the fake smile, but they left her alone, not acknowledging her heartache verbally. Nevertheless, a look can say a thousand unspoken words. Whether she was at work or at home, they hovered and looked at her the way Lydia was looking at her now. Sometimes she just wanted to yell at them that she’d rather they just say whatever they were thinking. Their looks were starting to annoy her.
She looked up when she heard a tap on the glass. It wasn’t just Dylan, though; it was Dylan, Jonah, and someone else she didn’t know. She remained frozen until Dylan gave her a pleasant smile and a wave.
She hadn’t seen Dylan since before everything went terribly wrong. She had actually been surprised by the fact that Dylan hadn’t canceled either order. She’d put off buying the supplies because she was sure that was coming. It never did, though, so she went on with the order.
Lucy grabbed the key and headed over to unlock the door.
“Hi,” Dylan said after Lucy opened the door.
Lucy took a step back and allowed them all to walk in. Jonah and the other guy looked a bit uncomfortable. It was pretty clear that Dylan had dragged them there.
“Cupcake,” Jonah said with a tight expression. “How are you?”
Lucy gave him a small smile. “I’m good. How are you, Jonah?”
Jonah gave her a simple nod that seemed to say Charlie is my brother.
Dylan pointed to the man next to her. “Lucy, this is my fiancé Ben. Ben? This is Lucy.”
Ben put his hand out and, instantly, Lucy understood Charlie’s initial reservations about his sister’s fiancé. He was especially good looking. She could see his charm and he hadn’t even spoken. It was really no different from the entire Mathews family, though. There was something about all of them.
“It’s nice to finally meet the famous Cupcake,” Ben said with an obligatory smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Lucy couldn’t help but frown. She could only imagine what he’d heard lately. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“So, how did everything go?” Dylan asked. “Any problems?”
Lucy shook her head. “No. Everything is packed away in cake boxes and ready to go.”
Dylan smiled and clapped. “Awesome. I’m so excited!”
“Good,” Lucy said with a pleasant, yet very forced smile.
Lucy headed to the counter where Lydia had been stacking the boxes. “Do you want to look at them and make sure everything’s okay?”
After following Lucy to the counter, Dylan stood on her tiptoes and peeked inside one of the boxes. “Oh, look how pretty they are!”
“She worked hard on those. I think this is her best work,” Lydia said as she emerged from the back with the last box. She set it down and returned Jonah’s grin before heading back into the kitchen.
Lucy began to point to the boxes. “These are the strawberry cheesecake cupcakes. Over here are the Girl Scout cookie cupcakes—”
“Girl Scout cookie cupcakes?” Ben interrupted. “No way.”
“Baby,” Dylan sighed, “I told you. She’s the best.”
Flattered, Lucy continued. “These are the oatmeal cream cupcakes and these are the strawberry rhubarb ones. These two boxes are vanilla and chocolate with a few different kinds of toppings: cookie dough, spiced rum caramel, amaretto whipped cream … and a few with just plain vanilla and chocolate frosting for the less adventurous eaters.”
“Perfect!” Dylan exclaimed.
“Oh, I wanted to tell you that someone will deliver the cupcakes on your wedding day. I don’t want you to have to worry about that at all.”
Dylan shook her head in disbelief. “Lucy, you are a dream come true and worth every penny.” She pulled a box from the counter and began to stack them up into Ben’s awaiting arms.
Dylan led Ben to the door. “Jonah, do what we talked about and then grab the rest,” she ordered. “Thanks a bunch, Lucy!”
When they were alone, Lucy finally made eye contact with Jonah. “I’ll just put the boxes in your arms,” she mumbled, and turned to grab one.
“Listen,” Jonah said with an irritated growl, “I don’t want to get into this at all, really, but I think you should know … well, Dylan wanted me to tell you, anyway … that what you saw the other night, that wasn’t what it looked like.”
Lucy groaned internally. “It’s none of my business, Jonah. You don’t have to do this. He’s your brother and you don’t have to explain anything.”
“Trust me, I don’t want to get into this. He is my brother, yes, and it’s actually none of my business.” He raked a hand through his hair in the same way that Charlie always did. “All I’m trying to say is that he didn’t go home with that woman from the bar. She was all over him, but he pretty much ignored her. He got really drunk and we took a cab home. No one was with us.”
For the first time since she’d seen that woman touching Charlie, Lucy’s chest expanded and she could finally take a full breath. She’d pictured Charlie with that woman in so many different positions. It didn’t stop there, either. She imagined the woman feeling beautiful in his arms as he whispered in her ear and ran his hands all over her body. In her irrational mind, the woman had even gotten up in the middle of the night to rock Jackson back to sleep. It was torture, really. It was pure, nonstop torment and agony.
“He’s not like that. I mean, he used to be, but he’s just not that guy anymore. He’s actually been kind of down.” Jonah stopped talking and swallowed. “And that’s all I really want to say.”
“Dylan asked you to
tell me this?” she asked curiously. “Why?”
Jonah smirked and shrugged. “In case you haven’t noticed, my sister likes you. She doesn’t want you upset and she thinks you should know what really happened—or didn’t happen that night.”
“It doesn’t really change much, but thanks, Jonah.” Lucy picked up a box and placed it in his arms. “It’s my fault,” she said, and gave him half a smile. “But I appreciate your honesty.”
Jonah gave her a compassionate look. “I hope you guys can work this out. I can’t talk to him because he’ll kill me. I am secretly rooting for you, though, just so you know.”
“Well, thank you, but you can give up.” She stacked the last box in his arms. “I think it’s a lost cause.”
From just above the stack of cake boxes, Jonah raised his eyebrows. “I’ll keep a few fingers crossed, just in case. Okay, Cupcake?”
Lucy led him to the door and opened it for him. “Thank you, Jonah,” she said, and waved goodbye to Dylan and Ben, who were waiting for Jonah by an SUV.
She watched them load up and pull away. What Jonah had just told her did set her mind at ease, but it was pointless now. Charlie would eventually find someone else and that person would not be her. It was her own fault and she needed to get on with her life.
“God, I thought he’d never leave!” Grace said, sliding inside under Lucy’s arm.
Lucy looked outside and then back to Grace. “Where’d you come from?” she asked, confused. “I didn’t even see you.”
Grace waited for Lucy to lock up. “I was hiding around the corner. I saw you let them in and I just panicked. I nearly knocked over an old man when I jumped to the side.”
Lucy suppressed a laugh. “Grace, oh my God.”
“I know, right? I feel like such a child.” Grace dropped her bag on a table and put her hands on her hips. “I don’t know what to say to him, though. What’s the proper protocol for when you act like a big slut? Shake his hand? Ask him if he wants to do it again?”
Lucy shook her head. “I’ve never been a slut before, but a simple hello might’ve been appropriate.”
“Who’s a slut?” Lydia asked, coming out from the kitchen. “Are you whorin’ around again, Grace?”
“Hah hah,” Grace said, and gave Lydia the finger. She took a seat at the counter and sighed. “I’m so embarrassed by that night that I honestly don’t think I ever want to see that guy again.”
“It happens,” Lydia said with a grin. “Get over it.”
Lucy slid onto the stool next to Grace and rested her chin in her hands. “I feel like getting a drink,” she said. “Let’s get some wine and hang out at the apartment.”
Grace turned to look at Lydia with a smile. “Have you told her yet?”
Lydia shook her head, pulling something from behind her back and placing it on the counter.
“What’s that?” Lucy asked, and squinted. “The Magic Spoon? Why do you have that?”
The Magic Spoon was every restaurant and bakery’s greatest dream; or, in some cases, their worst nightmare. It was a magazine created by food critics who took their meals—and their reviews—seriously.
Lydia opened the magazine to a marked page and pointed to the article. As Lucy took a closer look, she saw a picture of Lydia’s Delights in a small box with a headline above it: “Café Wows Locals with Unique Cupcakes!”
After a gasp that nearly stung her throat, Lucy yanked the magazine toward her so she could read the article:
We all eat them. Sometimes we even crave them. They come in all different flavors and colors, yet we never really know what goes into the creation of a cupcake. We peel the pastel paper away and eat it, right? Well, these two women have blown that idea right out of the cake world. Scottsdale’s own Lydia Haynes and Lucy Dalton have been running Lydia’s Delights for a few years now. The trendy little shop with purple walls has been known for its delicious coffee, muffins, and cinnamon rolls. So, when I heard they added cupcakes to the menu, I really didn’t see what was so interesting. After the buzz had grown so loud, however, I just had to see—or taste, rather—for myself. What could be so different?
I found that out as I was sitting at a small, yellow table in the middle of their café and taking a bite of a Sticky Toffee Pudding cupcake. My mouth did things I never knew it could. I almost rose to my feet, and yelled, ‘By Jove, I think they’ve got it!’ Dates? Check! Vanilla? Check! Brown sugar? Check! Happy mouth? Check, check! What’s even better is that this café bakes to order. I sat down with café owner, Lydia Haynes, and this is what she wanted Arizona to know: “My cousin, Lucy, is the genius behind the cupcakes. She’s my business partner and part owner of the café. She makes the cupcakes in house and will make just about anything for any occasion. With her creative mind, we are constantly adding new cupcakes to the menu. If you have something special, Lucy can make it even more so.”
You heard it right here, folks! Lydia’s Delights is ready to create magic for any event. If you haven’t yet, get on in there and try one of their daily special cupcakes. You won’t regret it!
Five Glorious If-I-Could-Give-it-Ten-I-Would Spoons!
Margaret Denver, Food Critic Extraordinaire
When she finished reading, Lucy just about collapsed back onto her stool. “How … I can’t believe …”
Lydia grinned and winked at Grace.
Grace looked at Lucy, who was still in trying to form a sentence. “What do you think, Luce? Your cupcakes are famous.”
Lucy shook her head and tried to make sense of it all. “Lydia,” she whispered, “you said I was part owner?”
Lydia shrugged. “Here’s what I’m thinking. The space next door is available for lease. We could get it and turn it into our bakery: Lucy’s Delights. We’ll be a bakery and a café. With the way the cupcakes are selling, I think we could save enough money to really expand and make it happen. We might even be able to start doing cakes, too.”
“But, I don’t have any money to … I mean … I can barely afford my bills, Lydia.”
Lydia pursed her lips. “Your cupcakes are a gold mine, girly. With the money they’re making, and the money they will make, I think you’re covered. I’ve got the café and you’ve got the cupcakes. From here on out, if you agree, it’s fifty-fifty.”
“Say yes, Lucy!” Grace said with a giggle.
“Yes!” Lucy exclaimed, and jumped over the counter to wrap her cousin in her arms. “Thank you, Lydia!”
Lydia drew back from their hug and blew out a breath. “Good grief. I was afraid you were going to say no for a minute. I already put a down payment on the space next door, so that would’ve sucked.”
Grace reached down and pulled two bottles of wine from her bag. “And we’ll be drinking, but we’ll be doing it next door so we can imagine where we’re going to be putting everything.”
“We?” Lucy asked.
“Hell yes, we!” Grace said. She pointed between the two of them. “And, just so we’re clear, I still eat cupcakes for free.”
Lydia walked around the counter. She put her arms around Lucy and Grace and brought them in for a hug. “Let’s get the key to next door, grab some wine glasses, and go figure out what the hell we’re going to do with that place, okay?”
“Nothing but pink walls, baby,” Lucy said with a smile.
“Purple,” Lydia corrected.
“Pink,” Lucy said again, this time with a pointed look.
“Ugh, ladies, enough. Green, blue, brown … whatever!” Grace interrupted. “Let’s drink!”
As the three headed into the new bakery-to-be, Lucy knew that this was her future. Nothing had ever been so clear. It was a new path that may have opened up at the darkest time of her life, but she was going to follow it, and that was all that mattered.
* * *
“For the Love of Art and Meredith Mathews” read the banner that hung from the archway leading into the benefit. It was a gorgeous day as they all stood under the bright blue sky to raise money for Me
redith’s most significant foundation. Vendors selling their art lined the school’s parking lot, which was covered in chalk art made by the students.
She really did it, Charlie realized. It was a cause that was important because it truly gave Meredith the recognition that she deserved.
And he had his sister to thank.
“Dylan,” Charlie said as he stood, mesmerized by Meredith’s face in Dylan’s painting, “it’s perfect. It’s really her.”
It captured every beautiful feature, every curve and color, all the way down to the small scar under her eye from when she fell off her bed as a little girl. She wore a white dress and looked out of the painting with a sparkle in her dark eyes. It was his wife in that painting. Somehow, it was an image of her that he didn’t find haunting. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly why this painting felt so different from all the actual photographs of her. Maybe it was another sign of him letting go. Lately, he’d found himself not wanting to know the answers and just taking these moments as they came to him. If he thought about it, he thought about the way he’d lost her and he didn’t want to do that anymore; he only wanted to honor her.
Dylan took a step back and smiled at her painting of Meredith. “I mean, I don’t want to toot my own horn or anything, but, yeah.” She chuckled and nudged him with her shoulder.
“Jack, look. It’s Mommy,” Charlie said, and pointed to Meredith’s gorgeous face.
Jackson stared at the painting as if he recognized the image before him. Of course, Charlie showed him her pictures each and every day; there was even a picture of her in a frame by his crib. He’d smile and wave, or even kiss the picture goodnight if Charlie held it out to him. Jackson’s expression this time, however, was one of awe and wonder. It was as if he could comprehend that this particular image was special.
“Ma,” Jackson whispered, and reached out to touch the painting.
Subduing the tears he felt coming, Charlie wrapped his free arm around his sister and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered.
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