“What are you doing in here?” Eli asked.
Anna released a strangled yell and bungled the phone so badly it looked like she might be trying to teach herself how to juggle. It bounced out of her hand and off blocks of frozen butter before ricocheting into her forehead. She leaned down, retrieved the phone, and hung up on Lily.
“Taking inventory,” she said, rubbing her forehead.
“Is that code for ‘taking a super secret phone call’?” he asked with a smile.
He reached out and smoothed her long hair with his hand, pressing strands of cold hairs against her neck. Anna tingled. Eli looped his fingers around hers, and she didn’t immediately pull away. He was right-out-of-the-oven warm against her cold skin.
“If you stay in here much longer, you’re going to be a Popsicle.”
Anna exhaled and hurried past him, shoving her cell phone into her back pocket. The front door opened, and October breathed into the shop, sending in the smell of pumpkin pie and apple cider. Eli went to help the customer, and she was grateful for the moment alone.
The bell jingled again, and Anna felt a jolt of energy. She rubbed her temples and walked through the archway. Lily burst into the shop and stopped halfway across the room. Her eyes locked on Eli, and he smiled at Lily.
“Wow,” Lily said.
Anna could tell from the way Lily tossed her blonde curls over her shoulder and the way her face had gone all soft and dewy that she was under Eli’s spell. Anna marched over to Lily and grabbed her arm.
“Lily, this is Eli. Eli, this is Lily,” Anna said, and then she dragged Lily to the backroom.
“Gorgeous is not an adequate word for that hunk of manliness out there,” Lily said. “He’s a sex god. Honestly, I know you have a boyfriend and all—and—well, I do too—but maybe they’d understand—”
“Keep your voice down,” Anna scolded. “Lily, focus. On me.”
“Okay, okay. If this was an excuse to have me check out the new help, then thank you. Now, can I take him out to lunch?”
“Lily!”
“You’re in a foul mood today.”
“Listen to me,” Anna hissed through clenched teeth. “That man out there is the product of our night of rum. Remember we came downstairs, and while you drunk yourself into oblivion, I created a recipe. I added the sparkly stuff we found in the box, and when I got up the next morning, Eli was here in the bakery.”
Lily frowned and twisted a blonde curl around her finger. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Anna whispered even though she could hear Eli talking to someone in the front of the shop. “That guy out there came out of one of these ovens. I made him.”
“Are you on drugs?” Lily asked.
Anna clenched her teeth together so tightly a vein bulged in her forehead. “Listen to me. I don’t think he has any memories of his own. But how could he? It’s like he sprung out of nowhere. You don’t believe me? Go out there and ask him where he went to high school. Ask him where he went to college. Maybe ask him what his last name is, and then come back here and tell me.”
Lily looked doubtful, but she left Anna standing in the backroom, where Anna proceeded to bang her head gently against the island. She could hear Lily talking to Eli, and she heard them laughing. But when Lily returned to the backroom, she wasn’t smiling. The room smelled like day-old coffee.
“Well, he definitely went to college with you in New York, which I find disturbing that you never mentioned him before now. How did you not date him when you were there? He clearly thinks you’re the cat’s pajamas. But he wasn’t as quick to tell me where he went to high school. When he came up with a name it was our high school, and he’s our age, which means he would have been in our class. Obviously he’s lying—”
“He’s not lying,” Anna said. “Those are my memories. Eli thinks he went to college with me because I went there. I created him, Lily. He has no memories of his own. Of course he would say he went to our high school—my high school.”
Lily chewed her bottom lip. “Did you name him Elijah Long?”
Anna shook her head. “Just Elijah.”
“Then I guess he’s chosen a last name for himself.” Lily laughed. “Anna, what kind of game are you playing? This is crazy. You know that, right? Okay, game over. Tell me what’s really going on.”
Anna reached out and grabbed Lily’s hands. “When have I ever lied to you? I swear I’m telling you the truth.” Anna felt Lily’s hands tremble in her own.
“But that’s impossible,” Lily whispered.
“Somehow the impossible became possible.”
“You can’t go around creating people!” Lily said. “Was your grandma magic? Are you magic?”
Anna wrung her hands together. “I have no idea what this means. And I’m scared out of my mind until he walks into the room, and then I can’t think of anything.”
“What do you mean?”
“He has some kind of voodoo mumbo jumbo magic spell over me. My mind feels empty but full of him. Full of us,” Anna babbled.
“You think he’s evil?” Lily squeaked. “Like dark magic or something? You think he’s from the devil?”
Anna shook her head. “No. She sagged against the island. “It’s not like that. He doesn’t feel evil at all. He seems good and kind and wholesome. I think if anyone is bad, it’s me. This is serious, Lily. Remember what happened to Victor Frankenstein? He lost his freaking mind.”
Lily pressed both her palms against the island. “I need a minute.” She pulled in a few deep breaths. Then she paced the backroom while she rambled. “First of all, Victor Frankenstein made a man out of used body parts—gross. That would make anyone go insane to be followed around by a gigantic, stitched-together man. I get tired of Jakob sometimes when he won’t give me space. But as far as I can tell, Eli is all one piece. Second, Eli isn’t exactly a monster that’s causing people to try and torch your bakery. What are you going to do? How did this happen? I feel like I’ve eaten bad Chinese food. Have you told Baron? Have you told anyone else? Not that they’d believe you. Where is Eli living?”
“He’s staying with me.”
“Are you bonkers? You’re letting that donut man live with you?”
The temperature in the room rose, and Anna breathed in the smell of melting sugar.
“Please tell me that I’m Donut Man,” Eli said and grinned.
Lily squeaked and stood behind Anna as if she thought Eli was dangerous.
“We’re out of double dark chocolate chip cookies. Mrs. Rogers just took the last dozen. Want me to get started on a new batch?” he asked.
Anna grabbed Lily’s arm and tugged her forward. “Actually, Lily is going to take you to buy some clothes. I’ll make the cookies. I know you didn’t bring much on your trip here, and she has the afternoon off. She volunteered to help out. Didn’t you?”
The bell on the front door jingled again, and Eli left them alone in the kitchen to assist the customer. Lily’s eyes widened.
“I can’t leave Amanda at the shop all afternoon,” she said, stepping in front of Anna and facing her. She mouthed, “You can’t possibly leave me alone with this freak show.”
Anna frowned. “I told you the rum was a bad idea,” she mouthed. “You owe me.”
Lily dragged one finger horizontally across her neck.
Anna shook her head. “The worst he’ll do is charm the pants off you, but don’t even entertain that thought.” Then she added, “Please.”
Lily huffed. Eli returned and leaned against the archway, smiling at them. Anna felt Lily relax beside her. Eli’s smile could stop wars. Anna walked past him and opened the register. She counted out a handful of cash.
“Here,” she said, shoving the money into Eli’s hands. “Yesterday’s pay for working.”
Eli pushed the money back. “You don’t have to pay me.”
“You’re not working for free,” she argued. “I think they’ll arrest me for that.” She held the money out to him, an
d he took it, holding her hands for a few seconds. When her thoughts started leaking out her ears, she jerked her hands away and glared at him. Eli smirked.
Lily adjusted her purse on her shoulder. “If we’re not back in a couple of hours, send out a search party. You know I have LoJack on my car, right? If anything happens, the police can find me.”
Anna exhaled loudly. “You’re going shopping.”
Lily responded with a glare.
Eli wiped a smudge of flour from Anna’s cheek, causing her to sigh in a completely inappropriate way. Her body arched toward his like they were two magnets sliding across the floor. “We’ll be back,” he said to her. Then he looked at Lily and said, “Anna and I have dinner plans. We’ll definitely not be out for long.” He crossed the room toward the door.
Lily stared bug-eyed at Anna as Anna lifted her fingers to her cheek. Lily gave her a look that said, We’re going to discuss this later, and they were out the door, leaving behind an afternoon wind that brought in cherry-red maple leaves.
6
Dark and Stormy Ganache
Blustery afternoon winds blew in swollen storm clouds. The muggy air dampened everything as the town waited for rain. Anna closed the bakery at dusk and hurried to grab the mail before the sky burst open. She flipped through the handful of letters, but suddenly she stopped. She dropped everything on the table except an envelope mailed from the coast. Anna shoved her finger beneath the flap and ripped open the letter. Torn pieces littered the floor. She yanked out the folded contract. It smelled briny, and it warmed her cheeks. The faint sounds of rolling ocean waves and crying gulls filled the room. She pictured the boardwalk and glittering sand blowing across her toes.
A smile broke across her face. She lifted onto her tiptoes and bounced up and down. Then she twirled across her small kitchen, holding the contract high in the air like a baby doll dance partner. Her front door opened, and the scent of ripe cherries burned her nose. Anna barely had time to haphazardly shove the contract beneath a cookbook on the table. Half of it stuck out and hung off the side.
“What on earth are you doing?” Evelyn O’Brien asked.
Anna stepped in front of the dangling contract. “Mama,” she said breathlessly, “you should knock. I never barge into your house without knocking.”
“I have a key. Why would I knock?” Evelyn moved a book from the chair cushion and sat. “Besides, what would I interrupt? A baking session?” She smiled at Anna. “Come and sit. I have exciting news.”
Anna dropped onto couch. “How’s Daddy?” she asked. “He didn’t come by for his cookies this afternoon.”
“He’s finally agreed to let me redo the kitchen. I had him looking for a specific tile this afternoon. But you’ll never guess who called me today. Charlotte Clarke.” Evelyn paused for emphasis. When Anna didn’t fill in the silence with a response, Evelyn huffed. “The Clarke House? She’s selling it. She knows you’ve always loved it, and she’s agreed to let you make an offer first.”
Anna leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees. Her heart pounded too hard. She’d been in the Clarke House only a handful of times during the years, but she had seen it in her dreams. It was a magical place, a yellow and white gingerbread house nestled among pink dogwoods, wild roses, and lavender. “Is this a joke?”
“Tessa is representing Charlotte as her realtor,” Evelyn said. “You’ll make an offer, of course. Opportunities like this are rare, and you could finally move out of the bakery.”
Anna’s mouth was as dry as if she’d thrown a handful of flour onto her tongue. “I like this apartment.”
Evelyn laughed and smoothed her hands down her gray slacks. “This is a shoebox, honey,” she said. “This isn’t a place you live in forever. I think Baron would love the Clarke House too. It’s big enough for a growing family.”
Melancholy slipped into the room, swirled around Anna, and settled beside her on the couch. She stared at the contract swaying off the table. “Baron was offered a job in California, and he’s moving,” Anna said, unable to look at her mother’s expression.
Evelyn sat up straighter in the chair, displacing the air in the room like an approaching tornado. The contract flapped against the edge of the table, and Evelyn glanced over her shoulder at the sound. “You’re going to leave Mystic Water? You can’t. You belong here.”
Anna’s heart punched out a panicked rhythm. Had her mother somehow found out about the job offer in Wildehaven Beach? Keeping secrets from her mother was nearly impossible. She had eyes and ears everywhere. Nothing was ever too secret to be kept from Evelyn O’Brien. Anna opened her mouth to explain, but her mother stood and paced the living room.
“I know you love Baron, but how could he ask you to leave? He has a perfectly good job at the firm here. What’s in California that he can’t do here? This is your home. This town needs you.”
The room stunk like cherries forgotten in a summer sun. Anna stood and rubbed her stomach. She felt nauseous and clammy. “He didn’t ask me to go.”
Evelyn’s eyes widened. Her pink, glossed lips parted, but nothing came out. Then she pressed her hand to her collarbone. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”
Anna tried to swallow but couldn’t. Her mother’s pity undid the last of her resolve. She shrugged as if to say, It doesn’t matter. But it mattered so much she felt suffocated by her crumbling plans. Evelyn closed the short distance between them and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Anna clung to her.
“He’s an idiot not to ask you to go,” Evelyn said.
“Mama, you were just mad when you believed he had asked me to go.” Despite the ache in her body, she smiled against her mother’s shoulder.
“Of course, you can’t go with him, but I’m indignant that he didn’t ask,” Evelyn said and pulled away from Anna. “You’ve followed that boy around for years and supported all his nonsense whims. I’ve always thought you were too good for him. You need a solid man. A good man who knows how special you are—”
A bolt of lightning lit the entire apartment. Thunder rattled the windows, and books leapt off the shelves. Amid the storm, the front door flung open, and Eli rushed inside. He dripped rainwater onto the hardwood.
“Barely made it,” he said, dropping his bags on the floor and rubbing one hand through his wet hair. Water droplets flew through the air and caught the light like glitter. “One more minute and I would have had to swim from the car.”
His drenched clothes adhered to his body as if he’d taken a shower fully clothed. Evelyn stood rigid beside Anna. Eli noticed Evelyn and smiled. Anna dropped her head back and stared at the ceiling, exhaling loudly.
Eli walked over to Evelyn. “You must be Mrs. O’Brien.” He held out his hand, and Evelyn hesitated before shaking it. “I’m Eli.”
Evelyn’s light eyebrows rose on her forehead. She looked at Anna for an explanation.
“Mama, this is Elijah Long. He’s a—a friend from college. He’s helping me at the bakery for a while.”
Evelyn smiled, but her eyes scrutinized Eli. “From the Culinary Institute?” she asked. Eli nodded. “It’s nice to meet you. Will you be staying in town for a while?”
Eli looked at Anna. “As long as Anna needs me, I’ll be around.”
When he smiled at her, Anna couldn’t help but sigh. She shoved her hands into her pockets because all she wanted to do was trace the outlines of his chest muscles with her fingers.
“Is that so? Where are you staying, Eli? I hope you’re not paying too much for a short-term lease. I know a few people who are renting out houses or small duplexes at affordable prices. I’m sure they would be willing to work out a month-to-month lease with you.”
Eli smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind. I’m staying with Anna at the moment.”
Evelyn’s brown eyes bulged like popovers, and Anna feared she might have to shove them back into her mama’s head. “Eli, could you give my daughter and me a minute alone?”
Eli grabbed his shopping bags and headed for An
na’s bedroom. “I’ll jump in the shower. Nice meeting you, Mrs. O’Brien. I hope to see you again.”
When the bathroom door closed, Evelyn turned to Anna. “Have you lost your mind? You’re letting a grown man stay in your apartment? This place is barely big enough for you.”
“Mama, it’s only for a little while.” Anna grabbed a towel from the kitchen and started drying Eli’s puddle and trail of water.
“How well do you know him? Does Baron know he’s staying here?” Evelyn asked. She fisted her hands on her hips.
“Yes, he knows.” Anna didn’t bother adding that Baron was displeased about her houseguest too. Having her mama and Baron on the same team was more than she could stomach at the moment.
“I can’t imagine he’s okay with it.”
On her hands and knees, Anna wiped away the last of Eli’s wet footprints. She stared up at her mother. “I’m sick of caring about what Baron thinks. I’m a grown woman, and I can offer a friend a place to stay if I want. It’s my choice.”
Evelyn’s lips pressed together. Anna knew her mama wanted to argue. “It isn’t proper. What will people say? You have a man staying with you.”
Anna stood and threw the wet towel into the sink. “Mama, I don’t care what the town thinks. It’s my business.”
“He’s too handsome to stay with you,” Evelyn argued. Anna was so shocked she laughed. Evelyn added, “Don’t laugh at me. He is, and you’re a beautiful girl. Things happen between boys and girls.”
“Mama,” Anna said in exasperation. She filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove. Anna heard her mama fiddling with papers. When she turned, she saw Evelyn reading the contract.
“What is this?” Evelyn asked. “Are you offering to buy a bakery in Wildehaven Beach?” Her mama’s face paled, and she dangled the contract from her fingers as though it was a contaminant.
During the past two days there had been too many lies told, so Anna answered honestly. “Yes. The owner is retiring. The bakery is in the perfect location.” Anna reached for the contract. “It’s a great opportunity, Mama. You know I love the ocean. I was going to talk to you about it.”
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