Return to Glebe Point

by Patricia Paris

  A short while later Charlie was on her knees again, stocking the coffee bar with cups and napkins, when she heard a knock on the front window and glanced over to see Cooper peering through the glass at her.

  She stood up and went to the front door to let him in. He stepped past her and she caught a hint of his scent. He smelled clean, with a touch of spice—lemon peel, or maybe verbena, mixed with something else she couldn’t put her finger on. Whatever it was, it made her want to burrow her nose against his neck and breathe him in. She refrained from sniffing him; she didn’t want him to think she was just weird this early in their relationship.

  “I was on my way home and saw you were still in here working, thought I’d see if you needed a hand with anything.”

  “Thanks, but I think I’ve done everything I can do until tomorrow morning.” She swept her eyes around the shop, hoping she hadn’t overlooked anything.

  “What time are you planning to come in tomorrow?”

  “I’m going to try to get here by five. The shop opens at nine. That will give me four hours to bake, frost, stock the cases, and get the coffee bar ready.”

  “Five! The sun’s not even awake then. How many cupcakes do you think you’re going to need?”

  “I have no idea. Some of the shops I found online and called to get an idea what kind of volume I might do sold hundreds every day, some only ten or twelve dozen, a few less than that, and some…some never answered their phones, and I suspect they may not be in business anymore. There didn’t seem to be a norm; their sales were all over the place.”

  Charlie started to pace. “I’ve got containers full of batter that I’ve been mixing up all week ready to go. Just in case, I baked and froze three hundred and nine cupcakes that I can pull out in an emergency. I thought I’d start off with twelve flavors, a dozen of each. I can always pull from the freezer and frost more if it looks like I’m going to need them.”

  Her nerves were tying themselves up again, getting all tangled together into big old knots. She put her hands over her stomach and closed her eyes. “I just hope I don’t end up having to toss them all into the Dumpster at the end of the day.”

  “Hey.” Cooper slipped his arms around her waist and drew her against his chest. “You’re going to do fine. It might be hit or miss the first few weeks, but after that you’ll start to get a pretty good idea how much you need to stock on a daily basis.”

  “What if no one comes?”

  “They’ll come,” he assured her, sounding much more confident than she felt.

  “What if I run out and can’t replenish them fast enough and customers walk out, upset?”

  “You won’t run out. You have three hundred and nine cupcakes in reserve. And if you run out of those, everyone will think they must be so good they’ll put in orders for fear they’ll never get any. People will begin calling you the cupcake goddess and start bribing you to save them a cupcake, just one little cupcake.”

  Charlie punched him in the chest and he chuckled. “Stop teasing me.”

  Cooper laughed and gave her a squeeze. “All kidding aside,” he said, and rested his chin on the top of her head. “You’ve done what you can to prepare. All you can do now is see what happens. It takes time to build a business, to make it work, so allow for some time to figure out how to make yours work.”

  “You’re right.” She looked up at him and immediately felt better. He was good at doing that, making her feel good.

  They’d gotten together three times since Justin and Gabriella’s party. He’d come to the cottage twice after work during the week for drinks. He’d begun to refer to whatever was happening between them as a little romance. Sunday he’d come for a late-night dinner. It was the first time their little romance had felt like a date. He’d suggested it, and she’d gone along. She’d even taken some time to fuss over her appearance. Instead of her usual jeans and tee, she’d worn a flirty sundress and swept her hair up into a loose chignon that didn’t stay up long once he got his hands into it.

  She’d expected dinner to be awkward, had worried what they’d have to talk about, what questions he might ask that she didn’t want to answer, but he’d kept it light and fun, and they’d both laughed as if they were the best of friends, and had been for a long time. When their little romance ran its course, she hoped they could remain friends. The prospect of not having him in her life in some form or fashion saddened her, and she hoped that day never came.

  “I should probably get out of here. I’m going to try to get to bed by nine. Four fifteen is going to roll around way too soon, and I don’t want to risk being in a bad mood from sleep deprivation and spend opening day growling at my customers. It wouldn’t be good for repeat business.”

  Cooper gave her one of his melt-you-on-the-spot grins and then leaned down and brushed his lips over hers, ended it too soon, and stepped away from her, putting his hands in his pockets as if restraining them from pulling her back into his arms.

  He hitched his head toward the back room. “Get your stuff then and I’ll walk you to your car.”

  She got her things and then went back out front where he waited for her, turning off the lights on her way.

  “You don’t think someone might see us together and start some kind of nasty rumor?” she threw out, half teasing even though it had been the first thing that came to mind at his offer.

  “No one will ever suspect a thing, and if anyone says anything, we’ll just deny it.”

  “Good plan.” She set the alarm and turned off the final set of lights. “Denial always works, unless they think you’re just denying it because it’s true, you know, like, ‘the lady dost protest too much, methinks’.”

  “Okay, so we don’t protest too much, just enough. I’m impressed, by the way; most people get that quote wrong.”

  “I adored Shakespeare when I was younger.” They exited the building and Charlie locked the front door behind them. “I guess you could say I was a little geeky when I was younger. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to go into marine biology or literature, but thought I had a better chance of getting a job poking around in some marsh than I would finding a job with an English degree.”

  She gave him a self-deprecating smile. “Shows you how much I knew. What about you, how do you know Hamlet so well?”

  “I guess I have to admit to having been a bit of a geek in my younger days as well.” He grinned over at her, his dimples creasing his cheeks, and if she were prone to swooning, he’d be picking her up from the sidewalk.

  “I taught Shakespearean lit for three years after I got my doctorate. I thought I’d be perfectly content on a professor’s salary until the day I fell in love with the most gorgeous cherry-red Porsche you ever laid eyes on and realized I couldn’t even afford the yearly insurance on it.”

  “So you went into real estate?”

  “Yeah. I still can’t afford that Porsche, but I was able to trade up from my used Honda.”

  “I never would have pegged you for a college professor. I’ll bet your female students were all in love with you.”

  “Of course they were.” He said it jokingly, but she could well imagine the effect someone in his position, with his looks, quoting Shakespeare, would have had on all those impressionable young women. It would have been impossible not to adore him.

  “I wish I’d known this about you sooner. I’m not sure how I feel about having an illicit affair with a geeky professor of Shakespearean literature.”

  “A little romance,” he corrected her as they walked through town. “And I hate to be the one to break it to you, but some people would consider marine biologists exponentially geekier than college professors.”

  She gathered her hair together with her hands, twisting the mass of curls into a long tail and wrapping it into a bun that she secured at the back of her head.

  “You know who uses terms like exponentially geekier?” She faced him and starting walking backwards in front of him, enjoying the moment. “Geeks!”


  He snorted and she laughed.

  “Thank God I didn’t go to bed with you.”

  “Yet,” he countered.

  Charlie turned back around and walked beside him. “I’m not sure it’s going to happen now. I didn’t realize you were a nerdy intellectual. I just thought you were this hunky stud I could have an uncomplicated affair with and be done with.”

  “But you were considering it—until you found out I had a brain?”

  “It crossed my mind, and I haven’t completely eliminated the possibility.” She skimmed the length of him, from head to toe to head again. “I do like the looks of you—you’re very easy on the eye.”

  “If it helps, I can play dumb.”

  “I’ll take that into consideration. You have no problems with the fact I’m just interested in your body?”

  “No, none whatsoever,” he assured her with a twitching grin that made her want to nip his teasing lips right there on Main Street.

  There wasn’t much to consider. She knew it. He knew it. It was just a matter of time before their little romance landed them in bed together. Her protestations were nothing more than a little flirtation.

  She wasn’t sure if her interest in Cooper signaled a major leap forward or a horrible lack of judgment. She’d sworn a moratorium on men, but here she was, enjoying his company, encouraging him.

  He made her feel good. He made her laugh. She hadn’t felt good or laughed so easily in a long time. Maybe she was taking a big chance letting him in, but she was tired of closing people off, of living her life behind a veil of pretense. She wanted her life back and maybe taking chances was the only way to get it.

  “COOPER? I can’t believe it. It had to be something other than what you thought.”

  “I’m telling you, Blake, I know what I saw.” Justin shoved a hand into his pocket and paced the floor in the living room where he and his brother had wrestled and tormented each other on a daily basis when they were boys growing up there.

  “I’d meant to stop down this afternoon but got tied up on a call with a client. It was close to eight when I drove past her store. The lights were still on, so I thought I’d stop in real quick to wish her luck.”

  “Maybe he was just doing the same, you know, being a good neighbor, wishing her luck.”

  Justin frowned at his twin. “He kissed her, bro. On the mouth. And one of her hands was on his ass. I’d call it more than being friendly when you’ve got your hands on your neighbor’s ass!”

  “What the hell? You’re sure that’s what you saw?”

  Justin threw his hands in the air and snorted. “Yes! If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have driven over here to tell you about it instead of just going home. We need to find out what he’s up to before—”

  “Whose lips and what neighbor’s ass are we talking about?”

  Blake and Justin both spun toward the kitchen doorway and froze. Delaney walked into the room carrying a tray with a plate of snacks, a glass of wine, and two beers.

  Blake glanced at his brother and gave a slight shake of his head. Looking at his wife, he said, “It’s nothing, darlin’.”

  “Hmm. Why do I get the feeling it’s something?”

  “Just talk, Delaney. You wouldn’t want us to be spreading rumors that might not be true.”

  She walked over and set the tray down on the coffee table. Crossing her arms, she narrowed probing green eyes at them.

  “I’m not buying it. And neither one of you would care anything about anyone’s kissing or ass handling unless it involved someone close to you.” She glanced off to the side a moment and then back at them with razor-sharp awareness. “So you’ll tell me now, and don’t even think of trying to get out of it. Whose ass did Charlie have her hands all over?”

  “I didn’t say she had her hands all over it,” Justin blurted. “It was one hand…but still, she…well, she wouldn’t have had it there if…shit!”

  “Nice going, bro.”

  “Yes it was, Blake. If there’s something going on with Charlie, I have a right to know. She’s my family now, too. I want to know what happened that has my dear brother-in-law snorting bullets and you trying to squirm out of telling me about it.”

  Blake rolled his eyes. Once his wife got her teeth into something, she hung on like a crab to a trotline. She wasn’t going to let it drop until she’d pried out everything they knew. “Justin saw Charlie kissing someone in her store tonight.”

  “Okay.” Delaney picked up her glass of wine, seeming interested but unconcerned, and cocked her hip. “The guy with the ass, so I heard. I want a name.”

  “Cooper Barone,” Justin said. “And you know, now that I think about it, it’s not the first time they’ve been alone together. He took her home after the party at our place a couple of weeks ago—volunteered to drive her so you wouldn’t have to make an extra stop if Ben and Kate were asleep.”

  “You’re right. Christ, you don’t think he’s sleeping with her, do you?”

  “He damn well better not be.” Justin frowned at his brother and started to pace again. “But just in case, maybe we need to have a little talk with Barone.”

  “Stop right there.” Delaney held up her hand. “Neither one of you is going to corner Cooper—your friend by the way, and someone I personally think would be a great choice in men for Charlie to be seeing—and have a little talk with him. Coop and Charlie are both adults. If they want to spend a little time together, that’s their choice, not yours.”

  “But they’ve barely known each other two months.”

  “So what, Blake? If Charlie’s attracted to him and has decided she wants to go out with him, it’s not your or Justin’s place to run interference with Cooper. She has a right to make her own choice without her overprotective cousins scaring off every guy she shows an interest in before it has a chance to turn into something.”

  “That’s fine, but they haven’t known each other long enough to be sleeping together. We all know Charlie hasn’t been herself since she came home. It’s not right if Barone’s taking advantage of her when she might not be thinking straight.”

  “Oh nonsense! First off, you don’t know if they’re sleeping together, not that it’s any of our business, and second, how long did you know me before you slept with me?”

  Blake’s cheeks colored. “That’s different.”

  “Really? And why is that, sweetheart?”

  “I refuse to answer that on the grounds it might lead to a night on the couch when I’d rather be curled around my beautiful wife driving her crazy all night long.”

  “We can discuss that promise later,” she said, doing her best to suppress the grin tugging at her mouth. “The point is, Charlie is a strong woman, but she needs to…starting to date again might help her get over…I mean…never mind. I just think it might be good for her.”

  “Wait a minute, Delaney.” Justin faced her down. “Help her get over what?”

  “I can’t say. I’m sworn to secrecy.” Delaney lifted her chin and squared her shoulders, in lockdown mode.

  “Sworn to secrecy about what, darlin’, and to whom?” Blake pressed, her evasiveness cluing them in that she knew something about what had happened to their cousin before she’d come home to Glebe Point.

  “Charlie confided some things to Gab and me, but she made us promise not to tell you and Blake.”

  “Not fair, little sister.” Justin faced her and put his hands on his hips. “You made us tell you about her and Cooper. If you know what happened to her while she was away, you should tell us. And why the hell did she make you promise not to say anything? We just want what’s best for her.”

  “She knows that, but she wants to tell you herself. That’s why she made us promise not to say anything. When she does, you will both refrain from hammering her with a million questions or rushing out and doing something stupid in the name of love. She doesn’t need that right now. Also, you will not prompt or pester her to tell you anything before she chooses to do so. As far as you’re con
cerned, you know nothing. Understood?”

  Blake and Justin both nodded, reluctantly. Delaney took a sip of her wine, eyeing them both over the rim of her glass as she did, and then set it down on the coffee table. “Good. Now I’m going up to check on Kate. I heard her cry out a minute ago. I think she may be cutting another tooth.”

  After she left, Justin dropped onto the couch and folded his arms over his chest. “What do you think Charlie needs to get over?”

  “Don’t know, but double down it has to do with some guy.”

  “Yeah, my thoughts too. Some bastard probably broke her heart and she came home to nurse it.”

  “I hope that’s all it was. Charlie never took shit from anyone, but when she first got back, we both wondered if she was running from something. You don’t think she got tangled up with someone who was abusive, do you?”

  “If she did, the guy better stay very far away from her if he doesn’t want to be peeling his face off the sidewalk.”

  “Got that right.”

  They sat quietly for a few minutes, nursing their beers. “So what do you think we should do about Cooper?” Blake asked after looking around to make sure Delaney hadn’t come back downstairs without their notice.

  “I’m not sure. I guess we should hold off on calling him out. Too risky the women might find out. No reason we can’t keep our eyes on him, though, to make sure he isn’t taking advantage of Charlie.”

  Charlie opened the front door of Finger Cakes at nine o’clock Tuesday morning to a growing crowd waiting to get inside and sample her cupcakes. She wasn’t sure where everyone had come from, but apparently word about her store’s grand opening had spread much better than she’d imagined.

  She’d only been open about twenty minutes when Gabriella came through the front door with Chloe and Travis. Gab balanced the baby on one hip, a car seat carrier on the other, and scooted her daughter back behind the counter where Charlie was scurrying to fill orders.