Cafe Love: Cupid's Cafe Box Set Books 2-4

by Ashley Lauren

  “Fitz!” she suddenly called out, a bright smile on her face. “It’s been so long.”

  Danny instantly looked up, hearing his usual nickname. His lips quickly curled into a smile as he recognized the restaurant owner. In ten years, she had barely aged a day. Her timeless smile and cat-like green eyes were still the highlights of her persona. Danny felt himself being infected by her cheerful demeanor, banishing some of that gloom he felt before.

  “Hey, Katy.”

  He took a sip of his coffee before putting it back down, trying to hide his grimace at the bitter taste. Needs more sugar. He must have done a poor job keeping his face blank because Katy walked over to the sugar dispenser and slid it to him.

  “Here. I think you need this.”

  Danny nodded, grateful for her gesture. He grabbed the small canister and poured at least two if not three tablespoons of sugar into his coffee.

  “Quite some sweet tooth you got there,” Katy commented, grinning. “I like my coffee sweet as well. Can’t stand it plain.”

  Danny nodded in agreement as he took another sip of his coffee, his eyes lighting up at the taste. Much better. He kept his hands around his warm mug as he looked up at the older woman’s bright eyes.

  “So, you’re still buzzing around this place like an excited butterfly, huh?” Danny asked, remembering how she used to be here all the time while he was in high school. It was like she had the ability to be in more than one place at once.

  “Of course. You know me.” She gave a small chuckle. “But what have you been up to? I haven’t seen you in… What is it now, ten years? It’s like you just disappeared after high school graduation. Some of your buddies would come here and ask about you, and I wouldn’t know what to tell them.”

  Katy gave a small frown, resting a hand on her hip. She had on a red, cherry-print dress and a pink apron wrapped around her waist, in the pocket of which her notebook, pen, and checkbook were all waiting for her.

  “Well, I enlisted in the Army and have been away ever since,” Danny answered, a hint of hesitation in his voice. He looked down at his coffee, refusing to make eye contact. “I was recently released,” he finally answered.

  “Oh? How come?” she asked, curious.

  Katy eyed Danny. The man in front of her was muscular, with strong-looking arms. He looked like he could do another ten years in the Army without a hitch. She couldn’t even begin to fathom why they would release him. It would be different if he’d said he’d gotten out but being released… well, the way he’d said it, Katy knew there was a story behind it. And she loved stories.

  “Hey, Katy!” a voice called to her left.

  Katy turned and saw David Rivera. He’d lost his wife to illness a long time ago, and she’d been trying to convince him to begin dating again, but hadn’t had any success yet. She had matched his daughter, Sofia, to a wonderful young man. Her heart twisted, just a bit, at seeing him. He really is a good looking man. Katy shook herself, knowing that thoughts like that weren’t helpful.

  She shook off the feeling and turned back to Danny. “Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”

  Danny melted into the barstool, feeling like he had just dodged a bullet. He winced at the thought and rubbed his thigh. The doctors said that some of the pain was just in his head and that it would go away soon. Danny wasn’t so sure. How could I ever forget enough for the feeling to go away?

  He took another long swig of his coffee and focused his eyes on a bright yellow railroad sign hanging from the ceiling in an attempt to clear his mind. The bright yellow only reminded him of the blast of light and sound. His heart picked up its pace, and he felt his hands go ice cold. No! I won’t go there.

  Danny took a deep breath and began to mentally count backward starting at one hundred. One of his buddies had suggested the technique, and it seemed to work for him. He had never been much of a student in high school, but he had been pretty good at math.

  He’d gotten down to thirty-three and managed to slow his heart when a female voice interrupted his counting.

  “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay,” Danny said, looking at Katy. “Anyway, I’m settling back in Berkeley.”

  “Oh, that’s fantastic.” Katy smiled at him. “So you’ll be in the area?”

  Danny nodded, glad that he had diverted Katy from the subject of why he had been released. He knew she would find out eventually, but he just couldn’t bring himself to talk about it.

  “I hope to see you around more often then. Our fries are still here, waiting for you.” Katy winked in his direction.

  “Actually, I’ve developed quite a sweet tooth over the years. Please tell me you extended your dessert menu. All you had before was vanilla ice cream.”

  “Oh, we still have that. You can’t beat the classics, you know. Actually…”

  A tingling, electric feeling ran up Katy’s spine. She blinked a couple of times and tried to make sense of what the feeling meant. Usually, the sensation was associated with finding that perfect couple… Oh… I’d forgotten. How could I forget?

  Danny was staring at Katy, and she remembered where she had been going with her previous comment. Putting two and two together, she realized exactly why her matchmaking radar had gone off.

  Katy tucked her notepad and pencil into her apron pocket and leaned in closer to Danny.

  “You know what, how would you like a freshly made strawberry shortcake? I can promise that it’s the best you’ve ever had.” She paused and let the offer sink in.

  “Strawberry shortcake?”

  Katy saw the glazed look of sugary pleasure run across Danny’s face and knew she’d picked just the right dessert. “Yep, and it’s on the house.”

  “You don’t have to do that Katy.”

  “Nonsense. It’s my gift to you for serving the country.” Katy waved off his oncoming protests and made her way back to the kitchen. She had a phone call to make.

  Chapter Two

  In her small, cluttered office, Katy rummaged through her phone book, looking for a specific number. She was spectacular at remembering names, faces, and stories, but when it came to phone numbers and addresses, she was hopeless.

  “Sweet as Shortcake… Sweet as Shortcake…” She kept muttering the name of the pastry shop to herself while looking through the ‘S’ section.

  Finally, as she flipped the pages, a pink-tinted business card fluttered to the ground. She picked it up quickly. “Bingo!” She smiled to herself before dialing the number.

  The phone rang a few times before a sweet-sounding woman answered. “Hello?”

  “Is this Sarah?” Katy asked.

  “Katy! Is that you?” Sarah said.

  “Yes. Yes. It’s me. Can I ask you a favor?”

  “Of course,” the woman answered.

  “I need a few of your specialty strawberry shortcakes. Do you mind bringing them over?”

  “Sure thing!” Sarah answered.

  “Fantastic. I’ll see you in a few.”

  “See ya.”

  Katy smiled and hung up the phone. She walked up to a corkboard she had on the left side wall. It was covered with photographs. Old-time clients smiled at her, looking happy as they dug into one of the diner’s mouthwatering burgers or breakfast specials. In the upper right-hand corner was a ragged photograph. The corners were torn, and the color was starting to fade, but the young man’s gray-colored eyes were still present. The eyes looked a little more world-weary now, but Katy still recognized them.

  In the photo, Danny FitzPatrick and Sarah Mallory hugged each other, the girl’s legs were off the ground, and she laughed at Danny’s attempt to pick her up. They had been longtime friends, coming into the diner almost every Friday night to spend the evening together. It was no secret that Danny had a huge crush on Sarah. Everyone seemed to be aware of it, except Sarah herself.

  ***

  Sarah looked out at her small bakery and pastry shop with a smile on her face. Katy had called at the perfect t
ime. The morning rush was over, and the dessert-after-lunch crowd wouldn’t be in for another hour or so. Now was the perfect opportunity for her to stroll down to the diner and deliver the pastries. Cupid’s Café was only a block away, and Sarah enjoyed making the trek there whenever Katy requested some of her specialty desserts for Cupid’s. Katy had the basics; ice cream, brownies, and cookies. But Sarah was the one who supplied the dessert counter with pies, cakes, and her specialty strawberry shortcake.

  “I’m going down to Cupid’s,” Sarah called into the kitchen. A tiny Asian girl with purple and green colored hair looked up at her, a bag of frosting in her hand. She was currently piping some pink cupcakes. The girl looked like she’d gone ten rounds with a bag of flour and lost. Ming was the sloppiest pastry chef in the county, getting more of the ingredients on herself and the floor than in the bowl, but her cupcakes were divine. Absolutely, to die for.

  “What for?” Ming asked, using the back of her hand to move some strands of hair out of her face.

  “Katy wants a few strawberry shortcakes.”

  “Take the ones in the back of the fridge. I’ve already rotated the stock.”

  Sarah was glad that Ming had already taken care of moving the fresher items to the back. If she went to Katy’s, she might not have time to do that before the afternoon crowd came in.

  “Thanks, Ming. Oh, aren’t those the one’s I was experimenting with this morning?”

  Ming nodded, a wide grin splitting across her face. She licked her lips, and Sarah caught a glimpse of her tongue ring. “Yep. I love the extra sweetness and the nutty flavor of the cream. I think you should sell that version of your recipe for a while and see how they do.”

  “Well, I’ll deliver these to Katy and have her ask her customers what they think.”

  “I already know they’re going to love it,” Ming said and then went back to decorating her cupcake.

  Ming had exceptional taste buds when it came to sweets. If she said Sarah’s new version was an improvement, then it was.

  Sarah made her way to the large walk-in fridge in the back of the pastry shop. She quickly spotted the tray of shortcakes and gingerly took them out, making sure not to let them fall. She carried the tray over to the counter and started to box them up individually. It’s all about presentation, and I want people to love looking at my creations as much as eating them. When she was done fastening the last ribbon, her face was painted with pride.

  The transparent boxes showed off the delicious desserts while the top of the box, decorated with small, rose petal designs, gave it some flare. “I’ll be back in a bit,” Sarah announced.

  “You might want to take off that apron,” Ming said without even looking up at her boss.

  “Right. I’d be lost without you, Ming.”

  “The world would be dreary without me and you my friend would be desolate.”

  Sarah shook her head at her friend’s nonsense. Ming had a peculiar sense of humor that few people understood.

  Sarah took a step toward the door.

  “Apron,” Ming called.

  Sarah yanked at the apron strings, pulling it off. She tossed it at Ming. “There you are. As if I care who sees me in my apron. Everyone who comes in here sees it.”

  Ming plucked the apron off her shoulder and tossed it without looking at a counter nearby. She turned and eyed her friend. “You never know. Today might be the day you meet the one.”

  “What one?”

  “Whatever guy you’ve been pining over for as long as I’ve known you.” Ming turned back to the cupcake and waved the bag of piping in the air. “Now, go before you don’t have time.”

  Sarah vision was suddenly filled with gray eyes that reminded her of a stormy sky. So, much energy and electricity in those eyes. Sarah caught her breath. He’s been gone for over ten years. Just let it go, Sarah.

  She wanted to let him go. She tried to let him go, but his memory kept marching back into her life. I’m just going to see Katy. Even if that was true, Sarah couldn’t stop herself from going into the bathroom. Checking herself out in the mirror, she noticed that her black hair was spotted with specks of flour. She pulled off the hair tie that had been holding up her ponytail and allowed her long hair to fall down her back in natural beach waves.

  She shook her hair a bit. There. That looks better. Sarah looked at her reflection, making sure there were no bits of frosting on her face. Her bright blue eyes stared back at her. “I think that’s okay…” she murmured before stepping out and grabbing the boxes.

  “I’m off then.” This time, Ming was quite.

  Sarah made her way down the sidewalk, toward Cupid’s. The day was bright and sunny, the sky a bright shade of azure. Various students lined the street, trying to get to class. Behind her, she heard the sound of the door chime as someone entered her bakery. She had the utmost confidence that Ming would be able to handle everything while she spent some much-needed time with Katy.

  Sarah Mallory smiled all the way to Cupid’s Café, ready to tell Katy everything.

  Chapter Three

  Ding. Sarah pushed open the door to Cupid’s Café, balancing the tray of boxed shortcakes in one hand. She used her hip to prop the door open just long enough for her to slip inside. Her lips crept up into a smile the moment she stepped into the cheerful atmosphere. Cupid’s was a happy, little place and always had been. She could see various patrons enjoying each other’s company. The jukebox in the corner was blaring an old song from the 50’s, making her want to grab someone’s hand and start dancing.

  “Sarah.”

  Sarah looked over to the counter and saw Katy to the right of her, motioning her over. Sarah started toward her, and Katy turned her focus back to the light blue surface of the counter top; her hand moving in a circular motion, wiping at some imaginary stains. Sarah shook her head in envy. Katy always seems to have it together. She makes being a business owner look easy.

  Sarah’s business was doing well, very well, but she still struggled with balancing the paperwork and the demands of customers. There never seemed to be enough hours in the day. She’d be lost without Ming.

  “Hey, Katy!” Sarah said, placing the boxes on the counter. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “No,” Katy answered quickly as she straightened herself up. Her hands rested on her hips, the rag still between her fingers. “Just cleaning up after the breakfast crowd. They always leave such a mess behind.”

  “Tell me about it! I feel like I never finish cleaning up crumbs at the bakery. It’s such a pain,” Sarah groaned, her mind going back to the countless hours spent sweeping the floors of her bakery. It was probably the worst part of her job. “It’s like people don’t know how to eat properly or something.” She rolled her eyes and laughed.

  Katy laughed along with her. “I know exactly what you mean.”

  That tingling feeling was back, and Katy glanced over at Danny. He sat by himself at the other end of the counter, completely absorbed in staring into the coffee cup he held. He was already on his second coffee, the sugar dispenser looking halfway empty. “Now, that I’m thinking about it… Do you think you could do me a favor? We are a little short-staffed.”

  “Of course. Just say the word,” Sarah said.

  “Do you mind taking one of your shortcakes to the man at the end of the counter over there? I’ll take care of the rest.”

  Katy picked up two of the boxes, leaving one for Sarah, and moved to put them on display near the cash register, hoping to attract the attention of some of her other patrons. From the corner of her eye, she watched her favorite baker make her way over to Danny.

  Sarah noticed his light brown leather jacket, matching his wispy, soft-looking hair. He had a large build that was currently hunched over as he looked into his coffee.

  “Excuse me, sir. This is for you.” Sarah said, trying to get the man’s attention. When he swiveled on his stool slightly. She nearly dropped the pastry in her hands.

  “D-Danny?” she asked
in utter disbelief.

  She struggled to breathe, and her heartbeat quickened in her chest. Could it really be him? But there was no denying it. With those gorgeous gray eyes, rugged face, and an almost unnoticeable birthmark under his right eye, it could be no one else. She couldn’t move an inch of her body, staring blankly at the boy, who was now very much a man, who had been her best friend almost ten years ago.

  In high school, Sarah had dated Danny’s best friend, Robert. He had been the star of the football team, and she had foolishly agreed to date him in their senior year. But she’d always harbored a secret crush for the strong, quiet, and thoughtful Danny. She hadn’t known how to change their relationship from best buddies to more than that. She’d felt even more awkward about it when Danny had never bothered to make a move.

  Then, Robert asked her out. She’d been flattered and said yes. In the back of her mind, she’d hoped that a few dates with Robert would wake Danny up to the fact she was a young woman, not just the tomboy he’d grown up with. Her plan hadn’t worked. Danny kept an even further distance between them, and Sarah mourned the loss of their close friendship.

  Now, looking into the eyes of the man her diary had heard so much about, it felt almost surreal. It felt like a ghost was sitting right in front of her.

  The blood drained from his face, and Danny caught his breath. Sarah. The name alone deluged him with so many memories and feelings. He’d assumed that he’d see her again when he decided to move back to town, but he wasn’t prepared to see her so soon. Danny had a plan. He’d see her passing by on the street, but wouldn’t say anything. Then, a few months later he’d see her again, and maybe by that time he’d have worked up the courage to say hello.