Valentines Say I Love You

by Denise L. Wyant

  “Sure. I’m actually done for the night-morning, whatever time it is. I lose track sometimes. There’s no charge. Don’t be silly. I’m all yours.”

  Mine. The thought flashed through her mind. Nice guys like him were like uncovering a diamond ring buried on a public beach with a metal detector. They were near to impossible to find.

  Danny waited for her to open the front door, and followed her inside. She flipped on the overhead lights and wove her way around the counter to the back kitchen.

  “The place looks empty without all the cases filled with cupcakes.”

  “I’m usually in the back slaving away. I don’t get out here much. So, is this what the front of the store looks like?” she kidded.

  “That explains why I haven’t seen you on my semi-daily impulse buy.”

  “I guess. I need to get out more.”

  “That you do.” There were those dimples again. Dang. His eyes were a fascinating color of dark green with flecks of gold. “Before we do anything, I have a few things I’m going to insist on.” He held up a finger. “You are going to sit down on that stool, drink some water, and let your body’s nerves calm down. I’m going to change out of this grease-monkey outfit, and then,” he pointed a long finger at her, “you are going to stay right there while I carry in all the containers.”

  “I can help.”

  “If you move… or argue, I am going to drive off with the cupcakes. You will never see them again.”

  She tried to frown. It wasn’t working. “Where is your cupcake ransom note?”

  “Don’t push me, lady.” He jingled the tow-truck keys in his hand. “One more word and the cupcakes get it.”

  “The cupcakes already got it from that idiot that rear-ended me. Their little cupcake guts are smeared all over.”

  “Sit.” He pointed to the stool. “Water?”

  She started to stand, but hearing a gruff sound from him, sat back and nodded her head towards the refrigerator.

  He opened the door, pulled out a pitcher, and filled an empty glass that he handed to her. “Stay.”

  “I’m not a Golden Retriever.”

  “I know. I have one. She listens better. I’ll be right back.”

  “Pushy… man,” Analeigh mumbled under her breath. But, she was happy Danny was there. His silly, light-hearted ribbing eased the stress flowing through her.

  He came back from outside with a pile of clothes on his arm. “Bathroom?”

  Analeigh rolled the cool glass of water between the palms of her hands, and lost herself in trying to formulate a plan as to what she was going to do.

  She had five hours.

  Danny reappeared from the bathroom awhile later. Double dang. He cleaned up well. She really did need to get out the back if she was missing customers like him.

  He’d changed into a worn pair of jeans and a navy v-neck t-shirt. The overalls had hidden the muscles his t-shirt was doing a fine job accentuating. She licked her suddenly dry lips. He’d run water over his head, and his dark brown hair glistened almost black, slicked back from his strong face.

  “You have me at a disadvantage. I usually scrub off all the nights grease and grime with some toxic chemicals back at the tow base. All you have in your bathroom is some fu-fu stuff that smells like vanilla beans.” He came closer, and her heart did a flip. He leaned in. “Did I miss anywhere?”

  She inhaled. Not a good idea. He smelled really good. Man and vanilla. Two of her favorite things. She picked up a tissue and rubbed at a small black streak of grease under his chin.

  Danny took the tissue from her hand. His fingers were warm against hers. “Thanks. Should I call you Ms. Russell?”

  “Analeigh. You can leave the formality for the ransom note.”

  “Analeigh.” Her name sounded sexy rolling off his tongue. “I’ll remember that. I’m going to bring in the containers, and we can go from there.”

  In stacks of two he carried them in and piled them on the stainless steel counters.

  “That’s the last one.” He brushed off his hands.

  She rose to her feet and popped the lid off the first container. White streaks of frosting smeared the lid and dripped down the sides of the container. Analeigh bit her lip and shook her head. “This just… stinks.” She sat heavily back on the stool. “These cupcakes are for a wedding that’s in five hours. I am never going to be able to re-bake and decorate all three-hundred. My big break has turned into a big disaster.”

  Danny lifted the lid and peered inside once again. He took out one of the cupcakes, inspected it, and then set it on the counter. He pulled out and opened the tray that held the second layer of cakes and shook his head frowning. “How many do you think you can bake, get cooled, and frosted in, say, three hours?”

  “I don’t get what you mean. I can’t bake three-hundred cupcakes and deliver them to the wedding in time.”

  “That’s not what I asked. How many can you bake?”

  She shrugged a shoulder. “A hundred or so.”

  He held up the first cupcake he’d placed on the counter. “The only thing that is messed up on this cupcake is the frosting on the top. If we carefully scrape it off and re-frost it, no one will know.”

  She took the cake from him. Her eyes met his. He was right, the cupcake was undamaged.

  “You can do it. We can get them back before anyone suspects. Let’s take the rest of them out of the carriers. I’ll put them in save pile and then the road kill pile. If two-hundred are in the save pile, then we’re in.”

  She’d gotten though tough situations before. Just keep your eye on the finish-line. Grabbing a hair-tie from the shelf, she whipped her shoulder length black hair into a bun, then draped an apron over her torso and tied it behind her neck.

  “Why don’t you start baking, and I’ll work on damage control,” he said.

  She nodded and readied the mixer on the counter. As she dumped ingredients in the bowl, she watched Danny take the cupcakes out, one by one, and inspect them with pain-staking thoroughness. The save pile was much larger than the road-kill pile.

  He’d been right.

  When he finished, he scooped the ones that had no help of saving into the trash bin.

  “This is sad,” he commented. “I feel like I should play taps or something. They were too young to die.” With a long spatula he carefully scraped off the damaged frosting of the ones he saved and flipped it in the bin. When he was done, there were perfect rows of undamaged cakes. “Okay, these are the ones we can work with. There are one-hundred and seventy five. Good news or bad?” he asked.

  “I think I can make it work. I have a few trays that I baked for extras over on that tiered cooling rack.” She counted in her head. “That would give us three-hundred and three.”

  “Whoo-hoo.” Danny pumped his fist in the air.

  “This is really nice of you to stay and help. You’ve been working all night. You can take off. I’ll be fine.”

  “How are you going to mix, bake, and decorate at the same time?”

  “Well… I’m not sure. I’ll do what I can.”

  He looked at her for a long moment. “I didn’t see another car out there. Your car’s totaled. If you get the cupcakes ready, how are you going to get them to the wedding if you don’t have transportation?”

  “Rental car?”

  “And take the chance they may all be rented for the weekend?”

  She hadn’t thought of that. “What are you, my voice of reason?”

  “I can be. Also, my skills are a little rusty, but my mom worked in a bakery at a local grocery store. I worked with her on weekends and decorated the cakes to pick up some spare money to go snow-boarding. Let me see if I can remember what the heck I did back then.”

&nb
sp; Analeigh lowered the first tray into the oven and set the timer. She pulled out the butter, powdered sugar, and milk. Danny stood close behind, and looked over her shoulder as she expertly mixed and scrapped the creamy mixture to the proper consistency. She scooped the frosting into a pastry bag with a coupler ring and tip, then handed him the frosting bag and an unfrosted cupcake.

  He took it from her hands like the passing of a sacred scroll. Concentration etched his features, and his tongue stuck out the side of his mouth. He started, then stopped. “Do you have to watch me? Geeze, you’re making me nervous.”

  “Me? Come on Bucky, show me what you got Mister Ace of Cakes.”

  His hand clenched on the bag as he began to squeeze the frosting in a swirl on the top. When he was finished, he sat the cake back on the counter and she heard him let out what she assumed was a sigh of relief.

  She eyed the cupcake. “Not bad. If you tip the bag a little straighter, you’ll get a cleaner line. Keep the tip about an eighth of an inch from the cake.”

  “Am I hired? Keep me from a life of cupcake kidnapping and make me an honest man.” He steepled his hands.

  “You’ll let me pay you?”

  “Tell you what, how about a deal for a free cupcake a day for a month.”

  “You drive a hard bargain.”

  “My way or the highway, missy.”

  Analeigh smiled. His crazy plan just might work. “Free cupcakes for two months.”

  He put an arm up behind his back. “Here, twist my arm. This is my lucky day. Two months of Let Them Eat Cake cupcakes, that’s half a car payment. Maybe, I’ll steal all your secrets and start my own rival company. Cupcakes and a tow.”

  “I guess I’ll have to take my chances and trust you.” She sighed dramatically.

  She flipped on an eighties music radio station and they both worked side by side for the next few hours. She’d been expecting a terrible stress filled morning, but it somehow magically turned into the most fun she’d had in months. A cute guy singing along with Depeche Mode and decorating cupcakes next to her? Was she dreaming? Every time he bent to lower a tray on a rack, she cocked her head to the side to check out his rear end. She had to say, his butt was even better than his skills with a frosting bag.

  As she baked and cooled more cakes. He washed and dried the carriers, then restacked the finished cakes in the containers.

  “How did you get into the tow-truck business?” Analeigh asked.

  “I went to college and got a degree in business. My grandfather started the business, and my father took over from him.”

  “And, you’ll take over from your dad. Third-generation?”

  “Kind of have already. My dad’s health hasn’t been the best. He went through a round of chemo treatments. He’s okay now, but can’t work as many hours as he once did. We’re lucky that we have a great staff of hard workers. Every kid has dreams of doing something else, but I like working in the family business. I love my dad, and it means a lot to him to pass the business to me. What about you. How did you become the queen of cupcakes?”

  “I got a degree in computer programming.”

  “That’s a reach in career paths.”

  “Tell me about it. I worked in computers for about five years, made lots of money, but lost something called ‘passion’. So, I took the money and started a business where I love walking though the door every morning. I put too many hopes on this job today. It wasn’t the end of the world. I could have come up with something to piece together for their wedding cake.” She rubbed at her neck. “I could have been hurt, or worse, in that accident. There was an elderly lady waiting at the cross walk… I… could have run her over.” She hadn’t allowed the memories of the early morning to seep in before that moment.

  He was there. Danny pulled her against him. He felt warm and solid. “None of the bad stuff happened, so don’t dwell on it, or think of the what-ifs. I’ve had to tow some really bad wrecks. You weren’t involved in one of them. You’re okay.” He brushed a thumb over her cheek. “I tried to convince you, I’m here to save the day.”

  “I believe you.”

  Their breaths filled the scant space between them and merged soundlessly. He dropped his head until their lips met. His kiss was tender and soft, a total antithesis to the steely muscles of his chest. She sighed and melted into him.

  He stepped back, breaking the kiss and cupped her face in his hand. “I could do that all day… and I might just keep that as a future plan, but, right now, we have work to do.”

  “Work… oh yeah… cupcakes. What am I supposed to be doing?” Her mind had been wiped clean of anything but the memory of his mouth pressed to hers.

  He called a co-worker who brought over his truck and would take the tow truck and her car to the yard. She boxed up a quick dozen cupcakes from the back as a thank-you and handed them to the man when he came in to switch keys with Danny.

  “Thanks!” The man took the box and grinned. “Danny keeps telling how great this place is. They will love these back at base, that is if I don’t eat them all first.”

  As she finished up the final fifty cakes, Danny carefully took the newly filled carriers out and secured them in the back of his truck. When he came back in, he asked, “Done?”

  She nodded, took the apron off and threw it over the stool.

  “Showtime.”

  The elegant banquet room was abuzz with the hotel’s catering staff who were busy stocking the tables with last minute touches to the linens and china. The frantic wedding coordinator nearly pounced on Analeigh when she came through the door. “Oh. My. God! There you are! I thought you said you were going to be here to set up hours ago. My heart nearly stopped. I thought something was wrong, and you weren’t going to show.”

  Danny cut the woman off, as he put on his best lady-killer smile. “Everything’s fine ma’am. Ms. Russell had a little car trouble. You understand how temperamental cars can be.”

  The woman turned her attention to Danny. Her stance softened, and she batted her eyes his direction. “I sure do, that alternator thingy went out on mine last week, and I had to walk a mile for help in heels.” She waved a hand. “Well, never mind all that. The cake table is over there. Hey. Hey!” She yelled at one of the catering staff setting a table arrangement and flew off in the other direction.

  “Flirt,” Analeigh said.

  “You gotta do what you gotta do. I distracted her didn’t I? Let me get the carriers from the truck and you can start setting up the table.”

  “Don’t trip.” She grinned.

  “God, don’t even say that.”

  As he brought in one container after the other, she lifted out the tiny cakes and placed them gingerly on the tiered serving trays with tongs. Quickly, she decorated the trays with sprays of white flowers and then shook the final touch of silver flakes and red hearts over the cupcake’s frosting. Just as the bride and groom were introduced by the band and entered the room, she stepped back to examine her work.

  The groom’s mother headed to meet her at the table. “Oh, Analeigh. You did exactly what we wanted. It’s perfect! My son and new daughter-in-law will love it. You’ll see nothing but a good write up in my magazine. I can’t believe how much time this must have taken.”

  “The easiest day of my life,” Analeigh said under her breath, as she smiled at Danny.

  She and Danny sat off in a corner of the room. She wanted to see the bride and groom’s reaction to her cupcakes. Everyone laughed when the bride and groom turned and smashed cake in the maid-of-honor and best-man’s face.

  Flashes fired. The couple looked happy. It was perfect.

  “Okay, we can go now.” They quietly exited out into the back hall. She turned to face Danny. “There is no way I could have pulled this off without you. I owe you
everything.” They could hear music begin from inside the hall.

  “How about a dance?”

  “It is Valentine’s Day and we both seem to be alone.” She smiled at him as he took her in his arms.

  “I’m not alone.” Their bodies swayed to the music. She’d only known him a few hours, but in his arms, it felt right. Perfect.

  He buried a hand in her hair and pulled her in for a kiss. There was a sizzle she felt from head to toe. His lips glided and slipped over hers. He caught her lower lip and tugged it gently between his teeth. Besides frosting cupcakes, this man was the Ace of Kissing, too. Her knees threatened to buckle, but he held her up for more.

  When he finally pulled away, his lips were parted and his breathing was as ragged as hers.

  “If you want to keep your working relationship with the wedding party professional, we’d better find somewhere else to take this. How about we drive to your place and you can get a bathing suit. My apartment complex has a hot tub to soak in and then I’ll take us to brunch.”

  “My apartment has a hot tub, too.”

  “Fine. I’ll get my trunks, and soak in your tub. But, I get to buy brunch.”

  “Pushy man.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “Only if I know what I want. The voice of reason, remember?”

  “What does soaking in my apartment’s hot tub versus yours have anything to do with reason?”

  “It has… well, nothing. Are we going to stand here all afternoon? I’m starving and you have a stiff neck. You can soak, and I can eat.”

  Analeigh pulled him in for another kiss. “See, I knew you would find a good reason to offer me.”

  As he tugged her by the hand out the door, she knew that sometimes out of bad came good. Her good was a six-foot two man full of nothing but surprises and promises.