The Cupcake Diaries: Sweet On You

by Darlene Panzera

  Kim gave her a mischievous smile. “Is he happy?”

  “Yes,” Andi affirmed, “I believe he is.”

  The music coming over the PA system stopped, and a female voice echoed across the stadium thanking sponsors and various vendors for their support.

  “We’d especially like to thank Creative Cupcakes for raising over one thousand dollars for cancer research.”

  The roar of clapping echoed around the stadium and drowned out Andi’s horrified gasp.

  Rachel glared at her. “I thought you said we could deduct our expenses from the sales.”

  “That’s what the woman on the phone told me,” Andi whispered.

  “What woman?” Kim asked. “The announcer woman? Look at her outfit. She’s one of Pat’s Zumba dancers!”

  Andi hesitated. “I can tell her there’s been a mistake.”

  “There’s no mistake,” Rachel said, scrunching her face. “Pat’s Zumba tribe planned this all along, and we just lost several hundred dollars on ingredients.”

  Andi ran up into the stadium stands and took the microphone for the second time that night. “Creative Cupcakes was thrilled to be part of this event,” she said, shooting a look at the pink-tasseled announcer. “And we hope everyone will keep us in mind for future weddings, family reunions, and school birthday parties.”

  Pat walked past Andi and smirked. “Fat chance.”

  Chapter Eight

  * * *

  I could give up chocolate, but I’m not a quitter.

  —Author unknown

  BY WEDNESDAY ANDI was shocked that after all the cupcakes they gave away over the weekend, the customers coming into the shop were few. In fact, some people who had placed orders the previous week for school birthday parties called and canceled. She tapped the calendar hanging on the wall beside the phone with her pencil. Eleven days remained in the month. Eleven days . . .

  One of Guy’s customers came through the connecting back door and bought one of her sister’s painted confections.

  Kim had discovered how to cover the cupcakes with white fondant, which created a smooth porcelain-like base. Then using various sized brushes, she painted scenes on the surface using different colored edible pastes mixed with clear flavored extract. Some of the paintings were replicas of her own artwork, and some, like the one this man ordered, she’d copied from one of Guy’s tattoo designs.

  He nodded his thanks in appreciation of the hand-painted Harley-Davidson. Then he lifted the side edge of the white bandage on his upper arm and nodded to Kim. “You like?”

  Andi and Kim, both behind the counter, exchanged a look and laughed. His freshly applied tattoo was a pink-frosted cupcake.

  The front door opened, and Officer Lockwell entered, sat down at the counter, and ordered their newest flavor—a delicacy of vanilla topped with maple syrup and bacon. The man with the new tattoo made a quick exit.

  “Looks like you scared him away,” Andi said, placing the police officer’s order in front of him. “The tattoo parlor hasn’t seen as many customers since you started coming in every day.”

  “Is the tattoo artist complaining?” Officer Lockwell asked.

  “A little,” Andi admitted.

  “Tell him I can’t help it,” Officer Lockwell confided with a grin. “Every night when I get home my wife and kids ask if I’ve brought them more cupcakes. They love them.”

  Rachel came in from the kitchen, gave Officer Lockwell a hesitant wave, then slapped a bridal magazine on the counter in front of them. “You have to see this. I found a company that sells long-handled, gold-plated cake knives.”

  Andi glanced at their potential “victory” cupcake cutter, but her gaze couldn’t help straying to the opposite page, which featured an array of dazzling diamond wedding rings.

  No way was she ready to remarry, but the sight of the rings brought warm, fuzzy feelings to life inside her and made her think of Jake. Her fanciful daydreams carried her through the day, but they came to an end the moment Mia got off the school bus, her eyes streaming with tears.

  Andi dropped to her knees on the sidewalk outside the cupcake shop and took her daughter into her arms. “Mia, what happened?”

  “They said I can’t bring cupcakes to school for my birthday!”

  “Who said?” Andi asked, pulling Mia away to look at her again. “Your teacher?”

  Mia nodded, and more tears spilled from her eyes. “Hannah and John had cupcakes, but the teacher told me I can’t have any cupcakes.”

  “That can’t be right. I’m sure there’s a mistake. I’ll call the school and straighten everything out.”

  Andi escorted Mia into the shop and reached for the phone. A minute later she was on the line with Mia’s teacher, and five minutes after that she was transferred to the principal, who explained the situation.

  “Last night Pat Silverthorn convinced the school board to ban cupcakes from all the district schools. She presented a long list of facts, backed by clinical studies finding that sugar is the number one cause of obesity in children. By allowing the children to bring cupcakes to school on their birthday or any other celebration, we would be supporting the current obesity epidemic. The school board has decided we can’t be responsible for putting children’s health at risk.”

  “We’re talking about a child’s birthday!” Andi said indignantly. “If you’re going to start a rule like that, can’t you wait until the beginning of the next school year? My daughter feels that everyone else has been able to celebrate their birthday in school except her.”

  “A child does not need cupcakes to celebrate a birthday, Ms. Burke.”

  “Try explaining that to a five-year-old,” Andi retorted.

  After she hung up, she turned to her daughter, who stood staring into the display case. “Mia, I’m sorry they won’t let you bring cupcakes to school to share with your class, but we can celebrate your birthday right here in the shop. We can decorate, and you can invite all your friends.”

  “What if they don’t come?”

  Andi had once suffered the humiliation of sitting alone in a coffee shop waiting for a blind date to show, and it hadn’t even been her birthday. She’d always had Rachel and Kim to celebrate with for as long as she could remember. But Mia had no siblings and hadn’t yet met many friends.

  “They’ll come,” Andi promised her, “because we’ll make your birthday too much fun to miss. And I know one classmate who will definitely come.”

  Mia wiped her eyes. “Who?”

  “Jake’s daughter, Taylor.”

  Mia cringed. “I don’t like Taylor.”

  “Why not?”

  “She’s mean.”

  “How is she mean?”

  “She sits with Priscilla and sticks her tongue out at me.”

  “Priscilla?”

  “Priscilla Silverthorn.”

  Andi groaned. No doubt Priscilla was the Zumba instructor’s daughter. And if Pat convinced the school board to ban cupcakes, then that must be the reason so many people had called to cancel their orders for upcoming birthdays. She had to admit, Pat was resourceful. And obstinate. She just kept pushing, pushing, pushing and refused to give up.

  If Andi didn’t push back and do something to stop her, Pat would push them right out of business. And once again, Andi would have to listen to her father call her a failure, or at least imply it. What she needed was a plan, another way to bring customers into the shop.

  She watched Mia wander behind the cupcake counter and put a white baker’s hat on her head. That was it! What if she created an after-school kid’s program, a cupcake camp for kids? They could push some of the tables in the back of the shop together to create the proper workspace and she could hire Heather to man the cash register so she, Rachel, and Kim could teach the children to make cupcakes.

  The next day, Andi sent Mia to school with invitations for her entire kindergarten class to come join in the new after-school program, Future Bakers of Astoria. For a ten-dollar fee, they could come for t
wo hours, learn to bake, and decorate four mini cupcakes to take home.

  That afternoon only three kids came. The following day there were eight. On Saturday fifteen arrived, their parents delighted to have two hours free to run errands and take advantage of some much needed alone time.

  Andi recognized a couple of the mother’s from Pat’s Zumba dance class. Officer Lockwell brought his son and daughter to the event. And even Jake’s sister, Trish, brought Evan.

  By Mia’s birthday the following Thursday, all twenty-four kids from Mia’s class were in attendance for her animal-themed cupcake birthday party. Even Priscilla.

  Pat walked into Creative Cupcakes and greeted them as if nothing negative had ever happened between them, and Andi wondered if the woman was bipolar.

  “What is she doing here?” Rachel blurted.

  “The invitation went out to Mia’s entire class. Maybe this is her way of calling a truce,” Andi suggested.

  “She has some nerve coming in here,” Kim said, narrowing her eyes. “Don’t trust her, Andi. Watch her like a hawk.”

  Pat didn’t stay but dropped her daughter off, promising to pick her up when the party was over.

  “She’s so happy, Andi,” Jake said, glancing at Mia. “This was a great idea. And the money we brought in this week recouped the loss from the Relay for Life fundraiser.”

  Glowing on the inside from Jake’s praise, Andi left Heather in charge of the cupcake counter and set out to help the children measure and mix ingredients without spilling sugar or getting flour everywhere, an impossible task with the number of kids on hand. Rachel and Kim did their part to help out with party games and show the kids how to decorate the cupcakes with sprinkles and plastic cake toppers.

  One little boy climbed up the back corner shelving and waved his hand in front of the security camera they’d set between the fake green foliage. “Am I on TV?” he asked, reaching for the lens.

  “Don’t touch that,” Andi said, pulling the boy down before he fell and hit his head. “You need to stay in your group.”

  She shook her head as she took the boy by the hand and led him back to the others. She couldn’t risk having anyone get hurt, and the camera had cost Jake a small fortune, a cost they wouldn’t be able to match if it was broken.

  Jake’s sister was the first parent to return. Evan ran up to her from the back, accompanied by Guy, and showed her his arm. “Look, Mom, I got a tattoo!”

  Trish’s eyes widened, and Andi quickly assured her, “It’s only temporary. It washes right off with warm, soapy water.”

  “Evan loves your after-school program,” Trish said, wiping a smudge of icing off his cheek with her thumb. “How long is the cupcake camp going to continue?”

  “You want it to continue?” Andi asked, unable to hide her surprise.

  The woman’s face flushed. “I’m sorry I haven’t been . . . nice. I dropped out of Pat’s Zumba class. So did many of the others.”

  Andi took that to be an apology. “I think we can keep the cupcake camp running a couple times a week.”

  She was about to say more, but other parents had streamed through the door to pick up their children, and one of them was Pat Silverthorn. The woman, who was wearing a bright red dress, stood by the front window talking with Jake.

  Andi watched Pat laugh and lean into Jake, fingering the lapel on his suit jacket. What did she think she was doing? The Zumba instructor’s antics knew no bounds. Not only was she trying to put them out of business, but now she was stepping on personal turf.

  But was Jake hers? Andi had shared a few noncommittal lunches and dinners with him and had immensely enjoyed every moment they had spent together over the last month. But she’d also made it clear she wouldn’t rush into a new relationship.

  Was Jake tired of waiting for her to make up her mind? Why didn’t he move Pat’s hand away from him? He couldn’t be interested in a woman like that, could he? The same woman who was trying to shut down their business? Maybe if Pat dated Jake she’d leave their shop alone.

  No! There was no way Pat could date Jake. It would . . . it would simply eat her alive. She cared too much for Jake. Far too much. Her reaction the first night they met had scared her. Falling for Jake had been . . . She swallowed hard and realized the truth. Falling for Jake had been love at first sight.

  She couldn’t allow herself to believe it until now. Her father and her friends and everyone who knew her would say she was acting impulsively again. But during her short time with Jake, she’d come to feel he might be her Mr. Right, the one she’d been meant to be with all along. And if she wanted to keep him, she would have to tell him—right after Creative Cupcakes’ official grand opening celebration Friday night.

  Chapter Nine

  * * *

  Love is like swallowing hot chocolate before it has cooled off. It takes you by surprise at first but keeps you warm for a long time.

  —Author unknown

  ANDI GLANCED OVER the business statement Jake had left for her in the Cupcake Diary, and it didn’t take a genius to see they weren’t making enough money. Hopefully, Rachel’s idea for a big grand opening party would pay off.

  She, Rachel, and Kim had spent the entire morning baking dozens of cupcakes. Mia and Taylor helped. Jake promised to be at the shop by five. One of his Astoria Sun coworkers, who was to write an article capturing the highlights of the grand opening for the morning edition, would arrive by seven. With good publicity, maybe the shop would start doing better.

  Andi placed a fresh tray of spiced caramel-pear cupcakes in the display case when the door opened and in walked her father. What was he doing here?

  He gave her a nod and glanced about the shop, eyeing the customers as he walked up to her. Andi was glad the counter separated them so she could brace herself against it.

  “Well, I’m glad it’s making money,” he said, his tone more of a question than a statement.

  “We have a steady flow of customers.” At least that much was true.

  Her father took a seat farther down the stool-lined counter, obviously planning to stay for more than a moment. He scanned the display case to his right and pointed to the spiced caramel-pear treats. “I’ll take one of those.”

  Andi reached into the case and brought out one of the cupcakes. She placed it on a paper plate and brought it around the counter to him. When he drew out his wallet, she frowned. “Dad, please, you don’t need to give me any money.”

  “I don’t expect to get something for nothing,” he said, handing her a ten-dollar bill.

  Andi didn’t know what to say. She never did when it came to her father. She took the money, went to the register and returned with his change.

  He took a bite of the cupcake, and Andi watched for his reaction. Would he approve? He didn’t indicate one way or another if he liked it or not.

  “Kim doesn’t know this yet,” he said, lifting his gaze to look her in the eye, “but I’ve sold the house, and I’m moving into a smaller place. Kim’s been wanting to move out for a while, and now that the cupcake shop is generating income, she will be able to afford her own apartment.”

  “You sold the house?”

  Andi froze and had to force herself to breathe. Where would she and Mia go if she couldn’t pay her rent?

  “Buying that big house was your mother’s idea, not mine,” her father complained. “Now that she’s gone, there’s no reason to stay. It’s just filling up with cobwebs faster than I can knock ’em down.”

  “Kim and I grew up in that house,” Andi said, her mind racing up the stairs to her old bedroom and all her secret hiding spots.

  “I expected to have to wait a few months, but the realtor put it on the market a week ago and yesterday a friend of his called me with an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

  Andi stared at him. “Yesterday? Why haven’t you told Kim?”

  Her father shrugged. “Didn’t want to upset her before your grand opening tonight. Kim tends to take these things too much to heart.”r />
  “She’s not the only one.” Andi slumped down onto a stool beside him. “Creative Cupcakes is going to need more time before it pulls in a decent profit. We still owe for the new kitchen equipment, supplies, and half a dozen other things. What if Kim can’t afford to get her own apartment?”

  “Then she can live with you.”

  Andi shot up off her seat. “Dad, you can’t sell the house because I—”

  Kim walked through the door, and her father’s look warned her not to say another word. Then after he and Kim conversed briefly, he left the shop.

  Andi ground her teeth together as she refilled the napkin holders on each of the round customer tables opposite the cupcake counter. She should have told him about her eviction, begged him to keep the house. Now moving back in with her father wasn’t an option. And if the grand opening didn’t pull in a crowd, her sister would be as homeless as she. Then they’d all be sleeping on the floor in Rachel’s one-room apartment over the garage.

  Andi’s anxiety compounded when a customer came in for an order she didn’t have listed.

  “You lost my order?” the woman before her demanded. “I need those vanilla marshmallow cupcakes for my Easter dinner party.”

  “Rachel, do you know anything about this?” Andi asked.

  Rachel looked over from the front window, where she had hung the grand opening banner. “Yeah, I put the message in the Cupcake Diary. Fifty vanilla marshmallow cupcakes.”

  Andi opened the diary, and there it was:

  Fifty vanilla marshmallow cupcakes for Debbie’s Easter Party. Ready for pick-up Friday night.

  Andi hadn’t seen it. Her fault. She apologized to Debbie and packaged fifty of the same cupcakes she’d reserved for the grand opening.

  After the woman had left, Andi took out the bowls and ingredients to make another batch.

  “Rachel, can you please watch what you are doing?” she complained. “You’re dropping confetti everywhere you go.”