by Jennie Marts
“Estelle, are you okay?”
The older woman stopped and put a flour-covered hand to her head. “Lord have mercy. I’m so glad you’re here. I don’t know what’s going on or where all these people came from, but we’ve sold over a hundred cupcakes already. I’ve got more breakfast muffins in, and we can sell those warm with no frosting. Thank goodness you had those new orders for this afternoon so I had baked an extra twelve dozen cupcakes this morning. I figured we can just sell those and make more for this afternoon.”
“Good thinking.” Gabby was already tying the strings of her apron around her waist and mentally calculating if she had enough inventory for the extra orders. Thank goodness she’d just done a supply run over the weekend. “I’ll get to work on those. Justin came in with me, and he’s working the crowd.”
“Leah has been running around like crazy, and she called another student from her class in to help her. She’s been going a hundred miles an hour, but she says she’s having a blast. For some reason, she thinks this is fun.”
Leah was the college intern who worked the bakery counter in the mornings. Gabby had worked out a deal with the local culinary school to give work study credit and hands-on experience to students while they worked on their degrees. It was a win-win for her because she got help from students eager to learn and didn’t have to pay them.
“I think it’s kind of fun, too,” Gabby said. “This is awesome for our business.”
“Good point. But what in the Sam Hill is going on out there? Where did all these people come from?”
Gabby sliced cupcakes into bite-sized pieces and arranged them on a tray. “I met this guy at the Christmas party this weekend and did him a favor so he paid me back by helping me sell some cupcakes from the truck on Sunday. And I guess he’s apparently some famous hockey player. I went on a date with him last night, and somehow that constitutes as news.”
“You went on a date last night? With who? What’s this guy’s name?”
“Owen Bannister,” Gabby said absently as she started the mixers and dumped in ingredients for more cupcakes.
“Owen Bannister? The defenseman from the Colorado Summit?” Estelle fanned herself, and Gabby guessed it wasn’t due to the heat in the kitchen.
“I guess, yeah.” She arched an eyebrow at the woman. “I didn’t know you followed hockey.”
“Of course. I try to go to several games a year.”
Hmm. How did she not know this about Estelle? And how did everyone in the world know who Owen Bannister was—except for her?
No time to worry about Owen now. She passed the sample tray to Estelle. “Take these out to Justin. He can use the samples for crowd control and to get more sales. Tell him I’ll make them as fast as he can sell them.” She was already filling new cupcake trays with liners as Estelle took the samples into the lobby.
Gabby’s phone buzzed in her pocket, and her heart leapt at the sight of Owen’s name on the screen. She tapped the screen and answered the phone. “Hello.”
“Good morning, Angel.”
“Well, it’s an interesting morning.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Apparently word has spread that I went on a date with some famous hockey player and people are lined up down the block at the bakery to buy my cupcakes.”
“What? Who is this famous guy? I thought you were going out with me?”
Gabby gulped. Going out with him? She knew it was kind of a high school term but the way he said it still had butterflies flittering in her stomach.
Not knowing quite how to respond, she laughed off the comment and ignored it. “The bakery’s been full all morning, and we’re all running around like crazy trying to keep up with the demand. I guess we’ve sold over a hundred cupcakes already.”
“That’s great.”
“Yes, it is. But now I need to make another hundred cupcakes to fill new orders for this afternoon. I had a great time last night, but I’ve really got to go. Can I call you back later this afternoon?”
“Yeah, sure. Of course. Call me later. Good luck.”
She hung up, jamming the phone back in her pocket, and couldn’t keep herself from grinning. The sound of his voice did all sorts of funny things to her insides, and images of last night on the sofa with him filled her mind. What would have happened if Justin hadn’t shown up?
And what will happen the next time they got together?
Her inner vixen woke up, and delicious tingles ran through her as she imagined the possibilities. But she didn’t have time for tingles right now, no matter how delicious they were. It was time to focus.
She heard Justin’s laugh ring out from the lobby as she slid a full tray of batter-filled liners into the oven. Setting the timer, she spent the next twenty minutes racing around the kitchen mixing more batter and stirring up bowls of frosting. Estelle ran fresh trays to the front as Gabby piped frosting on the new batch of cupcakes.
A loud commotion sounded from the front of the store, and she heard a wild cheer go up from the crowd. Justin must really be on his game this morning. Whatever he was doing was working, they were selling cupcakes as fast as they frosted them.
“It looks like you’re in need of a master chaser. Good thing I’m here,” a deep voice said.
Estelle dropped the spatula she was holding.
Gabby looked up to see Owen standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He wore jeans, a snug-fitting black thermal shirt, and a killer grin. His blue ski jacket brought out the crystal blue of his eyes as they sparkled with mischief.
Her mouth went dry, and the tingles returned as she gazed at his handsome smiling face. “What are you doing here?”
He grabbed an apron and wrapped it around his waist. “I just told you. I’m here to handle the sprinkles. I heard things were a little crazy around here and thought you might be able to use my excellent cupcake baking skills.”
She couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe that he was here. And she really did need a sprinkle chaser. She laughed and tossed him a container of sprinkles. “I’m not gonna look a gift-chaser in the mouth. Get to work.”
He opened the sprinkles and stepped up to the counter. A lick of heat burned through her as his hip bumped hers.
Just the nearness of him had the butterflies returning. But not normal butterflies. These babies were on warp speed, amped up on coffee and sugar with a side of energy drinks.
She introduced him to Estelle. “This is Owen. He helped me make some cupcakes the other day, so he knows the drill. Just put him to work where you need him.”
“It’s nice meeting you, Owen. I am a huge fan of you and your brother.” She raised her hand in a quick fist pump. “Go Brawlers.” A smear of pink frosting clung to the side of her hand and she wiped it on her apron as a soft tinge of pink colored her cheeks.
Gabby didn’t think she’d ever seen Estelle embarrassed. Geez, what was it about this guy? Her baker was blushing and dropping spatulas, and she had super-sonic butterflies crashing around in her stomach.
Did women just spontaneously combust when they were around him?
Owen offered Estelle one of his most charming smiles. “Well, thank you. I’m always glad to meet a fan. My brother and I both appreciate your support. I’m getting Gabby tickets to the game this weekend, why don’t I send a few more for you and your family?”
“Oh gosh, that would be so nice. You don’t have to do that. Thank you.” Estelle’s words tumbled out in a rush, and Gabby thought her baker might faint.
“All right, Rock Star. How about you focus on the sprinkles and quit distracting my help.” Gabby nudged him with her hip and earned a chuckle in return.
“Yes, ma’am. You just tell me what you need.” He had already finished a whole row of sprinkles and was refilling a bag with white frosting. “I don’t have practice until noon today so I’m all yours.”
I’m all yours?
Oh. My. God. She just died a little inside. Who cared about the cupcakes or the bakery—she n
eeded to get naked with this man right now.
Justin popped his head into the kitchen. “The crowd is chanting for Owen to make another appearance. I don’t know how long I can hold them off.”
“Okay,” Owen said. “But this time, Gabby is coming with me.” He looked around the counter filled with chocolate cupcakes. “I’ve got an idea. Do you have any of those mini Oreo cookies?”
Gabby nodded. “Sure. I’ve got several bags.”
“Great. Pass me one.”
She pulled a bag off the counter, ripped the top open and passed it to him.
He handed her a chocolate cupcake. “Here, frost this one with vanilla frosting.”
She squeezed a circle of white frosting on the cupcake.
He gave it a sprinkle of chocolate and stuck a mini cookie on top. Holding the cupcake, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out into the bakery.
“Hey Summit fans!” he yelled into the crowd as he stepped up onto an empty bench at the front of the store. A cheer went up, and he pulled Gabby up onto the bench next to him and wrapped an arm around her waist.
She couldn’t believe the amount of people that were still in the store and lined up on the sidewalk out front. A surge of fans pushed through the door, squeezing into the small bakery area.
“I want to introduce you all to a friend of mine. This is Gabby Davis, and she runs this bakery. And she makes the best damn cupcakes in Colorado.” Another cheer went up. Owen grinned at her. Not a regular grin. A total and complete shit-eatin’ kind of grin.
What was he up to now?
“I might be the one that plays hockey, but she’s an expert when it comes to icing.” He held up the cupcake. “Gabby and I have created a special cupcake in honor of the Colorado Summit. It’s a chocolate cupcake with white frosting to represent the ice, chocolate sprinkles and a chocolate cookie ‘puck’ on top. With three kinds of chocolate, we’re calling it the Colorado Hat Trick.”
Another cheer went up. But Owen wasn’t finished. “And Gabby’s offering a special deal. If you order your own Summit Hat Trick which is three dozen cupcakes, and you agree to pick them up in the store tomorrow morning before the game, she’ll give you five dollars off. And I’ll even autograph the box.”
He was smart. She had to give him that. Not only did he upsell the easiest cupcake to make, he ensured that she would sell them three dozen at a time, get them picked up instead of her having to deliver them, and he gave her ample time to prepare them by the next day. He was kind of a genius.
She grinned up at him and the crowd let out another cheer. She waved to the group. “Thank you all so much for visiting the store this morning. I hope you love the new cupcake.” She punched a fist into the air. “Go Summit.”
Owen laughed and tipped her back into a dip, dropping a quick kiss on her lips.
The crowd went wild and outstretched arms held up phones, snapping pictures.
This felt like a perfect moment. Like another chapter to add to the fairy tale that Owen was creating in her life. Her store was full of customers, and a cute smart prince of a guy that she really liked had just helped her business, then tossed her into a dip and landed a seamless kiss.
Her intern, Leah, grinned up at her and gave her a quick thumbs up. Gabby didn’t know if that was due to all the business or the hunky hockey player whose arm was wrapped around her. It didn’t matter.
Leah and the dark-haired friend she had called in to help were taking orders as fast as they could at the counter. So, this story also would also have a Cinderella element because now before she could go to the game tomorrow night, she would be working until midnight slaving over a hot stove making dozens of cupcakes.
But that was a part of the story she could handle. Working at her business was easy. She knew how to do that.
The handsome hockey-playing prince was another story. Gabby had no idea how to handle that. Would this story have a happily-ever-after or end with the prince moving on to a new princess that had a better castle and less pumpkin in her carriage?
Chapter Ten
The crowd surged against them the next night as Gabby and Justin arrived at the game and tried to find the right gate for their seats. Owen had only been able to get two tickets “on the glass”—whatever that meant—so the rest of her staff were sitting in other seats in the auditorium.
Whether it was a gift from Owen or not, her staff deserved this night out treat. They had busted their butts the past two days. Thanks to Owen’s new cupcake idea, they had sold close to fifty orders of the Summit Hat Trick special and had stayed in the bakery working until past midnight.
Before he’d left for practice the day before, Owen had autographed a hundred boxes. He’d explained that he would be busy with the team the rest of the day and had left Gabby with a toe-curling goodbye kiss and a promise to wave to her at the game the next night.
The whole staff had stayed, working through the day and they had baked and packaged close to two thousand cupcakes.
The same kid who had delivered the flowers and the dress stopped by the bakery mid-afternoon with a couple of pizzas, everyone’s tickets and two official Summit jerseys. Both read Bannister across the back, but one had a B in front of the name and the number eighty-four stitched on it and the other had an O and the number twenty-one.
A note explained that the second jersey of Bane’s was for Justin calling it a ‘brother’s jersey for her brother.’ The jersey with Owen’s number had a note attached that read “wanted you to have a REAL jersey.”
She wasn’t going to retire her Manning jersey, but she could add this one to her collection.
The gift of the pizza was a hit—the perfect thing to give her staff the much needed energy to keep baking. Leah’s friend, Beth, another student from the culinary school, had hung in there with them all day. Gabby had told her if business kept up, she’d consider hiring her on part-time.
Even Justin had stayed to help—and had stayed sober—which was another gift in itself. He’d mixed batter and joked around with the women, keeping the mood light and charming the two culinary students.
Gabby had been amazed at Owen’s perceptive thoughtfulness. How did this guy that she just met seem to know exactly what she needed? He seemed to show up when she needed him and knew just what to do to alleviate her problems. He seemed too good to be true. But Gabby had also seen a dark side to him.
Maybe not a pitch black kind of dark side, but definitely grey. When his guard was down, she glimpsed a desperate need to do the right thing and a feeling of always coming up short. She’d seen his sullen expression and brooding personality the first night she’d met him.
She didn’t believe that Owen always felt as self-assured and confident as he acted. Sure he was charming and could probably sell ice to an Eskimo, but he wasn’t arrogant. He was confident, yet still thoughtful.
It seemed funny to say it about a guy that was over six feet tall and built like a Mac truck, but Owen was sweet. And cute. Like crazy, panty-melting cute.
He was also a bit of a playboy, and if social media was any indication, there were a lot of women who weren’t as thrilled that he was paying so much attention to Gabby.
The pictures from the morning at the bakery had hit the internet by that afternoon, and Leah and Beth had read some of the posts and tweets to them as they’d sat down to eat pizza the night before.
A lot of the tweets were questioning how serious this new relationship was and how Gabby had finally hooked the elusive hockey player, but some were downright mean. She tried to laugh off the ‘haters’ as Leah and Beth called them, but it was hard to ignore the comments about her not being pretty enough, thin enough, classy enough to nab a guy like Owen.
She had no idea there were so many correlations between hockey and cupcakes.
“Just ignore those mean-girl posts,” Leah had told her. “They’re just jealous. Besides, you have a great figure and amazing hair, so just tell those bitches to ‘suck it’ and enjoy going out with Owen.”
Great advice. But not that easy to take. It was hard to ignore an entire pack of angry women who thought she wasn’t good enough to snag a Bannister brother. Hard not to scrutinize her outfit for the game, the way her hair curled, how much makeup she was wearing.
But now there was so much going on, she didn’t have time to worry about the way her jeans fit. She was packed in so tight with the rest of the crowd, no one even noticed her or her outfit.
An excited buzz filled the air, along with the scent of hot dogs, popcorn, and beer. Gabby had never been to a professional sporting event, and the sheer enormity of the crowd was overwhelming. She clung to Justin’s arm as he led her through the gate and down the aisle. Down to the very front row, directly in front of the glassed-in ice rink.
Ahh. “On the glass” made perfect sense now.
“These seats are awesome. We’re right behind the net.” Justin balanced two foil-wrapped hot-dogs, a bag of peanuts, and a couple of bottles of soda in his arms as he plopped into the seat.
“Is that good?” Gabby asked as she took the seat next to him. “That seems good. Right?”
Justin laughed and passed her a foil-wrapped package and one of the sodas. “Yes, it’s very good. These are some of the best seats in the house.”
She peeled back the foil and took a bite of the steaming hot dog. Her hands trembled from the excitement of the whole event. Shrugging out of her coat, she pushed it against the seat behind her, then shivered a little. The arena was cold, but the mass of bodies helped to warm it up and her nerves had her body temperature rising.
It wouldn’t matter if she was freezing, there was no way she was covering up the new Summit jersey. She didn’t care that it felt a little like high school, she loved wearing Owen’s name and his number on her back.
Her brother had spent the drive over filling her in on the basics of hockey, but his lessons hadn’t prepared her for the exhilaration of the crowd.