Making Whoopie

by Erin Nicholas

  He snorted. “Hey, I’m the Thomas Edison of relationships.”

  Josie frowned. “What? Thomas Edison? The guy who invented the light bulb?”

  Cam nodded. “Sure. You’ve never heard his famous quote about failure?”

  “No.”

  “Well, this isn’t exact, but it goes something like this, I didn’t fail. I just found ten thousand ways not to make a light bulb.”

  Josie laughed. “So you’re not failing at relationships, you’re just finding ten thousand ways that they won’t work.”

  “Something like that.” He was quiet for a moment, then added, “Just take it from a guy who had it right and let it go. Once you’ve had the real thing, you’ll never be able to convince yourself that anything else is good enough.”

  Wow. Josie stared at him for several beats. Then she nodded. “Okay.”

  Why wouldn’t it be?

  Cam had asked her an honest question. Why wouldn’t showing Grant about love and marriage be easy? If Grant had gotten her rethinking everything in her life so easily, maybe she could get him rethinking some things in his.

  Like the idea that a woman was better off without a man.

  Sure, there were definitely some men that women were better off without. All women. And a woman definitely needed to be her own person.

  But she knew, firsthand, that people could have healthy, strong, happy marriages while each person maintained their own identity and interests. She’d seen it right in front of her all her life.

  Grant hadn’t.

  That’s all he needed—someone to show him something he just hadn’t seen before.

  Just like he’d shown her how her baking could make people feel.

  “Yeah, okay,” she finally said. “I can show him about love and romance and marriage.”

  “Great.” Cam grinned. “You can still contest the divorce. I know the attorney pretty well. Maybe the papers will accidentally fall into the shredder or something.”

  She shook her head. “No. I still want the divorce.”

  “Oh?” Cam looked confused.

  “Yeah. I think I need to date my ex-husband for a while.”

  19

  “Where the fuck is Cam?” Grant roared as he stomped into Cam’s office and found it empty.

  Piper wasn’t at her desk either.

  Almost no one was in their offices or at their desks. It was fucking early in the morning. But Cam wasn’t at Zoe and Aiden’s house, where he was staying, either, and Grant had no idea where else he would be.

  “Probably at Cores and Catnip.”

  Grant swung around at the sound of Whitney’s voice. “At what and what?”

  She smiled and stepped into the office. “Cores and Catnip. It’s the yoga studio downtown. Cores as in apple cores and… body cores.” She made a circle with her hand over her lower stomach.

  “And catnip?” Grant asked.

  “It’s also a cat café. And adoption center. Though you have to pass a major test, including a home visit, before Paige will let you adopt one, and not many people make it through her screening. So it’s really just her way of collecting cats without people thinking she’s crazy. Though a lot of people think that anyway.”

  “Who’s Paige?” Grant asked. Yoga and cats? What was going on?

  Whitney crossed her arms and tilted her head. “Your sister-in-law. Well, one of them.”

  Ah. Josie’s sister. Damn. Why did he feel sad thinking about not being related by marriage to a woman he had never even met? “Well, as of about an hour ago, Paige is my ex-sister-in-law.”

  Whitney blew out a breath. “I was afraid you were going to do that.”

  He was still feeling pretty shitty about everything. Like Jocelyn turning down the Hot Cakes deal and the guaranteed money. If she was financially stable, he could date her. And eventually propose. Again. But if not… he’d likely end up proposing again anyway and then just wondering if he was going against everything he thought he believed in for the rest of his life. Just something little like that.

  “It was the agreement,” he said. “We got married for the insurance. We need to start fresh.”

  It sounded stupid even to his own ears.

  “That’s really stupid,” Whitney said. She moved to sit on the edge of Cam’s desk, facing Grant.

  He blew out a breath. “I know. But she also turned down the agreement with Hot Cakes. She’s not making our new cake. So she’s not going to have that extra money coming in. I don’t know if I can leave her alone, but I don’t know if I can stay with her not knowing if it’s just about money.”

  Whitney didn’t seem surprised to hear Jocelyn had turned down the offer. She crossed her legs and braced her hands on the desk, leaning forward. “Look, Grant, take it from someone who majorly fucked up the best relationship in her entire life. Go to Josie, tell her you love her, and beg her to rip those papers up.”

  “You and Cam?” he asked.

  “And hey, I was eighteen. I have youth stupidity as an excuse. You don’t. And don’t try to change the subject,” she said with a frown. “This is about your fuckup.”

  “Jocelyn deserves to be her own woman, to know that she doesn’t need me.”

  Whitney laughed. “What makes you think she thinks she needs you?”

  He scowled. “She needed me for the insurance.”

  “Was that her idea? Did she propose to you? Beg you to let her use your insurance temporarily in a mini-pseudo insurance fraud scheme?”

  His scowl deepened. “No.”

  “So it was your idea? You proposed?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hmm. And when you brought the divorce papers over, did she cry and beg you to rethink it? Did she protest? Did she hesitate to sign them?” Whitney asked.

  Grant sighed. She hadn’t. In fact, he would have liked to see a little more reluctance from her. “No.”

  “Did she ever ask you for your pin number for your bank account?”

  “No.”

  “Have you checked your wallet? Are any of your credit cards missing?”

  He rolled his eyes. “No.”

  “Did she give you any indication that she wants to move to Chicago and jet around the world on your private plane and have you drape her in diamonds?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  Whitney lifted a brow. “Then what the hell are you talking about, Grant? What, exactly, do you have that Josie needs? She’d been living a very happy life here in Appleby surrounded by a town full of people who love her. She spends her days with her best friend, surrounded by cupcakes, for God’s sake. She’s got a great house that she has no intention of ever leaving.” Whitney shrugged. “Seems very egotistical of you, frankly, to assume that she needs you. As if she’s been sitting around, just waiting for you to show up and ride her off into the sunset when really, her favorite sunsets are right here, and she’s already had them every night for twenty-five years.”

  Grant just stared at Whitney. He felt his breath sawing in and out. He felt his heart thudding in his chest. He felt his blood rushing.

  Those were all really good points.

  “She needed to have her gall bladder taken out,” he finally said. “She needed to pay for that.”

  Whitney nodded and slid off the desk. “And if she hadn’t been able to figure out payments or something, this town would have held a chili-feed fundraiser, or hell, her friends would have gone door to door and easily collected enough money from the town to cover that.” Whitney smoothed her hands down the sides of her skirt and met his gaze. “I would have made an anonymous donation that would have covered the whole bill. Or Aiden would have. Or we both would have, and she would have been able to tuck a bunch of money under her mattress for a rainy day if she wanted to. But she wouldn’t have wanted to do that. She probably would have donated the excess to something else here in town.”

  Whitney stepped closer to him, her expression sincere, and a touch sympathetic. “Jocelyn isn’t afraid of the future
or worried about her bank account. She doesn’t need you to take care of her, Grant. She’s always been taken care of when she needed it because she takes care of the rest of us when we need it. That’s how it works around here. We’re maybe not all completely independent, but I personally think that’s really nice that we lean on each other.”

  He took a deep breath. That was nice. He’d never been a part of something like that.

  “So,” Whitney went on, “that means you need to give her something she doesn’t already have that she wants.” She stepped around him and started for the door. “And by the way, I don’t mean spreadsheets or a budget or an investment portfolio.”

  “Right.” He nodded. But he felt his mouth curving. “Got it.”

  He glanced toward the desk as a light flashed in his peripheral vision. Whitney had left her phone lying there. He stepped over to retrieve it.

  And noticed the flash had been a new text message from Cam. It said simply thanks.

  Cam and Whitney were texting? Nice and polite things?

  Grant couldn’t help it. He read the messages just above the thanks.

  Cam: Hey, can you keep Grant busy at the office today? Josie needs some space. She’s got a plan hatching.

  Whitney: Are you helping with the plan?

  Cam: Kind of. More cheering her on.

  Whitney: He’s definitely in love with her.

  Cam: I know. She’s got this.

  Whitney: Okay. I’ll do what I can.

  Cam: Thanks.

  Cam and Whitney were conspiring together to get him and Jocelyn back together? And Jocelyn had a plan?

  He let all of that sink it.

  Whitney stopped in the doorway and glanced back. “Oh, and don’t even think about rushing out of here to go be romantic or anything.”

  “No?” he asked, laying her phone back on the desk. Maybe Grant could help nudge Whitney and Cam together too. She would have to come back in here later to find it. She might run into Cam then, and they could rehash their matchmaking.

  “No,” Whitney said. “I need you to stay here in the office.”

  Grant bit back a grin.

  “We need to figure out what we’re going to do about this new snack cake now that Josie turned us down,” Whitney said. She suddenly froze. Then groaned. “Oh no.”

  “What?”

  “I suppose this means that crazy contest is back on?”

  Grant laughed lightly. “Yeah. I guess so.”

  “Ugh.” She looked at him. “Then you’re definitely staying here and helping me go over this with Ollie. I clearly don’t have enough willpower to say no to pony rides.”

  “But pony rides at a cake tasting contest and bachelor auction are strange, right?”

  “They are,” she said. “But think of the kids who will be there with their parents. Their impression of the new Hot Cakes will be fun and laughter and good times. A return to the simple things of childhood, like when you first tasted a Fudgie Fritter. It will take their parents and grandparents back too. We can have an old-fashioned lemonade stand set up, and maybe we can do some carnival games like a ring toss or a dunk tank.” Her eyes got wide. “Oh, we should totally put the bachelors up in a dunk tank!”

  “Okay, I will definitely be sitting in on the meeting with you and Ollie,” Grant interrupted.

  Whitney took a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I feel like I’ve got a split personality thing going on. And Ollie is the little devil sitting on my shoulder, telling me how much fun this will all be.”

  “Who’s the angel on your other shoulder?”

  “Exactly. I don’t have one. That’s going to be you.”

  This was good. This would keep him occupied while he gave Jocelyn some space. He wanted to go to her, but he was willing to let her figure out whatever her plan was. And he needed a little time to come up with a plan of his own. A plan to romance his ex-wife. The most romance-loving person he’d ever met, when he’d never really romanced anyone ever before. No pressure.

  Still, he was grinning as he followed Whitney out of Cam’s office.

  He couldn’t wait to see Jocelyn’s plan. He hoped it included whoopie pies.

  “Whoopie pies, huh?”

  Josie nodded, watching her best friend’s face carefully. “Whoopie pies. All flavors. I’m even going to play with the flavors of the cream filling.”

  Zoe had arrived about thirty minutes ago. They were in Jocelyn’s kitchen, her center island covered with baked goods. None of them things that they offered at Buttered Up.

  It was just after closing. Paige had been covering her shift all day, and Josie had called Maggie about two hours ago and asked if she could go help close up and do tomorrow’s prep. Maggie had been happy to. When she’d asked if everything was okay, Josie had simply said, “I hope it will be soon.” To which Maggie had replied simply, “Then I hope so too.”

  Josie was realizing that she had a lot of people who really loved her and really did want her to just be happy. She knew Zoe was one of those.

  She’d debated over having Jane join them. Or even Aiden. Or yes, Grant. Or all of the above. But in the end, she’d realized this was between her and her lifelong best friend. And boss.

  “I love whoopie pies,” Zoe said.

  It was clear from her expression and tone that she was still stunned by all of this. Jocelyn had come clean about the baking she’d been doing on the side. She’d also confessed that she wanted to keep doing it and expand. She wanted to do the naughty cupcakes, the healthy muffins, everything.

  Josie handed her one of the whoopie pies. It was a traditional chocolate with a white cream filling.

  Zoe took it, looked at it for a long moment as if it held all the answers, then bit into it. Josie held her breath.

  Zoe chewed and swallowed. Then took a deep breath. Then nodded. “Amazing. Of course.”

  Josie felt the breath whoosh out of her lungs. “You think so?”

  Zoe smiled and shook her head, setting the whoopie pie down on the plate. She brushed her hands together. “Of course I think so. You’re amazing. You are an extremely talented baker and…” She sighed. “I know everyone knows that you’re behind the awesome decorating, but yeah, they probably don’t realize how awesome you are at the baking part because Buttered Up doesn’t give you a lot of chance to really show that off.”

  She looked sad for a moment, then she took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

  Josie frowned. “For?”

  “Not letting you do more. Not even realizing all of what was going on with you.”

  Josie was shaking her head before Zoe even finished speaking. “I was purposefully keeping all of this from you, Zoe. You couldn’t have known.”

  Zoe nodded but didn’t say anything.

  “Listen,” Josie said, “I love working with you. I’m not looking for something else or something instead. I just want to get a little creative and to have some fun on my own too.”

  Zoe took a few pieces of the cereal mix and tossed them into her mouth. She chewed, then smiled. “This is so you. Sweet and salty, colorful, and unique. Something to make a normal movie night on the couch or a game night around the table or an afternoon at the ball field a little different and fun.

  Josie’s breath caught in her throat. Okay, it was pink cereal mix. It was cereal pieces covered in white chocolate and strawberry powder and mixed with mini pretzels, cashews, and pink and white M&M’s. It was silly to get choked up over someone complimenting that.

  But it wasn’t the cereal mix. It was how Zoe described how it made her feel. That it made her smile. And that it was Zoe.

  Josie swallowed, her eyes watery.

  Zoe noticed. She looked worried. “Are you okay?”

  Josie sniffed and nodded. “Yeah. I just… I like making stuff that makes people happy.”

  Zoe gave her an affectionate smile and moved around the corner of the island to pull her into a hug. “I know.” She squeezed and then let go. �
�I love you so much for that. I think because it’s always been who you are, and I’ve known you forever. I never really thought about how you don’t get to truly shine at the bakery. I know that you love seeing people light up about the stuff you decorate. It never occurred to me that you might want to do even more.” She grimaced. “I’m a terrible friend.”

  “No.” Josie shook her head. “I never said anything.”

  “Well, we can definitely do this at the bakery. We can do the whoopie pies and even make a case—half a case—for healthy stuff. We can have a secret menu for the naughty stuff and the stuff for potlucks and class treats and school so that people can still pass them off as their own if they want to and—”

  “Zoe.”

  Zoe stopped and look at her. “Yeah?”

  “I… appreciate that, but I want to do this on my own.”

  Zoe was quiet for a long moment. And then another. Taking that in and processing it.

  “I’ll make you a partner,” Zoe said. “Watching Aiden and the guys together, I realize how amazing they each are on their own but how much more they are together as a team. I need you. We are an amazing team too.”

  Josie felt her heart flip. She smiled. “That’s really nice. And a month ago I would have taken you up on that. But…” She looked around her kitchen again. “I’m ready to be on my own a little.” Josie took her friend’s hand. “I don’t want to leave the bakery, but I might want to eventually just do the big decorating jobs. You don’t need me to be doing the simple chocolate chip cookies and things like that. You can hire someone else for that. But I’ll come in and do the bigger, more elaborate projects that I love. And then I can do this”—she looked at everything on the center island—“on my own.”

  Josie met Zoe’s eyes. “I won’t do anything the bakery already does. I don’t want this to be a situation like Letty and Didi. I would never let that happen,” she said, referring to Zoe’s grandmother, Letty, and her best friend, Didi, who couldn’t come to an agreement about how to run the bakery and it ended their friendship… and started a family feud that lasted until Zoe and Aiden fell in love.

  “Hot Cakes—well, Grant, and Cam, and Whitney—offered me a chance to develop a new cake for them.”