by Ciara Knight
“Girlfriend?”
“If I have to put a label on it.” He tilted the screen higher and entered his code.
“Have you ever thought that she might not want to move out there?” Lori glanced toward the counter, where Mary-Beth headed their way.
“Please, of course she’ll want to go. I mean, it’s her big chance. She even said it was time for her to give up her past and work toward her future.”
“And you think that future will be you and her in LA?”
“Sure, why not?” He offered his best sexy grin. “I mean, of course she’ll want to be with me.” He winked, but her words had knocked an idea loose that rattled around his brain. What if he was wrong? What if she didn’t want to go to Los Angeles?
Mary-Beth placed their mugs on the tabletop and wiped her hands on her dish towel. “You know, I have to thank you both. I haven’t seen Carissa this happy in years. This project is good for her.”
“Yes, the project is good for her,” Lori said with extra emphasis on the word project.
“And you, Mr. Lancaster. You’ve been good for our Carissa. I heard even Davey had some kind words to say about you last night.”
A cell phone rang from behind the counter.
“Excuse me, please.”
She rushed off, and they both began to work for a few minutes until Lori pulled out her cell phone.
“I guess I should get this over with. Maybe going to work for Dad won’t be so bad after all. He is getting older, and I have been missing him recently.” Lori paused by his side. “You know, unless you’ve changed your mind.”
“Why would I do that? I mean, I care about Knox, but I’m done with his drama. I’m ready for a real gig on a real set.”
“I’m not talking about the job.”
Lori sauntered off and left him contemplating his options, but in the end, he only knew one thing. He’d waited a long time for this job opportunity, but he’d waited even longer for a woman like Carissa. No matter what, he’d figure out how to get her to go to Los Angeles with him. Good thing he had a little more time before Knox showed up and stirred more drama up around them. That was his specialty. Drama.
“Hey, man. Thought I’d drop in to check on things.” Knox’s voice crashed into him like a tank.
Drew turned to discover Knox with Jacqueline Ramor on his arm.
His heart sank with worry, his insides tightened and burned, churned, and ignited panic. Panic that if she had five minutes, she’d convince him to put Carissa out and Jacqueline in for the first segment. And that would mean Carissa wouldn’t get her time to shine, which would mean she wouldn’t have the fame needed to move to Los Angeles.
Nope. This wasn’t happening. He’d make sure Jacqueline didn’t steal anything else from Carissa. Not while he was around and could stop it.
The snowfall had slowed, but the temperature had dropped to the teens. Carissa stepped inside the warm space of wooden, glass, and iron tables, smelling the aroma of Sugar Maple and listening to the sound of the milk frother squealing. Not loud enough to cover the sound of Jacqueline’s laughter, though. A sound that sent a North Pole chill down her spine.
A man with a chiseled jaw sat with his arms around her, Drew on her other side. They all looked cozy, like a Friends episode in the cafe. So cozy that they didn’t even notice Carissa had entered the coffee shop. The man with them, who she assumed was Knox, smacked his palm to the table. “You are the one. Be ready on Friday.”
Carissa’s chest throbbed, and her mouth went dry. She clutched the collar of her coat tight and shuffled backward, running into Mayor Horton at the door. The café felt like a broken tilt-a-whirl in a horror film. “Sorry. I…I need to go.” Her heart smacked, smashed, and splintered against her lungs. She flew out the door and into the center of town, attempting to catch her breath.
Cold, bitter air penetrated her lungs. She released a white puff, but the oxygen still felt trapped in her lungs. Mayor Horton appeared at her side, rubbing small circles on Carissa’s back with her hand. “I know it looks bad, but we don’t know.”
She pulled another breath, feeling like she was playing tug-of-war with the air. “We do know. Jacqueline strikes again.” The sting on her skin turned to heat. She forced her lungs to cooperate with one long, deep breath. Once she managed to gain her footing on the icy ground beneath her, she glanced over her shoulder, catching Jacqueline staring at her out the front window. The two men sandwiching her didn’t follow her gaze. Drew stared at Knox, whose eyes were locked on his target.
“Listen, you don’t have to do this. I can make sure that you’re no longer a part of this. I owe you an apology. I thought this would help mend things between you, but it did the opposite. You look more broken now than you did ten years ago.” Ms. Horton gripped her arm. “Please forgive me.”
Carissa forced her gaze away from the scene in the café and faced Ms. Horton. That’s when she knew the truth. “No, you were right. I do need this.”
The wind sliced between them, sending their hair into a tizzy.
Ms. Horton blinked and shook her head. “I thought…”
Carissa chuckled. Her memory slid back to the day Jacqueline told her that she’d stolen her man and they were leaving town. At that moment, she’d backed away from the fight. A fight she didn’t want to have. Not for Mark. “Perhaps Jackie did do me a favor all those years ago, but it was easier to hate her than admit that I’d made a mess of my life.” She straightened her coat and gave a single nod. “Not this time.”
Ms. Horton swung her fist in front of her body, giving a mock punch. “Good for you. Go fight for Drew.”
“No, Drew will have to make his own choice. I’m going to fight for my bakery. I’m going to fight for my friends. I’m going to fight for you, the woman who is more like a mother to me than my own.”
Tears formed in the corner of Ms. Horton’s eyes. “You know I love you. All you girls are like the daughters I never had.”
“I know. It’s time for me to recover from what happened and live my life the way I want to, and I want to be a successful baker.”
“But you hate being in the light. You despise attention. How will you handle all the publicity? I don’t want to see you unhappy.”
Carissa lifted her chin. “I never wanted to be in the light because I feared I’d outshine Jackie. Even after she ran away with my fiancé, I still hoped my childhood friend and I could make things work. I’ve taken a back seat my entire life, but not any longer. My mother was wrong. I am meant for bigger and better things than being a wife.” She spun on her heels and headed toward her bakery. “Watch out, world. Here comes the real Carissa Donahue.”
“It’s about time!” Ms. Horton hollered after her.
There wasn’t time to mourn over the loss of a man. It was time to bake, and that’s what she did best. So she donned her apron, locked the front door so she wouldn’t be disturbed, and worked and worked and worked. Ten amazing desserts rested in the display case by late afternoon, and it was time to unlock her door and invite the townspeople to give their honest opinion.
The smell of fresh pumpkin, maple, and cinnamon filled the room. It was a salve to her heartache.
She texted everyone she knew with a cute little graphic she’d created on her phone app with an invitation for free desserts. That should get some people moving. Even the knitting circle, the retirement home, the recreation office… She even texted Jackie, Drew, and Lori. This was business.
No, this was war. And she was armed with the rapid-fire delicious array of treats that would bring any combatant to their knees, including her prize mini cupcake with sparkling sugar adorned with an espresso bean on top, which housed an unexpected surprise of dark chocolate ganache inside.
She glanced over at the poinsettia leaf in the center of a cake bite with the Christmas tree dot in the middle and smiled. That would be added to her holiday month menu. For some reason, her creative brain hit all the major holidays: Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, St. Patri
ck’s Day, and more. When she ran out of holidays, she moved to seasons.
The front door flew open. “Well, that was fast.” She turned with a bright, welcoming smile and was hit with a Jackie buzz kill shot of glowering attitude.
“This is pointless. What’re you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that it’s time for me to stop holding back.”
Jackie slammed the door behind her, causing the china plates to rattle. “Holding back?” Her gaze locked on to the display case. “You’re insane.”
Carissa untied her apron and plopped it down on the register. “Actually, I’m the most sane I’ve ever been. I see everything clearly now.”
The room remained silent, yet she could almost hear the racing thoughts in Jacqueline’s head the way her eyes did a Davey jig around the room before coming to an abrupt halt on the three-tier cake with ivy cascading down the side like Rapunzel’s hair. Her face softened, not the kind where everything looks relaxed and happy, but more forced like a child trying to behave to get what they want.
She removed her gloves as if to bide time to consider her words carefully. Carissa remained leaning against the back cabinets, allowing her space to process.
“Listen, this is all lovely. We all know you’re a talented baker, but this is more than that. We both know that you’ll fall apart once that camera’s here.”
Carissa folded her hands in front of her. “No. I’ve never fallen apart because I didn’t like the attention.”
Jacqueline stomped her spiked-heel shoes. “You hate attention.”
“True, but I can handle it. I chose not to be in the spotlight because that was what you wanted.” She concentrated on her calm tone, knowing that people would arrive shortly. Yet, she was worried if she didn’t say this now that she’d never say it. “I chose to take a back seat because our friendship meant so much to me. You were the sister I never had. The one that promised to be my forever family. Even when you tried to ruin my life because you couldn’t take the fact that I was marrying the high school star and that I was getting all the attention in town, I didn’t want to fight you. I don’t wish to fight you now, but I will.”
Jackie huffed. “I can handle a little competition. And that’s what you think? That I stole Mark because I was jealous? I wasn’t. And I didn’t steal him. News flash… He came to me. He told me he was making a huge mistake and he wanted to leave. He ran away, and I went after him.”
“What are you talking about?” Carissa heard the tremble in her voice. She swallowed and forced her words to be slow and controlled. “Listen, you can try to twist this any way you want, but the fact is that you left with my fiancé. And now, you’re attempting to use your feminine tactics to win Drew over. He’s interested in me, not you. And I’m the one who will be featured in the first segment. Not you. No matter how much you coo and flip your hair.”
Jackie’s lip twitched. She took two heel-clicking, echoing steps toward Carissa. “And that’s why I never attempted to explain. You can get off your high and mighty judgmental horse or not. I don’t care. But I’ll be the one featured in this segment. I’ve held back long enough, trying to figure out how to mend the fences between us, but you divorced me a long time ago. Just like my parents divorced, just like this town divorced me. I’m tired of living where I’m not wanted. I need this segment to spin-off my clothing line, and I intend on securing my spot. So take a back seat, not-so-forever sister.”
The room heated to sweltering. Carissa tugged at her sweater’s neckline, trying to breathe. That was it. Jackie had thrown down her faux diamond–studded glove, and Carissa picked it up. She matched Jackie’s two taps forward with her two comfy boat slides. “No. You won’t.”
“You better step aside, because if not, I’ll push you aside,” Jacqueline said with venom in her voice.
“Try it.” Carissa dared one more step, ready for the flour throwing, hair pulling, round of childish smackdown they’d been holding off for too long.
“It’s a bet,” Jackie said flatly.
Carissa tilted her head, hunting for the answer to the question she hadn’t asked.
“Drew and you. He made a bet with Lori that he could get you to go out with him. He isn’t into you at all, so he’ll be easy to steal.”
Carissa balled her fists at her side, wishing she was in one of those TV women’s wrestling rings instead of being a southern girl in a bake shop. “You’re lying.”
The front door opened, and a crowd flooded inside.
“Ask him.”
Carissa forced herself to shove her desperate muddy words into the corners of her Jackie compartment, tucked in the back of her brain.
Ms. Gina and Mrs. Malter shuffled in with Thelma.
“Welcome. Thanks for coming.” Carissa grabbed two china plates. “Please, have a seat, and I’ll put together tasting plates for you. Be brutally honest. I need real input.”
Ms. Gina gave her the you-know-I-will look.
“Here’s your chance,” Jackie said, pointing to the door.
Drew and the man she assumed was Knox entered. Jackie took the plates from Carissa’s hand and shoved her forward. She continued, tucking her hair behind her ear and straightening her sweater. “Hello, gentlemen. Welcome to Sugar and Soul Bakery. Please, have a seat and I’ll get a sampling for you.”
Drew reached for her, but she recoiled. “I’ll be right back.”
She fled to the display case and hid behind the three-layer cake. Jackie scowled down at her.
“As I suspected, like always, you don’t want to know the truth. You only want to be a victim.” Jackie plopped a spoonful of spring tartlet that looked like a blob of algae.
“Move. I’ll do that, and I’ll serve them. Don’t even try to sabotage me.” Carissa carefully constructed a tasting plate that would impress world-famous chef Gordon Ramsay and sauntered over to Drew. “Here you go, gentlemen.”
Drew snagged a plate and slid it toward Knox. “You’re going to taste the most delicious, amazing deserts.”
Knox flipped his hair and studied the plate. “None of this fits our theme.”
“Theme?” Carissa asked.
“Yes. Fall. We’re going to create a fall set in the square, and none of these desserts look like they’d fit our theme. Funny, you’d think that someone from a town called Sugar Maple would make a dessert that represented their mascot.” Knox nudged the plate away and brushed past her. “I’m sure they’re delicious.”
Carissa forced her disappointment not to show. “I’ll have something to you in the morning, Mr. Brevard.”
Drew patted the chair at his side. “I only found out about the theme earlier or I would’ve told you. Sit. We need to talk.”
“No.” Carissa retrieved the plate. “I mean, I need to focus on this for now.”
“Don’t let Knox get you down. He isn’t the most delicate person. That’s probably why we’ve been friends for so long.”
“I see.” Carissa let out a long breath. “Listen, this might sound crazy, and I apologize for even asking this.” She nudged the fork so it wouldn’t fall from the plate and examined the dark espresso bean.
“Ask me anything.” Drew set his fork down.
“It’s silly, but Jackie said that you made a bet with Lori to take me out on a date.” She waited for his laughter, but it didn’t come. That’s when she saw it, the fear in his eyes. Drew Lancaster had many expressions, but fear hadn’t been one of them until now. Not even when he’d faced Davey that first day he’d arrived in town.
“It’s true.” Drew folded his napkin and set it down on the table. “Please, you need to understand that it was a joke.”
“Yes, I get that now.” Carissa snagged his plate and headed for the kitchen. She’d been the joke.
Drew raced after her, catching her at the door to the kitchen. “Please, let me explain. It was a bet to get me out of this job. Out of this town.”
“Good to know you don’t like it here. I’m a joke and you hate my town. Got
it.” Carissa had to get away from him before the tears welling up inside escaped.
“That’s not what I mean.” Drew ran a hand through his hair and then opened his mouth again.
“Mr. Lancaster. It doesn’t matter what you mean. All that matters is that I produce the most memorable and beautiful dessert possible. That’s what this is all about, right? How to make something look good, even if it’s sour inside.”
Chapter Twenty
Drew couldn’t focus on business for the first time in his life. He’d been so stupid, making that silly bet with Lori. Heck, he never thought it was serious.
He abandoned the bitter coffee he’d made and decided to try to find Carissa to explain one more time. Since she’d shut the doors to her bakery with a note out front—Busy baking for the Knox show. See you soon.—she hadn’t answered the door.
First he’d find Carissa, and then he’d find Knox, his idiotic friend who was being side railed again by a pretty smile. That woman had convinced him that everything should be all about her in a matter of minutes.
Drew rubbed his forehead, trying to alleviate the dull ache that threatened to pound some much-needed sense into him at any moment. How’d his world spin out of control so quickly?
He’d always liked his office area to be peaceful and quiet, but this morning without the boisterous laughter of the elders and no sign of anyone on the street, he’d never felt so alone. He rubbed his chest to free the tightness he hadn’t felt since leaving his brothers in arms when his enlistment was up and he knew he wanted to go to college.
He closed the door behind him, no longer feeling weird about not locking it, and headed Maple Grounds. The bitterness of the wind penetrated his coat, and droplets of icy rain slipped from his hair, down the back of his neck and the length of his spine.
The warmth of the coffee shop took the shivers away, but the expectant eyes of the townspeople weighed him down. Not only would he fail Carissa but everyone who mattered to her if he didn’t fix this mess. Knox sat in the corner with Lori, and to his relief there was no sign of Jacqueline. Good. Maybe he could convince his friend that Carissa would come through and that she was the right one for the job.