The Cupcake Diaries: Sweet On You (8 page)

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 two 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

A
NDI 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.”

“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.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll sweep,” Rachel replied, smiling as she hung pink and white streamers,
tissue paper cupcake replicas, and additional banners all over the shop.

“You know I want everything to be perfect for tonight’s grand opening. It’s critical
the counters are wiped, the floor is clean, everything is in place.”

“The shop has never been cleaner,” Rachel told her. “You’re just upset because you
saw Jake getting cozy with Pat.”

“They were
not
getting cozy,” Andi said, slapping the dish cloth against the back counter sink.

“And it’s making you irritable,” Kim said, leaning in so the customers nearby couldn’t
hear.

“I am not irritable,” Andi shot back in a fierce whisper. “Kitchen safety is rule
number one. Nothing left out on the counter, all unused chairs pushed into the tables,
nothing dropped on the floor.”

“Nothing that can cause a fire,” Rachel teased.

“Or any other kind of kitchen mishap,” Kim added. “We’ve heard it all before.”

A
S SOON AS
the two police officers seated in the dining area finished their cupcakes and left,
Guy emerged from the back room and stomped up to the counter. “First the shop is overrun
by kids, and now because you women advertised a ‘Cupcake Happy Hour,’ it’s becoming
a local hang-out for cops.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Andi demanded.

“You’re driving away my customers, that’s what’s wrong. They don’t like so many cops
about the place.”

“And why is that?” Andi countered. “Do your customers have something to hide? If it
weren’t for your esteemed clientele, we wouldn’t need the security camera.”

“None of my ‘clientele’ have ever done anything to hurt your precious cupcake shop,”
Guy said with a growl. “Who put a bug up your butt?”

Andi braced both her arms against the edge of the counter and pressed her lips together.
This was supposed to be the greatest night of their lives, the grand opening celebration
of their very own business. She’d dreamed of this moment, but nothing seemed to be
going as planned. Maybe they’d all been spending too much time together. They were
getting on each other’s nerves. Andi opened the Cupcake Diary and wrote:

Need to pay rent tomorrow, March 30th. (Landlord not available on 31st—Easter Sunday.)
Ask Jake if there’s enough money. Then save for a vacation.