Sugar and Iced (Cupcake Bakery Mystery) (4 page)

“I was just giving the girls a demonstration of the pageant winner’s perspective,” Cici said to Mariel with a frown. “There is certainly no need for you to be nasty.”

“There is every need,” Mariel said. “You know how much I have riding on this pageant, and I am not going to let you or some ridiculous cupcake bakers muck it up.”

With that, she spun on her spiky heel and stormed toward the stage. She had a few choice words for the man working on the set and then she stomped away, fanning herself with one hand as she went.

“Sorry about that. She always was a bit high-strung,” Cici said. “She thought she would walk into an instant career in showbiz after the pageant, but she failed as a model and a singer and an actress and she squandered her scholarship, dropping out before graduation. She was not one of our better picks.”

“But she’s judging now,” Angie said. “She must be happy about that.”

“Did that look happy to you?” Cici asked as she put the tiara back into its box. “She’s trying to launch her own nail polish line, but honestly, the competition is fierce and she never really had the star power one needs to launch a brand of one’s own.”

“So, she’s counting on the pageant to give her business a boost?” Mel asked. The irony that she was here doing the same thing was not lost on her.

“Exactly,” Cici said. “In her favor, she’s hired some real talent. Ji Lily, who is the beauty consultant for the pageant, is designing the nail polish. Ji is an amazingly talented young woman. She is just getting her own cosmetics company off the ground and is hoping that the pageant and working with Mariel will give her business some buzz. I worry that Mariel will be too much of a diva for her to handle.”

Given that Mariel had just performed a hostile diva showcase all her own, Mel had a feeling Cici was right to be worried. She made a mental note to avoid all contact with Mariel Mars if at all possible.

Angie and Mel spent the next half hour talking about Cici’s expectation of their participation in the pageant. It was a three-day event that would culminate in a splashy pageant finale. Mel tried to picture Lupe of the green bangs competing against girls who had probably been racking up pageant trophies since they were toddlers. She did not feel good about it.

When they arrived back at the bakery, Tate had the jukebox cranking AC/DC as the after-school crowd drifted in, ordered their cupcakes, and then headed back out into the sunny day while Marty swept the floor up after them.

“How did it go?” Tate asked. He glanced between them as if trying to get a read on the situation.

“It was amazing,” Angie gushed. “Cici let us try on the tiara. It was totally cool.”

Tate raised his eyebrows and glanced at Mel. “You wore the tiara?”

She refused to answer, which didn’t stop Angie from oversharing. “And we walked the catwalk.”

“You didn’t!” Marty said in a feigned girly voice.

“Did, too,” Angie said, and she struck a pose and began to walk across the bakery while humming the Miss America theme.

“‘I haven’t seen a walk like that since
Jurassic Park
,’” Marty teased.

“
Miss Congeniality
,” Mel said, and she slapped Marty on the back.

Angie stuck her tongue out at them. Then she grinned and said, “I don’t care what you say, Melanie Cooper, it was fun and you can’t deny it.”

“I will admit that I can see the appeal,” Mel conceded. “But that’s it.”

Marty made clucking sounds and Tate grinned as if he knew what Mel wasn’t saying. That it was way more fun than she had anticipated and she wasn’t about to admit it.

The front door swung open and Oz came hurrying in, looking panicked.

“Is she here yet?” he asked.

“Who?” Marty asked. “Miss America? Yeah, we’re full
up.” Then he wheezed at his own joke.

Mel and Angie both gave him sour looks, which only made him laugh more, and Tate looked hard-pressed to hide his smile as well.

“No, I’m looking for Lupe,” Oz said. “She texted me from the salon and said she was on her way over here. She sounded freaked out.”

“How does a text sound freaked out?” Tate asked.

“It was all in caps,” Oz said.

“But that could be good, right?” Angie asked.

“I suppose, if Lupe were the type to gush about stuff, but she’s not,” he said.

“Yeah, I really can’t see her doing the girly-girl ‘squeee,’” Angie said. “She’s too cool for that.”

Just then the door burst open and in strode Joyce and Ginny. They were both looking newly coifed, waxed, and buffed, so Mel figured they’d taken some time at the salon for themselves as well.

“Drumroll, please,” Joyce announced.

They all stood and stared until Joyce stamped her foot, and Marty and Tate began to lightly drum their fingers on the top of the glass display counter.

“Ladies and gentlemen.” Joyce addressed the room. “I am pleased to present the darling—”

“The delightful—” Ginny added.

“The debutante—” Joyce said.

“Guadalupe Guzman,” Joyce and Ginny said together. They held out their hands and a beautiful young woman walked through the open door of the bakery.

Mel gaped at her. Gone were the green bangs, the voluminous black T-shirts, and baggie black jeans. In their place was a head of shiny black hair that hung like silk, framing a delicate face with just a hint of makeup on it. The young woman stood uncertainly on stylish black pumps, wearing a knee-length pewter chemise with a narrow black belt.

“Lupe?” Oz asked. He came around the counter and stood staring openmouthed at his former skateboard buddy. “What happened to you?”

Lupe smiled at him and asked, “‘Why? Claire did it . . . What’s wrong?’”

“What?” Joyce asked. “What is she talking about? Who is Claire? We did this to her, not some Claire. Well, I suppose Christine did help.”

Tate moved to stand between Angie and Mel, and he draped an arm around each of them. They all watched Oz.

“‘Nothing’s wrong . . . it’s just so different, you know? I can see your face.’” Oz said.

Oz and Lupe stared at each other for a heartbeat and then Lupe punched him in the shoulder—hard.

“
The Breakfast Club
,” she said. She pointed both index fingers at Oz and they laughed.

Tate made a sniffing noise and then pretended to wipe tears from his eyes. “I’m so proud of our second string.”

Mel laughed. It was good to see Oz and Lupe teasing each other with movie quotes. It reminded her of her, Tate, and Angie when they were the same age.

“What the hell are they talking about?” Ginny asked. She took a swig off of her water bottle and stared at everyone as if they were lunatics who’d escaped their rubber rooms in the asylum.

“Movie quotes,” Joyce said. “We’re going to have to deprogram her before the pageant.”

“Good grief, yes,” Ginny agreed. “It starts in a couple of days. Should we take her to my doctor for some electroshock therapy?”

“Not necessary,” Oz said. Looking alarmed, he stepped between Lupe and Ginny. “She only jokes like that with me. I promise.”

Lupe gave him a surprised glance and Mel wondered if it was the first time Oz had made such a chivalrous gesture for her. She glanced between the two teens. She doubted Oz had ever seen Lupe looking so feminine. This could get really interesting.

The door to the bakery opened again, and Mel put on her “greet the customer” smile. It wobbled only for a moment when Joe DeLaura strode into the room.

Mel’s heart did the same ridiculous flip-flop thing it
always did when Joe DeLaura entered her orbit. He was tall with dark wavy hair, warm chocolate brown eyes, a square jaw, and a lean but solid build. Mel had been crushing on him since she was twelve and he was sixteen.

It took him twenty years to notice her
that
way, but to her delight he had finally asked her out and they’d spent most of the past year and a half dating. Then he had asked her to marry him and Mel had gotten a severe case of the wiggins.

Although she loved Joe, she wasn’t sure she was ready for marriage. He tried to understand but it had caused a rift between them. Of course, her mother, who adored Joe, had taken his side.

“Dear Joe,” Joyce cried. She crossed the room and hugged him hard. “How are you? You look thin. Have you been eating?”

Mel rolled her eyes. No wonder she’d been such a chunk as a kid. Her mother had never met a problem that she didn’t try to cure with a snack. Not that she blamed her mother for her childhood largess, but still.

Joe returned Joyce’s hug. He took in the crowded room over her shoulder and raised his eyebrows at Mel.

She shrugged. Joe gave her a small nod before he released Joyce.

“Hey, big brother,” Angie said as she hugged him next. “What brings you here?”

Angie looked from him to Mel as if she expected it was Mel that had lured Joe here and she was hoping for confirmation.

“Rough day at the office,” he said as he shook hands with Tate, Marty, and Oz and nodded at Lupe and Ginny. “I felt the need for a Death by Chocolate.”

“Oh.” Mel glanced at the display. Their spot in the case was empty. “I think I have some in back.”

“I don’t want to put you to any trouble,” he said.

“It’s no trouble,” she said. Sheesh. Could it be any more awkward between them?

She noted that everyone was staring at them. It was almost as excruciating as the time she fell backwards in her chair in the fourth grade and her skirt had flipped up over her head, showing the entire class her Rugrats underwear. She had feigned a head injury and quickly run to the nurse, where she cried her eyes out. Sadly, that was not an option right now.

“If you’ll excuse us,” she said pointedly to the room, and everyone immediately glanced away, even Joyce, although Mel saw her trying to watch them out of the corner of her eye.

Mel looked back at Joe and said, “Follow me.”

“Anywhere,” he whispered so that only she could hear. His gaze met hers and the look in his eyes made Mel’s entire body kick into the red zone.

“Oh, my,” Ginny said as they walked past her through the swinging doors into the kitchen.

Mel could hear the room break into whispers of speculation as soon as the door shut behind them. Oh, if they only knew.

“I think I have some Death by Chocolate in the walk-in cooler,” Mel said. She glanced at Joe over her shoulder and noted he had a decidedly predatory gleam in his eye. She swallowed hard.

She yanked open the door and stepped inside, aware that Joe was right behind her. She reached the shelf where a tray full of the popular chocolate cupcakes sat. She never got the chance to plate one for him.

In a deft move, Joe circled her waist with his large square hands, spun her around, and, before she could get her bearings, kissed her.

Mel didn’t hesitate. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Despite the chill of the cooler, the kiss was a scorcher, and Mel was pretty sure they were going to melt the frosting on her cupcakes.

Joe pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. He was breathing hard and Mel knew exactly how he felt.

“Marry me,” he said.

“No,” she said.

He leaned back and studied her in the dim light. A small smile lifted the corner of his lips. “You know, every time you say no I just get more determined.”

“So I’ve noticed,” she said, returning his smile. “You’re stubborn like that.”

Joe brushed the bangs off of her forehead. “I’m a DeLaura. Bullheaded tenacity is sort of the family trait.”

Mel nodded. It was indeed. A few months ago she had thought that she and Joe were through. But then, Olivia Puckett of all people had cautioned Mel against making her business her whole life.

It had been a decisive moment for Mel. Though she knew she wasn’t ready to marry Joe, she also knew she wasn’t ready to let him go, either. They had hammered out an understanding and downshifted their relationship to just friends with limited benefits while they tried to figure out how to manage Joe’s desire to get married and Mel’s resistance to it.

“If you quit on me, I’ll understand,” Mel said.

It was a total lie. She wouldn’t understand and it would hurt very badly, but she knew she was the lame duck in this relationship and it wasn’t fair to put Joe on hold while she tried to sort out her head.

Joe hugged her close. “Nah, you’re worth the wait. Besides, this covert friends with benefits thing we’ve got going is pretty hot.”

He glanced at the open cooler door and, seeing no one, he kissed her again. This time Mel was sure the damage to her baked goods would be significant. When she came up for air, she was surprised to see that everything in the chiller was fine, but she and Joe both looked as if they’d been hit by lightning.

“If you could figure out how to bake that into a cupcake, you’d make a fortune,” Joe said, and he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Mel laughed and reluctantly pushed him away. “Good thing I have you for research purposes.”

“It’s a dirty job,” Joe sighed and shoved a hand through his hair. When he looked at her, Mel could see how much he was trying to keep the mood between them light, and she felt a pang of guilt.

“We’d better . . . before they get suspicious,” she said. She reached around him and grabbed two Death by Chocolates. Once they were out of the cooler, she put the cupcakes on a plate and set them down on the table.

Joe took a seat and Mel could feel him watching her as she poured a glass of ice-cold milk for him. When she set it down at the table, he caught her hand and gave it a quick squeeze. He didn’t let go.

“Just for the record, I’m not,” he said. Mel felt her breath catch as he explained. “Seeing anyone else.”

“We agreed we wouldn’t talk about that,” she said. “It’s none of my business since—”

“We broke up,” he said. “I know.”

There was an awkward pause and Mel knew he was trying very hard to be patient. She knew if the situation were reversed, she’d be miserable.

“I’m not, either,” she said.

Joe flashed his patent-worthy grin at her and she realized he’d just been looking for confirmation of her status.

“So, marry me,” he said.

“No,” she said, softening her answer by squeezing his fingers before letting go. He was still smiling, but she saw his chin jut out and she knew the trademark DeLaura tenacity had just been fully engaged.