Tangled Up (Bachelors of Buttermilk Falls #2) (3 page)

“What can I say?” Betty stood and smoothed her apron. “We want everyone to find their happily ever after.” She winked. “Until Emma takes on more than one bachelor a week at Batter Up night, we have to create other events to help her out.” She turned to the food counter. “Ooooh. Looks like your BBB Burger is ready. Be right back.”

Brandon took another sip of his strawberry malt that—he had to admit—was pretty damn good. Should he participate in Sugar & Spice Night? It’d been awhile since he’d been on a date and he wouldn’t mind having the opportunity to fire up his grill. Maybe this was the kick in the pants he needed to finish his deck this week.

Betty returned with his burger and a plate full of french fries. “Enjoy.”

“Thanks.” He pulled off his bun to see the blue cheese oozing under the bacon. God, he couldn’t wait to dig in, but first he had a few more questions. “Say, Betty. The Sugar and Spice Night sounds like fun. Where is it taking place?”

“The Elks Lodge. Bidding starts at 5 p.m. sharp, so we ask our bachelors and bachelorettes to register by four thirty.”

“And what is the money going toward?”

“My, sugar, you ask a lot of questions.”

He laughed, he probably did. “What can I say? Once a reporter, always a reporter.”

“It’s going to the elementary school’s career exploration program that kicks off this month. The little tykes get to follow some of the grown-ups around and learn what they do.”

“Does that cost money?”

She nodded. “A little. Each student gets a journal, participant T-shirt, and books on their chosen subject.”

Brandon gnawed on his fries, ready to devour his burger once Betty left. “Sounds like a great program.”

“The kids really like it. So . . .what do you say? Can we count you in?”

“Sure.” He paused, adding, “I mean, it’s for a good cause, and I do like dessert.”

“Excellent!” She reached out and squeezed his cheek. “You’re going to make one of our bachelorette’s very happy.”

While Betty scurried off to no doubt tell half the town that he was participating, Brandon dug into his hamburger. Chasing it with his malt, he wondered if it would be bad to order another strawberry one to go.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of his participating in Sugar & Spice Night. He clapped his hands. He was single and ready to mingle.

A
bby drizzled
caramel on the spongy cake and then stepped back to admire her work. “Magnificent!”

“What’s magnificent?” Emma popped into the kitchen.

“I just made the most amazing caramel strawberry shortcake.”

“Oh, really?” Emma grabbed a fork. “Sounds like it’s break time.”

“Not so fast.” Abby pushed her cousin’s hand away. “No. This scrumptious beauty is for Sugar and Spice Night. I made one for the auction and one for the actual date.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “I totally forgot about that. So, you’re participating again?”

“Sure am.”

“Even after last year?”

Emma was referring to the disastrous date Abby had been forced to go on with the town’s funeral director. He’d chosen her chocolate butterscotch mousse to go with the extremely rare steak he’d cooked for her. They’d spent the night talking about cadavers and ghosts. He’d only chosen her because he thought maybe she could conjure up his dead mother’s spirit. To say it had been creepy was an understatement.

When Ernie cruised by in his squad car to check on them, she’d feigned a migraine and asked the town cop to drive her home.

This time, she was getting a stud and not a dud. She’d asked Bridget to leak the news to the volunteer fire department that she was participating and that her dessert would be loaded with luscious strawberries and topped with fresh whipped cream. One of those hunky guys better bid on it.

“So . . . ,” Emma started.

“Yes?”

“I haven’t wanted to pry, but you haven’t said a word. How did things go the other night with Brandon?”

“Well, this is the first time we’ve worked together since Tuesday.” Abby whipped off her apron and hung it on a nearby hook. It was true that she hadn’t filled Emma in on what went down at the bar.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell her cousin what had happened—she told her everything. However, every time she went to reach for her phone or to stop by Emma’s cottage, that feeling that she’d been punched in the stomach returned.

“And . . .”

“It went exactly as planned.”

“Really? So he ate the cupcake.”

“Every last piece.” Abby nodded. “It completely worked. He didn’t invite me over to his place after his shift, and I even watched him flirt unabashedly with Christine Martin right in front of me.”

“Christine Martin? She’s back in town?”

“Just for a few days.” Abby began to wash her dirty dishes. “And by the way they were carrying on, I have no doubts that she got an invitation to Chez Swift. Probably a couple invitations by now.”

Emma cocked an eyebrow. “And you’re okay with that?”

“More than okay.” Abby reached for some dish soap, squeezing the liquid into her mixing bowl. “Brandon is only looking for a good time, and I’m ready for more. Now we both can move on, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do tonight.”

“Well, let me help.” Emma opened the refrigerator and pulled out a container of strawberries. “I’ve been wanting to use these up. You can layer the plate with them when you get there and drizzle the caramel sauce all over it. I’ll pack extra for your date later tonight.”

“Ooooh! Excellent idea.” She paused, needing to ask an important question. “You’re not going to tell Jason what I did, are you?”

Emma blinked a couple times before responding. “I think we should. I mean . . . never mind I hate lying to my boyfriend, what if he slips up and asks Brandon about you?”

Abby thought for a minute. Emma had a point. “Can you just assure him that the spell was one hundred percent safe?”

“Other than his losing six weeks of memories?”

“He’s fine. He probably thinks he’s experiencing a dry spell.”

“Well, we can wait until Jason gets back to tell him, and then we’ll do it together.”

“Okay.” That would give her a week, maybe two before she had to admit anything to Brandon’s best friend.

Finishing her dishes, Abby decorated her two plates in strawberries and then spent a few minutes freshening up in the back office. She’d brought her favorite black top and dark slim jeans to change into along with gold hoop earrings and black tall boots. Pulling her hair into a pretty sleek ponytail, she gave her locks a light spritz of hairspray and then swiped her lips with a red matte lipstick.

She hoped tonight went well. Even if she wasn’t matched with the man of her dreams, it would announce to all the bachelors in town that Abby Stevens was officially back on the market. Not that she was ever off the market, but she hadn’t been on one date since Carter left town and she began sleeping with Brandon.

Flying through the kitchen, she grabbed her dessert and said a quick good-bye to Emma. The Elks Lodge was located just around the corner on the edge of Main Street. Since it was a short walk, she decided to leave her car at the Sugar Spoon. Besides, she’d have to come back to retrieve the second dessert for her date tonight, which was now in the bakery’s refrigerator.

The cool breeze tickled her skin, and she was glad she’d chosen jeans and not a dress that would have left her freezing. She took her time getting to the event. She loved this time of year: the red and yellow leaves scattered on the ground, the slight chill in the air, and Main Street shops decorated with pumpkins, scarecrows, and harvest cornstalks.

Up ahead, a group of women all dressed for a night out headed into the lodge. Sugar & Spice Night was a popular event, second only to the Summer Fling auction. She laughed at the memory of Emma bidding on Jason.

Her cousin had said she’d only done it to piss off her archrival, Caitlin Reynolds, but Abby knew Emma had the hots for the
Miami Herald
reporter the moment he strolled into town.

If only he’d come alone and hadn’t brought his arrogant sidekick.

“Enough.” She scolded herself while mentally dropkicking any thoughts of Brandon out of her mind. Reaching the lodge, she squared her shoulders. Tonight was the first night of her quest to find the man she was meant to be with forever.

B
randon clicked
off his phone and headed down Main Street for the Elks Lodge. He couldn’t help but laugh at the conversation he just wrapped up with Jason’s editor, Tina. The
Miami Herald
wanted to do a follow-up piece to a story they did this summer on the bachelors of Buttermilk Falls, this time focusing on the bachelorettes.

What they were proposing was downright funny, and it was more than a couple of blog posts. They wanted to follow him around for two weeks on a series of dates with the single women of Buttermilk Falls. They’d video the dates for a new “Single in America” blog series on their website. Apparently, the nation was smitten with this little town and the bachelors and bachelorettes in it.

It wasn’t exactly a reality show where the women would compete for his affection, but Tina had explained that they hoped that after two weeks he’d be on his way to finding true love the way Jason had found it with Emma.

He wanted to interject that a magical spell had helped his buddy, but he wasn’t going to get his ass kicked by Jason, Emma—or Abby, for that matter—for exposing Batter Up.

At first, he wasn’t sure he could do it. He didn’t really believe in soul mate crap. Not after his first wife had ripped out his heart and crushed it easily with her stilettos that he found lying next to the D-list actor’s loafers on his stairway seconds before catching them in bed.

Still, it could be a great excuse to explore the restaurants in the area and meet some new women.

Tina indicated that all the dates would include a fun task to kick them up a notch. Before he completely knew what he was agreeing to, he’d said yes. She promised to contact him in the morning with more details.

He looked down at the large paper cup in his hand. He’d stopped by the Star Lite to get a strawberry malt shake, something he’d done every day this week. For some reason, he couldn’t get enough of the yummy drink. It was a good thing he got a run in each day because he was pretty sure the sinful concoction was loaded with calories. With one last sip, he finished it off and tossed it into the garbage container before heading into the Elks Lodge.

“Hey, gorgeous! We’ve been waiting for you.” Betty rushed over and latched her bony arms around his middle.

“Honestly, Betty, let the man sign in before you attack him.” Bridget waved from her seat at the registration table. “Hey, Brandon.”

“Hey, Bridget.” He loved the spunky librarian ever since he and Jason had crashed her Las Vegas wedding this summer. If he and his buddy hadn’t run into Bridget and her bridesmaids, they both would have never wound up in Buttermilk Falls. Funny how life works.

He was happy for Jason, too, who had found a wonderful woman in Emma. His pal had suffered an unimaginable loss a few years ago when his fiancée was gunned down by thugs. It was nice to see him with a woman who made him happy again.

“Ladies, you both are looking beautiful tonight.” He sauntered up to the registration desk where Bridget handed him a clipboard with a piece of paper on it.

“We’re excited to have you here, Brandon.” She lowered her voice. “All the women are talking about it. Okay, first we need you to write down the dinner you plan to make for your date.”

“Wait . . . dinner? I thought I was the spice?” he joked and that got not one, but two blushes. “Don’t worry. I have the perfect meal planned out. My grill is ready.” He winked, writing down what he planned on making for dinner and handing the clipboard back to Bridget. “And the wine is chilling in my fridge.”

“Excellent!” Bridget took the sheet and pointed to the main hall. “You’ll go in there and sample desserts. In about a half hour, we’ll start the bids. Have fun.”

“Thank you, ladies, for organizing this event.” He rolled up his sleeves and rubbed his hands together. “Time to get me some sugar.”

A
bby grinned
at the sight along the wall. Dozens of men had flocked to the dessert tables to sample the items up for auction. Good thing the event volunteers took pictures of all the desserts to display on the screen behind the stage. There wasn’t going to be a crumb left.

According to Bridget, money raised this year would go toward the elementary school’s career exploration program. Abby loved that idea. It was a great project, and she had even offered baking lessons for budding pastry chefs.

“Hey, Abby.”

She spun around, recognizing the voice greeting her immediately. “Hi, Brandon. What are you doing here?”

“Same thing all these men are doing.” He put out his palm, offering her a candy corn. “Want one?”

“I’m good, thanks.” She looked down at her boots and then glanced up to see him pop the rest of the candy in his mouth. “So, you seemed to hit it off with Christine the other night.”
Oh, Abby, why would you go there?

“Yeah. We hung out for a bit.” He glanced around. “Is she participating tonight?”

Abby shook her head. “I think she’s gone back to Chicago.”

“Bummer.”

She folded her arms, trying to act like the next question was nothing more than polite conversation. “Do you know which dessert you’re going to bid on?”

His lips turned up into a wicked smile. “I think I know who I want.”

She blinked, not sure if she wanted to hear this news. Did he already have his eye on someone? “You do, who?”

He chuckled. “I mean . . . what I want. I’ve been having the weirdest craving lately for st—”

“Okay, you two. I need you to take your places.” Betty had appeared from behind Abby and stepped in between them. “Brandon, we need you to take your seat.” She handed him a paddle shaped in a pink cupcake and winked. “It’s for waving, but you can keep it, sugar.”

“Where should I go?” Abby asked, amused at Betty’s blatant flirting with Brandon.

“In the back. There’s a refreshment table.”

Brandon gave Abby a farewell nod. “Have fun on your date tonight, Abby.”

“You, too.” Abby turned and walked toward the back of the room. Wow, the spell worked so well, he didn’t even call her “Red.” Her stomach twisted at that realization. She had gotten kind of used to him calling her by the playful nickname.

Stopping at the refreshment table, she selected a fudge brownie. Why did Brandon have to be here? A wave of panic surged through her. What if he chooses the strawberry shortcake?

There’s no way. Not with all the chocolate desserts available. No, she was all but sure he’d place a bid on a velvety mousse or the chocolate peanut butter cake she’d caught a glimpse of earlier.

Thank God she chose the caramel drizzle and not a chocolate sauce. Reassured, she bit down on her brownie and joined Bridget on the back wall.

Betty took the stage, welcoming all the bachelors and bachelorettes. After explaining the rules, she began taking bids for the first dessert: a pumpkin cheesecake.

Abby waited patiently for her turn, her gaze bouncing around to all the cute firemen scattered throughout the room. So far, only two of those guys had bid on a dessert. The odds she’d be having dinner with one of the handsome bachelors were looking good.

Twenty minutes later, it was finally her dessert’s turn. She rubbed her palms as a picture of her shortcake flashed on the screen. Emma was right. Garnishing it with strawberries and drizzling caramel sauce made it look like a five-star dessert.

“Do I hear one hundred?”

Matt Donaldson waved his paddle. Abby studied the town’s public defender in casual khakis and white polo shirt. Okay, not a fireman and a little on the lanky side, but he could be fun. He was a few years older than her, and his parents lived next to hers.

“Two hundred,” shouted a guy from the front row. Abby didn’t recognize him but was pretty sure he worked in construction.

“Three hundred . . .”

Yes! Finally, a volunteer fireman. It was Adam Reed and he was super hot. A few years older than her, he was her brother Josh’s best friend, and she’d always had a crush on him. Abby did a silent jig inside as she watched the men battle it out for her dessert.

Popping in the last large bite of her brownie, she prepared to go meet her date whom she hoped would be Adam.