The Cupcake Diaries: Sweet On You (10 page)

“We already did,” he said. “It came out this morning.”

Andi shot a worried look toward Rachel and Kim and then turned back to him. “Can we
still see Jake?”

“He’s not here. He went with Logan McGuire and the photographer to the cupcake shop
to meet
you
.”

“He’s at Creative Cupcakes?”

“With Pat Silverthorn. She’s home from the hospital and issuing a public statement.”

Rachel scowled. “How dare she!”

Kim’s jaw dropped.

Andi bit her lip, her imagination running wild with the prospect of Pat recapping
her scandalized version to the media. Taking out her cell phone, she called the shop.
When there was no answer, she called the tattoo artist.

“Guy, can I ask a favor?”

“Where are you?” he exclaimed. “The Zumba lady is here with Jake, a reporter, a photographer,
and everything is turning into chaos.”

“We’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Can you serve the news crew cupcakes until we
get there?”

“What about the others?” Guy asked.

Andi hesitated. “Others?”

“The
Astoria Sun
van has drawn a crowd of onlookers.”

Andi groaned. “There are plenty of cupcakes left from last night. Serve as many as
you can.”

W
HEN
A
NDI,
R
ACHEL,
and Kim arrived back at the shop, there were more people gathered around Creative
Cupcakes than at their grand opening event the night before.

Guy stood on the sidewalk serving cupcakes to the crowd, with Mia, half his height,
as his helper. Both wore the purple bakery aprons, the tattoo artist’s over his black
T-shirt and jeans, Mia’s flowing down to her toes like a dress. Andi’s father looked
out the shop window, his eyes wide. Jake stood on the sidewalk with Logan McGuire,
who appeared to be interviewing Pat Silverthorn.

Andi drew closer.

“Don’t do anything impulsive,” Rachel warned.

“Think before you speak,” Kim added. “Take your time, don’t rush.”

Andi didn’t rush; she just always did everything at a faster, more accelerated pace
than everyone else. If her decisions got her into trouble in the past, it was because
she didn’t really know what she wanted. Now she did. She wanted to save her business
. . . and she wanted a relationship with Jake.

“I think these are the other three owners coming in now,” said Logan McGuire, directing
his comment to the photographer.

Jake turned his head and looked straight at her. “I’ve been to your house and all
over looking for you.”

Andi glanced at the flash of the camera which took their picture. “You have?”

“My sister witnessed Pat Silverthorn’s deliberate fall last night and came and told
me right away. It wasn’t Creative Cupcakes’ fault.”

“Why is she here?” Andi asked and motioned to Pat, whose eyes were red and swollen.

“I’m sorry, Andi,” Pat said, her usual smug expression absent from her face. “My mother
died from a lifetime of unhealthy eating habits. The last thing she ate was a big
sugary cupcake. I . . . I’m sorry I took out my anger on your shop and for my behavior
last night. What I did was very wrong.”

“I would say so.” Rachel glared at her. “You think you can get off the hook for what
you did by apologizing? Is that what this is all about? Andi, we should sue
her
!”

“No,” Andi said, setting her jaw. “We’re not going to sue.”

“Why not?” Rachel demanded.

“Because that’s not who we are.”

Rachel was quiet a moment and then said, “You’re right.”

Pat bowed her head in shame. “I haven’t handled my mother’s death very well. She was
all I had, and I miss her.”

Andi missed Jake. She watched him walk toward the open side door of the van and when
he returned he handed her an enormous bouquet of—yellow lilies! She brought them to
her nose and closed her eyes as she breathed in their strong sweet scent. Then Jake
showed her the article the
Astoria Sun
had printed: “Zumba Instructor Caught Staging Cupcake Disaster.”

“C
REATIVE
C
UPCAKES HAS
been selling like crazy,” Jake said, putting his arm around her shoulders and giving
her a squeeze. “We can hardly serve fast enough.”

“All these people are here to buy cupcakes?” Andi asked, glancing around.

Mia turned toward her, grinning, and pointed to the money threatening to spill out
of her overstuffed apron pocket.

“Let’s open the door,” Andi announced.

Rachel and Kim hurried after her as they ran to grab their aprons, wash their hands,
and pull on disposable food handler’s gloves. Andi began to take orders and noticed
her father pulling gloves on his hands as well.

He turned, and she caught his eye. What did he think he was doing?

Her father gave her a wary look. “Andi, you’re going to need more cupcakes.”

As he served the next customer, she broke into a smile. “Thanks, Dad.”

Pat Silverthorn also offered to help, which put an even larger twist on the current
news story.

Logan McGuire tasted one of their cupcakes and asked, “What do you think of the new
French bakery opening up on the other side of town?”

Andi gave him a broad grin. “As long as we get along, everything will be fine.”

Rachel took a box from under the counter and pulled out a large gold-plated cake knife
with
CREATIVE CUPCAKES
engraved on the handle. “A symbol of our success.”

“The victory cupcake cutter!” Andi said, waving it high in the air.

“Makes me believe we can do almost anything,” Rachel confided and began to sing a
sultry rendition of Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole’s version of the song classic “Somewhere
Over the Rainbow.” She finished with the line “Dreams really do come true.”

Andi clapped and laughed. Then Kim pulled her T-shirt down over her left shoulder
to reveal a tattoo of a flying squirrel.

“Kim, you didn’t!”

“I did,” Kim said proudly.

“Did what?” their father asked.

Kim slid her shirt back into place and grinned. “Nothing, Dad. Just talking about
the freedom to fly with your dreams.”

“Did Dad tell you about the house?” Andi asked.

“Yeah, so . . . is it all right if I stay with you until I find my own apartment?”

Andi hesitated, and as fate would have it, Rachel pointed to a late arrival waiting
by the cupcake counter. “It’s your landlord.”

Andi looked over at Jake. “Is there enough money?”

Jake opened the cash register, pulled out several large bills, and directed his attention
to her landlord. “How much does she owe you?”

“Eight hundred for last month. Another eight hundred if she wants to keep the cottage,”
the man informed him.

Jake shot Andi a questioning gaze, and she nodded.

“Yes, I want to stay.”

“Good luck,” the landlord told her, taking the money. Then he hesitated, turned back,
and pointed at the triple chocolate cupcakes inside the display case. “I’ll take one
of those.”

B
Y THE END
of the day, Creative Cupcakes had sold more than they had all month, and after a
late-night dinner, Jake took Andi out on the covered platform at the end of the pier.

Dim lights cast a golden glow over the waterfront docks, and sea lions barked harmoniously
back and forth to each other from beneath the pilings. The air was warmer than usual
for early spring, the sky clear and sprinkled with stars.

“I’m sorry I ran out and didn’t return your calls,” Andi said, sitting on the bench
beside him. “When Pat slipped and fell, I saw your face, and after promising to make
Creative Cupcakes a success, I couldn’t stand to see you disappointed.”

Jake took her hand in his. “I wasn’t disappointed in you. I was disappointed
for
you.”

“You cringed.”

“Of course I cringed. Pat came up to me at Mia’s birthday party and wanted to know
if the newspaper was going to cover the grand opening. I regret to say I told her
yes. Then when she fell, I knew my newspaper would have to print the story, and I
knew how much it would hurt you. I couldn’t stand to see you hurt, Andi. I cringed
because I didn’t want to fail
you.
”

“Someone as sweet as you could never fail me, Jake.”

He took her in his arms and gazed directly into her eyes. “You haven’t found anything
about me to scare you off yet?”

Andi shook her head, her face inches away from his. “No, not yet.”

“Maybe it’s the way I kiss,” he teased, his breath warm against her skin. “It could
be detestable.”

There was no way Jake’s kiss could be detestable, but since he was joking, she decided
to play along.

“Yes, it could be.”

He brushed a strand of her long blond hair back behind her ear and tilted her chin
up. “Only one way to find out.”

“I suppose.” Andi caught her breath, the anticipation nearly killing her.

Then Jake brushed his mouth across hers in a tender, whisper-soft kiss that made her
heart soar and her insides sing a melodious sweet-scented love song.

“Scared?” he asked, drawing back.

Andi smiled and shook her head. “Not yet. Keep trying.”

Jake lowered his mouth to kiss her again, then halted halfway and grinned. “Does this
mean we can finally go on a real date?”

“What if I told you I’d love to go on as many dates with you as I can?”

“What if I told you,” he said, his voice husky as he played along, “I’d like every
date on the calendar?”

“I’d say they’re yours,” Andi said, locking her gaze with his, “but you know we do
have a cupcake shop to run.”

“Yes,
we
do,” he agreed and tipped his mouth toward hers again with all the tenderness of
a white cloud cupcake with sweet heavenly frosting.

Recipe for

PAUL HANSON’S CARROT CAKE

From the author’s great-uncle, Paul Hanson

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients:

• 2 cups sifted flour
  
• 1 tsp. baking powder
  
• 1 tsp. baking soda
  
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
  
• 1/4 tsp. salt
  

In another bowl mix:

• 1 1/2 cups salad oil
  
• 2 cups sugar
  

Add 4 beaten eggs, one at a time, and mix well after adding each egg. Gradually fold
in 2 cups of finely grated carrots. Add dry ingredients. Mix well.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes at 350° (less time for cupcakes).

Icing:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
  
• 1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese
  

Beat until light and fluffy, gradually adding:

• 3 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  
• 1 tsp. vanilla
  
• (1 cup chopped pecans - optional)
  

Keep reading for a sneak peek at the next two books in
The Cupcake Diaries,

RECIPE FOR LOVE

and

TASTE OF ROMANCE,

available from Avon Impulse May 14, 2013, and May 21, 2013!

An Excerpt from

THE CUPCAKE DIARIES: RECIPE FOR LOVE

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.

—Ernestine Ulmer

R
ACHEL PUSHED THROUGH
the double doors of the kitchen, took one look at the masked man at the counter,
and dropped the fresh baked tray of cupcakes on the floor.

Did he plan to rob Creative Cupcakes, demand she hand over the money from the cash
register? Her eyes darted around the frilly pink-and-white shop. The loud clang of
the metal bakery pan hitting the tile had caused several customers sitting at the
tables to glance in her direction. Would the masked man threaten the other people
as well? How could she protect them?

She stepped over the white frosted chocolate mess by her feet, tried to judge the
distance to the telephone on the wall, and turned her attention back to the masked
man before her. Maybe he wasn���t a robber but someone dressed for a costume party
or play. The man with the black masquerade mask covering the upper half of his face
also wore a black cape.

“If this is a hold-up, you picked the wrong place, Zorro.” She tossed her fiery red
curls over her shoulder with false bravado and laid a protective hand across the old
bell-ringing register. “We don’t have any money.”

His hazel eyes sparkled through the holes in the mask, and he flashed her a disarming
smile. “Maybe I can help with that.”

He turned his hand to show an empty palm, and relief flooded over her. No gun. Then
he closed his fingers and swung his fist around in the air three times. When he opened
his palm again, he held a quarter, which he tossed in her direction.

Rachel caught the coin and laughed. “You’re a magician.”

“Mike the Magnificent,” he said, extending his cape wide with one arm and taking a
bow. “I’m here for the Lockwell party.”

Rachel pointed to the door leading to the back party room. The space had originally
been a tattoo shop, but the tattoo artist relocated to the rental next door. “The
Lockwells aren’t here yet. The party doesn’t start until three.”

“I came early to set up before the kids arrive,” Mike told her. “Can’t have them discovering
my secrets.”

“No, I guess not,” Rachel agreed. “If they did, Mike the magician might not be so
magnificent.”

“Magnificence is hard to maintain.” His lips twitched, as if suppressing a grin. “Are
you Andi?”

She shook her head. “Rachel, Creative Cupcakes’ stupendous co-owner, baker, and promoter.”

This time a grin did escape his mouth, which led her to notice his strong, masculine
jawline.

“Tell me, Rachel, what is it that makes you so stupendous?”

She gave him her most flirtatious smile. “Sorry, I can’t reveal my secrets, either.”

“Afraid if I found out the truth I might not think you’re so impressively great?”

Rachel froze, fearing Mike the magician might be a mind reader as well. Careful to
keep her smile intact, she forced herself to laugh off his comment.