The Cupcake Diaries: Sweet On You (4 page)

Andi couldn’t wait to hear the details. After sending Mia off to afternoon kindergarten,
she hurried down the paved walk along the waterfront.

Pulling her knit scarf tighter around her neck, to ward off the breezy March chill,
she entered the cafe’s outside patio. The flavorful aroma of deep-fried fish and chips
greeted her nose as she scanned the crowded white round umbrella tables for a wave
of Rachel’s distinctive flag of red hair.

She found Jake Hartman instead.

He rose from his table, stepped forward, and reached out to shake her hand. “Hi, Andi.
Great to see you again.”

He knew her name? How did he know her name?

“Rachel should be here soon,” Jake continued, “but Kim sent her a text message saying
she can’t make it.”

“You talked to Rachel?”

“Five minutes ago. Would you like to sit?” he asked, motioning a hand toward his table.

“Yes, I think I better,” Andi replied.
Before her knees gave out from shock.

Jake’s brown hair and brown eyes appeared lighter this time, glinting with natural
golden hues in the outdoor sun. Her gaze slid over his color-coordinated stylish taupe
suit, white dress shirt, and loose striped tie, and she sighed. How could a guy so
perfectly put together be interested in someone like her?

Yet here he was.

He pulled out a chair for her, and she’d just sat down when Rachel made her appearance,
wearing a faded blue designer jacket and matching skirt. If Andi had known she was
going to see Jake, she would have worn something similar. Instead she was dressed
in jeans and an emerald green Kids Kamp sweatshirt featuring a grizzly bear sleeping
in a canoe.

“Here I am,” Rachel announced, taking a seat beside her.

“Yes, but what is
he
doing here?” Andi whispered into Rachel’s ear.

Rachel grinned. “I invited him.”

Andi sucked in her breath. “You didn’t! How did you get his number?”

“You left Jake’s business card on the table at the restaurant the other night, and
I picked it up. You also forgot to take this,” Rachel said, handing her the Cupcake
Diary with the business plan, “when you stormed out of your father’s house yesterday.
He gave it to me to give back to you.”

Rachel gave Jake a smiling nod and tipped the three-ring binder open at an angle.
Andi took a quick peek and discovered Rachel had taped Jake’s business card to one
of the inside pages. She’d also handwritten a personal note:

You go, girl! Jake’s a great catch!

But Rachel still didn’t explain why she had called Jake or what he was doing here.

Andi snapped the Cupcake Diary closed, eager for answers.

“I was thinking about the cupcake we ate the other night,” Rachel began, “and called
Jake to ask about local—”

The LMFAO song “Sexy and I Know It” rang from the cell phone in Rachel’s purse, and
her eyes lit up. “Excuse me one moment.”

Andi slipped a tentative look at Jake while Rachel greeted her caller. He smiled.
Was he being friendly, or did his smile consist of something more? She shifted in
her seat, her insides tight with excitement, and pretended to study the menu.

“Fantastic!” Rachel exclaimed, then paused, keeping the cell phone against her ear.
“Now?” She paused again. “I can be there in fifteen minutes.”

Rachel shot up from the table. “I’ve gotta go.”

“Go where?” Andi demanded.

“Down the street,” Rachel replied and turned to Jake. “Would you mind if I left you
and Andi alone?”

“Not at all,” he said with a grin.

Rachel patted Jake’s arm as she passed around him. “You
are
sweet.”

A lunch date alone with Jake? What would they talk about? Andi swallowed hard. “Rachel,
wait
.”

But her friend tossed a you-can-thank-me-later look over her shoulder and left as
fast as she’d come.

How could Rachel do this to her? Hadn’t she told her a hundred times not to set her
up before her heart had time to heal, that she’d start dating again without outside
help when she was good and ready?

Jake gave her wrist a light brush with his fingers. “Are you ready?”

Andi stared at him, her skin tingling. “Ready for what?”

“To order.”

Jake pointed and when she spun in her seat, she saw the waitress stood behind her.

“Oh. Of course.” The aroma wafting toward her from the cafe’s kitchen had her salivating
for the fried fish and chips. But seeing Jake reminded her she needed to lose a few
pounds, and she ordered the tuna salad on whole wheat instead.

“Does the salmon and white bean salad have fresh beans or canned?” Jake asked.

The waitress said, “Canned.”

Jake pulled a small notebook out of his shirt pocket and made a note. “Are the tomatoes
seeded?”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

Jake frowned and made another note. “You know, maybe I should have the halibut sandwich.
What kind of dressing does it have?”

“Tartar sauce.”

“Plain, no sauce, would be better.”

The waitress smiled. “Coming right up.”

Jake made a couple more notes in the little black notebook. Seemed like Prince Charming
was a picky eater. And what was he writing? Notes about the food? Andi frowned. Would
he write notes about her, too?

Her uneasiness grew right after their plates arrived and they began to eat. “The food
arrived in exactly fifteen minutes,” Jake said, tapping his gold wristwatch. “Good
service.”

Andi nodded. She’d never timed it, but she’d always thought the cafe was pretty quick.
She watched Jake lift the top of his bun with his fork and study the meat. Then he
took a bite and made another note in his notebook.

“I’m glad I ordered it plain,” Jake said, “so I can get a real grasp of the flavor
without the sauce. Tasty, but if I wanted a gourmet sandwich, I might go elsewhere.”

Andi stared at him. “Did they ever claim to be gourmet?”

“You’re right, they didn’t.” Again he wrote a note in his little notebook. “What do
you think of the atmosphere?”

“Very judgmental.”

He looked up, locked gazes with her, and laughed. “Sorry. When Rachel called to set
this up, I suggested we meet here so I could work and talk at the same time.”

“Work?”

“I’m a reporter for the
Astoria Sun
,” he said, pushing his notebook aside. “Most of my assignments consist of interviews
and profile pieces on community events. This week they stuck me in the role of food
critic because our regular restaurant reviewer is sick. Except I don’t think I’m very
good at this. I hate giving bad reviews.”

“Like the review for the cupcake we ate the other night at the Captain’s Port?” Andi
smiled, relieved his critical analysis wasn’t an ingrained personality trait.

Jake nodded. “Yes, but it’s because of that cupcake that we’re here today, isn’t it?”

“Maybe that cupcake wasn’t so bad after all.”

“It was,” Jake said, moving his chair closer, “but meeting you made the evening sweeter.”
He slid her another grin. “So, where would you like to start?”

Andi wasn’t as practiced as Rachel at idle chitchat. Better to be up front with the
personal facts before either of them wasted any more time . . . or entertained possibilities
that would never materialize.

“First,” Andi said, taking a deep breath and steeling herself for his reaction, “I
think you should know I’ve got a five-year-old daughter.”

“So do I.”

“You do?”

“My daughter, Taylor, goes to Astor Elementary.”

“So does Mia. I wonder if they know each other.”

“Miss Winston’s kindergarten?” Jake asked.

Andi nodded. “Have you lived here long? Astoria isn’t very big, and I know most of
the locals, but I’ve never seen you around town before.”

“We recently relocated from Lake Tahoe. Bought a house near my sister, just a few
blocks from here.”

“I rent a small Victorian cottage up the hill,” Andi told him. “Just me and Mia. My
divorce finalized a year ago. And you?”

“Lost my wife to breast cancer when Taylor was three.”

“I’m sorry; that must have been hard.”

“For you, too.”

Andi grimaced. She wasn’t sorry she lost her husband. He was still running around
with his secretary somewhere in Las Vegas. But it was hard being single again. Lonely.

“I’m glad you came today, Jake.”

“You know, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t interested.”

Jake gave her a look so soft, so full of emotion, she could barely breathe.

“So? What do you think?” he asked. “Should we take a look at the business plan?”

Andi frowned. “Business plan?”

“For the cupcake shop.”

She froze, and the bite of sandwich she’d just put into her mouth turned tasteless.
The chatter from the men and women at the surrounding tables drifted away from her
ears, and her vision narrowed, excluding all else except the serious expression on
Jake’s face—the expression of a professional intent on business.

“Andi, are you okay?” Jake placed a hand on her upper arm and gave her a little shake.
“Your whole face just went pale. Are you dizzy? Feel faint?”

She shook her head. “I . . . I’ll be fine.”

“We don’t have to go over the details of the partnership today, if you aren’t up for
it,” he said, pulling back.

“Partnership?”

“Rachel gave me most of the numbers over the phone, but we still need to discuss specifics
of the business plan before I’d be willing to finance the start-up costs.” Jake shot
her a hesitant look. “Don’t you want me to be your partner?”

Andi covered her eyes with her hand and cringed. “I was under the impression you wanted
a different kind of partnership.”

Jake was silent for several seconds, then let out a deep, throaty chuckle and pried
her hand away from her face. “Did you think Rachel set us up on a date?”

She looked away, unable to face him. How could she have been so foolish? Didn’t Rachel
say they were meeting here today to discuss a new idea to finance the cupcake shop?

“What if I said one of the reasons I’m interested in financing the cupcake shop is
because I
am
interested in you?”

“You barely know me.”

“I think I know you better now.”

“You don’t want to date me. I’m just plain, simple, and oh-my-gosh, right now I feel
so
stupid
.”

“How about we start over?” he suggested, taking her hand in his. “Hi, I’m Jake Hartman.
I would have asked you out on a date the first night we met, except my babysitter
sent a text saying she couldn’t watch Taylor past 11:30, and I was already late. I
didn’t know how you’d react if I asked you out and hit you with the news I’m a father
at the same time. Some women hear you have a kid and want to run.”

“Some men have been known to do that, too,” she said, and shook his hand to formally
introduce herself. “Hi, I’m Andi Burke. My dream is to open a cupcake shop with a
kitchen big enough to dance in because I love baking. And music. And I also need to
pay my rent. But why would such a great financially sound guy like you want to invest
his money in a risky venture with a trio of women he doesn’t know?”

“Maybe because I, too, have a dream, and with my past experience of owning and operating
a restaurant the venture won’t be so risky. My family opened a pizzeria when I was
growing up, but after my father became ill, we decided to sell the business. Over
the last few years I’ve missed the camaraderie we had as a team. I’ve been looking
to invest in another local restaurant, and when Rachel called asking about Hollande’s
French Pastry Parlor and told me your plans, I told her I was interested.”

“Did she tell you the bank denied our loan?”

Jake nodded. “Banks have to be cautious. Most small businesses fail their first year,
but I know what it takes to succeed. Besides,” he said and shot her a heart-stopping
grin, “I think a gourmet cupcake shop would do well in this town.”

“The idea of a fourth business partner hadn’t crossed my mind,” Andi admitted and
smiled, “but I think the idea has merit.”

Jake brought her hand up to his mouth and gave it a quick kiss. “I’d also be interested
in knowing if you are free on Saturday night to go out on a real date.”

“But if we’re working together . . .” Andi’s breath caught in her chest. “Do you think
it’s wise to mix business with pleasure?”

Jake grinned. “I think we already have.”

He was right, of course, but what if mixing the two didn’t work out? What then?

As if reading her mind, he added, “If we do this, and you decide our partnership is
not working for any reason, you can pay back my investment with future profits, and
I will graciously bow out.”

Andi hesitated, still unsure.

Her cell phone hummed, shaking the pocket of her baggy sweatshirt. Her first response
was to check the ID and make sure it wasn’t the school saying Mia had been hurt—her
biggest worry. But when she answered, she discovered Rachel had kept another business
lead from her.

She looked at Jake. “Rachel says Kim found the perfect place for our shop, and they
want us to come see it right away.”

“Well then,” he said, scooping the Cupcake Diary off the table and offering her his
arm, “we better go.”

Chapter Five

A dream shared by friends is more fun than dreaming alone.

—Andi

A
NDI STOOD BESIDE
Rachel and Kim on the sidewalk and surveyed the square brick storefront with two
six-by-six-foot street-side windows on either side of the bright red door.

“The door is as red as Rachel’s hair,” Kim teased.

Rachel pursed her lips. “We can repaint the door.”

“I kind of like it,” Andi said and pointed to the sign above the shop. “Zeke’s Tavern?”

Kim shrugged. “This place was a popular hangout for bikers, but the shopkeeper broke
one too many laws and fled.”

“I can already see our Creative Cupcakes sign up there,” Rachel sang dreamily, her
head tilted back, “and the display windows filled with tiers upon tiers of cupcakes
in assorted flavors and colors.”