Puffy & Precious Read online

  When he finished hanging the shelves, he noticed a few other things that never got done. He kept working until the banana cake was cool enough for me to cut him a large slice. I boxed up the rest of one of them and tied a purple ribbon around the steel blue box, sealing it with a silver SkinnyCakes sticker.

  “What’s this?” he’d asked.

  “A little extra gift for you.”

  “You’re not trying to keep me from coming back tomorrow, are you?”

  I shook my head. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Thought you might need a snack later though.”

  “Thank you, Abby.”

  He held my eyes a little longer than usual. I got lost in the sea of green, forgetting I was still holding the box. Graham chuckled. “Are you going to let me have it?”

  “Huh?” I asked, sounding as confused as I felt. He tugged on the box and brought me back to the present. “Oh, sorry, yeah. Of course.”

  My face burned with embarrassment. Graham smiled at me. “Thank you, Abby.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He started to walk away, then paused, and slid $20 onto the counter. “Hey! You’re not supposed to pay!”

  I moved to the counter but he was faster. By the time I grabbed the cash he was out the door with a wave and a ‘See you tomorrow’ as he jogged across the parking lot to his truck.

  “Damn him,” I swore, again, into the empty cafe. He wasn’t supposed to pay. He’d hung my shelves and paid. Which meant I owed him.

  I didn’t like owing people.

  “Should I come back?”

  Irritation danced up my spine. Graham was being kind. I knew he’d never collect on any debt I owed him. The same could never be said for the slime ball attached to the voice in my cafe.

  “Yes,” I answered, turning to face my ex with a smile so sweet all my teeth got cavities. “You should come back in about three hundred years. What do you want, Brett? I already told you I’m not working for you again. I have my own business.”

  Brett held up his hands. His dark hair was lifted in the front and neatly combed on the sides. His dark gray suit was one of my favorites, especially when paired with the dark purple shirt and matching gray tie. He was a handsome man with an easy smile, but I knew that smile was his trick. His way of getting a person to do exactly what he wanted. He only used it when he was going in for the kill.

  Which was exactly why I was nervous facing him. And his grin.

  “I’m not here to ask you for help. I’m getting resumes together and will hire someone soon, I hope. I heard you Saturday night.”

  “Good. Then why are you here?”

  “I heard the contract for the new mayor’s Kick-Off The Summer Picnic fell through. They have a caterer, but the caterer doesn’t offer desserts. They’re looking for someone to jump in. I got you a meeting with him.”

  Holy. Shit. The party was going to be huge. The new Winterville mayor had decided to bring some attention to our tiny little town. It had been growing over the last few years, but was still one of the smallest towns outside of Buffalo. I kind of liked that, but the new mayor had other ideas. He was organizing a celebration the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. A way to celebrate the unofficial start of summer. Besides the picnic, he was planning a chili cook-off, a huge cookout, a parade, and plenty of games for the kids to play. I’d already talked to Charlie and Max about going.

  To be a part of it would be amazing though. It would guarantee SkinnyCakes would be secure. To know I had enough to cover rent and could get my own place would be amazing.

  “What’s the catch?”

  Brett shook his head, not one hair moving. “No catch. I heard about it and thought of you. This place is pretty amazing, Abby. I’m proud of you. I figure you’d want the chance to show everyone what you can do.”

  I nibbled on my lip, debating. It would be hard to pass up the opportunity, but anything Brett was involved in made me anxious.

  “Look Abby, it’s up to you. I just figured I’d tell you about it. If you decide to do it, you have a meeting set up with Mayor Ramsey on Monday at three. If you don’t want to, no big deal.”

  I took the card he offered, the one with the contact information for the mayor’s office, including the appointment he indicated. Maybe he really was just trying to be nice.

  “Okay,” I said, setting the card on the counter. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”

  “Good,” Brett said. “Good luck, Abby.”

  He turned and left, confusing me even more. He didn’t ask for anything. Could he have changed that fast?

  * * *

  I debated for two days about Brett’s offer. Could he really have that kind of a connection? He never did before, but we’d been apart for a while. I had no idea what he’d been up to.

  Flipping the card over and over in my hand, I had to get an answer. I dialed the number on the front of the card, listening to it ring.

  “Good afternoon. Mayor Ramsey’s office. This is Olivia. How may I help you?”

  “Um, hi Olivia. My name is Abigail Bentley. I, um, this is going to sound strange, but could you tell me if I have an appointment with Mayor Ramsey on Monday at three?”

  “Um, what is it concerning?” Olivia sounded as confused as I felt.

  “I’m sorry about all this. I own a bakery, SkinnyCakes, and I heard you guys are looking for someone to handle desserts for the Kick-Off The Summer Picnic. I think I have an appointment. My, um, assistant spoke to someone about it, but I just wanted to confirm.”

  I hoped that sounded plausible. Telling her my ex-husband was new buddies with the mayor was not exactly professional. Plus, I wasn’t even sure Brett had set up the appointment.

  “Oh, yes, you’re on the calendar. Sorry. We get a lot of people trying to get appointments with the mayor so they have a chance to be heard. If you’re not in his calendar you need to be. But you’re fine. You have an appointment. Monday at three, just like you said. We’ll see you then.”

  “Yes, thank you. See you then.”

  I hung up feeling even more confused. Brett was telling the truth. He’d gotten me a meeting with the mayor.

  “You okay?” someone asked from right behind me.

  I spun back to face the counter and found Sam and Brady looking at me with knitted foreheads and worried eyes. I forced a smile. “Yeah, sorry. Just confused about something. What can I get you guys?”

  “I want a slice of that flourless chocolate cake and muscle man wants a slice of apple pie. After that you can tell us what’s going on.”

  I shook my head and pulled out two slices of Sam’s cake, but only one of Brady’s pie. I knew he would barely finish it and only indulged because Sam had encouraged him to enjoy life more. They worked well together from what I could tell. She was always smiling and his serious eyes softened whenever he looked at her. His hands were constantly on her, too, which was one of the most telling facts to me that indicated how in love he was. He truly couldn’t keep his hands off her.

  “You guys don’t want to hear all my drama,” I protested.

  Sam groaned. “Please. I need drama in my life. I want to know what’s going on. Maybe we can help. Married life is boring, unless we go visit my parents. Then it’s just irritating and tense. Not our marriage,” she added quickly. “Visiting my parents. They kind of make us crazy.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, handing over their plates as they took a seat at the counter across the back of the cafe. “Parents should be there for their kids, not make their lives miserable.”

  Sam nodded. “I agree. Too bad my parents have different views on that. But enough about them. What’s going on with you?”

  Sam took a bite of her cake and looked up at me with wide brown eyes. Behind her red glasses she saw a lot. Too much most of the time. I knew I wouldn’t get away with anything when she was on the hunt.

  I sighed. “My ex got me an interview with the mayor for the Kick-Off The Summer Picnic. Their baker backed out and they need someone to jump in. Bre
tt got me an interview with the mayor to see if SkinnyCakes can be the substitute.”

  “That sounds pretty huge. What’s the problem?”

  “Brett doesn’t do anything without expecting retribution. He basically keeps a tally so he knows who to call when he wants something. I don’t like being indebted to anyone, but especially him.”

  “Ah,” Sam said around a chocolatey bite. “Now I get it. If you take the job it’s awesome for SkinnyCakes, but horrible for you. If you don’t, the reverse. That sucks.”

  I snorted. “Thanks for the advice.”

  Sam shook her head. “No, you know that wasn’t my advice. The problem is I’m not really sure what my advice should be. What do you think he could be after?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea. He wanted me to work for him, but when he was in here to tell me about the appointment he said he was working on hiring someone. Probably some barely legal girl with boobs the size of my head.”

  “Probably, but you’re over him so why do you care?”

  Sam had a good point. “You’re right. Still, what do I do about the meeting?”

  “Is he pulling the strings?” Brady asked. I grabbed his empty plate and set it in the sink to clean up later.

  “I don’t know. He made it sound like he’s friends with the mayor and got me the meeting.”

  “Is it possible he’s doing this to be nice? Maybe make up for being an asshole?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea. Part of me wants to say yes, but past experience is yelling no.”

  “If he is pulling the strings and he comes back later and says he wants something from you, are you either willing to walk away to avoid giving it to him or willing to do what he asks to keep the position, if you get it?”

  Brady had a good perspective. I’d been trying to figure out what Brett could be after, not if I could handle whatever he was after. It wasn’t a big difference, but it was a subtle enough shift that I knew I couldn’t pass up the chance.

  “I’m going to do it. You’re right. It’s too big to pass up this chance and I can handle Brett. We’re not married anymore. He has no control over me. I’ll get this job based on my awesome baking, not because of Brett. He can’t control my life forever.”

  “Exactly. And you are pretty awesome. Can I ask you one question though?”

  “Sure,” I answered, wondering what would make Sam pause before speaking her mind.

  “Are you going to tell Charlie? I mean, this is probably a huge deal. I don’t know if it’s open to anyone, but would you want Charlie to know about it?”

  “Shit,” I answered honestly. “I didn’t even think about that. I-”

  I cut myself off when Graham walked in. He smiled at me and I swear my body trembled. I had to find him somewhere else to hang out. That or I needed to find a new vibrator because the one I had wasn’t enough.

  I held up a finger for Brady and Sam and walked around to the case where Graham was waiting for me. “Hey Abby. How’re the shelves?”

  He nodded behind me. I’d filled the shelves with a mixture of tchotchkes and SkinnyCakes branded items, like my coffee mugs, to-go containers, and a wooden cut-out version of my sign.

  “They’re perfect. Thank you again. And whatever you want today is on me. No more slipping money on the counter when you leave.”

  “Whatever you say. Can I get a blueberry scone and a coffee?”

  “Of course.”

  As I poured his coffee and set his scone on a plate, Graham glanced down at Sam and Brady. His face twisted in recognition before he said, “Brady Wright?”

  Brady turned and grinned when he saw Graham. “Graham Hall. How’s it going? You might need a few extra sets if you keep eating here.”

  “Hey!” I protested as they both laughed.

  “I can’t stay away. This place has a lot to offer.”

  “I hear ya,” Brady agreed. Ever since I opened, Brady had been coming in. He was careful about what he ate and was getting Sam to eat healthier options. She still enjoyed Charlie’s cupcakes, but she was starting to like my cakes almost as much. Brady loved almost everything I sold.

  “I didn’t realize you and Abby knew each other,” Brady said, nodding toward me.

  Graham nodded. “I did some of the work in here before she opened the place. I was one of the first customers.”

  His chest puffed with pride, making me grin. Since he had his food, I walked back to where Sam sat, watching the men talk.

  “He’s yummy,” she said when I was close enough. “You need to date him.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I told you guys, I’m not ready to start dating.”

  “Then just sleep with him for a year or two until you are. Good God, how did you work with him for months and not claim him on the floor?”

  I laughed. “Trust me, the thought crossed my mind more than once,” I confessed quietly. “He’s a lot of fun to watch work.”

  “I bet,” Sam drawled. “I don’t think I’m going to make it. God, I’ve been so horny since I got pregnant. Brady and I might need to go home instead of out to register for baby stuff.”

  “Must be nice. I can’t even remember the last time I had sex.”

  “It doesn’t have to be much longer if the way he’s looking at you is any indication. I bet you’d never forget sex with him.”

  “I can’t even forget the dreams I have of sex with him,” I admitted.

  Sam fanned herself. “I bet. I gotta go. Brady! Let’s go!”

  “Yes, ma’am!” he said with a grin as he followed Sam out the door, leaving me alone with Graham.

  Chapter 4

  “I didn’t know you were friends with Brady,” Graham said after Sam and Brady left. “He’s a great guy.”

  I nodded. “How do you know Brady?”

  “I’m a member at Dave’s Gym. I started working out with him one day. He was the only guy in the gym who could spot me.” He blushed. How freaking adorable! “I asked him if we could meet up again. We’d been working out together for about a month before I realized he owned the place. He was pretty shocked when his wife got pregnant, but it looks like he’s happy about it now.”

  I nodded as though I actually knew. Truthfully, I’d heard the others talking about it, but I didn’t know them when Sam got pregnant. She was almost three months along before my first girls’ night. Seeing the way Brady was with her, I couldn’t imagine why Sam was ever worried about telling him she was pregnant.

  “Yeah, it seems that way,” I told Graham. “They’re really sweet. Brady comes in here a couple times a week, but I know Sam a lot better than Brady. He’s always nice though.”

  Graham nodded. “Sam’s a beautiful woman. I asked Brady how he managed to snag someone like her. He’s a lucky man.”

  His words both made me jealous and warmed me. If he thought Sam was beautiful, he wasn’t afraid of a woman with a little extra weight, but I didn’t want him wanting Sam. I knew he really didn’t, but jealousy wasn’t rational.

  “Sam’s pretty lucky, too. Brady’s a great guy and pretty damn hot, too.”

  Graham gave me a look that I wanted to understand but couldn’t. He studied me for a long moment, making me fight the urge to turn and do something.

  “Anything you need me to take care of today?”

  It took me a long moment to figure out he meant around the cafe and not me. I shook my head. “No, I’m good.”

  “What about the bookshelves you wanted in the corner near that table and the lounge chairs?”

  Dammit. I needed to learn to keep my mouth shut. I’d told the man far too much about my plans for the cafe before I’d opened. I did want a bookshelf. I wanted to have books that customers could borrow when they came in. My idea was to have a library of sorts. Customers could take a book home as long as they brought it back or brought another book to replace it. Having customers hang around and read in my cafe sounded like perfection. It’d be hard not to join them.

  “It’s okay, Graham. I’ll get to it eve
ntually. I’ve got an interview Monday with the mayor for the the Kick-Off The Summer Picnic. If I get it, I’ll have more business than I can handle and will be able to get the bookshelves and the coffee cart and the cake display and the picture frames and everything else I want to do eventually. Right now though, I just can’t do it. I want to, and I appreciate you wanting to help out, but I can’t keep taking advantage of you.”

  Graham shook his head. “You’re not, Abby. I get paid enough with my other jobs, but I like doing the smaller things sometimes. People don’t hire me for jobs like that anymore. It’s too easy to go out and buy a bookshelf or even do it yourself. Same with almost everything else you mentioned. I’d enjoy it, though. If you’re willing to indulge me.”

  How could I say no to that? He made it sound like I would be doing him a favor if I let him help me. As long as I didn’t let it get out of hand, it would be okay. Right?

  “Okay, fine. But nothing too big until I can pay you. Some picture frames, maybe a pair of bookends. Do not build me a bookshelf or a coffee cart or any new tables or anything else. When I can hire you to do that stuff, I will, I promise. Do we have a deal?”

  Graham nodded. “I’ll get started this weekend. I’ve got a lot of extra stuff at my shop. You like the shelves, right? That style works for you?”

  I nodded. “They’re perfect. I love them.”

  “Okay. I’ll base everything else off those.”

  “Frames, bookends, nothing big, right?”

  “I understand, Abby. Don’t worry. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I gotta run out and finish up a few things.”

  I nodded. “See you then. And Graham?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.”

  He smiled and I felt like my day got better just seeing his eyes twinkle and his cheeks pinch. “Any time, Abby.”

  Monday afternoon I locked the doors to SkinnyCakes and drove across town with a box of some of my favorite desserts. Brett didn’t say anything about bringing a sample to the meeting with the mayor, but it only made sense if I was interviewing for a baking job to show him what I was capable of.