Page 33 of Baking it Merry

“Mm-hmm…” Faye studied her for a moment.“You look very pretty today.Is that a new hair bow?”

Self-consciously, she ran a hand over her ponytail.“It is!You know, to celebrate the first day of the new decorations.”

“And your nails look amazing!Did you get a manicure?”

“I missed my friend’s party Saturday night to stay at Tristan’s, so to make it up to her, we went for manicures yesterday.I don’t normally do that sort of thing because of all the baking, but I think they look nice.You know, for me.”

“Mm-hmm…”

Daphne didn’t want to think about what that “mm-hmm” meant, so she changed the subject.“What can I get you this morning?The banana chocolate chip muffins are still warm.”

“That does sound yummy,” Faye agreed.“Let me have one of those and a blueberry one for Tristan, unless he stopped by and got one already.”

“No, he hasn’t come in yet,” she said as she placed the muffins in separate bags.

“Really?That’s unusual.Normally he’s here before me.”Then she shrugged.“Maybe he snuck by while you were setting up.”Laughing softly, she handed Daphne her credit card.“You know the Christmas decorations probably annoyed him.He was just getting used to the fall ones and you upped your décor game with the oversized candy canes and ornaments.You know how he is.”

Unfortunately, she did.Still, after everything she did for him Saturday night—and the kiss—she would hate to think he was trying to avoid her.Handing Faye her muffins, she forced herself to smile.“Well, he’ll just have to deal with it because there are more decorations coming tomorrow.”And, feeling smug, she added, “And the landlord gave us permission to play holiday music down here too, so I can’t wait for him to say something to me about it.”

Faye looked at her funny.“So then, you’re not really dating?”

“Um…” Crap!“No.Like I said, his parents found us in that…you know…position and just assumed I was his girlfriend.Tristan panicked and asked me to go along with it.It seemed to mean a lot to them that he was dating someone, so…” She shrugged.

“Oh, it’s definitely a big deal.It’s been a long time since Tristan’s been involved with anyone and I know Cynthia worries about him.The fact that he’s obsessed with work and doesn’t have a social life is hard for her to watch.His brothers are both married and have kids; all of his cousins are married…” She sighed.“Right now, he’s fixated on a project that won’t get approved—if it even gets approved—until after the new year.It’s all he seems to think about and it’s part of the reason he’s in such a foul mood.”

“So you’re saying he’s not usually grouchy?Because the last three holiday seasons that I’ve been here, he’s been that way.”

“I wouldn’t say that.He’s definitely…uptight,” Faye carefully explained.“And he thrives when things go smoothly.This whole thing with you and the other craft vendors just…I don’t want to say he’s a snob, but…”

“He’s a snob,” Daphne finished for her.And this was exactly what she needed so she didn’t start actually liking him.He had needed a favor from her Saturday night and was on semi-good behavior, but the fact was that Tristan Knight was still the grumpy, grouchy, uptight snot he’d always been.

Remember that when you see him and he looks and smells delicious…

“Sometimes he can surprise you,” Faye said, interrupting her thoughts.“Thanks for the muffins!I need to get up and get my day started.Any chance you’re going to have the apple caramel coffee cake this week?”

Smiling, she nodded.“It’s on the menu for tomorrow!”

“Can I possibly order a small tray for the weekend?I can pay you for it tomorrow if that’s okay?”

“That’s fine.And thanks!”

After Faye left, she stayed busy for almost an hour.When the last customer walked away, she felt like she’d run a marathon.It wasn’t a great way to start her week—exhausted—but…here she was.

For the next few minutes, she refilled her display cases and refreshed her coffee.When that was done, she allowed herself to sit and relax.Taking out her laptop, she pulled up the file for her current client and began to flesh out some of the design elements they wanted on their website.

“Oh, Daphne!This setup is absolutely darling!”

Looking up, she spotted Tristan’s mother smiling from ear to ear.

Standing, she smoothed her apron before stepping up to the counter.“Mrs.Knight, what a wonderful surprise!What brings you here this morning?I haven’t seen Tristan, but he didn’t mention you were coming in today.”She smiled nervously because she had no idea how she was supposed to act.

“My son has no idea I’m here.I was thinking about all your wonderful desserts, and I know you’re catering all of Tristan’s parties, but I wanted to talk to you about ordering some stuff for myself.We’ve been spending a lot of time helping my mother pack up her house and getting it ready to sell, and I thought it might be nice to bring over some goodies.She’ll be moving into the assisted living facility this week, so I’m trying to do things that will make her smile.”

“That’s very sweet of you.I’m sure it’s a very emotional time,” Daphne commented as she reached over and covered Cynthia’s hand with hers.“Does your mother have a favorite cake or cookie?”

“She loves frosted sugar cookies and anything red velvet.Neither of us is good at baking, so we’re always looking for bakeries that have the best goodies.”Squeezing Daphne’s hand, she added, “And now we found one!”

“You are very sweet and I’m happy to help.”Pausing, she had a bit of inspiration.“You know, maybe we should make up a big box or even several boxes of frosted sugar cookies that she can bring with her to her new home.It could be a great icebreaker and a way for her to introduce herself to her new neighbors.What do you think?”

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