Page 42 of Sugarlips
Chloe and I glanced at each other, grinning. “Well,” Chloe said. “We sort of both did. I was recently broken up with, and when Liam came by to check on me with some of his signature donuts and cupcakes, I immediately felt better. It’s incredible what a little sugar will do for a broken heart—”
“Dyker!!” A booming voice shouted at us, interrupting the interview. Nick, the owner of the pizzeria was a bit older than us—in his early to mid-thirties. He had long hair, muscles big enough to almost rival my ex-Mr. Universe brother—and a neck so thick, he could probably break a necklace off of his body without using his hands. “What the hell is this?” he shouted, lumbering toward us.
“Oh, shit,” Chloe said.
Even Kim looked startled and moved out of the way. But not before whispering to Ethan, “Keep rolling.”
“Are you seriously serving food to my customers outside ofmyrestaurant?”
Chloe stood her ground, as cool as I've ever seen her despite the fact that a huge, hulking man was approaching at a terrifying speed with a booming voice.
She leaned against the ordering counter, flashing him one of her gorgeous, thousand-watt smiles. “Oh, hey Nick. How's it going?”
“Don't you, ‘oh, hey Nick’ me. What the hell are you doing out here?”
I leaned into Chloe, dropping my voice in an effort to conceal it from both Nick and the news crew recording our every move. “Maybe we should just pack up for the day and leave?” I offered.
“Are you kidding?” Chloe asked. “This is the best business we've done all day, and you just want to walk away?”
“It's not worth a couple hundred dollars to lose a good relationship with another local business.”
Chloe huffed a sigh but folded her arms and offered nothing more. I climbed out of the van, crossing toward Nick. It wasn't until I was standing just in front of him that it sunk in how much bigger he was than me, and holy hell, I really hoped all those lessons I learned fromHow to Win Friends and Influence Peoplepaid off right now. Unfortunately, when I looked behind me, Chloe had also followed me out of the truck. “Why don't you just let me handle this one?” I said.
Chloe’s confident smile never wavered as she replied, “Iwill. I'm just here for backup.”
"Well, I'm hoping not toneedbackup."
Chloe scoffed and rolled her eyes. "No onehopesto need backup."
There was no use arguing with her. I didn’t have the time it would take to convince her to go inside and let Nick and me talk. I just hoped she didn't make this worse. “Hey Nick,” I said. Nick didn't respond to the pleasantry, save for crossing his arms over his extraordinarily swollen chest. “Sorry about this. It's our first day, and we really needed a spot for this news segment.”
“And you didn't think to reach out and ask me first as a professional courtesy?”
It’s a public parking spot and a public sidewalk, I wanted to say, but bit my tongue, knowing it would only hurt the situation.
Chloe leaned forward, placing her hand on my forearm. “It all happened really fast. But next time —”
“Next time?” Nick shouted.
“Not next time,” I interjected, before Chloe could do more harm. “I think what Chloe meant to say was we promise not to sit in front of your restaurant selling food during your business hours.”
I stole a glance to my left where Chloe was now glaring at me. “Oh, isthatwhat I meant to say?” Even though I could feel the anger radiating off of her, I couldn't help the sparking electricity that trickled down my spine beneath her steely gaze. Was I seriously getting turned on by her anger? That was all kinds of fucked up. Slowly, her glare shifted to Nick. “What I was actually going to say, before I was rudely interrupted, was that customers who spend a certain amount at our food truck while we're here will get a gift card to spend at your establishment that we will pay for, of course. And maybe, you could offer the same for us, to help us spread the word about our new food truck. We would supply both gift cards, and I think it would be a symbiotic way to help promote both of our businesses.”
Nick's cold gaze flashed and jerked to meet Chloe's. “What makes you think I need your help? Look around. I'm as busy as ever.”
“Maybe you don't,” Chloe said. “But in a town like ours, small businesses need each other to thrive.” Chloe glanced around before adding, “Then again, I know for a fact that a chain pizza delivery is opening soon less than ten miles away from Maple Grove. And you don't do home deliveries. So maybe you don't need my help right this second, but you might in a couple months.”
Chloe held out her hand for Nick to shake, waiting for him to place his palm against hers. Instead, his hard gaze shifted from her eyes to her hand, then to me. “Your girl runs her mouth a lot, you know that?”
“I'd say she runs it just the right amount.” I looked at Chloe, admiring the square of her shoulders. The confidence in her stance. And that gleam in her eye, with just enough mischief to make us appear more successful than we really were for the evening news. I leaned in closer to Nick, whispering, hoping the microphones couldn't pick up my voice. “Plus, unless you want the lead story running on the five o'clock news to be that the grumpy pizza shop owner doesn't support new businesses in Maple Grove, I'd shake the woman's hand and smile for the cameras.”
With a tick in his jaw, Nick clapped his hand into Chloe's, giving it a firm shake. Chloe smiled and said, “And I'm not his girl.”
A smirk tugged at the corners of Nick's mouth, his glance shifting between us. “That so? Seems like I hit a sore spot there.”
I didn't like the way he was now smiling at both of us. It was like he caught us in something, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why. “Not exactly —”
“Well, there you have it, Maple Grove,” the news reporter stepped forward, holding her mic in hand and speaking directly into the camera. “This new food truck, catering to your sweet tooth, is forging relationships with business owners all over the town. And it appears, for the time being, you can find them here in front of Nick's Pizzeria.”
