Page 16 of Cupcake
Amber’s hands went up in the air. “Agreed. I’m scratching him off the potential suitors' list. I guess date number twenty-nine was a bust.”
“Just like the dates one through twenty-eight were,” I agreed with my head nodding. “I’m done dating now. I can’t deal with these guys. They all think they know everything, all they want is a woman to control, and thus far, none of them have had any respect for the fact I own and run my own business. They’re either too caught up in themselves, or too caught up in my measurements.”
Amber’s frown told me she wasn’t in the same camp about giving up on love. “Hay-Hay, you can’t give up. Besides, I know someone who admits he doesn’t know everything, doesn’t want to control a woman, has the utmost respect for you owning your own business, and he’s hot to boot.”
Brushing a strand of hair off my face, I paused in the filling of my pie. “Well, where is this mythical unicorn?”
“Coming in the back door,” Amber said.
Before I could react, she spun on her heel and flounced to the front of the bakery to load the pastry case. The sound of Brady’s humming from the back room filled the bakery, and my heart contracted. He might be all those things, but he would never be mine.
Seven
Iset the last of thecupcakes down on the freezer rack and let out a sigh. It had been a long hot day, but the work was finally done. Now I could go home and catch up on some missed sleep. I was working more now than ever, and I knew my latest change in the bakery personnel had been the wrong one.
The idea had frosty white plumes puffing out into the cold air where I stood. I had initially hired Brady as my kitchen manager and part-time baker. He worked his way up to making all the bread, buns, and now the ordering, which was great. The problem was, I was already regretting that decision. He was too talented as a baker to have him squired away doing inventory. He should be at the bench as a full-time baker. He’d been working toward it for years, and when I made a rash decision to put him in charge of inventory, I did it out of fear. I was too afraid of working with him full-time to offer him the position. Now, I worried Brady was offended that I overlooked his work at the bench. Knowing Brady, that wasn’t likely, butIknew I made a mistake. It was a mistake I’d have to rectify.
First, I would have to talk to Amber about who would replace him as our kitchen manager. Secretly, I hoped she would tell me I was crazy to promote him, and then I could leave things alone. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure I could work at the bench with Brady full-time. It would be a lot harder to keep my roving eyes and hands to myself if I had to work next to him all day every day instead of just a few hours a day.
I pushed open the door to the freezer, deciding to deal with it another day when I wasn’t tired, hot, and hungry.
“There you are!” Amber said, throwing her arms up in the air. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“Sorry, was finishing the last of the cupcakes for tomorrow’s order. What’s up, buttercup?”
Amber tapped her watch impatiently. “You heading upstairs to change. Chop-chop. You’ve only got an hour.”
My eyes rocked back and forth in my head while I searched the database for what I had forgotten. “An hour for what? I’m going to bed. I’ve been up since three a.m. It’s Sunday, and I need a nap.”
With my pink and white frosting stained apron tossed in the bin, I spun on my heel to head for the door, but Amber grabbed my arm. “Not so fast, petunia. You have brunch with Maxwell in an hour at The Modern Goat.”
My head swung in denial instantly. “Not in this lifetime or the next one will you find me having lunch with Maxwell at The Modern Goat. I don’t even know who that is,” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up. “I told you, no more blind dates!”
“I had this one set up before you told me that, though,” Amber insisted, pouting the way she used to when she didn’t get her way when we were kids. “It’s too late to stand him up now.”
The growl that tore from my lips would have put a rabid dog to shame. “And you waited this long to tell me because you knew I’d cancel!”
