Page 3 of The Vacation Mix-Up
My cell rings from within my pocket, so I slide it out, my stomach lurching at the office’s number on my screen.
Damn it!
I thumb the Accept button and press my phone to my ear. “Yes, Freya?”
“I have her coffee, but she’s already in her office.”
“Shit!” I blurt, once again glancing over my shoulder, this time mouthing, “Sorry,” to the other occupants.
“What do I do, Riley?” Freya asks, voice drenched with fear.
“You need to take it to her… now!”
“Okay, but what do I say?”
“Nothing. It’s too late for that.” I close my eyes. “Open my bottom drawer. You’ll see a container with cookies. Take two out.”
“Oh.” She pauses. “Did you make these?”
“Yes. I baked them this morning and dropped them off on my way to the dock. They’re organic and contain chamomile tea, berries, and dark chocolate. Great for stress relief. Georgia thinks I buy them at the health food store on the corner. The recipe is in the bible.”
“You wantmeto make these?”
I massage my temple. “Yes.”
“But I can’t bake.”
“Well, you have two days to learn.”
“Two days?”
“Uh-huh, they stay fresh until then.”
“But I?—”
“Was there anything else? I’m about to board my ship.”
She stutters, “Um… no.”
“Excellent! You’ll be fine. Just read the bible. It’s all in there.”
“Uh… Riley?”
“Yes?”
“When areyou getting bac?—”
I end the call, slip my cell back into my pocket, and accidentally elbow the tattooed man in the rib. “I’m so sorr?—”
“It’s fine,” he coughs out, shuffling to my side and once again sliding his arm across the doors as they open, gesturing I exit before him.
Wincing, I mouth, “Thanks,” and as I pass him, he leans down and murmurs, “Your cookies sound delicious.”
I blink all the blinks. “Excuse me?”
“Your stress-relief cookies.” He smirks, his neatly cut moustache and trimmed beard lifting, the skin around his lovely eyes crinkling. “I could use a few myself.”
“Oh.” I nearly choke on my laughter. “Trust me, they’renotdelicious.”
