Page 4 of Emma and the Grumpy Baker

“Yeah, I’m so excited she’s finally going to open the bakery!”

“Just sucks that she won’t be with us anymore.”

I caught a bit of their conversation as they walked away, and it confirmed the fear that had been rising in my gut.

Emma was the owner ofThe Pink Bakery. The owner I swore was now my rival and that I would do anything to be more successful than.

But it wasEmma.The girl I’d loved so long ago. The girl I would have done anything for, and honestly still would. The girl who was my right person at the wrong time. A Sterling.

She wasn’t mine anymore. And she never would be. I’d chosen to walk away all of those years ago, and I had no reason to believe we could ever even be friends again. Now, she was my business rival, and just because she was the one who taught me how to make cookies and grew my passion for them didn’t mean that I could go soft now. It changed nothing.

I took another peek through her windows, seeing her with a joyful look on her face, but a chocolate chip cookie in her hand.

She was my enemy, and I couldn’t let her ruin my business.

5

Emma

It was very obvious now that I was underprepared for today.

Although I had prepared an ample supply of baked goods, and the display cases were fully stocked, I was the sole person present who could package orders and handle transactions.

From the second I turned the open sign on at six in the morning, there had been a steady stream of customers ready to try my baked goods. I had gotten everyone’s orders together as quickly as I could, but a line had begun to form by ten.

“I’m here!” Isabella said as soon as she wiggled her way past the line that was blocking the doorway. I was sure that was a fire hazard, but I wasn’t the type of person to tell them not to do that.

“Thank goodness!” I breathed in relief as she walked around the counter and grabbed the spare apron I’d made. It was light pink with my logo embroidered, and I wore an identical one.

“I’ll get the orders together while you take them. Sound good?” She asked, her game face on as she pulled gloves over her hands.

“Perfect!” I turned back to the smiling customer who had three kids with her. They told me what they wanted, and Isabella started grabbing them from the case and putting them into the pink bakery box. I really spared no expense when it came to making sure everything was on brand and pink.

Even with Isabella’s help, the tickets started piling up. I took orders and printed their tickets before laying them out on the top of the case for Isabella to see, but I had to take breaks periodically to help her get the orders together. Thankfully, none of the customers seemed too bothered by the wait.

I’d stayed up all last night making extras of everything, and got here early to fry the donuts and ice them. I only had two types of donuts this morning, but the receipt everyone got when they paid had a survey that I hoped they would fill out. It was a questionnaire asking them what their favorite item was and what they wanted to see the bakery offer. As the only full-service bakery in town, I wanted to be able to provide the people with what they wanted.

Isabella and I worked for hours, caring for the endless trickle of people who came in to buy. Macarons were gone by one o’clock, even though I’d made three hundred of them. Donuts were gone shortly after, leaving me with a few different types of bread, chocolate chip and brownie batter cookies, and cupcakes.

By the time the store hours were over, there were still people in the bakery eating their sweets and drinking their coffee. A few people had asked if I would get an espresso machine instead of just a normal coffee pot, but that was something I knew I wasn’t ready for. However, it wasn’t a bad idea.

Isabella switched the open sign off, but if more customers came in, I wouldn’t complain. I’d stay as long as everyone needed me to so they could enjoy the goodies I’d made. She left out the back as soon as I told her I had a handle on the rest.

“These cookies are amazing!” A customer said as he held up the brownie batter cookie. It was a quarter pounder and was the gooiest cookie I’d ever made.

“Thank you so much!” I responded, beaming at him. I’d gotten so many compliments on everything and I don’t know if I’d ever felt this much joy.

I cleaned eagerly, as if getting the store ready to close would make tomorrow come faster. The ovens and mixers were calling my name, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to wait much longer before going to the back and starting on tomorrow’s goodies.

I heard the bell ring out, signifying that the last person left, but I didn’t look back since I’d started mopping behind the counter. There had been a few accidents where either Isabella or myself had dropped cookies or cupcakes that I needed to clean before I could start baking.

But when the bell rang again, I straightened and turned, expecting to see another customer coming in for a last-minute treat.

The mop I was holding fell from my hands, the wooden handle clanking against the tile floor. I blinked hard, trying to determine if I was seeing what I thought I was.

Pain from eight years ago threatened to choke me like that one time I accidentally swallowed a bite of a baguette I’d made without chewing it properly. Only this time, my best friend Hailey wasn’t here to do the Heimlich maneuver.

Liam Ackworth was in my store.

---