Page 24 of Craving

There was another clock ticking in the back of her mind, one that ended on the first weekend of December. Her final payment would be due, and she had to somehow come up with enough money to pay back the very last part of the ill-advised loan that clamped around her neck like a yoke. Once she did, she’d own her business free and clear.

Otherwise, the past ten years—and longer—of work would crumble right in front of her eyes. Her father would be right after all. It would have been nothing but a hobby, and a very expensive one at that.

The bakery door opened, and Camilla painted a bright smile on her face. “Nadia! Fred! So good to see you again.”

Nadia smiled brightly. She was a beautiful woman, dressed in elegant clothing, with a bright-pink purse slung over her elbow. A little dog poked its head out from the purse, looked around, then disappeared inside the bag again. Nadia hurried to the counter and leaned over to give Camilla a kiss on both cheeks. “Thank you so much for doing this, Camilla. After we tasted your cake at Amelia’s wedding, I knew we’d made a mistake hiring anyone other than you. When the other bakery fell through, well, I figured it was meant to be!”

“It was almost a good thing when they called and said they couldn’t fulfill the order,” Fred added. He reached over to shake Camilla’s hand, smiling kindly.

The two of them had been through an ordeal six months earlier, when Nadia’s ring had gone missing. Fred’s business had taken a beating, and he’d had to fire several employees. He looked a bit older these days, with more gray in his hair and a few extra lines bracketing his mouth.

But when he glanced at his wife-to-be, Fred’s face softened. He put an arm around Nadia’s shoulders and nodded to Camilla. “Where do you want us?”

“Take a seat at any table you like. Would you like tea? Coffee? Water?”

“A couple of coffees, I think, right baby?” Fred glanced at Nadia, who nodded.

Camilla looked at her barista Ben, who dipped his chin and got to work. Then she was hurrying into the kitchen, taking a deep breath, and bringing out the prepared samples.

This had to go well. It had to.

It would.

She grabbed the first couple of cakes and went back out to make her pitch. She’d made small, four-inch double-layer cakes for the Goodhews to taste. She’d decorated them very simply but had made sure they looked as polished and professional as any of her other work. She would not mess up this opportunity.

“Your questionnaire indicated that you two have opposite tastes,” Camilla said, placing the first two cakes on the table. She sliced into them and deposited the pieces onto plates. “Fred, you like rich flavors like chocolate and caramel, and Nadia, you said you prefer bright, fruity flavors, correct?”

“That’s right,” Nadia said, eyes on the generous slices in front of her.

“I thought we could start with something neutral and go from there. This is my signature vanilla cake, made with homemade vanilla extract. It has a deliciously light, moist crumb, and it has enough structure to take any filling you choose. On the left, I’ve combined it with a chocolate ganache and whipped caramel filling. On the right, we have a Swiss buttercream frosting and a tart strawberry filling. The Swiss buttercream isn’t as sweet as traditional buttercream, and it tends to have a lighter mouthfeel. Please.” She gestured to the cutlery.

Heart thundering, Camilla sat across from them at the table and watched Fred and Nadia take their first bites. Fred went straight for the chocolate-vanilla-caramel combination, while Nadia tried the fruitier, lighter cake. Both sets of eyes fluttered closed, and soft noises of appreciation sounded from their throats.

Camilla couldn’t help the victorious smile stealing over her lips.

“This is the cake,” Nadia said, pointing her fork at her choice.

Fred grunted and shook his head. “No way. This is the one. Try this caramel filling, baby.”

Nadia took the bite Fred offered and slumped in pleasure.

Camilla laughed. “Not to make things more difficult on you, but would you like to taste the other options?”

They nodded, so Camilla hurried to bring out the four other small cakes she’d prepared. With the two of them having such different tastes, she’d scoured her recipe books to find something that would suit them both. The whole week had been spent baking, planning, and designing.

She’d barely seen Marlon since the evening they’d burned her apron, and she was glad of it. She was too busy for men, had too much riding on the next few weeks. Anything but total focus would spell the end of The Sweetest Thing. A few days to clear her head had been exactly what she needed.

She had kept baking for him, of course. Watching the morning treats disappear from the kitchen counter always gave her a secret thrill. But baking for someone was very different from getting involved with them. The former was her profession; the latter was a problem.

In the end, it was one of Camilla’s new combinations that won Fred and Nadia over. Fred absolutely wanted the caramel filling, which Camilla had—on a whim that very morning—combined with her great-aunt’s spiced poach pear recipe, all supported by a lightly spiced cake. It was brightly flavored while still being rich, and both Fred and Nadia immediately declared it the winner.

“This is what we’ll cut for the ceremony,” Nadia said, spearing another bit of poached pear with her fork. “But we should get a variety of cakes for guests to choose from.”

“What I’d suggest is a smaller tiered cake for photos and cake cutting, and then a number of sheet cakes for serving to guests,” Camilla said, clearing a few of the empty plates from the table. “We can cut them in the kitchen and have the caterers serve them after you’ve cut the main cake and taken pictures.” She sat down across from them with drawings of her designs for decoration. “Now, let’s talk design.”

At that point, Fred reached into his pocket and pulled out a rectangular box. He placed it down on the table and lifted the top, revealing an antique cake topper. The small figurines were exquisitely crafted, the man dressed in a vintage tuxedo and the woman’s lace gown intricate with details, gleaming gold to match the man’s bowtie and vest. On her head was a tiny, glittering tiara.

Camilla exhaled. “Wow, Fred. It’s beautiful.”

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