Oh no—my cupcakes!
When Rob had left Lobster Bay on that last vacation thirty-five years ago, he’d been fresh with the memory of his first real kiss and eager to return and find that girl again. He’d kicked himself all the way home in the backseat of his parents’ car for not asking for her phone number. But he’d been fifteen. He’d been nervous. He hadn’t really known how to broach that subject or how his shy attempts at flirting had led to that one magical kiss.
Then his mom had gotten sick, and more important things had occupied his thoughts. But every once in a while, the memory would surface, and he would be looking into those gold-flecked hazel eyes again. The same eyes that Claire Turner had. He was positive Claire was the girl he had never forgotten, but apparently, she’d forgotten all about him.
She had changed. Her face and body had matured, but her eyes hadn’t. And her auburn hair—he remembered that, too, though now it was shot through with silver—was the same rich color that shone like copper in the sunlight. How had he not recognized her from the second he saw her?
Now, more than ever, he wanted to work together with her. Meeting her again was a sign. He was doing the right thing moving to Lobster Bay, making his fresh start where he had some of his fondest memories.
And even though Claire didn’t remember him, it might be like a second chance. The timing was right. He hadn’t been able to even think about starting over with someone else after Caroline died, but now it was five years later. He was lonely. It was time. Claire didn’t remember him, but that was okay. He wasn’t fifteen anymore. He wasn’t a nervous kid. He was a man who knew how to capture the attention of a woman.
If only she wasn’t so intent on hating his guts.
Chapter Fourteen
Idiot, idiot, idiot.As Claire tossed cupcake after cupcake into the trash, the refrain flashed across her mind. She shouldn’t have even given Rob or Robbie or whatever his name was the time of day, let alone the more than ten minutes she’d allotted him. Where had the time gone? It seemed as though they’d been talking for only two or three minutes.
Two or threetenseminutes.
Frustrated at finding every single one of the cupcakes she had in the oven charred, she upended the muffin tray and dumped them into the trash. Several bounced off the rim and scattered over the floor. As she bent to retrieve them, thunder rumbled in the distance. Her pipes creaked ominously in response, as if they were communicating with the building storm. Claire swore under her breath as she went on all fours to collect the chocolate cupcake that had rolled beneath the table she used for mixing and rolling. She fished it out and plopped it into the trash with the others.
She carried the muffin trays over to the sink to scrub away the charred remnants of cupcake batter. As the sink filled with hot, soapy water, her phone rang. Jane’s name popped up as the phone continued to ring in her palm. Jane never called during business hours. She always texted.
A foreboding feeling pinched her gut as Claire answered the phone. “Jane?”
“Oh my God. Claire!” Jane’s voice was thin and shrill. She sounded close to tears.
“I’m here. What’s wrong?”
“Please tell me you’ve seen my mom.”
“Addie? No. Why?” That feeling in Claire’s gut pulled it into a tighter knot. “Did something happen?” In her heart, she already knew the answer.
“She’s gone. I can’t find her. Please, I need help.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes. Don’t panic.”
As Claire hung up the phone, she heard another peal of thunder. Without even bothering to take off her apron, Claire bolted for the front of the shop.
Hailey looked up at her, her forehead creased. “Claire? What is it?”
“I know you’re about to leave, but I need you to stay on for a little while longer. There’s been an emergency.”
“An emergency?” The younger woman’s eyes were round.
Claire swallowed and nodded, struggling to maintain her composure. Jane’s panic had infected her. Addie would be fine. She had probably only wandered off to a spot where no one thought to look. But with the growing storm, that could be dangerous. If she’d wandered down to the beach… “Adelaide from Tideshas wandered off. Jane is putting together a search group.”
At least she assumed Jane was doing that. Jane couldn’t search everywhere by herself. She’d called Claire, so she must have called Maxi too. Maxi had a head for organization. The first thing she would think of was organizing a search party. Even if that search party only consisted of Jane, Claire, Maxi, and Brenda. They would find Addie before anything bad happened. They had to.
“Go,” Hailey said. “I’ll call Mrs. Pease.”
“If you can’t stay, just close up shop. Business will be slow with a storm anyway.”
Claire might lose a few sales, but this was much more important.
Despite the cold wind now whipping in from the ocean, Claire bolted for her Vespa.
Word must have spread fast, as a dozen people were already at Tides ready to help. Jane stood on the porch, one hand clutching the hood of her raincoat to her head, the other pointing in various directions as she organized the search. She vibrated with nerves, her eyes scanning the small group of people as they broke into pairs to search the grounds and beach. Claire parked her Vespa and joined Jane on the porch.
