“All right, all right, I’m getting up.”
The words were not enough to convince the tomcat. Claire groaned as she sat up, much harder to do with Urchin now crouched on her stomach.
And then it hit her. It was Saturday, the day of the cupcake sale.
Claire jumped out of bed and hurried to feed the cat before he mutilated her further. She treated the scratch on her hand, combed her hair, and put it back in a clip. Her stomach was doing somersaults with excitement and nerves as she finished, looking herself in the eye in the mirror.
“You prepared for this. You can do this.”
And shehadprepared. Last night, they’d frosted two-hundred and forty of the cupcakes, the rest she had left unfrosted on purpose so she could do them fresh in the afternoon. She had bought special tiered racks to display them on, which she would put on top of the glass display case. She had Hailey and Maxi coming in to help her with the influx of extra customers she expected. She had cardboard boxes at the ready to put the baked goods in. She had done everything she could to promote the sale.
As she scooted to work in her Vespa, she thought about Rob. She felt guilty about the way she’d treated him, but it was too late to turn back now. Or was it?
The lights were already on at Bradford Breads. The shades were up, revealing the interior. Claire hesitated mere feet from her store, but curiosity overwhelmed her. Had he taken her advice and done something to the arrangement inside?
He would never know if she peeked. Checking the street—devoid of people or vehicles that early in the morning—Claire hurried over to the window. She cupped her hands and peered through the glass.
Rows upon rows of bread, buns, and bagels awaited customers. They were stacked neatly on shelves taking up the bulk of the inside space, forming makeshift aisles with a clear path to the front counter and the register there. To the left was a table with yet more buns placed in baskets the way she’d wanted to do yesterday before she’d thought better of it. On the other side was a cozy little cluster of four tables arranged at an angle to one another with red napkin holders to match the color of the logo. Claire couldn’t help but smile. He had taken her advice, after all.
Then her gaze caught movement. Rob had just come out of the back, presumably the kitchen, and had a loaf of bread in either hand. Her heart pounded at the prospect of being caught. She turned on her heel and fled across the street.
She felt ridiculous. Would he ever want to be business associates or friends after the way she’d treated him? She didn’t have time to feel sorry for herself. Today was the big day, and she had work to do.
She worked quickly, pulling the cupcake containers out of the fridge, gingerly opening the tops, not wanting to disturb the frosting. She brought them out front and arranged them on the tiered displays. The pipes made an ominous clanking overhead. Claire winced but tried to ignore it. She had work to do. As long as the groaning of the pipes didn’t scare off her customers, she would be fine.
What next? Maybe she should cut up part of the sandcastle cake today and give out pieces as free samples. She could cut from the back and leave the front as a display. She removed it from the glass case carefully, not disturbing any of the artfully arranged turrets. She placed it squarely in the middle of her cupcakes, two tiers on either side, and rounded the counter to see how they looked from the front.
Beautiful. She couldn’t help but smile, an expression that shrank quickly as the pipes clanged again, the groaning increasing. That one sounded different than the other groans.
Claire tilted her head up and squinted.
There was a new rust stain on the tin ceiling, and…
Wait, were those drops of water?
Drip. Drip.
Claire followed their descent to the floor, where a small puddle had formed.
Oh no!
Pop. Pop. Pop.More leaks opened in the ceiling, bigger this time. And then…
Crash!
One section of the tin ceiling smashed to the floor, a torrent of water behind it soaking the bakery floor, the tabletops, and the cupcakes on display.
“No!”
Everything was ruined. The pastries in the case, the cupcakes, the sandcastle cake, and Claire’s dreams.
Chapter Twenty-Three
With twenty minutes left until Rob opened the doors of his newest bakery to the public, he paused and surveyed his shop. Bread lined every available surface, including the table he’d initially allotted for Claire. That table still knotted his stomach. All morning, he’d caught himself glancing across the street, hoping she would come over to tell him she changed her mind. He’d seen a shadow outside earlier, but no one was there, only a glimpse of her opening the side door leading to the kitchen in her bakery.
Unable to help himself, he stared across the street again. The cheery Sandcastles sign over the door looked the same as ever, but something wasn’t right. He frowned. Where was Claire with her sandwich board promoting the sale? Why was her bakery still dark? And who was that hammering on her door? A familiar-looking petite blonde in a pencil skirt, cupping her hands around her eyes as she peered inside. Surely the town wasn’tthateager for a cupcake sale.
Rob didn’t like the feeling in his stomach. Wasn’t that blonde one of Claire and Jane’s friends? The one he met briefly when they searched for Addie?
