Claire’s gaze travelled to the swinging door leading to the kitchen. Rob walked out with a tray of bread to replenish the dwindling supplies on his shelves. In giving her the extra space to display her wares, he had moved much of his bread back to the kitchen.
He caught her watching and smiled. She couldn’t help herself. She beamed back.
She had misjudged him. If Rob wanted to put her out of business, he would have left her in her kitchen, sobbing into her cupcakes. Instead, he had organized his space to save her cupcake sale and had motivated her out of her dour mood. If not for him, she would still be wallowing in misery, stuffing her face with cupcakes in the flooded bakery she owned.
Her problems weren’t solved, but at least she had today.
“How long will the bakery be closed?” asked Harry, jarring Claire out of her thoughts.
She fought back a grimace. “I don’t know for sure. Ralph told me two or three weeks initially, but I haven’t booked him in yet. It’s Saturday, so I’ll have to call him on Monday unless he happens to stop by the sale.”
“Two or three weeks! During summer?”
“I’m afraid so.” To stem any further questions, she patted him on the arm and pointed toward the cash register, where Maxi perched on a stool. “You can pay for those over there, with Maxi. If you’re also buying bread, you can pay for it at the same time. We’re keeping track of what’s what.”
Reluctantly, the two men left, making room for more customers to step in. Claire handed out boxes and explained the flavors, smiling all the while until her cheeks hurt. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Maxi’s husband, James, step into the store. He was a distinguished man with a well-trimmed beard and hair threaded through with silver. Even when he wore casual slacks and a polo shirt, like today, he somehow seemed as though he wore a suit. Claire followed him with her eyes as he made his way through the store to the front, sparing Claire no more than a glance and a nod in greeting.
For a second, Claire worried that James was unhappy that Maxi was helping with the sale, but the tension drained out of her as James reached his wife. They smiled at each other, and he leaned forward to kiss her cheek. Although they were too far away for Claire to hear what they were saying, he didn’t seem angry. He seemed attentive, if the hand lingering lightly on her arm was any indication. She said something more to him then applied herself to helping the next customer in line. He didn’t seem put off at the change in her attention.
Claire’s gaze was drawn to the doorway, where an older man had just entered. He searched the crowd. His eyes lit, and a smile cracked his face as he found his target. “Rob!”
Claire watched Rob turn at the mention of his name. A look of surprise spread on his face. “Frank!”
The men strode toward each other, meeting in front of Claire. They hugged, genuinely happy to see each other.
“What’s going on with you? Did you come all the way down for this?” Rob asked.
“Wouldn’t miss it, my friend.” Frank surveyed the store. “It’s looking good. Little small.” His gaze fell on Claire’s sign. “Sandcastles. Isn’t that the bakery across the street?”
“It is.”
“Why aren’t you open over there?” Frank stepped closer, squinting at the cupcakes in the tiered display.
“I had a problem with the pipes.”
Frank nodded knowingly and glanced up at Rob. “Let me guess. My man Rob here took you in. Reminds me of old times.”
“Old times?” Claire asked.
Frank stuck his hand out, and they shook. “Frank Martin. I owned the bakery across from Bradford Breads in Bar Harbor. Rob and I used to do a lot of cross-promotions. Made those last years before my retirement really profitable.”
Bar Harbor? That was where Peter and Sandee had said Rob put the bakery out of business.
“Youretiredand closed your bakery on purpose?” Claire asked.
Frank shrugged and went back to inspecting her cupcakes. “Yeah, none of my kids wanted to run it, so I just shut down.”
Peter and Sandee had been telling tales. Had they made it up or just assumed? It didn’t really matter. They had been wrong about Rob. But then, Claire had already come to that conclusion on her own.
Frank picked up a chocolate cupcake. “I used to bake a mean cupcake myself, you know.”
Rob laughed. “He sure did. Yours weren’t as good as Claire’s though.”
“You don’t say. I guess I’ll have to try some.” Frank picked out three cupcakes while continuing to talk to Rob. “I’m down for a few days. Maybe we could get together.”
“Sounds great.”
Frank nodded and handed his three cupcakes to Claire, who put them in a box. “Well, I know you’re busy. Give me a shout tonight, and we’ll catch up.”
