Tears filled Willow’s eyes. “In that case, thank you. I would really appreciate you staying with me.”
He’d never seen Willow so worried about anything. “Good. After we’ve finished here, you can follow me home. I’ll pack a suitcase and stay until David has left Sapphire Bay.”
Willow sighed. “What would I do without you?”
Zac looked around the room at her friends. “You would have found a way to stay safe.” But for now, he was glad he was here to look after her.
Chapter Twelve
Willow spentthe next day and a half in her studio. By Friday afternoon, she was alternating between working on her next commission and making Easter baskets for her friends.
“Something smells good.”
She looked over her shoulder at Zac and smiled. “I’m making lemon meringue chick cupcakes. They make wonderful Easter gifts.”
“Do you want me to be your taste-tester?”
“You’re a brave man.”
“Only when they smell so good.” He dipped his finger into the almost empty bowl of batter. “Yum.”
Willow took the cupcakes off the cooling rack. “If you can wait another five minutes, I’ll give you one that’s completely finished.”
“In that case, I’ll make the coffee. Have you finished the photos you were editing?”
“Nearly. I’ll send the images to the company who prints my canvases tonight. By next Thursday, I’ll have another happy customer.” She slid a tray of white meringues out of their packaging and picked up a piping bag. “Have I told you how much I appreciate you being here?”
“Only about a hundred times. But I got the better deal.”
“Because of my baking?”
Zac grinned. “How did you guess?”
“It wasn’t difficult. Whenever I’m in the kitchen, you suddenly appear beside me.” With a steady hand, she placed two black dots of royal icing on each of the meringues. When the eyes were finished, she changed piping bags and added yellow beaks. “What do you think?”
“They’re cute.”
“It gets better.” Willow picked up a cupcake and added buttercream frosting, then a spoon of lemon curd. Carefully, she placed a meringue on top of the curd and smiled. “What do you think?”
“I’m impressed. They’ll definitely make great gifts.”
“It’s nice to have something other than chocolate to eat at Easter.”
“There’s always room for chocolate,” Zac said with a smile. When the coffee was ready, he poured them both a drink. “Have you heard anything from your manager?”
“He’s called me twice, but I haven’t spoken to him. I keep waiting for him to knock on the front door.”
“He might have gone home.”
Knowing David, that was the last thing he would have done. “He doesn’t give up easily.”
Zac sipped his drink. “Are you sure he hasn’t changed?”
“If he has, it’s too late. I could never trust him again.”
“Aren’t you even a little curious about the recording contract?”
Willow added buttercream frosting to the other cupcakes. “Nothing can replace what I have here. I nearly lost sight of who I was when I was touring. When the YouTube video went viral, it reminded me of the worst part of being a musician. I want to enjoy singing, not hide every time I go somewhere.”
