“Oof.” Sylvie shook her head in sympathy. “Destruction of cake? You’re lucky he still calls you a friend at all.”
“Iamlucky,” Luna said, and blinked a bit at how cheesy she sounded. It was true, though. “I’m hoping he’ll be able to find it in his heart to forgive me.”
“Well, let’s see what we can do,” Sylvie said. “I still remember what he bought yesterday, so I can do that again, and throw in the mango cheesecake on the side. How does that sound?”
Luna exchanged a glance with Henry, who nodded. “Sounds great, thanks,” she said, impressed with Sylvie’s memory.
“Will you be eating here?” Sylvie asked. “The weather looks pretty nasty outside.”
Luna nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s the safest option.”
“I tell you what – there’s a table just around the corner there, right down the back, that has a great view. You go sit down there, and I’ll have this out to you in no time. On the house, of course.”
“What? No!” Luna said, as Henry also voiced his own protests. “Please, that’s not necessary –”
“Of course it’s necessary,” Sylvie said with a twinkle in her eye. “There’s been a terrible cake-related catastrophe, and the universe needs to be set to rights.” She grinned. “Also, it’s my shop, and I’m bringing it to you and refusing to take your money no matter what. So either you eat it, or it just goes in the trash.”
In the end, Luna supposed that she couldn’t argue with that kind of logic. She was starting to see why people loved Girdwood Springs so much!
The two of them made their effusive thanks and wandered down to the back of the shop, finding the table that Sylvie had mentioned, which was tucked a fair distance away from the other patrons.
The view, indeed, was spectacular – while the rolling fog obscured the details somewhat, Luna could see that there was a river farther down the mountain at the bottom of a gully, its pale greenish-blue waters churning white as it ran along its rocky path. The steady beat of the rain against the glass and the green fern fronds that surrounded the window completed the feeling of being warm and enclosed, protected from the dreariness outside.
Sylvie reappeared at that moment, carrying a tray that was overflowing with cakes, two plates, two cups of tea, a small bowl of chopped-up vegetables and boiled egg that was presumably for Fillmore, and what looked like a cardboard box for leftovers. Which was good, because there was no way that they could eat all of this – but surely this was more food than Henry had bought yesterday! There had to be at least ten different cakes here!
Henry must have felt the same way, because she could see him opening his mouth to protest, but Sylvie held up a hand.
“I’m not hearing anything you have to say! Enjoy!”
With that, she scurried off, leaving Luna and Henry to exchange bewildered looks.
Luna shook her head in bemusement, and set down the bowl of food for Fillmore, who sniffed at it suspiciously.
“Well, I can see why business here is so good,” she murmured, looking over the array of cakes with what could almost have been described as lust. “Not that she needs to offer anything for free to get anyone in – I would’ve been more than happy to pay for these.”
Henry nodded in agreement, looking a little overwhelmed. Luna couldn’t say she blamed him! Everything looked – andsmelled– so good, she had no idea where to start.
Her indecision must’ve been clear, because suddenly Henry laughed, and the sound made her heart flutter. “You know what – close your eyes and hold out your hands, and I’ll pick a random one out for you.”
Does he even realize that he’s flirting?!
Luna laughed a little breathlessly. “Oh, like a lucky dip for grown-ups with no self-control? Count me in.”
She obediently closed her eyes and held out her hands, until she felt the solid weight of what felt like a tart in them. Feeling a little adventurous, she kept her eyes closed, bringing her hands up to her face and taking a sniff.
She was rewarded with a warm, sweet, spiced smell. It washeavenly.
“Hmm… banana?”
“You’ve got a good nose.”
Luna opened her eyes to see the most amazing-looking caramelized banana and pecan tart. It was all she could do not to shove the whole thing into her face at once, but she supposed she should be civilized about these things and use a fork.
… Except that Henry was smiling as he watched her, and suddenly the whole idea of beingcivilizedjust didn’t seem to be so appealing.
She held the tart between her fingers and took her first bite, just a small one, mostly a scraping of thick, delicious tart crust. She knew that some people just considered the crust to be a vehicle for the filling, but a good crust was a treat all on its own.
And thiswasa good crust: just the right texture, the flavor rich and buttery.
