Willa brushed her hair before braiding it. She was a no-fuss girl and looked gorgeous with or without makeup. But I might have been biased. “Did the investor say where she heard your name?”
“She said on the show.”
We were meeting at a small café called Cake Crumbs. I never passed up the chance to feel out the competition. Or taste test their products, especially when it came to cupcakes. It would take us about twenty minutes to get there, since it was in Park Hill and we were staying right in the city center.
There was no way I’d drive, so we got in a taxi instead. Willa had no fear of navigating in a big city, but her driving scared me. I’d learned my lesson about getting in a car with her long ago. There were probably still nail marks in her seat from where I’d gripped it.
The bakery looked unassuming, but it was cozy inside, and I breathed in the cake smells with a smile on my face.Hello, happy place.
We were early—a first for us—and took a seat at the last available table after ordering half the menu.
I took my first bite of a vanilla cupcake when the door opened again. And nearly choked when I inhaled at the surprise of seeing Mae walk inside.
She spotted us immediately. Hard not to since I was coughing up a lung—or hopefully a piece of cupcake, in this case. I took huge gulps of my water once the coughing had stopped and got up to greet her.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as soon as she was within reach.
She winked and pulled me in for a hug. “Becoming your partner.”
Ignoring the confusion and remembering my manners, I pointed at my niece and introduced them to each other. “I was supposed to meet with Mary Williams.”
Mae grinned and sat down. “That’s me. Mae is only my nickname. Mary will forever be my grandma, who’s still alive and kicking, making it confusing at family reunions.”
She helped herself to a croissant. “I lost to Elise. There was no beating her plum streusel cake.” She glanced at Willa. “You’re not allowed to tell anyone. I had to sign something stating that I wouldn’t talk about the show before it aired. Whoops.”
She didn’t look sorry at all. I shrugged, knowing I’d made the same mistake. “I told Willa as well. She knows they’ll sue us for all we have if she breathes a word about it. And the show’s almost finished airing anyway, so we only have another two or three weeks of pretend silence left.”
I didn’t mention how many people had known where I’d been. Or had drawn the obvious conclusion that I had gotten kicked off the show early when I came back. Everyone had been watching me on the show since it first started, so they’d have known something was up when they saw me, even though there were still a few episodes left to air.
“So, why do you want to invest in my bakery? I thought you said your family’s businesses were all on the East Coast?” I asked, curious why she was here.
“I want to work with you. And I have a proposal I think you’ll like.”
Blunt and to the point, something I appreciated about her. And I wanted to respond in kind. Not the least because she was my friend. “I don’t have much capital to invest.”
“I have the money, and you have the baking skills.” She pulled out her phone and showed me a web page. “I did some research, and I think we should set up an online baking business. We’ll sell the actual product but also the baking mix.”
I swallowed the last bite of my cupcake. I loved her idea. It also meant I didn’t have to juggle my time between two bakeries. “Sounds amazing. But aren’t you busy enough with your family’s business?”
“I want to invest in something that’s my project, not my family’s. And I think this has a lot of potential. I also don’t want to go back to North Carolina.”
It was hard to wrap my head around Mae having enough money to invest. She was Willa’s age and had only recently graduated culinary school.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Willa chimed in between giant bites of her own cupcake. “You don’t have to beg the bank for the money. Instead, you get to work with someone you trust, and you can finally make your dreams come true. Win-win.”
Mae looked at me expectantly, a half-smile on her face. “What do you say, Ray? Business partners?”
“Just like that? No negotiation?”
“I know what you’re capable of, and I know what kind of person you are. My intuition has never steered me wrong. And right now it’s screaming at me to give this a chance.”
I brushed a few crumbs off my top, hoping it would be enough to stop myself from jumping out of my seat and shouting. “You’d be the only investor.”
Willa nodded. “And paying for most of the initial setup.”
“Fine with me.” Mae held out her hand. “Partners?”
I couldn’t take her hand fast enough, shaking it up and down like I was pumping water from a well. “Partners.”
