His mom laughed, bouncing the baby girl on her hip. “They’re not gross, sweetie. They’re yummy.”
“Nuh-uh,” he disagreed, shaking his head.
Sighing, his mom stuffed half a dozen sweet potatoes into one of the paper bags we had at the end of the aisle. “Remember that dish Grandma makes with the marshmallows on top?”
His little face lit up. “Yeah!”
“The orange stuff is these.”
His eyes widened at her explanation. “Oh.”
Snagging a slice of pie, I lifted it high enough for the mom to see. When she nodded, I rounded the counter and walked over and crouched to his level. “You know what else you can make with sweet potatoes? Pie.”
Licking his lips, he eyed the container I popped open, then his mom.
“Go ahead. You’re going to love it.”
He took a nibble before grinning at me. “More!”
“Delicious, right?” I handed him the spoon.
When they made it to the register, he pointed at the whole pies in the display case. “Please, Mommy?”
“Sure, sweetie.” She turned her attention toward me. “I guess I can’t complain too much about the sugar content when there are v-e-g-e-t-a-b-l-e-s in his dessert.”
“You should see what my mom does with zucchini in the summer.” I started to ring up her order. “That’s when it’s the most plentiful, and we usually have bread with chocolate chips or lemon. And she came up with a recipe this year for chocolate zucchini brownies that were amazing.”
“Thanks. I will definitely keep an eye out for those.”
She swiped her card to pay, and I tucked the slice of pie I’d let her son try into the bag. “On the house for the brave taste tester.”
Juggling her daughter in one arm and the bag in the other, she prodded, “What do you say, sweetie?”
“Thank you,” he chirped.
They left, the bell over the door jingling behind them.
I turned to wipe down the scale and found Harper leaning on the end of the counter, smirking at me. “You’re off your game today.”
My sister was right, but that didn’t stop me from denying it. “I’ve sold half our sweet potato inventory and turned a toddler into a vegetable fan. I’m on fire.”
“You’re distracted,” she insisted, tilting her head at the display case. “You mentioned something we won’t have in stock again until next June instead of trying to upsell the apple cider donuts.”
I rolled my eyes. “She mentioned hiding vegetables in desserts, so recommending the brownies made more sense.”
“That’s fair,” she conceded, coming around the counter to open the case and grab a donut. “But it’s never stopped you from talking about these before.”
Heat crept up my neck. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Harper took a bite and hopped up to sit on the counter, something our mom would’ve yelled at her for if she’d been here. “Please. You’ve been staring into space like a lovesick cartoon character ever since you went to hang out with Poppy yesterday. There’s only one explanation—one of those bikers caught your eye.”
I sighed. My seventeen-year-old sister was like a bloodhound when she smelled gossip. There was no point fighting it. She wouldn’t let up until I spilled all the details.
“Fine.” I walked over to the door and peered out the glass to make sure nobody was about to walk in mid-confession. After confirming the coast was clear, I turned back toward her. “You’re right. There’s a guy. I was grabbing a drink, turned around too fast, and basically ran into his chest.”
“Nice.” She snorted. “Classic rom-com move to get the guy’s attention.”
“I wasn’t trying anything,” I muttered. “I didn’t even know he was there.”
