Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Audrey
Walking into her bakery Saturday morning, Audrey felt both energized and oddly deflated. Going to the club last night had been a mistake, but she couldn’t have known that when she decided to go.
She should have waited a week, at least, until her grand opening was over.
Now, she was excited and terrified about her bakery opening, while simultaneously feeling like a twit for having a crush on Mason.
He and Yasmine had still not come out of their private room when Audrey left.
She’d claimed she was more tired than she’d realized and needed to get home to rest before the early opening of the bakery this morning.
It was a really good excuse, and everyone had wished her well.
Naomi hadn’t seemed too sad to leave early, hopeful that Drew might be home by the time she got there.
Ashley had stayed at the club; an older blonde woman named Leah had stopped by to let her know that Lincoln had called and would be meeting her there.
Audrey had left because she’d wanted to shut her brain off.
Surrounded by all the people happily engaged in scenes of pleasure and pain, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about what Mason and Yasmine might be doing. The combination of envy and guilt that her thoughts induced had made her nauseous.
Anxiety over this morning hadn’t helped either.
She’d barely gotten any sleep last night, despite leaving early. She’d been too wound up, recipes and decoration ideas dancing in her mind, alongside the sight of a woman moaning as she was whipped from behind. Nipple clamps. Leather. Latex. Crops.
A few of her ideas for cupcakes and cookies were now more bachelor/bachelorette themed…
or, really, kink-club themed, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Maybe the club sometimes did events where they would want themed baked goods.
If not, she could always use it for Cassidy’s bachelorette party.
She and David weren’t engaged, but Audrey knew her brother.
He was locked in, and that was where their relationship was headed.
If Yasmine had a bachelorette party, Audrey could use the ideas for her, too.
Hopefully, by then, she’d be past this dumb crush.
Arriving at the back entrance to the bakery, she blinked in surprise when she saw Alexis already standing outside the door, huddled in a huge blue puffy coat.
The long dark strands of her hair blew gently in the wind where it came out from the hood.
The coat looked almost like a sleeping bag, extending all the way down to her ankles. Only her face could really be seen.
“Alexis? What are you doing here so early?” She was also curious why Alexis was so bundled up. It was cold, but not to the point where Audrey would wear a sleeping bag-style coat.
On the other hand, Alexis looked really warm, whereas Audrey was shivering slightly…
“I couldn’t sleep, I was too excited,” Alexis confessed, smiling shyly at her. “And then I got to the point where I was afraid that if I didn’t get up, I’d end up sleeping through my alarm and be late, so I decided being early was better.”
Audrey had to laugh as she unlocked the back door because she’d had a similar experience.
“I did the same thing,” she admitted. “Although I must not have been up quite as early as you.” She opened the door, and the blast of warm air made her sigh in relief.
Maybe Alexis had the right idea with the super puffy warm coat.
It wasn’t stylish; Audrey’s mom would throw a fit if she saw Audrey wearing something like that…
but she wasn’t making decisions to please her mom anymore.
Maybe this winter, she’d get a super unstylish, super warm, super puffy coat.
Alexis sighed with relief as she followed Audrey through the entrance into the warm kitchen. Warm compared to outside, at least. It would be even warmer once they got the ovens going.
“I’m still not used to the winter weather here,” Alexis said, shrugging off her jacket to reveal a sensible white t-shirt and blue jeans underneath.
Her body type was the opposite of Audrey’s; she was petite all over, and on her, the simple clothing choices made her look like a short model.
Her long dark hair had been pulled back into a severe bun, keeping all of it out of her face and pinned neatly in place.
It reminded Audrey of the way she’d had to wear her hair for ballet class when she was younger, before her mother had decided she was too fat for ballet.
Audrey had told her there was no official uniform and to wear whatever she was comfortable in, but now she felt overdressed compared to Alexis.
But she would also be in the front of the store today, as well as the back, so she’d wanted to make sure to dress up a little.
Though she’d chosen comfortable tennis shoes to go with her black-and-white polka-dot dress and short socks over her stockings.
Hm.
Maybe the coat wasn’t the only reason Alexis was warmer than her.
She’d felt like she’d needed to wear a dress today, since it was the grand opening.
Was that from her mother’s influence? No…
she liked her dresses. She’d wanted to be a little fancy.
Tomorrow, she’d wear jeans or at least some kind of pants.
Today was special. Besides, her mother would have been horrified that she was wearing tennis shoes with a skirt, even if it was the more sensible option.
“You’re from Savannah, right?”
“Florida, actually, but I went to school in Savannah. SCAD, the College of Art and Design.” Alexis sighed. “Not that my degree is going anywhere at the moment. The Pittsburgh theater scene is only so happening.”
It was a joke, but Audrey could feel the disappointment coming off Alexis at not being able to follow her dreams. She could sympathize, considering how long she’d squashed her own to please her family.
Alexis was in an even worse situation, though. She wasn’t here to please her family; she was here because her only family member left, her aunt, was sick and needed someone to take care of her while she went through treatment.
“It’ll get better. Your aunt has three more rounds of chemo, right?”
“Right.” Alexis smiled wanly. “And then some waiting and some tests, then she’ll decide if she’s getting a mastectomy or not, and then we’ll see.”
When Audrey had hired Alexis, she’d known that it was possible the other woman would be moving away during the summer, but she’d also been the best person for the job. She baked, she was a good decorator, and she didn’t mind the early hours or the pay.
“If you ever want to make something special for her here, do it,” Audrey offered.
“Thanks. She’s usually not super interested in food after the chemo, but there are usually some good days before the next round, so I might take you up on that.”
“Please do. Okay. Not to change the subject, but…”
Alexis laughed as she walked over to the hooks on the wall where several pink and cream aprons with the Cupcakes and Crumbs logos on the chest hung. She took one off the wall and put it on as she spoke.
“Let’s absolutely change the subject. Are you excited about today?”
“More like terrified.” Audrey sighed, but she couldn’t stop the smile that spread on her lips. “Also, really excited. I can’t believe this is finally happening.” She spread her arms out wide. “It feels like a dream. A really good one.”
Alexis beamed at her.
“Good. That’s what it should feel like.” She took another apron off a hook and walked it over to hand to Audrey. “It’s going to be amazing.”
“I hope so. Okay. Let’s get started.”
They got the lights on, the ovens preheating, and the counters wiped down.
Being here in the bakery made it easy for Audrey to focus on her excitement.
Sure, she was still nervous that no one would show up today, but at the same time, she could easily picture a long line out the door.
Especially since they served basic coffee along with a small fridge of refrigerated drinks, though she expected the coffee to be more popular on an early morning.
Humming as she went into the front to give the display cases a look over, she flicked the lights on and walked around in front of them.
Empty right now, but soon to be filled with all the delicious treats she was going to sell.
Her heart felt like it was going to pound right out of her chest with happiness.
Something on the outside of the front door caught her eye as she turned around, looking everything over. Frowning, she walked over and unlocked it. A piece of paper had been taped on the outside of the door, right over her logo.
Opening the door, she quickly pulled it off and let the door shut again as she stared at the message that had been left.
GET OUT.
It wasn’t written; whoever had left it had used magazines and newspapers to cut out the large letters, like something from an old movie or TV show. The message was simple enough, but it also made no sense.
Maybe this was someone’s idea of a practical joke?
Maybe it wasn’t for her, though. Maybe it was for Alexis. Or Ashley. But that didn’t make sense, either.
Maybe I’m making something out of nothing because my brother works for a security firm, and it’s made me paranoid.
It was probably just kids or something. Maybe being silly on a dare.
She didn’t have a security camera up on the front door, only the back one and the one inside the bakery.
She’d ask David about putting one on the front door later today.
Not because of the note, but because the note made her think it was a smart thing to do.
“Hey, A-Team in the house!” Ashley’s voice echoed in the kitchen, full of bright cheer. She was way earlier than she needed to be, too.
Audrey laughed as she shoved the note into her apron pocket. It seemed like they were all excited this morning, which took her spirits right back up to where they had been before she’d seen the note.