Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Audrey
Cupcakes and Crumbs’ grand opening was good. Not amazing. Not terrible. But solidly good. Solidly busy.
Was there a line down the block?
No.
But there was a line.
For three hours straight, there was a line. Sometimes, it was only one or two people behind the person ordering, sometimes, it was nearly to the door, but there was a line.
Ashley kept smiling and moving the line alone.
Alexis was in the back, baking up a storm to keep up with the more popular demands.
And Audrey was running back and forth between them, assisting with both.
Making sure the tables were clear and clean after people left, for the few who decided to take a seat.
Several Black Fox Security team members, mostly Harris’ team, came in early in the morning.
Harris made sure to introduce her to Aiden, Jaxon, and Seth before they stepped aside to let others through.
Zeus came in not long after them on his own.
He did not have Noelle with him, and Audrey couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened between them, but she didn’t know him well enough to ask.
Ashley didn’t ask him either, probably because that was one of the points where they did have a line to the door—he was in and back out far too fast for her to get nosy.
Finally, around lunchtime, things slowed down to a trickle, the line finally disappeared for the first time, and Audrey made her way over to the table where her grandmother and Cassidy were sitting. They’d come in mid-morning to get coffee and treats and had stayed through.
“This is quite the grand opening,” Grandma said, beaming at her. “I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
“Proud and exhausted,” Audrey confirmed. “And we still have the whole afternoon and evening to go.” Since it was a Saturday, she was staying open till eight, in case people wanted cupcakes or dessert after dinner.
Tomorrow they would close earlier, at four o’clock, so she and Ashley could go to book club.
One of the perks of being the owner. She could make her own hours.
Right now, she didn’t have hours posted because she planned to spend the first month trying to be open as much as possible to determine when it made sense to be open.
Since she only had two employees, she would be doing most of the work, but that was also part of being the owner.
“It was definitely busy. A lot of foot traffic.” Cassidy glanced out the window. “There are a lot of businesses here, so I wasn’t sure there would be since it’s the weekend.”
“Well, Black Fox Security made up a lot of the business,” Audrey replied, laughing as she set one foot up on her knee. “They all seem to be in and out of the office on Saturday, and it’s just around the corner.”
“Good point. A lot of them go there to train or work out, too.”
“Ooh, can we go watch that after we’re done here?” Grandma asked, her face lighting up. “That sounds fun.”
“They’re working out, not providing a show,” Cassidy scolded.
“Why can’t it be both?”
“Oh, hey, there’s Yasmine and Claudia.” Cassidy leaned toward the window and raised her hand in a wave, ignoring Audrey’s grandmother’s question. Which was probably the best way to deal with her at the moment, if Audrey was being honest.
Audrey set her foot down, feeling suddenly very awkward as the door to the bakery opened and the two women came inside.
How was she supposed to act toward Yasmine now?
They weren’t friends friends, and she hadn’t been there last night when Yasmine and Mason had told everyone they’d broken up. She’d gotten it secondhand from Ashley.
Was she supposed to know?
Would Yasmine be upset that Ashley told her?
She should have asked when Ashley told her if it was okay for her to know, but she’d been too distracted by the heaps of guilt caused by her initial reaction.
Immediately, her gaze locked onto Yasmine’s face, searching for any signs of upset or heartbreak.
She looked exactly the same as she had every other time Audrey had seen her. Calm. Confident.
Stunningly gorgeous.
Either she was perfectly fine, or she was hiding it really well.
“Hey, there, I heard you and Mason called things off.” Grandma stood up and opened her arms to offer Yasmine a hug.
She immediately stepped into it, bending slightly because Grandma was so much shorter than her.
Audrey felt another wave of relief. Trust her grandmother to immediately broach the subject, awkward or not. “I’m sorry, honey.”
“Thanks, Brenda.” Yasmine smiled gently as she straightened, stepping away, only to have to hug Cassidy, who had gotten up from her seat as well. “The curse continues, apparently.”
Was Audrey supposed to hug her? Or not? She wasn’t sure of the new friend etiquette.
“I have something for you,” she blurted out, jumping to her feet, which immediately protested having to be used again. They had been enjoying the reprieve. Ignoring the soreness, she hurried to the back, circumventing the need to decide whether to hug Yasmine.
Thankfully, the orange and chocolate cupcakes were finished.
She gave Alexis a reassuring smile—the other woman had been sitting down and also resting, but she jumped to her feet when Audrey appeared as if worried at being caught taking a break—and picked up the tray to take it out front.
The actual cake was orange flavored, with a chocolate center, chocolate and orange-flavored icing, and decorated with a candied orange slice on top.
It was the first time Audrey had made this particular combination, but she thought they’d come out pretty well. Hopefully, Yasmine agreed. If not… well, she’d tried.
Ashley glanced over as Audrey came out of the back room, but since she was talking to a new customer at the counter, she had to stay where she was.
Yasmine, on the other hand, was standing by herself at the end of the counter nearest to the door to the back, obviously waiting for Audrey to reappear. She skidded to a halt, holding the tray out in front of her like an offering… or a shield.
“Hey.” Audrey’s voice squeaked. “Um, so these are chocolate orange cupcakes. Ashley said that you like that combination.”
Dark eyes widening, Yasmine stared down at the tray, and a small smile curved her lips.
“I do. This is really thoughtful of you, Audrey. Thank you.”
“First one is on the house.” Audrey lifted the tray a little, encouraging Yasmine to take one.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I want to,” she said firmly. Guilt cupcakes didn’t work if the receiver had to pay for them.
“Thank you.” Yasmine hesitated a moment, hand hovering over the offerings, before picking one up. Once she’d chosen one, Audrey set the tray down on the counter beside them, ready to be put in the display case.
“Let me get you a plate. Do you want anything to drink?”
“I’m good. Actually, can I have a box? Claudia and I are on our way to lunch. We just wanted to stop in and see how the grand opening was going. I’ll eat this for dessert later.”
“Oh, right, of course.” Why was she so flustered? It wasn’t like Yasmine knew she had a crush on Mason or that she’d been relieved to hear they’d broken up.
Feeling her cheeks heat pink, Audrey ducked behind the counter to get one of the to-go boxes.
“Here you go.” Audrey set the little box down on the counter and held it open for Yasmine to place the cupcake inside.
“So, today is going well?” Yasmine asked as she gently lowered the cupcake into the box, careful not to squish it and get icing all over her hands.
“Really well. It’s been a great turnout. As long as Ashley and Alexis don’t quit from being overworked, I’m golden,” Audrey joked. Although she wasn’t entirely joking.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“And… are you okay?” She wasn’t sure if it was okay to ask, but she felt compelled to.
“I am. Disappointed, of course. But a part of me isn’t surprised.
” Yasmine smiled sadly, but Audrey also remembered what Claudia and Naomi had said about Yasmine’s curse being a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Maybe she wasn’t surprised because she was the one who’d made it happen.
“Mason isn’t the one for me. I’m starting to think no one is. ”
Audrey’s heart hurt for the other woman.
“You just haven’t found the right one yet,” she said. “I mean, you’re gorgeous, you’re smart, you’re kind… any guy would be lucky to have you. You just have to choose the one you want.”
“If only.” Yasmine laughed, shaking her head sadly at the same time.
“Somehow, I keep picking guys who aren’t right for me.
Ones who are attracted to someone else.” There was something about the way she said it, putting a bit of emphasis on someone else, that made Audrey feel like Yasmine was trying to tell her something.
“Mason was cheating on you?”
“Oh, no. He would never do that. He’s loyal to the bone. But we didn’t have the right chemistry. I think he does have that chemistry with someone else.”
Again, the little emphasis on someone else, and now Yasmine was looking at Audrey so intently, it really did feel like she was trying to tell Audrey something.
Like that Mason was attracted to her. Or was she reading way too much into this because that’s what she wanted to hear?
And she wanted to think that maybe Yasmine would be okay with it?
“I’ve asked him to give me some time before I have to actually see him with her, although he could always make his move before then.
” Yasmine shrugged, like she didn’t care, but the intensity of her eye contact with Audrey made it seem like she cared a lot more than her tone indicated.
“The important thing is that I want him to be happy, even if I can’t be. ”
Okay, seriously, was she giving Audrey tacit permission to accept Mason’s advances if he even made any?
Or was she speaking in general?
Audrey couldn’t ask, though, because what if she was wrong? What if she wasn’t doing that at all and got pissed that Audrey would think that she was?
Thankfully, Claudia was coming up behind Audrey, looking at the cupcakes still resting on the tray. She’d unbuttoned the top of her coat, letting the collar hang open to reveal the top of a red shirt.
“Ooh, what are those?” she asked, nodding at the cupcakes.
“Chocolate and orange cupcakes,” Audrey blurted out, relieved to have an interruption before she did something monumentally ridiculous, like asking Yasmine if she was hinting that Audrey should hook up with Mason. “Do you want one? On the house.”
A free guilt cupcake for Yasmine and a free ‘thank you for interrupting this conversation’ cupcake for Claudia.
“Sure.”
“Great, let me pack one up for you.” Which also meant that she didn’t have to look at Yasmine now.
“Thanks.” Claudia turned to Yasmine. “We should get going if we’re going to do lunch.”
“Yes, we should.” Yasmine smiled, the polite social smile that Audrey was starting to recognize as her default expression, though she wondered if it was a real smile. “It was good to see you, Audrey. Congratulations on the bakery officially opening.”
“Thank you.” Audrey smiled brightly as she handed the cupcake box over to Claudia. “I really appreciate you stopping by.”
They both wished her a great rest of the day before heading out. Audrey sagged slightly before looking over at her grandmother and Cassidy again and frowning. Mick had appeared while she was talking to Yasmine, and he was now sitting at the table next to her grandmother.
That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that her grandmother had her hand on Mick’s bicep and was rubbing it, leaning toward him to say something, while his head was bent toward hers, and Cassidy was staring at them both with a fascinated and horrified expression on her face.
They weren’t really flirting, were they?