Chapter 33
“Optimism may have been a bad ingredient choice.” ~ Parker
Parker
I sing as I prepare the dough for my Snow-drift Sirens cookies. The shortbread dipped in white chocolate with sea salt flakes is always a hit at Christmas on Smuggler’s Hideaway.
On the first day of baking, my oven gave to me:
One burnt bottom crust and some sass from Viking’s stare.
On the second day of baking, the smugglers begged from me:
Two rum pecan pies
And one burnt bottom crust and some sass from Viking’s stare...
Viking chirps when he hears his name and I smile down at him. He’s currently mad at me since he’s stuck in his crate.
I wag my finger at him. “You shouldn’t have jumped into the bowl with the dough for my sugar cookies. The dough was supposed to be for my North Pole Narwhal Nibbles.”
He chirps again and gives me his puppy dog eyes.
I snort. “You can’t fool me, Viking. I’ve fallen for those puppy dog eyes one too many times. I have way too much baking to do today to be distracted by you. No matter how adorable you are.”
It’s crunch time for the bakery. Christmas is only a few days away, and the cookies and pies are flying off the shelves.
I don’t mind all the extra work. Being exhausted means I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to miss Jeremy.
I’m lying. Of course, I miss Jeremy. I miss his warm body cocooning me in warmth and safety all night. I miss him trailing off mid-sentence because he thought of some brilliant idea. I miss how good he can make me feel.
I plain miss him. I miss the man who makes me feel as if I matter. Who listens to me. I’m a goner for the billionaire. No one is more surprised than me.
My phone beeps with a message. Speaking of Scrooge.
Good news. I should be home tonight.
My stomach warms. Home. Does he consider Smuggler’s Hideaway home?
Can’t wait to see you.
I’ll be there soon, Princess.
I heart the message before putting my phone away and returning to work. I didn’t know what to expect when Jeremy left. Would he call? Would he message? Would he go silent? I didn’t dare ask.
To my delight, he didn’t go silent. He calls every evening. And he messages me good morning every day.
Holly peeks her head in from the bakery. “Sorry to bother you but we have a situation out front.”
“What kind of situation?”
Her nose wrinkles. “One you have to deal with.”
I blow out a breath. “Fine. Give me a second to check my timers.”
“No hurry,” she says before disappearing.
My brow wrinkles. No hurry? What kind of situation is this?
I scan the ovens and my timers. I have ten minutes before the next batch of cookies is done. I wash my hands before making my way into the bakery.
I stop dead in my tracks when I realize what the situation is. Triton’s trident. I do not want to interact with them.
Unfortunately, they spot me before I can sneak back into the kitchen. They smile and wave as they make their way toward me.
A small kernel of hope blossoms inside me. Maybe they’re here to invite me to Christmas dinner at their house. It is the season of miracles after all.
“Hi, Mom. Dad,” I greet.
“Darling.” Mom kisses my cheek.
The small kernel of hope grows at the kiss. Eek! Maybe they’re here to bury the hatchet. Best. Christmas. Present. Ever.
“We have something to discuss with you,” Dad says.
At his calm manner, the hope inside me practically explodes. This is it. The moment I’ve been waiting for. My parents are going to apologize for their behavior and say how proud of me they are.
And they should be proud. The bakery is packed with customers. The line snakes through the tables of people drinking coffee and out the door.
Pirate’s Pastries initially suffered when the café on the boulevard opened – especially since I didn’t have the money to do extra marketing or stunts – but we’ve bounced back now. I won the gingerbread contest and participating in the Mermaid Treasure Hunt has brought in tons of new customers.
“Shall we sit?” I motion to the only available table in the corner of the café. The table is reserved for Jeremy but I swipe the reserved sign before my parents notice.
“Do you want a coffee?” I ask as they settle in their seats. “There’s no need to wait. I can make you one.”
At their nods, I hurry to the counter.
“What’s going on?” Holly asks.
“I don’t know, but I think it’s going to be good.”
She frowns. “You shouldn’t get your hopes up.”
“Too late,” I sing as I finish the coffee for my parents.
“Here you go,” I set their drinks on the table before sitting across from them. “What do you want to discuss?”
I probably appear deranged with how big my smile is but I don’t care. This is the nicest my parents have been since I told them I was buying this bakery and staying in Smuggler’s Hideaway.
Dad nods to Mom, who opens her purse and pulls out a slip of paper.
“We wanted you to see this before everyone on the island was talking about it behind your back.”
“Behind my back?” My brow wrinkles. “What do you mean?”
Mom slides the paper across the table. There’s a gleam in her eye. My stomach drops. What is happening here?
“Read it and you’ll understand.”
I glance at Dad but he won’t meet my gaze. My fingers tremble as I pick up the newspaper clipping.
Jeremy Holland on the town with supermodel
The headline is accompanied by a photograph of Jeremy with a skinny blonde woman clinging to him.
I shake the clipping at my parents. “This is why you came here today?”
“Yes, darling.” Mom’s grin is calculating. Has she always been this cruel?
“We didn’t want you to get your hopes up that your boyfriend would solve all your problems,” Dad adds.
“Solve my problems?”
“Yes.” He motions to the bakery.
“Are you clueless?” He opens his mouth to respond but I hold up my hand. “It was a rhetorical question since anyone who isn’t clueless can tell the bakery is doing well. The line is out the door.”
He squirms in his seat. “Yes, well.”
“And I don’t need a boyfriend to solve my problems. I’m a grown ass woman. I can solve my own problems.”
Mom purses her lips. “And yet you didn’t get an internship after finishing culinary school despite graduating at the top of your class.”
“For mermaid’s sake!” I explode. “You want to know why I didn’t get an internship? I’ll tell you. Because some asshole son of a billionaire stole my place.”
Dad scowls. “Why didn’t you tell us? We would have litigated.”
“This is exactly why I didn’t tell you. I had no interest in drawing out the entire mess with a lawsuit. I let karma do its work.”
Mom rolls her eyes. “Litigation is more successful than karma.”
I study her and suddenly something clicks in my mind. A thought I’ve been burying deep inside for a very long time. “You’re never going to approve of me, are you? I could pay back all the money you spent on culinary school for me and you still wouldn’t love me.”
“We love you. You’re our daughter,” Dad claims.
“You have a funny way of showing it.” I tap the newspaper clipping.
“He’s cheating on you. We wanted you to know.”
“Bullshit. Do you think I’m stupid? This photograph isn’t recent. Jeremy’s hair is much longer than it is now, and this supermodel fell from grace years ago when she was arrested for driving under the influence.”
Dad suddenly finds the floor fascinating while Mom becomes obsessed with her nails. Their actions scream guilty.
“I’m such an idiot. I thought you came here to invite me to Christmas dinner.”
“We’re having dinner at the resort. The reservation is for two.”
“I figured as much,” I mutter.
“But I did speak to Hudson, he still hasn’t found a pastry chef,” Dad says.
I should have known. My parents and their obsession with prestige strikes again. I stand. “Goodbye.”
“This is the thanks we get for raising you,” Mom mutters.
Raising me? I spent my childhood with nannies and babysitters. Mom and Dad were always busy building their orthodontic practice. I thought they were hard workers. But now I realize they just couldn’t be bothered with me.
I don’t say a word as I make my way through the bakery to the kitchen. My timer goes off and I get to work. Except my hands shake. I drop the cookie tray on the prep table.
I can’t believe I ever thought I could earn their approval or their love. I’m done trying.
Holly bustles in from the café. “Let me finish the baking.”
“You’re needed out front.”
“I closed the café an hour early. The customers helped me clean up.”
“They did?”
“After they ran your parents out.”
My parents. My bottom lip trembles, and my eyes swell with unshed tears. I thought they were merely disappointed in me before. Disappointed would be better than the cruelty they’ve shown me today.
Holly releases Viking from his cage and hands him to me. “Go upstairs to the loft. I’ve got this handled.”
I try to thank her but I’m afraid if I speak, the tears I’m holding back will burst out. I nod instead.
I cuddle Viking as I walk upstairs to the loft. I manage to make it inside before the first tear falls.