Chapter Five
I vy added a tinkling silver bell to her glass door. Determined to compete with her sister, Ivy felt hers was cuter and sounded sweeter, swinging on a velvet green ribbon that matched the one on the cookie press. She’d already decided it would chime more often than her sister’s, especially around midday when the bakery business was dropping off. For the first time, she would win their bet. Savory lunch items would do the trick. She’d make sure of it. Staying up late, she’d gone through her recipes and settled on tomato basil soup with little panini sandwiches of Gouda and Gruyère.
After being up half the night, she’d woken early to write her new specials in script on her whiteboard. She’d spent an hour decorating it with flowers and scrollwork. She frowned at it. The flowers resembled oleanders.
She hated oleanders. Oleanders were deadly. Sure, they were the family flowers with a long history here in Hazard, but they didn’t belong in a tea shop. Tea made from oleanders would kill you. She could redraw the flowers, but who would know? The food was all prepped. Her pretty flowered teapots in all the colors of the rainbow were lined up and waiting. In addition, she had her own fresh blueberry scones today, along with Holly’s chocolate croissants.
What could go wrong?
Ivy hid a yawn behind her hand as she turned her window sign from Shut to Welcome. Quiche du jour would have to wait until tomorrow. This prepping before daylight was grueling. No sooner had Ivy turned her sign than the little bell was making its happy, tinkling welcome.
“Oh!” She headed back to hold the door for Roman, who struggled with his crutches. She waited until he was clear and led him over to a table, surprised to see him in her shop. Roman was a frequent visitor at Hollister’s Bakery next door. He looked incongruous seating himself at her pedestal table covered in flouncy white lace.
“What can I get you today?”
He gave her a great big grin. “I trust you. Just bring me something wonderful.” He leaned in and drew in a big sniff of air. At least she hoped it was the air and not her hair. He had leaned in rather close.
“It smells great in here.”
“I have some of the pastries from next door. Was the line too long over there for you to manage with your crutches?”
“Oh, I don’t need Holly’s pastries. Not today. I want something you baked. Do you have any cookies?” He gazed at her, eyes hopeful and adoring.
Weird.
“So, cookies for breakfast?” She stifled a shrug. “No problem. I’ll just bring out a selection, and you can choose.”
Ivy had just set about arranging a plate of madeleines, petits beurre, and her personal favorite, ginger crinkles, for Roman when the chime tinkled again.
And again.
And again.
Ivy rushed about serving her new clientele of men . She absolutely couldn’t fathom it, all these men in her tea shop amidst the lace-curtained windows and floral-patterned china, the delicate cups and saucers. They all perched on her newly upholstered chintz-padded chairs. But the chairs were comfortable and the shop welcoming.
Still, it was odd to see so many male customers. The tea shop was primarily favored by a female clientele. Well, with the exception of Seymour as part of the Hazard Historical Society.
Ivy happily served tea, scones, and croissants. She made sure to hand out little slips of paper with the day’s lunch offerings in the hope that she’d tempt her new customers to return midday.
Holly popped over in the midst of the rush. Her sister frowned, brow furrowed.
“What’s up?” asked Ivy, as she prepared three more pots of tea and trays of goodies to carry out. “You want to give me a hand?”
“No, I don’t. Where did all these men come from? Why are they here?”
“Don’t know, don’t care, but I plan to keep them happy, so they’ll come back.” She breezed by her sister and took a tray out to Joel, second baseman for the Rebels.
“So, Ivy,” he said, as she set down a blueberry scone in front of him. He took a bite and rolled his eyes in delight. “These are so, so, so good. Are you free tonight? I was hoping we could catch the play at the community center?”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s a comedy, should be fun.”
“Oh, I don’t know, Joel. It’s a little short notice for me.”
“Okay, what about tomorrow, Sunday?”
“Can I let you know?”
“Absolutely, I just really want to spend time with you.”
It was Ivy’s turn to furrow her brow. Why? was her first thought. Joel had shown zero interest in her before. She’d known him since middle school. She considered her reply, and decided she might as well make a plug for her business. “Well, you could come back at lunch,” she told him brightly and handed him a list of her specials.
“What’s this?” said Holly, still behind Ivy’s counter and glaring at the board Ivy had labored over. She waved an impatient hand at it.
“Today’s lunch specials. The weather’s been a bit blustery, so I thought a hot soup and sandwich combo might be popular. Say, do you have your panini maker? Mom gave us both one last Christmas. I think I could really use it today.”
“Well, I’m not running home to get it.”
“No, but I could probably get Aunt Lydia to get it, if you gave me the okay.”
“Why would I do that?”
Ivy stopped. “Wait, are you mad?”
“Of course not,” said Holly. She stood a little straighter and tugged on her pink bakery tunic. “Why would you think that?”
“Because your face is all red and you’re glaring. I thought you’d be proud of me since my business picked up.”
“It’s one morning.”
“The first of many.” The little bell over Ivy’s door tinkled. Holly stomped off.
Ivy blew out a long breath. Not her sister’s best moment, which didn’t seem fair. Ivy always celebrated Holly’s wins.
Roman caught hold of her hand in a tight grip as she walked by. She nearly tripped as he tugged her back to his table. “Listen, I need to go man the counter at the hardware store, so my guys can unload the stock arriving in half an hour. Will you go out to dinner with me tonight?”
Ivy scrambled for a reply. “Oh, Roman, I really need to plan my menu out for the next week.”
“But it’s Saturday night. Please.” He gave her puppy dog eyes. She gave in, and nodded. Crispy crumpets! Now Joel would find out and be mad that she’d turned him down and accepted Roman’s invitation. But it was just dinner. A girl had to eat.
And Jaxon wasn’t asking.
In fact, with all these men in her shop, not one of them was Jaxon. He’d said he would drop by with the new lease but had yet to make an appearance, and it was nearing ten o’clock.
Roman stood. At six foot four he towered over her, but leaned down and kissed her cheek as he worked his crutches under his arms.
“Can we keep it casual?” she asked. That would be better. Roman was definitely good-looking in his tall, dark, handsome kind of way, but she always felt too tiny next to him. She much preferred Jaxon’s height. It was only an inch or two difference, but instead of feeling overwhelmed, she felt safe with Jaxon. He was the perfect height for her to tilt her head up to his. She bet she would fit perfectly in his arms.
But Jaxon hadn’t asked her, and Roman had.
She’d thought she didn’t want a boyfriend-type date with Roman, but maybe she actually did. She took a moment to study him. He owned the local hardware store. He was dark skinned, tall, muscular, had those deep-set brown eyes and jet-black hair. He was the regular star hitter of the Rebels, and he was asking her out.
“What did you have in mind?” asked Roman.
“How ’bout Kaylee’s Refresher? It might be easier with your crutches not to have to maneuver through a restaurant with tight little tables.” She bit her lip, hoping she hadn’t offended him by choosing such a casual venue. Kaylee’s was an outdoor burger stand, really, but super cool with high-end burgers and sandwiches that catered to every diet from carnivore to low carb to vegan to gluten free. Not to mention the rainbow selection of milkshakes.
“What’s your favorite?” Roman asked, and Ivy grinned.
“Raspberry cheesecake.”
“Is that a new flavor?”
“It’s my new weakness.”
Roman leaned in again. “Raspberry cheesecake milkshakes it is, because you, Ivy Wayland,” his breath tickled her ear, and she caught hers, “are my new weakness.”
She watched him work his way through the crowded shop to the door, deftly handling his crutches. That was kinda wow. She’d never thought of Roman as romantic. Should she consider him? Play the field? Go out on lots of dates? Would that make Jaxon notice her as a woman and not just a friend?
She shook her head, disappointed in herself. She wasn’t into playing games—well, except for baking magic cookies—but apparently they hadn’t had any effect on Jaxon, which meant the legend was all myth.
Of course it was. She gave herself a little shake and sighed. Magic wasn’t real. Magic was illusion and artifice. Besides, she absolutely would not go out with one man to make another man jealous. That wasn’t any way to treat either Jaxon or Roman. No, she would go out tonight on a casual date with Roman, so she could enjoy his company and get to know him better. She gave a decisive nod. She was a single woman who did not need to stay in every night of the week. She would enjoy this date on its own merits.
She would not compare Roman to Jaxon.
Much.
When Pedro from the diner across the street bustled in, Ivy hurried over to help him. She knew he must be busy. Showing up midday like this was out-of-character. Usually, it was her popping over to his diner at the end of the day to pick up takeout because she had no inclination to cook dinner for just herself after working all day in the tea shop. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to pick up some of your scones for the diner.”
“Oh! Oh, that’s lovely.” Ivy immediately began to put an order together for him.
Pedro surveyed the crowded shop, and his gaze fell on her whiteboard with the day’s selections. “You’ve added lunch items?”
“Yes.” At his perplexed frown, she added, “Oh, does that cut into your business? I didn’t think about that.”
Pedro laughed. “Competition is good. I’ve been thinking of adding Mexican specials to the menu now that my stepdad sold me his business. What do you think?”
“Oh, Pedro, that’s a delightful idea. I mean, of course! Who doesn’t love Leo’s famous meat loaf special?” They laughed. “I know it’s been a staple for…” She paused.
“Forty,” said Pedro with an eye roll.
“Years,” finished Ivy. They laughed again. “A cuisine a bit trendier might be in order.”
“Maybe you could sample some of my ideas and let me know what you think? I have lots of ideas.” He moved in a little closer. “Lots of really delicious ideas. What do you say?”
“That sounds like fun.” Ivy stepped back.
Pedro stepped close again. “I know how you like fun.”
Ivy turned her face up to his and blinked at him. “You do?”
“We all do.” He gave a nod at the clientele pouring in the door. In that moment, Ivy suddenly realized that all her new business this morning consisted of members of Jaxon’s baseball team. “I like to have fun, too. We could have fun together, don’t you think?”
Ivy opened her mouth to reply and choked on her response as a disconcerting thought struck her. Had Jaxon’s entire baseball team sampled her cookies? Was that the reason for her sudden uptick in business?
Prickles ran over her skin. She shivered at the realization that her plan to gift her Very Special Cookies had gone so far awry. That insight was followed by a wondrous recognition.
The Hazard Blessing works. Magic is real.
*
Jaxon glanced at the time and shut down his laptop. He’d decided to do his business accounting from home instead of walking to his office. His stomach rumbled. Already after one p.m. meant time for lunch. Dropping in downstairs meant he could take the contract to give to Ivy.
Just the thought of seeing her midday put a spring in his step. At the shop, he paused. Her place was jam-packed. Normally, business was dropping off this time of day. She often complained her lunch business was dismal.
It didn’t normally pick up until midafternoon when the bakery shut down. At the window table, Kyle and Rob, two of his teammates from last night, were having a heated discussion. That was strange—not the arguing per se, as Kyle and Rob were usually in vehement disagreement over everything—but that they would be in the tea shop at all, especially seated together. They kept glancing over their shoulders to the back of the shop. Kyle was waving his arms and Rob crossed his in dissatisfaction.
Jaxon spotted Ivy, light on her feet weaving through crowded tables, setting down plates of sandwiches and bowls of steaming soup. At the counter, pastries stacked under glass domes beckoned. His mouth watered. The sight of Ivy and pastries was inviting, but he’d been hoping for a moment when they could talk.
That was absolutely not possible with so many customers. He realized he should be happy for her, that her business was doing well. He watched while Ivy smiled and chatted as she placed down order after order. She was more enticing than the treats. He gazed, mesmerized, until he realized what he was doing. Hmm, he wasn’t the only one watching her. Joel was there by the register leaning in and smiling, along with Roman, too, and Pedro.
What on earth was Pedro doing here? He had his own restaurant to run. But then Ivy was setting aside the glass dome and, with a flourish, filling an order of scones and sending him on his way.
The diner was carrying Ivy’s scones now? He was pondering that when Pedro burst out the door and nearly collided with him.
“Hey, Jax, you going in?” Pedro let the door close when Jaxon glared. He shrugged, “I figured I should pick up some scones for the diner. It’s the only way I can compete.”
“What do you mean? Why? You have pie.” Really good pie.
“Ah, man, no one wants pie anymore, not apple, not peach, not lemon meringue. All they want is Ivy and whatever Ivy makes.”
Jaxon raised a brow.
“Her cooking, her baking, her. Ivy Wayland’s all the rage. I’m losing business since the Rebels ate her cookies.”
“You mean my cookies,” Jaxon said dryly.
Pedro laughed. “Sure. Man, you missed out. Those cookies were something special.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “Just like her.”
“It’s only been one day since you all high-graded my cookies.”
Pedro kept grinning, and Jaxon was fast losing patience.
“One day, sure, and the diner was dead today, man, and not just the diner.” He motioned at the bakery and a scowling Holly through her plate glass window.
Jaxon blinked. Not a single customer graced her store. Ivy’s was packed. Usually, it was the other way around. Holly, as competitive as he knew she was, must be royally pissed.
“Huh.” Feeling brave, Jaxon shrugged, nodded goodbye to Pedro. He stepped up to the bakery and opened the glass door. Holly’s chime jingled jangled merrily. She stood straighter and brightened at his appearance. She swallowed and put on her professional smile as she smoothed a hand down her tunic.
“Good afternoon, how can I help you?”
“I just came in to—” What? See how you’re taking Ivy’s sudden success? He didn’t know Holly well, but knew saying that would go over like a fastball in a Little League game. “To let you know there’ll be some changes in the near future.”
The scowl was back. “Oh?”
He nodded. “I’ve accepted an offer on the building.”
Holly’s breath came out in a whoosh. Her expression turned queasy before she smoothed it out. “This building?”
Jaxon nodded. “I want to let all my tenants know.” As soon as the words left his mouth he could’ve kicked himself. Why was he telling Ivy’s sister? She would tell Ivy and…he blinked. Ivy needed to know. He was supposed to tell her last night and instead he’d negotiated a new lease. He’d planned to tell her this afternoon. He shook his head to clear it.
“Have you told my sister?”
“ No. ” It came out more emphatically than he intended.
Holly nodded. Her eyes brightened, and her lips tilted in a smug, little smile.
At a loss as to how to extricate himself from the conversation, he perused her display case. “Can I get—” He waved his hand at a bread thingy that didn’t look sweet.
“A ham and cheese croissant? I can warm it up for you.”
He nodded. So much for going by Ivy’s with the new lease. Not that he could’ve gotten in the door, let alone had a conversation with her. Instead, he took his newly warmed croissant in its pink and white striped bag to head back upstairs to eat a lonely lunch with Montgomery.
*
Jaxon’s failure to enter the tea shop did not go unnoted by Ivy. She’d seen him talking out front with Pedro and knew the moment he’d gone to Holly’s instead. She always knew when he was out front. It’s like a bell went off in her head whenever he passed by. She’d longed to stop what she was doing and invite him in, but it was too difficult when she needed to be serving her new influx of customers. When he passed by with the pink-striped bag, her heart stuttered.
Fine. Just fine. But her stomach clenched in a knot at the betrayal. “So, Joel, thank you so much for dropping back in for lunch today. What did you think?”
“It was sooo good. I loved your tomato soup with that fancy sandwich. What do you call it?”
“Panini.”
“The avocado on it was inspired.”
“You think so?” Ivy had thought it inspired too. She wanted her sandwich specials to be just that. Unexpected and anything but ordinary. Encouraged by his enthusiasm, she made a quick decision. “I want to let you know that I thought about what you asked me.”
Joel raised a hopeful brow. “And…” He drew the word out.
“I’d love to see the play with you. In fact, I can’t wait.” She gave a little jump to punctuate her pronouncement.
Joel’s face split into a big grin. In response, he bounced a little on his very large feet.
Ivy grinned back. Finally, someone enthusiastic about spending time with her—well, someone besides Roman. Although he’d been pretty excited, too. And actually, she’d almost thought Pedro wanted to ask her out. Something about the way he hovered at the counter while she bagged his order. Maybe she had been wasting her time mooning over a grieving widower. Jaxon clearly wasn’t interested and his teammates—well, they all seemed devoted to her.
All of a sudden.
Oh dear. She really needed to confirm her theory.
“Hey, Joel, quick question. Did anyone besides you eat any of the cookies I gave Jaxon for negotiating a new lease with me?”
“Is that why he had them?” Joel laughed. “That figures. He brought them to share with the team. He was on snack duty this week.”
“He did?” Ivy’s voice squeaked. Thunderstruck, her stomach flipped, then flopped. He’d shared them. It only confirmed her suspicion. The cookies hadn’t been special to him. She had spent hours, literal hours, mixing and rolling and pressing the pattern into them. She’d baked and dealt with a freaking power failure, not to mention the slightly disconcerting high winds battering her windows over and over. She’d stayed up all night to bake him those super-special cookies. It physically hurt to learn that Jaxon gave them away.
Just like that.
Like they weren’t special.
Like she wasn’t special.
Something died a little in Ivy.
Fine.
She resolved to win her bet with Holly despite his nonparticipation. Business was already up, and she just needed to find a man who wanted a meaningful relationship with her. Her eyes wandered over the shop. Kyle and Rob stopped bickering and shook hands. What was that about?