Chapter 16 Sweet Disputes #2
“I’m so sorry,” I say to her, then I turn to Corbin, my throat tightening. “I’m so sorry about your mom.”
He gives a solemn but grateful nod. “Thanks,” he says, then takes a beat. “She…left me her recipes.”
“Oh, Corbin,” I say, clasping my hand to my heart. That just does something to me. Tugs on all my heartstrings. “That’s lovely. You’ll be using some of them in our bakery, right?”
“Count on it,” he says with a note of emotion in his voice I haven’t heard before. And a promise too. “She loved baking so much. It was her passion. But it was hard for her in the end.”
I wait for him to supply more info. He doesn’t though. Instead, he takes a bite of another cookie, and maybe that’s all he wants to say now.
I pause for a few seconds, then ask the next thing on my mind. “Is she why you wanted to do this?”
“She is,” he says, full of vulnerability but also restraint.
There’s more to the story, but it’s clear he’s not ready to share it, so I focus on our market research, taking notes with his daughter, and then moving along to our final stop—a cupcake shop in the Marina District that’s become all the rage.
While we’re there, we take bites of their top picks and then make a list of our favorite flavors.
“My grandma always said cupcakes should focus on flavor, not flash,” Charlotte offers.
I think on that for a minute, then nod. “No candy on the top.”
“No too-tall swirls,” Corbin says.
“No monster-size cupcakes,” Charlotte puts in.
“Just rich, good, real flavors,” I say.
“Grandma would be proud,” Charlotte adds.
Corbin turns to the window, a faraway look in his eyes and, I imagine, a feeling of loss in his heart. I can tell because I feel the same way myself when I think about my grandmother. Some days, the missing is an ache that won’t go away.
“It sounds like she would be,” I say softly.
He nods, small and nearly imperceptible, but still he heard me, and I’m glad for that.
Soon, he turns back and meets my gaze, a resolute look in his eyes as he says, “Should we keep going?”
“Yes,” I say, and we move on, since that’s what you have to do, too, even when you miss someone.
We review our rough draft of the menu against the notes, and we settle on our favorites for potential inclusion at Afternoon Delight.
But Charlotte stops at one item, arching a very curious brow. “Dog cookies? Is this dog-shaped or for dogs?”
“Both. And they’ll all be made of peanut butter, since, for some unholy reason, dogs like peanut butter just like your dad does,” I say, turning Corbin’s words back on him.
“Are dogs allowed in the bakery though? Isn’t that against health rules?” She’s so inquisitive, and it’s positively fantastic.
“You’re right. It is against the health code. Unless it’s a service animal, and then it’s allowed to go anywhere customers are permitted. But we’ll have outdoor seating that’s dog-friendly, and also, some people just want to pick up a treat to take home to their pup.”
Charlotte turns her gaze to her father, clasping her hands together. “I would like to take a treat home to a dog.”
I tilt my head. “You have a dog?”
With a frown, she shakes her head. “No. My dad’s too busy.”
“We’re both too busy. And I travel a lot,” Corbin corrects, and it sounds like it’s not the first time he’s explained his reasoning to Charlotte.
It’s solid reasoning, I have to admit. But where there’s a will, there’s wiggle room. “Maybe you could volunteer then? I volunteer with Little Friends, and you could apply on their website. Except you usually need to have an adult with you.” I tap my chin. “Corbin, do you qualify as an adult?”
The eye roll he gives me is magnificent, but the sigh he heaves is even more indignant. “I do, Mabel. I do.”
I brush one palm against the other. “Problem solved. Charlotte, you have a qualified adult at your service.”
She pats her dad’s shoulder. “I’ll sign us up tonight, Dad.”
“I have no doubt you’ll have us signed up sooner,” he says.
“Probably,” she says, then her expression turns thoughtful. “Grandma would have liked that. She volunteered a lot too.”
“She did,” Corbin says, then swallows roughly and looks away for a few seconds.
My heart squeezes.
Charlotte excuses herself for the restroom, and once she’s gone, I look at Corbin again, briefly wondering if I should ask more about his mother.
But he seems to have reset. The focus on his face tells me he’s in business mode.
Before I can get a word in, though, he arches a brow and leans closer. “Is that a new sport for you?”
“Is what?”
“Mocking me?”
“New? Please. I’ve been playing it for a while.”
“I think you took it to a new level today,” he counters.
I blow on my fingernails. “What can I say? I’m good at baking and teasing you.”
“Yes, Mabel, you really are,” he says.
“And I could say the same about you,” I add.
He nods, then goes quiet, almost like he’s deep in thought again. Or deep in debate. Maybe both? It’s like he’s weighing something, but I don’t know what, so I return to the safer topic.
“So, we have a menu although the recipes will need a little finessing,” I say.
“We have a menu,” he agrees. “Now we just need a space that feels like where you want to hang out.”
“About that. I got the stencil for the mural. I was thinking we should work on it soon. Like tomorrow.”
“Charlotte’s with her mom, and I don’t have a game till the next day.”
“Perfect. We can paint all afternoon,” I say.
“All afternoon,” he repeats, then seems to mull on that word, before adding, “it’ll be a delight.”
Something shifts in his expression as his gaze lingers on me. The wistful emotions vanish. The businesslike intensity disappears too. His eyes are darker, more intense than usual, and they send heat right through me.
I think about that look in his eyes after I return home. I think about him all night when I’m alone. All night, as I wait far too eagerly to paint the mural with him. All night, as I wish the morning would hurry.