“Thank you. Truly. Thank you. And I look forward to making this work.”
I hang up the phone and with eyes probably as wide as saucers look at DeeDee. We both give a little scream at the same time.
“Holy shit,” I whisper.
@HayesWhitOffcl
You must be a keyboard @SweetChks because you’re just my type. #10Days #GrudgeCupcake #Determined #MadA-Game
“You weren’t joking, were you?” Ryder asks as he looks up from the email to meet my eyes.
“No. Can you believe it?”
“That’s a huge amount of cupcakes.” I can see him mentally calculating the profit and what it means to the store. “Like enormous.”
“Yeah. I know. Do we have the capability to do it?” I ask, knowing it means I’d have to hold off on paying him back because I’d have to redirect those funds to buy the extra supplies needed to make this work. I bite my lip and wait for him to say no.
“If we don’t, we’ll make sure we do.” Something about the way he looks at me right now causes my breath to catch. It’s like looking at my dad. The expression on his face is identical to the one my dad would give me when he was proud of me. Every part of me preens from his unshakable support. “Breakup cupcakes. Who would’ve thought?”
“I know. We’ve received about ten orders for them today.”
That catches his attention. I can all but see the cogs of his mind turning. “We need to update the website ASAP. We’ll dedicate a whole page to this product and start looking into how to sell franchise opportunities to other stores to help with this increased demand. Internet sales are where it’s at, and if we could get something going on that front then—”
“Whoa. Slow down, turbo.” I laugh but feel the same excitement he does.
“There are divorce support groups like this all over America, Say. You could tap into this niche.”
“One thing at a time.” I roll my eyes at him but silently sigh in relief. This phone call might be just what the bakery needs to turn the tide toward success and not failure.
“I might not kill him after all,” Ryder mutters as I walk out of the back room.
@HayesWhitOffcl
Are you a camera @SweetChks? Because every time I look at you I smile. #10Days #GrudgeCupcake #Determined #MadA-Game
TWO DAYS LEFT
“Dude, do you have any coffee in this joint?”
Fuck, I’m tired. And hyped. Dreading the long day ahead but loving that I get to see her today. I shuffle down the carpeted hall I used to practice my baseball slide on and into the kitchen. It’s painted a different color now but that doesn’t erase the memories it holds. Of where the jar used to sit on the counter full of the cookies I would steal from Saylor. Of the cupboard to the left of the refrigerator where Mrs. Rodgers used to hide a stash of candy we all would sneak from when we didn’t think she was paying attention. Of sitting down for meals and there was always a place setting made up for me whether I asked to eat here or not.
Ryder sits in the same location as when we were kids, but at a different table and lifts his eyes to meet mine. He looks as worse for wear as I feel—and points his finger to the Kuerig on the counter.
“Thanks.” I brew some coffee, doctor it, then sit across from him and think that this is where it all started for me. My love for Saylor.
We sit in comfortable silence. The kind two friends who have known each other forever can sit in without words and figure out how we feel about the turn of events.
“Do you think Jenna’ll show?” He raises his eyebrows and pushes one of the tabloids to the side he was looking at to see if shit was dying down.
“If she knows what’s good for her, she will.”
“Hmm.”
“Is my IOU paid off yet?” I chuckle. Thinking about back then—a few months after I’d left for Hollywood and was waiting for filming to start—how he helped my mom out, separating their mess of finances when my dad came after her in their divorce. How I had no money to pay him, but he called in favors anyway and got everything I needed to help get her taken care of. And despite his continued denials, I know he paid money out of his own pocket to get those favors done for me.
“Make her cry again, I’ll still punch you. I don’t care how famous your ugly ass is.”
“So noted.” I nod my head. Tuck my tongue in my cheek and prepare myself for the day ahead. “She have any clue about today?”
“Not a one.”
Good.
I miss her.
It’s sure as shit going to be hard to stick to my guns and not talk to her when I see her.
TWO DAYS LEFT
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