AllFreeNovel
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I popped the trunk as I looked up and found Ben standing in front of a car with an open hood. “You would know it,” I said with a laugh. “She’s been in your garage practically more than with me.”
He shook his head. “Isn’t that the truth.” Leaning down, he reached into the car he was working on. “How’s she running?”
“Fine, so far. Maybe you fixed her for good this time.”
He adjusted something and dropped the hood. “As much as I’d like to agree, I very much doubt it. She’s beautiful, but she needs to retire soon.”
“Shh. She can hear you.” I grabbed the cupcake stands and a bowl out of the back. “I didn’t know you made house calls. Or…school calls.”
“I don’t. I’m not here as a mechanic. Just peeking under the hood while I have a second since she doesn’t let me toy with her car.”
I opened my mouth to ask who “she” was, when I heard a new voice. “Okay, Ben, I have the table set up. We can start bringing in the dispensers.”
Evie was stock-still on the sidewalk, staring at Allison as she came out of the school, and I was staring too. What was she doing here? Tension wiggled in my gut, nerves that had been a million miles away suddenly alive and well.
“Oh hey, Lena.” Allison smiled and waved. “Good to see you again.”
“You too.” My voice sounded like a robot. Get it together, Lena. “Let’s go, Evie. Cupcakes won’t set up themselves.”
It shook her out of her startled state, and we walked in together. At the last second, I peeked back and saw Ben draw Allison into his arms and kiss her. Well, that explained why I’d seen him at the coffee shop when I stopped by.
“What the fuck?” Evie asked. “She better not be serving rival cupcakes.”
“I doubt it. I didn’t see cupcakes on her menu.”
“Still,” my friend scoffed. “What the fuck?”
I swallowed. “It’s fine. Let’s just do this.”
The school gym was decorated exactly the way you might expect for a Christmas dance. Streamers and sparkling snowflakes hung from the ceiling. Balloons were everywhere, some already scattered on the floor, and there was a healthy dose of confetti. I didn’t envy whoever had to clean it up.
“Oh, there you are!” Principal Walker waved us over to a long table covered in a snowy-looking tablecloth. “The secret of make-your-own cupcakes got out, and everyone’s really excited.”
“I’m glad.” I smiled. The principal was a tall woman, even taller in the heels she was wearing. She looked like she’d be more at home in a city than in Garnet Bend, but she was incredibly kind, and I’d never heard anyone speak poorly of her—not even the students. “Hopefully they live up to the expectations.”
“I’m sure they will. This looks fantastic.” She was pointing to the bowl of metallic-silver frosting in my arms.
I set down one of the stands. “We thought they might like a little shine. Here is fine?”
“Yes, this half of the table is yours. The other half is going to be a hot chocolate bar. I assume you already know you have some competition in town?”
“I do.” I had to be careful here. “I’m sure it’s lovely.”
Her phone rang in her hand, and she glanced down at the screen before back up at me. “I have to take this. Let me know if you need anything?”
“I will.”
She walked away, already answering the person on the other end of the line. Evie had a box of the cupcakes open and was already lining them up on the multitiered stand. “A hot chocolate bar? We could have done that.”
“It’s okay,” I said, though my stomach was sinking. “After Thanksgiving, she didn’t have to order with me at all, and she did. She’s doing us a favor already. I don’t blame her for hedging her bets. Let’s get everything inside.”
We passed Ben and Allison on the way back to the car, the two of them rolling a cart with two giant kegs of what must have been hot chocolate. “I won’t lie.” I grabbed the other bowls of frosting and decorations. “When I was in high school, I would have loved a hot chocolate bar.”
“Me too.” Evie’s voice was grudging. “Still don’t like that she’s doing it, though.”
I smiled. My friend was loyal through and through. “I appreciate it. But let’s give her a chance. She’s only been nice to me so far, and there’s no real reason to dislike her for opening a business.”
She sighed dramatically. “Ugh. Fine. For you.”
