‘That’s too difficult,’ Celeste groaned. ‘Unless you want to call us the bread roll, brioche, doughnut, apple pie, raspberry cupcake, peanut –’
‘OK, I get it,’ said Jade, stretching out a foot to gently kick her sister and make her stop. ‘We both like our baked goods.’
Melissa thought harder. ‘When I’m travelling I usually like to sample local cuisine and find things I didn’t even know existed. It’s all part of the adventure for me and the food becomes a memory as much as everything else. Greece, for example, is the first place I ever tried the gooey melted cheese of saganaki. I won’t think of chilli mud crab in the same way again after tasting it in Singapore, and I’ll never have sushi quite like the stuff I once had in Japan. What was the first item you put on the bakery menu?’ she prompted. ‘Or what was the first item you made so successfully it was almost like you’d found a signature dish or recipe?’ She pulled a face, unsure of the correct terminology, but she was clearly enjoying this brainstorming.
Celeste began to laugh. ‘Our first loaves left a lot to be desired. Some people think breadmaking is easy but, believe me, it takes time and practice to get it right.’
Jade thought about it. ‘The first new item I introduced onto the menu other than what we’d already come up with based on research was the cinnamon-and-raisin puff-pastry twist. We were in the lead-up to Christmas and I wanted something other than mince pies, something that was a new twist, if you’ll pardon the pun. That’s what we decided to try and it went down a storm.’
‘Now we’re talking,’ Melissa beamed. ‘Puff-pastry twist, cinnamon twist…what about you, Celeste?’
Celeste looked across at her sister with a knowing glance. ‘I think Jade knows exactly what conjures up the most memories for me.’
It took her a few seconds but suddenly Jade gasped. ‘My goodness, I’d forgotten…the salted-caramel turnover!’
‘Spill, both of you,’ said Melissa with the distinct impression she must be missing something when both girls fell into fits of laughter.
Jade told Melissa the full story of when Celeste had tried to make a salted-caramel turnover, messed it up good and proper and got in a real huff. She’d slung the turnover attempt at the kitchen wall, hard, but it had missed her target and hurtled into the bakery, hitting a customer square on the head. ‘I stood there waiting for the customer to yell at Celeste, who’d emerged from the kitchen with the look of fear in her eyes,’ Jade said between bouts of laughter. ‘The guy had a piece of puff pastry in his hair and when Celeste went to take it from him, he gently took hold of her hand and said that was what you called a classic meet-cute.’
Melissa squealed. ‘How romantic!’
‘He asked me out there and then,’ Celeste admitted somewhat sheepishly.
‘Did you take him up on it?’
‘We went out on a date, he took me for dinner, we had a romantic couple of days.’
‘And that was it?’ Melissa looked from one sister to the other for answers. ‘What was his name?’
‘Quinn.’ Celeste lost herself in a memory but soon snapped out of it. ‘But he was just in the Cove for a brief holiday. He went back to the Navy after that and we kind of lost touch.’
Melissa swooned. ‘In the Navy, wow.’
‘It was a couple of days I’ll never forget,’ Celeste told her. ‘But we lost touch, as I say, and I’m married to my job.’
It was the closest Celeste had ever come to wanting to see someone for more than a casual fling. The sisters had gone out for a drink a few nights after Quinn moved on from the Cove and, watching Celeste now as she reluctantly shared details of their date and the days following, Jade knew this had been a fling that affected her sister like no other. But he’d gone, Celeste had got back to business, and she hadn’t mentioned him again. Sometimes Jade wondered if it would be better if she was more like her sister, able to let go, move on, focus on things she could control rather than those she couldn’t.
‘How about…The Caramel Turnover and Cinnamon Twist Bakery?’ Celeste laughed. ‘Yes, it’s terrible, and we are getting nowhere fast!’
‘I’ve another idea,’ said Melissa mischievously. ‘What about The Meet-Cute Bakery?’
‘Nice try, but not a chance,’ Celeste replied.
‘I’ve got something,’ said Jade with a smile that grabbed Celeste’s attention finally. She threw her arms wide in a gesture of announcement. ‘What about…The Twist and Turn Bakery?’
Celeste grinned. ‘You know what…I like it!’
‘Me too,’ Melissa agreed, clasping her hands together.
‘Then I think we’ve got a winner,’ Jade agreed.
Harvey appeared next with Linc alongside and Linc looked across at her. ‘Any time you want to thank me for getting the creative juices flowing, just let me know.’
‘She will,’ Melissa injected before she and Celeste whispered to one another, making some kind of joke about other sorts of juices flowing when it came to Linc.
Jade shot them a glare. She couldn’t even look at Linc because he’d probably heard what they’d said. ‘I need to get back to work, I’ve got to get those tasters over to Barney and Lois.’
‘Say hello to them from me,’ Celeste called after her as she went to the cottage to collect what she needed.
