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The roads leaving the rehab center were evenly paved and easy to run on. Caden jogged down the country road into town. A sweet smell of fresh-baked goods drew him in like the pied piper until he found himself standing in front of The Cupcakery. Through the glass window, he spotted Maggie stepping through the French doors to answer the phone hanging on the wall. The red hair piled high on top of her head in a messy ponytail tilted when she cradled the receiver. His heart twitched, probably from the five-mile jog.
Common sense told him to leave. He’d asked Maggie to come to Savannah for his mother’s meeting. Maggie had declined. The paperwork with his clients was signed and done yesterday. So why was he still here?
A banging noise brought Caden out of his short daydream. Maggie repeatedly slammed the phone back on the hook before she grunted so loud he heard through the closed doors. Curiosity got the best of Caden. He jogged over to the alley where he’d met with Maggie yesterday and reached the back screen door just as a wave of black smoke billowed through the early-morning air, followed by a loud curse that would impress Uncle Samuel.
With a tray of twelve individual blackened cakes in one oven-mitted hand, Maggie jumped backward. Caden slid the hoodie off his head. For a brief moment her eyes softened once she recognized him and then narrowed with a snarl from her sexy lips.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“I was out jogging and found myself here.”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “I don’t have time for you today, Caden.”
The keyword he heard was today. This meant he still had time to convince Maggie to come back to Savannah with him. “Relax,” Caden said holding his hands up in surrender. “We can get to that later. There seems to be something wrong.”
He peered around her just as the smoke alarm went off. Maggie cursed and dropped the tray of cupcakes onto the ground and ran back inside. Half spilled out into the cobblestone street. One hit the rubber tip of his running shoe. Early-morning sun peeked over the rooftops, offering a smoldering view of the burned desserts.
“Hey,” he called out. “Do you need help?”
Since she didn’t answer, Caden took it upon himself to step inside. If he thought the kitchen had been a mess yesterday, it was a total train wreck today. Four large silver bowls were turned on their sides on the oversize rectangular metal counter with their colorful contents spilling out onto the floor, melding into a pool of yellow, brown, pink and white batter. A digital timer on one of the oversize ovens rang and flashed four zeros while the smoke alarm still went off. Maggie stepped out of the racks where more than a dozen cupcakes cooled. She held one end of a broom and lifted the red stick up toward the ceiling to shut off the alarm, then she moved on to the oven and used the pink oven mitt dangling from the side. The delicious smell of this new batch of chocolate cupcakes replaced the acrid odor from a moment ago. Once she placed those cupcakes on an empty rack, she put in another batch. Maggie moved on autopilot to the next mixer.
“Hey,” Caden said softly. He reached for her elbow. “Talk to me.”
“I don’t have time, Caden.”
“You’ve said that before.”
Maggie stopped long enough to turn around and look at him, thus jerking away from his touch. Having been backstage around a bunch of beauty queens, Caden was used to seeing women without makeup. Maggie wore none right now, yet her beauty took his breath away. She wore a pair of denim shorts that showed off her thick thighs, pale pink canvas shoes and perhaps a white shirt from what he could tell behind her apron. “I’m serious right now, Caden. I just had my staff call in sick.”
“Is it serious?”
“Just a case of the summer fair.”
It didn’t take his MBA to figure out she needed help. Caden let her arm go to look around for an apron, finding a pink one with ruffles hanging by the coatrack by the screen door. Not hesitating, he put the garment on and turned toward her. Maggie pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. He followed her gaze to the bib of the apron and read the inscription. Boss Bitch. Caden shrugged and chuckled.
“Put me to work, Maggie. I’m serious.”
The subtle smirk across Maggie’s face deepened, and just when Caden was sure she’d planned on kicking him out of the bakery, she began to laugh. He liked the way her breasts jiggled underneath her black apron and white, scooped neck T-shirt. “I am not making some deal with you to come to Savannah.”
Less than five minutes ago he might have had a secret agenda, but after seeing the rim of her hazel-green eyes redden, Caden knew he better help.
“You’ve got what, a couple dozen cupcakes to make?” Caden crossed his arms over his chest. “You need extra hands. I’m not a stranger to the kitchen. This is the refrigerator, right?” He placed his hand on the warm oven and gave Maggie a wink.
“Caden, I have a thousand cupcakes to make for the opening of the fair tonight, and with the staff calling in sick, I have to do this myself.”
“Why not cancel this order?”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “I can’t cancel this. Everyone is expecting Vonna’s famous cupcakes.”
“Did you change your name?” Caden asked, raising his brow. “This isn’t your place?”
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There was no mistaking the red tints in her cheeks. He knew of the Swayne family and their successful history in the pecan world. Maggie wasn’t just a former beauty queen but a socialite, which meant she didn’t have to work. Ever.
“Vonna is the woman who owns this place,” she said as she waved her floured hand in the air. “She is out of town and has trusted me with one of the biggest events for the store.”
“Aren’t you the responsible one now?”
