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“You’ve been super cranky during this whole lover’s spat. I’m looking forward to getting the more pleasant version of Tatum back, although,” his eyes sparkled with laughter, “you can still be kind of bitch when you’re normal.”
I grabbed the first thing I could get ahold of, which happened to be a pen, and threw it at his head.
He ducked so fast I swore his body blurred. My mout
h fell open in surprise as the pen bounced off the wall. “Whoa,” I breathed. “You’re like Superman.”
Bryce chuckled and bent to retrieve the pen. He placed it back on the counter and returned to his previous position. He snorted. “I’m way cooler than Superman. Everyone knows that.”
I laughed and turned to face the register when I heard the bell on the door clang.
“Cussssstommmmer,” Bryce sing-songed. “Oh, cussssstoooooommmmer,” now he really started to sing, “whaaaaaat caaaaan weeeee heeeeeeeeeellllpppp yooooooooooooooooou wiiiiith?” My eyes widened in surprise at the sound of his voice. He could actually sing. Becoming serious, he stated, “Our cupcakes are fabulous. You should have one.”
I laughed. “We only sell cupcakes.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t know that,” Bryce hissed, like he was letting me in on a secret. “What if he’s here for pie and we don’t have pie? I’ve got to play up the cupcakes.”
I shook my head. I didn’t think Bryce would ever cease to amaze me.
The customer looked from me to Bryce and busted out laughing. Extending his hand for me to shake I took it with a puzzled brow. “I’m Caeden, that thing’s my brother,” he released my hand and pointed at Bryce. “Don’t worry, I’m used to his antics.”
“Oh,” I breathed, feeling relieved.
Now that I looked I was surprised I hadn’t noticed the resemblance earlier. They were practically identical, with the exception that this guy was obviously a little older. His hair was a dark chocolate brown and his eyes a piercing blue. Like Bryce’s they were so bright they didn’t seem real.
I realized I’d never told him my name. “I’m Tatum, by the way.”
He chuckled. “Nice to meet you, Tatum. I came by because I need to talk to Lucinda,” he pointed towards the back.
“Oh, of course.” I moved out of the way so he could come around the counter and go to the back.
“Thanks,” he smiled as he brushed past me.
The door had no more than swung closed till Bryce narrowed his eyes and said, “I better see what’s going on. Can you handle the front?”
“Yeah,” I replied, but he’d already gone. “Huh,” I huffed to myself, wondering what that was about.
Several customers trickled in then and my mind became distracted as I flitted around filling their orders.
Lucinda’s was usually busy between the local high school, which hadn’t let out yet, and working professionals in the area. It seemed that everyone wanted a cupcake from Lucinda’s.
By the time we closed Caeden and Lucinda had left and it was just Bryce and I.
We cleaned up, talking about random things before heading our separate ways.
I managed to get some sleep that night with the comfort that in the morning I would make my apology cake and set things right.
Hopefully.
Because there was always the chance that I had damaged things beyond repair and Jude wouldn’t want to take me back.
???
Lucinda removed the two round pieces of chocolate cake from the pan to cool. With each passing second my body tightened a bit more with anticipation.
While the cake cooled I made the icing—a whipped buttercream that smelled so good that I couldn’t resist dipping my finger in and tasting it. It was delicious.
Lucinda narrowed her eyes, having caught me, and smiled. “I saw that,” she chuckled, “you know you’re not supposed to do that.”
