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Doc paused and offered her a cocked brow. “Say what now?”
“When I was eight years old, I broke my leg sledding.” She shuddered at the memory. “Since then, I haven’t had much luck in the snow.”
“Can’t blame ya there.” He nodded toward the booth decorated with Macha’s emblem. “Here we are. You and Yasmina are set up right next to the club in case you need a hand.”
They reached the small tentlike structure with Heaven’s Treats scrawled on the banner. Yasmina had a long line waiting, her pretty face a combination of flustered and enthused.
“Good thing you came when you did.” Doc set his boxes on the table and helped Jupiter with hers. “I’ll pitch in until you guys slow down.”
“Oh, thank God.” Yasmina nodded enthusiastically and the trio got down to work. They had a nice little system down by the time the line dwindled. Doc handled payments while Jupiter and Yasmina bagged the pastries.
When an announcement about the opening ceremony start time was made over the loudspeaker, the crowd shifted and gave them a short reprieve.
Yasmina fanned herself despite the overcast sky and cold breeze. “Thank you for bringing more donut holes. Those are the best seller so far.”
“Glad I made it in time, or you would’ve had an angry mob on your hands.” Jupiter glanced at the boxes they’d gone through as well as the ones left over. They were a little more than halfway through the extra she brought.
“Are you staying for the ceremony?” she asked once Doc left to join the other booth.
Yasmina shook her head. “Nikita will be along shortly to take my place. I need to get some sleep before waking up early to start baking again.”
“I can help if you want. If I have a recipe, I can make just about anything.”
Offering her a kind smile, Yasmina rearranged the cookies on display. “Two of the nymphs offered already but thank you. We’ll get you up at four one of these mornings.”
A small part of Jupiter was disappointed. She wanted to be part of the hubbub of baking, not just the selling portion. Her phone buzzed in her pocket.Plus, it’d keep my mind off that.
They helped a handful more customers before Nikita arrived and Yasmina left. The mayor droned in the background; the crowd was clearly more interested in the popular athletes who would hop onstage next.
During a break, Jupiter surveyed the crowd. The town square was alight thanks to twinkle lights and streetlights, along with plenty of spotlights that had been brought in. Uniformed officers moved through the crowd, alert and ready to pounce should the need arise. It gave her a moment of peace to know they were nearby.But where’s Rubble?
She peeked over at Macha’s main tent and didn’t spy the tall man. Panic filled her stomach.
“He’s up there.” Nikita’s voice broke into her worry.
“What?” She turned toward where Nikita pointed her finger.
“The watchtower. Rubble’s up there.”
Heat flooded her face, and she wrapped a banana nut muffin for a customer. “Why would I—”
“Because you like him.” Nikita winked. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell. But you should know everybody already knows.”
“They do?” More panic, this time localized to her heart. “How?”
Nikita gave a customer their change and crossed her arms over her chest. With her dark hair, piercing eyes, and skintight leather, she looked the biker chick part. The only give away was the FBI badge inside her jacket.
“Rubble.”
“What’d he do or say?”
She shrugged. “Nothing. That’s the thing.” Jupiter gave her a confused glance, so Nikita explained. “Rubble isn’t shy about speaking his mind. He did so when both Isa and I came to town. His life is the club. Has been since Reaper all but adopted him. The fact that he hasn’t said a word about you to anybody is suspicious.” She grinned. “But good suspicious.”
“I don’t know how to take that.” Jupiter truly didn’t. For all she knew, Rubble was the brute his name reflected… but only when he was with the club. When it was just the two of them, he was a giant teddy bear.
“It’s a good thing. Rubble wouldn’t ask around if the person didn’t mean anything to him.”
“He mentioned he spoke to the FBI about….” She didn’t want to finish that line of thought.
