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He’d seen the website she was designing. She was keeping the name simple. Amore Island Cakes. He’d suggested she do more than cakes. Maybe cupcakes or cookies too. She said she would think about it. For now she’d start slow with the cakes.
He wasn’t going to push too much. It wasn’t his life and he had no idea of her situation. Stan had told him Hadley was living in what could be considered a weekend rental unit in the backyard. She probably had a tiny kitchen and it might not be easy to start too big or make big cookie platters. He’d mentioned that could be a big hit too.
She’d laughed and said she wasn’t a bakery and couldn’t be one either. He got it. It wasn’t efficient to make small batches of cookies. But if you did platters as specials and at certain times of the year, it could work out.
Hadley seemed stunned when he’d said that. As if she hadn’t thought of it. Then she’d laughed and said she was taking things one day at a time and holidays were a long way off at this point.
They’d dropped it after that and went back to the work she’d be doing for him.
Just like he was going to drop all talk about Hadley now with his family.
“Dinner is ready,” his mother said.
Perfect timing in his eyes. They could talk food or something else and less about his life.
13
More In Demand
Less than three weeks later, the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, Duke was in Southside prepping for the day at eight thirty.
Things had been going well. Hadley had done more than he expected and got the word out and he decided last week to try the brunch idea along with the lunch menu.
It’d been posted all over every social media outlet and in the pub and Duke’s. He had the menu he’d be serving up for that period of time. Only these select foods would be served between ten and one. At twelve, his normal menu would start and they’d just cross over for an hour.
He was planning for it to be packed and was going to be here along with Zeke, and his other new cook, MaryAnn, was coming in at noon.
He’d had a lot of turnover, as he expected, but it worked out better this way.
Almost everyone was new but the hostess, the bartender that worked nights on the weekends, and two servers.
Things were moving pretty smoothly and though he had until the end of October to decide fully what he was going to do, he was leaning toward purchasing the pub already.
The summer was going to be busier and then slow down after Labor Day. That would be the last chance in his mind if he wanted to back out, but he didn’t see that happening now that he had all of his own hand-chosen staff working.
“You’re here early,” he said to Hadley.
He’d been trying to keep his distance from her since they met that one day at his house. Or at least his distance where they’d be alone.
Once he realized she was on his mind more than he was used to having a woman there, he told himself to focus on his business instead. It was what everyone criticized him about anyway, so might as well continue with the norm.
Whatever was going on in Hadley’s life wasn’t affecting her job, but he still had no clue either.
To him she looked healthier. Like maybe she put a few pounds on and got some color in her face. She was smiling more and the customers loved her.
He didn’t have one complaint about the work she was doing on the marketing end and definitely not from a baking standpoint.
“I came in at eight,” she said. “You told me I could do one extra item today because of the brunch crowd and now that you are going to be open seven days a week with the start of the tourist season, I just wanted to make sure I had enough for tomorrow too.”
“It will be fine,” he said. “If we run out of desserts then we do.”
She looked appalled. “I can’t let that happen.”
“Relax, Hadley. Restaurants run out of specials and food all the time. It just makes them more in demand.”
“Oh,” she said, a frown on her face now. “So I will be making less?”
“No,” he said. “You’re doing a good job at managing it. I’m just saying if one day we run out, then we do and it’s a success, not a failure.”
