Page 108 of Forever By Morning


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“Deal.”

We gathered our things and dumped our dishes in the buckets on top of the trash bins on our way out the door. The foot traffic had lightened a little and the breeze felt nice as we hung a left out of the café and headed up Main Street.

Cheerful flags flew from the buildings in rainbow prints as well as a few informational ones about the history of Crescent Cove.

“Reminds me of home. This is a little more lake town and touristy than Winchester Falls but it has that neat as a pin deal going. You know that they actually care about their town.”

“It is really pretty.” And there were a startling number of strollers and children running around. Maybe there was something to that water business Macy had mentioned.

We stopped in at Sugar Rush first. It was bustling with a line to the door. There was a trio of young women running around, filling orders while a pint-sized woman in a paint-streaked smock barked orders.

“Grab a number or you’ll get left behind. It’s a busy one today,” the short and very pregnant woman said.

“We have an appointment,” Bells said.

“Oh, the orchard? One sec.” She held up a hand and backed into a door. “Tab!”

“I’ve got my hands full.” Came a voice from the back.

“The chick from hot brothers’ orchard is here.”

I hid a smile behind my hand.

“Brothers Three Orchard,” the woman said out of the side of her mouth as she passed the pregnant woman. “Sorry about my sister. She has no filter.” She was drying her hands on a towel and wore a pink baker’s smock with her strawberry-blond hair scraped back in a ponytail and secured in a net.

“No problem.” I smiled and held out my hand to her. “I’m Helena and this is Belinda.”

She tugged off her apron, then she realized she still had on her hair net and snatched it off her head. “It’s been a crazy one. I’m Tabitha.” She shook my hand, then Bells’. “C’mon back. It’s a little quieter.”

Tabitha grabbed a binder on her way by the bakery case and led us through a short hallway to a small room painted in pink and lemon yellow. A round table painted in huge daisies held a glass domed cake pedestal with a few items inside. “I pulled a few things from the bakery case to try, and I can alter anything to fit your theme.”

We sat down and went over some of the specifics for the Bridgerton-flavored birthday party we had in mind.

Tabitha scribbled something in the binder. “So finger-food sized. We can definitely do that.” She flipped through pages and turned the book toward us. “Maybe like this?”

There were half a dozen small cakes pictured that were a perfect bite size. She had photos from previous clients, as well as some that had been staged for their social media.

Bells scooted next to me so she could see. “Oh, this is cute. Does it come with that hot duke dude from the show?”

Tabitha grinned. “Don’t we wish? I could probably convince my brother-in-law to wear something.”

“Don’t tease me.” Bells tapped her nail on the lemon and strawberry cake as well as a lemon bar. “I talked to the sister of the birthday girl today. Evidently, she’s big on lemon and chocolate.”

I pulled my tablet out of my purse. “Do you have a chocolate fountain for fruit maybe? I was going to use the one we have but it’s being used for a wedding on the same night.”

“Sure. We have one.”

“Great.”

“What’s the guest size?”

“Eighty,” I said with a wince.

Tabitha looked up from her binder. “Well then.”

“We have a decent budget and can add on twenty percent for the short notice.”

Bells gave me a side-eye full of questions.

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