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Claire chuckled. "Yes, he certainly seems charming." She'd had no idea that he was gay and wondered if he had a boyfriend in town.The town seemed progressive, like most of New England, though she had yet to see any pride flags in town. Although she hadn't been looking for them either.
A few minutes later, Claire signed the bottom of the page. "All done." She carefully tore the page from her sketchbook and handed it to Lily.
Lily gasped, her eyes shining. "This is stunning, Claire, thank you so much! I love it." She reached out to squeeze Claire's hand.
"You're welcome," Claire replied. She watched as Lily packed up the stroller and headed out into the sunshine, turning to wave brightly before disappearing down the street toward the water.
Eva came out of the back of the bakery, a tray in her hands filled with a dozen neatly decorated cupcakes. The cupcakes were arranged in two rows of six, each with a different bright frosting color and design. The vanilla buttercream frosting had been expertly swirled and piped to create rose shapes in shades of pink, purple, and blue. Silver sprinkles had been arranged in rings around each base to match the various colors. The cupcake liners were perfectly straight and tidy, showing the amount of care Eva had put into preparing the tray for display. Eva took her time arranging the display case, making sure each cupcake had enough space around it and that the frosting designs were facing outward for customers to see.
Claire hadn't realized that she'd been watching Eva arrange the cupcakes for as long as she had, enraptured by the care and precision of Eva's work, until Eva looked up and smiled warmly at her. She watched as Eva tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and left a faint smudge of frosting on her cheek without noticing. Even that small, imperfect detail seemed charming to Claire in that moment.
She returned the smile shyly, Julia's teasing about Eva being interested in her ringing loudly in her ears. Claire took another bite of the flaky croissant and sighed happily at the burst of filling on her tongue. "This is delicious, Eva. Thank you for recommending it."
Eva beamed, coming out from behind the counter to join her for a moment. "I'm so glad you like it. We have a lot of regulars now, but I always get excited when someone new discovers us." She leaned in conspiratorially, "To be honest, the croissants are my favorite too. Michael's buttery pastry and my fillings are a perfect match."
Claire chuckled, "Well your secret is safe with me, though with treats this wonderful I don't think you'll stay a secret for long."
"You're too kind." Eva squeezed Claire's shoulder warmly. "Let me know if I can bring you anything else. And take your time, there's no rush at all. Michael told me you were out here drawing. Feel free to draw here anytime. We're normally only busy for a few hours first thing in the morning but the rest of the time it stays fairly quiet."
"Thank you, I will." Claire smiled as Eva headed back to help another customer.
Claire stayed for another hour, quietly observing the steady stream of customers coming into Sweet Delights for their morning coffee and breakfast pastries. She watched as Eva and Michael moved about the bustling cafe with ease, greeting customers by name, taking orders, and delivering plates of food and cups of steaming coffee with smiles.
Everyone but her seemed to be a regular, though she hoped she was quickly becoming part of that group. The smells of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods filled the air, mingling with the murmur of conversation and the clink of dishes. Regulars chatted with Eva and Michael as they worked, catching up on neighborhood news.
Eventually, Claire realized just how long she'd been lingering at her corner table. She brushed a few stray crumbs from her plate and gathered her things. Eva smiled at her as she returned her dish to the designated spot under the counter.
"Will we see you tomorrow morning too?" Eva asked her. Claire caught the hopefulness in her voice and tried not to look too deeply into it.
"Maybe," she said, smiling back at her. "I don't have any other plans, and I do prefer your coffee to my own."
Eva laughed, a bright and cheerful sound that matched her warm smile. "Then we'll hopefully see you again real soon."
Michael waved goodbye to Claire from across the cafe where he was taking another customer's order. Claire pushed open the glass door of the bakery and stepped back out onto the street.
Chapter Twelve
Eva pulled up outside Michael's apartment building right at 7pm as planned. He emerged a moment later, waving eagerly before climbing into her passenger seat.
"Thanks for picking me up," he said, leaning over to give Eva a quick hug. "I'm starving so I hope you're ready for a big Italian feast!"
Eva laughed as she pulled back onto the road headed for their favorite neighborhood restaurant. "When am I not ready for carbs and wine?"
As Eva drove, she caught Michael up on the latest happenings at the bakery. "So I'm still fine-tuning a new lavender cupcake recipe," she told him. "I just can't seem to get the lavender flavor quite right yet."
"My first try was a total fail," Eva admitted with a laugh. "I used way too many dried lavender buds. The cake was just speckled all over with them. And it smelled really intense."
She shook her head at the memory. "But when I actually tasted the cupcakes, it was like eating pure lavender oil or something. The flavor was so ridiculously strong and perfumey. I could barely swallow the first bite, it was just too much."
Eva continued, "So for the second attempt, I dialed back the amount of lavender way down thinking that would fix it. The cakes had a pretty light purple color, so they looked perfect. But then when I bit into one, I realized I could hardly taste any lavender at all. It was just plain vanilla cake."
She sighed. "Finding that ideal middle ground between too much and too little lavender has been really tricky. I'm hesitant to waste more ingredients on another failed batch. But I'm determined to figure out that perfect faint floral sweetness!"
Michael nodded thoughtfully. "Have you tried steeping the dried buds in milk or cream first to infuse it and then using that in the batter? Might be more potent than just tossing them in dry."
"Oooh, that's a fantastic idea!" Eva said. She hadn't thought to steep and infuse the flavor first. That could definitely be the solution to maximizing the subtle floral taste.
Soon they arrived at the cozy restaurant. Soft lighting and the aroma of garlic and fresh bread greeted them as the host led Eva and Michael to a small booth.
