The front bell jangled and Pippa stuck her head through the kitchen door dividing the kitchen from the rest of the space. She waved her employee back and gave her instructions for stocking the displays with the remaining cupcakes and cookies.
She busied herself with cleaning the kitchen while Carly greeted the second employee and put her to work. Pippa thought about the delivery van, which was parked in front of the shop today. It provided great advertising with its cheerful color and the shop name displayed predominately on the side.
After her illegal drive through the city, she’d spent the next few weeks getting her driver’s license even though she hoped she never had to actually drive the thing herself.
Satisfied that her kitchen was in order, she went into the bathroom to repair her appearance. What she really needed was a shower, but she didn’t have time to go home.
“Pippa, you in there?”
She cracked open the bathroom door to see Carly and Tabitha both standing there. They started to crowd in, both carrying cosmetic bags.
“We’re here to do your hair and makeup,” Tabitha announced.
Pippa smiled, put the seat of the toilet down and sat so her friends could fuss over her. Peace replaced the overwhelming sense of panic. This was it. Her dream was coming true today. It hadn’t gone exactly as she planned, but she wouldn’t change a single thing.
Already she loved her son with a fierceness that surprised her. She hadn’t imagined being so connected to another life in quite this way. She talked to him every day. Sang to him at night. Read him stories while she lounged on the sofa after a long day of dealing with business stuff.
Her child had given her a purpose. She was even more determined to succeed. To be a mom her son would be proud of. She never wanted her kid to feel about her the way she felt about her own mother.
Where Miranda was more concerned for her own happiness than that of her child, Pippa was never going to go that route. Her son would be the single most important person in her life.
For the next half hour, Tabitha and Carly kept up a lively stream of chatter as they applied makeup and touched up her hair. Pippa’s heart was full of love for her friends. They were working hard to keep her mind off the impending grand opening and to allay her nervousness.
Just as they finished the last brush of the mascara wand, the door burst open and Ashley and Sylvia tried to shove inside.
“Pippa, you have to come see!” Ashley exclaimed.
She grabbed Pippa’s hand and hauled her toward the front. As they stumbled into the eating area, Pippa’s eyes rounded in shock.
People. Lots and lots of people!
All crowded outside the entrance to her shop. Waiting for her to open. And her employees, bless their hearts, were outside circulating with cups of hot coffee and samples of her baked goods.
Tears gathered and Carly whispered fiercely in her ear. “Don’t you dare mess up that mascara!”
Pippa laughed and then excitedly hugged all her friends.
Half an hour later, the doors opened and the customers surged in. There was much laughter as all of Pippa’s friends helped serve the crush of people.
For two hours there was no end to the line of people. As fast as they could ring customers up, others came in droves.
It was past noon when Pippa looked up and saw Cam stride through the front door, shoving his way past a line of customers. He sought her out and then fixed his stare on her as he moved toward the counter.
“Go on,” Ashley whispered. “I’ll take the register for a while.”
“You sure?” Pippa looked doubtfully at her friend. “You’ve been on your feet for a long time, Ash. Maybe you should take a break. Devon’s going to kill me for wearing you out.”
Ashley smiled. “I’m having fun and I get to eat all the cupcakes I want. Total win!”
Pippa grinned back and then stepped away from the counter to meet Cam around the side.
“Looks like you’ve drawn a huge crowd,” Cam said when she got close enough for her to hear him.
“It’s fantastic! I can’t believe it. We’ve been hopping all morning.”
Cam smiled. “Can I get a cup of coffee and a few minutes of your time?”
She glanced over at her friends, who were waving her on and giving her the okay signal that they were fine handling the customers. She waved back and
said to Cam, “Okay, you’ve got me for a few minutes.”
She poured him a cup of coffee, grabbed a pastry, a croissant and a cupcake and then motioned him into the kitchen.
They walked through to the office at the very rear of the shop. She closed the door behind them and then took a seat at the small desk. Or rather she sagged into it.
“Oh, my God, I may never get back up.” She groaned.
His eyes narrowed in concern. “When was the last time you slept? Have you been here all night?”
“It’s been a while,” she said ruefully. “And yeah, I was here all night getting ready.”
“You should rest. That can’t be good for you or the baby.”
“I won’t argue that point. I plan to go straight home and sleep about twelve hours before I get up tomorrow and do it all over again.”
He was silent a long moment. He looked for the world like he wanted to argue. His lips were set in a line and his jaw ticked. He ran a hand through his hair. To her surprise, he seemed unsure of himself.
“I wanted to come by to see how it was going. But mostly I wanted to say once more that I’m sorry for what happened at the clinic. I’m trying, Pippa. I know you probably don’t believe that, but I am trying to deal with this.”
She pushed the coffee and the plate of yummies at him, her heart melting just a little at the vulnerability she saw in those troubled eyes of his.
“Tell me how awesome I am,” she teased as she held up the cupcake.
He looked suspiciously at the cupcake piled high with fluffy pink icing. Unable to resist the opening, she swiped a finger full and then smeared it over his lips.
He reared back in surprise but his tongue automatically came out to lick away the sticky frosting. Then he took the cupcake from her and carefully peeled away the wrapper. He took a cautious bite and then stared down at it as if trying to figure out the mysteries of the universe.
“Okay, you’re awesome.”
“I know,” she said smugly. “Damn good, isn’t it?”
He took another bite and then smiled. “Yeah. Does this mean I’m forgiven?”
She cocked her head to the side and decided to let down her guard. “That depends on where you take me to dinner tonight. I’m starving and I want a steak. I’m sugared out from eating my own goodies. Me and baby want red meat.”
She waited for the flinch. The inevitable reaction when he was reminded of the son she carried. But he didn’t react. He actually seemed hugely relieved that she’d taken the matter in hand and barged forward. Well, that was typical Pippa. Bull in a china closet and all that.
“I’d like that,” he said in a somber voice. “I’ll make early reservations for us so you can get home and rest. I have a meeting in a little while but I’ll swing back by at closing time, run you by your apartment if you want to change and then we’ll go eat.”
“That sounds awesome,” she said with a sigh.
He rose from his seat and then held a hand out to help her up. “You’ve done a great job making this place your own, Pippa. By the looks of that crowd, I’d say they agree with me. You have a solid success on your hands.”
She squeezed his hand as she came around the desk. “I owe a lot of it to you. If you hadn’t gotten me this great place, I’d probably still be looking for space to lease.”
“I was glad to do it. You’ve worked hard for this.”
Part of her was saddened by the slight awkwardness between them and the almost formal way they danced around each other. She longed for the easy friendship that she’d come to rely on over the past few months. If she couldn’t have a more intimate relationship with him, she’d at least take friendship. Anything but this unease between them.
She gave him a quick hug to convey that she was seemingly unaffected by all that had transpired and then herded him back through the kitchen and out the front, where there was still a steady stream of customers spilling into the shop.
He hesitated a moment as they stood at the counter and then he leaned in to brush his lips across her cheek. “I’ll see you in a few hours. Try to take it easy, okay?”
As he walked away, she raised trembling fingers to the place he’d kissed her.