Cupcake Overload (Cupcakes 2)

“Rufus,” Cade said sternly, and the dog plopped down and looked up at me happily.

I patted him on the head, then looked at Cade when he said, “I hope it’s okay that I brought him. Didn’t want to leave him home alone again.”

“Of course,” I said with a smile. “What do you think he’s going to make of CB?”

“Let’s find out,” Cade said, and when he raised an eyebrow, I said, “Out back with Elena.”

Cade and Rufus headed to the back, with Elin and I close on their heels.

I was sure that Rufus would be fine with the puppy, but the sheer difference in size was enough to make me nervous.

When we all walked out back, Elena stood and cradled CB in her arms. Once the puppy caught sight of Rufus, she started wiggling with excitement. Rufus walked over and began sniffing CB’s butt, and Elena looked at me, her face filled with worry.

“It’s okay, put her down so they can get to know each other.”

“But…”

“Rufus won’t hurt her, Lena,” Cade assured her, his hand going to her hair to soothe her. “He’ll be gentle, I promise.”

Elena looked up at Cade, the trust in her eyes causing my eyes to well up again. She kissed CB’s furry face, then bent to place her gently on the ground.

CB was so excited, she leapt out of Elena’s arms and fell unceremoniously onto the grass. Rufus sniffed at her and nudged her with his snout, then stood up and stilled as CB began to prance around him, sniffing and yapping as she tried to get him to play.

We spent the next few minutes laughing as Rufus barely tolerated the excited puppy. Every time he tried to walk away, she followed, nipping at his legs and tripping over her own. When he laid down on the grass and tried to go to sleep, even as CB jumped all over him, Elena and I both seemed satisfied that there was nothing to fear from Rufus. If anything, he was the one in need of rescue.

“Want to fire up the grill?” I asked Cade once we were done with the dog introduction. “I have the patties made, I just need to cut up the toppings and put the beans on.”

“On it,” Cade replied, then turned and asked, “Did you tell the kids about Hawaii yet?”

I’m sure my eyes bugged out, since I thought we were going to make it a big deal and tell them over dinner. I even had brochures and stuff that I’d been planning to whip out.

“What?” Elena asked.

Just as Elin screamed, “Hawaii?”

“Yeah,” Cade said with a chuckle. “We’re going at the end of the month.”

Elena stood still, shocked and repeated, “What?”

But Elin started jumping up and down and dancing around.

“No,” I said when Cade’s amused eyes found mine. “I hadn’t told them yet.”

Then, Elena rushed forward and flung herself at Cade, her arms wrapping around his waist as she exclaimed, “I love you, Cade!”

Cade was momentarily stunned, then his expression turned tender as his arms held Elena tighter to him, and he replied, “I love you too, Lena.”

I stood there, weeping soundlessly, as my man held my daughter, and my son danced happily around them.

A couple of days later, I was going over my notes, trying to figure out what I was missing and if there were any leads I’d neglected to follow, when it hit me.

I’d never talked to Samantha’s coworkers at The Coffee Bean.

I’d gone to The Coffee Bean with the intention of doing so, but I’d run into Carmen, then Bran, and gotten caught up in all of that, and I’d never actually spoken with anyone.

Hoping that this would lead to something and not just be another dead end, I grabbed my bag, slipped on a pair of flip-flops, and hopped in the van to

head toward The Coffee Bean.