Love Actually (Love By Design 5)

I took an equity loan out to cover the remodel of the shop and Sydney was being a shit. I found bank fund transfer papers forged stealing half the money I borrowed. She claimed I owed her for emotional damages when we broke up. If you call finding your girlfriend making out with someone else from her band emotional damages then I guess stealing for anything was possible. Francesca had a guy working on it and didn’t charge me anything. I slept better at night knowing Sydney couldn’t touch my business that supported the important people in my life. So for all her haughty ways, Francesca was a sweetheart.

“Frankie, hey.” Tommy popped out and came right over to us resting his hands on her shoulders gently. She seemed to calm down immediately and I made note to ask my brother about that later. His magic touch typically was only on heads, but he was all kinds of touchy feely with the corporate attorney sitting at his station.

“Well, I’ll let you two get to it. Make her hair amazing, Tommy.” I nudged my brother.

He smiled at Francesca in the mirror, some secret look passing between the two of them that made my own hair stand up.

“Easy peasy, sis. Her hair is already gorgeous.” Tommy busied himself gathering what he needed while his free hand tangled in her locks. I assumed he was on top of this in more ways than one as he dismissed me.

As for me, I had a gaggle of ladies coming on the senior bus.

“On that note, I’m off to take care of the Churchill sisters and half the bingo crew.”

Francesca reached for my arm making me pause.

“Louisa, if you need to reach Michael again let me know. I think he enjoyed taking care of that issue.” Francesca smiled and I nodded back thanking her. It was nice knowing there were good women out there supporting women. Tommy gave me a look that said we’d chat later and I gave him a similar one nodding at his client. He smirked and ducked his head down like he was suddenly shy. Weirdo. He’s lucky I loved him and I finished out the rest of my day humming Katy Perry songs trying to forget about Carmen.

4

Carmen

“It’s so great to see you! It’s been forever!” Taylor rushed over to hug me tight before we sat down on opposite sides of the table at my bakery. “This place looks amazing.” She turned her head, hair swishing around her shoulders from the messy braid that was a collection of white blonde and gold highlights. I bet everyone in this town went to the Vodka and Wash. It was apparent this town was full of hair-hos and I mused about the skilled stylist wielding her silver sheers like a fairy godmother.

“Thanks. I’m glad you could come over and see it.”

“Are you kidding me? After the cliff notes version of you rolling into town and not seeing me first?” Taylor looked affronted and I did feel bad, but not bad enough for her to see me like that. Nope, I left that shame in New York and the evidence in my hair being several colors and a few inches shorter now down the street.

“You were busy.” I muttered.

“I’m never too busy for a friend, especially one having a crisis.” She said touching my arm and squeezing gently. Taylor was a big softie.

I rolled my eyes. I had given her the quick and dirty of breaking up, moving out, and destroying my hair in a seventy-two hour time frame. I was nothing if not efficient.

We were lucky to catch up considering Taylor had been busy with a recent house flip. The lucky girl got to work with her fiancé and I had been moving up here finalizing the building sale and documents for the health department that needed updating. It still needed some work, but I was open, and it was operational. I used my inheritance to buy the shop from the previous owner who wanted to retire after forty years of making bread. The smell of warm dough gently permeated the walls like an old hug and fought a losing battle to a batch of fresh chocolate cupcakes.

Maybe it was happenstance that Taylor asked me to do her wedding cake and the opportunity came up. Either way, I needed out of Connecticut and the town my former college roommate lived in was adorable with a booming business for specialty food and wine in the Hudson Valley. It finally felt like it was my time to shine and nothing was going to hold me back. Not my family, not an ex, and not the rigors of managing a kitchen where I’d never be my own boss.

This was my dream come true.

“I was lucky to find the listing, but more importantly, the space was already cleared by the health department for cooking use.” I waved back toward the kitchen area feeling the excitement overwhelming me. “Even the ovens are pretty new cause those would have been a pain to purchase.”

The stainless steel convection ovens would have broken my budget and my dreams. I’m pretty sure Grandma Gigi thought I’d be taking a sabbatical to master pastries in Paris or chocolates in Belgium. She might have had second thoughts if she knew I’d be jumping head first into a bakery on my own with only my Business for Dummies to help me with the books, but I knew there was very little reward without risk, especially after my breakup.

My friend tapped her pink lips looking as excited as I felt.

“So are we going to discuss décor?” Taylor had an eye for design, but today was about her, not my needs to change up the candy pink striping which I was tempted to keep.

I shrugged and grabbed a plate of desserts pushing them slowly in her direction. “I thought we could discuss the cake, and your hot man.”

Taylor blushed bright red. There was no hiding it with her pale complexion and bright blonde hair. She was in love with Hunter Hart and he with her. I was happy for her and a little jealous, but it made me want to make sure she had the most gorgeous wedding cake this town had ever seen. She was a rising star with her house flipping and getting to do her cake would put me on the map as well. Despite being college roomies she was doing me a solid favor by giving me cart blanche to design her wedding cake.

“Hunter is pretty much into whatever I am so that will be easy.” She said with that secret shit-eating smile on her face.

I chuckled watching eyes glaze over.

“But you want pretty.” My nail tapped the table thinking.

“Mmm, I do. I so want pretty and girly.” Taylor sighed dreamily.