15 Shades Of Pink (48 page)

“She wanted to, but I’m booked up. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Don’t you think she’s a little old for you?”

He widened his stance and crossed his arms. “She’s perfect for me. My specialty, actually.”

She sucked in a breath and couldn’t get the words out.

“I’ll take a dozen Sea Goddess muffins. Looks like you’ve got some right here in the display case.”

“Oh. Right.” She thought about not serving him. But his sale would mean she’d break her half hour curse. Reluctantly, she filled his order, rang up the sale and handed him the box of muffins. “Thank you.”

His eyes twinkled. “You’re just as beautiful as your grandmother. Must be the health benefits of your goodies.” He handed her two twenties.

Snatching the money, she gritted her teeth and bit back a thousand nasty things she could say. Is this how the exchange happened with Grandma Kate? A handful of twenties passed over when they were all done? Or was it hundreds? “Please don’t hurt my grandmother.” She made change and slammed the cash register drawer shut.

“We’re careful. She won’t get hurt.” He glanced over his shoulder as he left the shop. “Don’t you ever do anything for fun, Red?”

She planted her hands on her hips. “No, I do not. I work too hard.”

“Have a little fun, Red. Go bake a cupcake.” One side of his mouth curled up and he left.

“It’s Rose!” she shouted after him. She waited a few seconds and then dashed to the window to see where he was going. With her palms against the glass, she swore. A woman in a long fur coat was kissing him on the cheek.

That’s it. She grabbed her cloak, locked the door, and dashed down the street. She had to find that woman and get the goods on Jack.

“Excuse me! Ma’am? Wait!” Rose chased after the woman, but a cab pulled up to the sidewalk and the woman climbed in.

Rose was breathless as she watched the cab pull away.
How’d she get a cab so quickly—without a red cape?

“Is there something I can help you with?”

She spun around and saw Jack leaning against a building.

“Who was that woman?”

He pushed away from the building and walked towards her. “Who?”

“The one who just got in a cab. The one who kissed you!”

He cocked his head and smiled at her. “That was one of my mother’s friends.”

She exhaled in surprise.

“I’m seeing her later tonight.”

Rose pursed her lips, made a grumpy, dismissive noise, and spun around. She marched back to her shop, fished her keys out of her apron pocket, opened the door, and called her grandmother.

“Rose, you’re turning into a pesky old lady. What is it?”

“You can’t see Jack again.”

“What?”

“I just saw another woman kissing him on the street.”

Grandma laughed. “Rose, I know I’m not the only one.”

Right. Of course.
Gigolos have lots of women.
“Aren’t there any nice men in your building?”

“Oh yes, there’s a prince up in the penthouse,” Grandma said.

Rose pinched the bridge of her nose. “Grandma, seriously….”

“What? There is, from some tiny European country. But rumor has it he’s a beast. A nasty, nasty man. I like Jack. I’m a grown woman, Rose. I know what I’m doing.”

The idea of turning Jack in to the police crossed her mind, but then Grandma would get in trouble, too. Who was the John, here? Grandma or Jack? What did it matter? Grandma was going to do what she wanted. “Okay, fine. I just hope you don’t get hurt.”

“We’re being careful.”

Making a face, Rose hung up, and swore she heard Grandma giggling. Well, if Jack was making her happy and making her feel young again, who was she to break up that kind of magic? He was her fountain of youth, apparently. She’d have to grit her teeth and be nice. And try to forget that Jack was the most gorgeous man Rose had ever seen.

Who happened to be sleeping with her grandmother. Whoever said life was unfair was absolutely right.

***

Jack was there again when Rose dropped off flax seed cookies on Thursday. Grandma peeked in the basket and frowned. “Rose, dear, I do appreciate the gesture, but I’m not interested in your tofu cookies and multi-grain breads. When you start making cinnamon sticky buns and chocolate torte, you can drop off all you like. Though I doubt you’d have any left.”

She stood up straight. “Grandma, you know I’m all about healthy choices, now.”

“And I’m into indulgence now.” Her voice was low and sultry.

“You could learn a few things from Kate,” Jack said, looking gorgeous in a pale blue sweater and jeans. He kissed Grandma’s hand, and whispered, “Should we tell her?”

Panic walloped Rose’s chest. “Tell me what?”

“Nothing darling. Nothing you need to know yet.” She shared a knowing look with Jack.

He just shrugged. “Okay, then. You’re in charge. It’s your call, Kate.”

Oh, my mammoth zucchini muffin.
Are they going on vacation? Getting married? With just a little bit of Grandma’s money, Jack wouldn’t have to hustle so many other old ladies. That’s probably what he was thinking. Grandma wasn’t just a senior cougar; no, this was much worse.

Rose jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “I’m going to go.” She had no choice but to tolerate this; but that didn’t mean she had to watch it.

“Bye, darling,” Grandma said, never taking her eyes off Jack.

***

She got to the bakery before the sun was up the next morning. She hadn’t been able to sleep, and there were numbers to review and muffins to make. Wanting to please her calorie conscious customers, she was going to offer different sized muffins and list the calories and ingredients for all her goods, along with the benefits of the select ingredients. She hated that Jack had inspired this new strategy, but then again, even gigolos needed good marketing skills to get ahead.

She dumped a cup of rice flour in a mixing bowl. With Valentine’s Day approaching, she wanted to experiment with some romantic treats. A rose hip bread would be nice. She stirred some dried cherries into the mix. The rose hips were said to soothe the nerves and cherries aroused desire in women. Passion Bread, that’s what she would call it. That might be appealing to her clients. She wouldn’t let her grandmother have any of it, though. When the first batch cooled, she sunk her teeth into the warm, moist bread. She smiled. It was good.

The hours flew by—she had another piece of bread—and she flipped her sign to ‘open’ right before seven a.m. She didn’t have to wait long for her first customer to arrive. When the bells jingled, she looked up and frowned—while running a hand down her hip and then smoothing her hair. She shouldn’t have had that second piece of passion bread. She blew out her breath. “So, you finished all your muffins already?”

“I’ve been sharing them with my clients. It keeps up their stamina,” Jack said.

It probably did. Seaweed detoxified the body and increased metabolism. It also helped with impotence—a problem he certainly didn’t have. She pointed a wooden spoon at him. “Do not talk to me about the other women in your life and what you’re doing with them.” She shivered as an image of her grandmother wearing a silk teddy and feather boa popped into her brain.

His big lips curled into that darn smile of his and she closed her eyes to keep it from affecting her, too.

“I’m just doing what your grandmother wants. There’s a lot you don’t understand about our relationship.” Her eyes popped open and he stepped closer to her and leaned against the counter. “Give me a chance. I’m not as bad as you think.”

Rose backed away from him.

He laughed. “Are you afraid of me?”

“Of course not.”

“I’m hardly the big bad wolf, Rose. So, are you going to serve me?”

Well, butter my croissant.
Is that how it worked? Grandma was the one who did all the…. She shook the thought from her head and blinked at him.

“Your muffin.”

Rose blinked at him again. Exactly what was he proposing?

“The Seafood Goddess muffin. Can I have two dozen of the small ones? They are for sale, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Yes, of course that’s what you meant. I’ll get those right away.” She wiped away the line of perspiration beading above her lip. She needed to create a literal humble pie. Or a deep dish pie of common sense. What would be good for that—ginger?

“I like these. I usually don’t go for health food stuff. But these are good,” he said, tapping the display case.

“Thank you,” she said tersely, handing him the box.

He grabbed a few cards stacked up in a clear acrylic box by the register. “I’m going to pass these out to my clients. I’m going to recommend they bulk up on a muffin before I arrive.”

She didn’t know what to say. Would that make her some sort of accessory to this whole sordid thing?

“Hey, if you stop by Kate’s tonight, bring some of that pink bread in there. It looks good.”

“If there’s any left.” Which there would not be. Neither of them would be getting any passion bread. She’d give them something absolutely unsexy, like licorice. She frowned. Licorice actually had tons of health food benefits. She’d have to whip up something with a bit of it mixed in.

Maybe she wouldn’t stop by at all. Maybe Grandma didn’t even want her visiting anymore. Rose had assumed Grandma could use the company and would enjoy some left over baked goods.
She doesn’t need me or my vegan banana bread when she’s got a hot, fresh, stud muffin.

But she couldn’t turn a blind eye to this nonsense. She was going to keep visiting. Maybe she could guilt grandma into giving up her escort.
Maybe I need to visit even more often.

Jack smiled at her before leaving and she hated the feeling of lust that curled inside her. Guess he just had that kind of effect on everyone. Grandma didn’t stand a chance.

The cab fares were killing her, but what if Jack was out to swindle her Grandma? Being a sugar granny was one thing. But Jack could very well clear out Grandma’s sizeable bank account. She couldn’t afford not to go for another visit.

***

That night, Grandma was in the shower when she arrived.
Well, at least they’re not in there together
, she thought. She sat down on the couch with a sigh.

Jack tossed the magazine he’d been reading onto the table. “So, looking to join us for some fun, Red?”

Her mouth opened and closed and she finally managed to say, “Excuse me?”

“While I specialize in older women, I do have clients of all ages. We could make an arrangement. Your baked goods for my services.”

She popped up from her seat and went to the kitchen for a drink. She hadn’t had alcohol since her mother died, but she might kill Jack if she didn’t calm down. A nice Riesling usually did the trick. “I am not interested in any business dealings with you.”

He followed her into the kitchen, and she downed the entire glass of wine. “Were you always like this?” she asked. She could imagine him pimping himself out as a prom date to girls across the city.

“You mean, generous enough to share my gifts with those in need?” His eyes locked on hers and she looked away.

“Yes, generous, that’s how I’d describe you.”

“Actually, I wanted to be a doctor. But in college, I realized this line of business was better suited for me.”

“It’s always good to find that perfect career match.”

“What about you? Did you always want to be a baker?”

She laughed. “No. I had no idea what I wanted to do. But I knew I had to get my act together after my mother died and baking was one of the few things I enjoyed doing. It was either that or party for a living, and Paris Hilton had that socialite thing all tied up at the time.”

He leaned against the counter and she could smell a whiff of mesmerizing aftershave. He stared at her long enough that it made her uncomfortable and she found herself crossing her arms. He chuckled. “Oh, so you did know how to have fun once upon a time.”

“I had enough fun for a lifetime.”

Grandma breezed into the kitchen in a new, silky kimono.
Good grape seed streusel.
What had these two been getting up to? Is that whole Kama Sutra thing Japanese? Is that what this was?

“Now, Rose, you’re not trying to steal away Jack from me, are you?”

She shook her head so hard it hurt.

“I’m sure he could fit you in, too.”

Holy whole-wheat bagels.
“I’m going to get going. I left some muffins for you guys on the table.”

“If it’s the money, Rose, I can pay for it! Jack’s expensive but he’s worth it,” Grandma hollered after her.

There really wasn’t any amount of wine that could erase that comment from her memory bank.

***

The next morning, Rose was at work, beating a bowl full of eggs much harder than necessary. Now they were too frothy for her recipe. She dumped them down the sink and sighed. She had to stop this relationship. That, or she had to stop seeing Grandma for a while. Rose was more and more upset each time she visited.
This must be my punishment for putting my mother through such hell all those years.
She cringed, remembering the time she dragged home a guy from Germany in the middle of the night who spoke no English at all. Her mother spent an hour staring at him in the kitchen the next morning offering him eggs and pancakes and toast until she finally shook Rose awake.

When she closed up shop that night, she decided this would be her last visit to Grandma’s. She was going to lay it on the line:
leave Jack or lose me.
She bundled up her goodies and her determination, and headed uptown.

Clutching her basket of banana buns in front of her, she rang Grandma’s doorbell. This time, Jack answered the door. “Hello, Red.”

She was constantly rolling her eyes around this guy. “Where’s my grandmother?”

“Why don’t you come in?”

He was acting like he owned the place; he was probably imagining he did.

Squeezing past him, since he was blocking most of the doorway with his broad shoulders and thick thighs—thighs that she tried so hard not to look at—she called for her grandmother. “It’s me, Grandma. I’ve got something new for you to try.”