Sweet Baklava (9 page)

Paula hung up, smoothed the front of her skirt, and came around from behind the counter. "What can I help you with today?"

The woman thrust a business card toward her. "I own a chain of gift shops in New York, and I heard you do wholesale."

"Yes, in fact, that's become the majority of my business."

"I've been looking at your website, and your selection is quite impressive. Do you have any of the saltwater taffy soaps and candles here?"

"Sure." Paula led her to a corner that displayed all her personal blends. She picked up a saltwater taffy candle and handed it to the woman. "I'll leave you alone to check out the whole collection."

A half hour later, Paula was assured the biggest wholesale order since she'd opened the shop. She finished balancing her checkbook then put it away to work on lining up some people for production the following week, when she'd have the woman's order.

The sound of the door opening caught her attention. "Hey, Alexa," she said before she noticed the look on Alexa's face. "What's wrong?"

I
am so over it." Alexa rolled her eyes upward and groaned.

Paula had to stifle a smile at Alexa's typical drama. "So what are you over this time?"

"Mom and Aunt Ophelia." Her nostrils flared as she shook her head.

"What did they do?" Or more likely, what did Alexa do? But this wasn't the time to mention her history.

"I forgot to put cream inside the pastries, and they acted like it was the end of the world or something."

It just might be the end of the world for some people. Those cream-filled pastries were delicious.

"So they told me to take some time off and get my act together."

Paula lifted an eyebrow and studied Alexa. "Get your act together? Is there something I don't know about?"

"Not really." Alexa walked around the shop, picked up a few candles and soaps, sniffed them, and set them back down. "There's this guy . . ." Her voice trailed off, and she sighed.

"What guy?"

Alexa's face lit up. "Charlie Zimmerman. He delivers all the dairy." She nearly floated to the counter. "He is so nice."

"I can tell. Cute too, huh?"

Alexa's expression changed to surprise. "You know Charlie?"

"No, but based on how you're acting, he's your dream guy."

"I don't know about that, but I'd sure like to find out."

"So what's stopping you?"

"Every time he comes into the bakery, Mama gives me something else to do. It's like she doesn't want me anywhere near him."

"Does she know how you feel?"

"Of course not. You know how Mama is. She wants me to find some guy from Tarpon Springs—someone she knows."

"Someone Greek, right?"

Alexa shrugged. "I don't think that's a requirement, but it wouldn't hurt."

"I'm not Greek, but no one ever had a problem with me seeing Nick."

"That's because they've known you since you were a kid. Plus Nick's a guy. It's different for him."

"Have you tried talking to your mother?" Paula asked.

"I don't know what good that'll do."

"Give it a try. In the meantime, why don't you take a few days off and go have some fun?"

"I really need the money. That's another thing. Mama is trying to get me to move back in with her and Papa, but I like living on my own."

"I understand." Paula thought for a moment. "Hey, I have an idea. I just got a humongous order, and I could sure use some help around here."

Alexa's eyebrows shot up. "Really? I can help out here? I love working in your shop."

Paula laughed. "Of course you can help. In fact, you can start now if you want."

"If you can give me a couple of hours to go home and change out of these bakery clothes, I'd love to."

"Perfect. I'll finish up a few things here, and when you come back I can put you in charge of the sales floor while I start working to fill the wholesale order."

Nick stood outside his dad's sponge store and looked toward Paula's Natural Soap and Candle Shop. He'd been puttering around the house helping Mama until Papa called and asked him to make some deliveries. He needed to decide how to fill his time until Paula was ready to see him again.

Alexa came out of the shop, practically skipping. Obviously something good was going on, and he wanted to know about it.

"Hey, Alexa, wait up!"

She turned around and smiled. "Nick! Guess what!"

"No telling with you."

Her smile didn't fade. "I'm changing careers. Paula offered me a job selling soap and candles."

"What are they gonna do without you at the bakery?"

She shrugged. "They fired me, so that's their problem."

Nick knew his cousin well enough to see through the drama. He laughed. "It's about time Aunt Ophelia and your mom came to their senses."

Alexa waved him off as her lips formed a pout. "Actually, they just told me to take some time off for a few days, all because I made a stupid little mistake."

She was always making little mistakes, which was why she bounced from one of the family's businesses to another. They were willing to share the risk. The last time she "took time off" she dumped an entire load of sponges into the dumpster, saying she thought it was scrap after they were trimmed.

"When do you start working for Paula?"

Alexa's smile returned. "As soon as I get changed out of this hideous-looking outfit and into something cute."

"Then don't let me stop you." He snickered. "I'm sure Paula is as eager for you to come back as you are to work for her."

She folded her arms and rocked back on her heels. "You're not being sarcastic, are you, Nick?"

He stabbed a finger at his chest. "Who, me? Never!"

Alexa swatted at him. "Go on, get outta here. You're not supposed to be anywhere near Paula until tomorrow."

"Who told you that?"

"Word gets around. If you're done painting for Aunt Ursa, go talk to Mama or Aunt Phoebe. I think they wanted some work done in the bakery." With a teasing grin, she added, "That should keep you busy and your mind off Paula."

Nothing would keep his mind off Paula. She was all he'd thought about since he returned home.

After Alexa took off toward her car, Nick cast one more glance at Paula's shop before heading for the bakery. Aunt Phoebe stood behind the cash register, wringing her hands.

"Hey, Nick," she said. "This place is a mess."

He stopped by the door. "Alexa?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" She didn't give him a chance to answer. "Never mind. What can I do for you?"

"I understand you have some work for me?"

Her frown instantly turned to a smile. "As a matter of fact, there's a little bit of handy work that needs to be done on the back of the house. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. I asked Apollo to do it for me, but between the restaurant and helping your dad get the sponges to the stores, he hasn't got a single extra minute."

"I don't mind. Just give me a list, and I'll take care of it right away."

She jotted some things down on the back of a cash register receipt and handed it to him. "If you'll hold on, I'll wrap up something delicious to take with you."

Nick watched as she dumped a whole tray of gorgeous-looking Greek pastries in a white paper sack. If he'd been a betting man, after what Alexa told him, he would wager his next paycheck that these didn't have the traditional custard filling.

Aunt Phoebe handed him the pastries. "If you have any questions about those"—she pointed to the bag—"just ask Alexa."

Bingo! He chuckled. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Better to eat them ourselves than have disappointed customers," she mumbled as he headed out the door with the to-do list in one hand and pastries in the other.

Once out of sight, he pulled a pastry out of the sack and bit into it. Hmm. No wonder Aunt Phoebe dumped the entire contents into the bag. He dropped the whole batch into the next public garbage can before rounding the corner to his car.

As Nick repaired a wall on the outbuilding that housed his aunt and uncle's lawn mower and other outdoor equipment, he thought about his approaching reenlistment deadline. Although he loved serving his country, Nick loved Paula more. All she had to do was snap her fingers and he'd move back home so fast everyone's head would spin. But she wouldn't do that. He'd known her long enough to realize she'd never ask him to give up his dream. Too bad their dreams collided.

Throughout high school, while most couples made out all the time, they talked and shared their deepest thoughts. Paula let him know how frustrating it was not to have roots—a place to call home. Getting to know Stephanie and being accepted by his family gave her the most stability she'd ever known. Her mother threatened to take her away from Tarpon Springs to manipulate Paula. Nick didn't think she would make good on the threats, but it sure scared Paula.

When it was Nick's turn to talk about how he'd never been interested in the sponge or food business, she always listened. He told her about playing soldier as a child. As he grew up, he and his friend Anthony Kourakis started talking about joining the Air Force. Paula encouraged him to follow his dream, but he didn't do it until her mother told him Paula didn't plan to come back to Tarpon Springs.

Instead of helping Paula find a way to go to college, Bonnie Andrews encouraged her daughter to meet a rich man to take care of her. That incensed Paula and made her more determined than ever to get an education. He should have known better than to listen to a champion manipulator, but the timing actually made sense.

When Bonnie told Nick that dozens of companies were wooing Paula, offering high-paying jobs after she graduated, he assumed she was telling the truth because he figured everyone else saw in Paula what he'd always seen. It wasn't until much later that he learned Paula's intention had always been to return to Pinellas County, Florida. She couldn't find a position that appealed to her, so she took some of the money she'd saved from her college job to open a shop. Uncle Apollo and Aunt Phoebe owned a tiny retail space that had been sitting vacant since they closed one of the gift shops, and they gave her a price break on the rent.

Last time he came up for reenlistment, he headed home, praying he and Paula would get back together, but when he saw her nestled into the crook of Drew's arm, a sick feeling settled over him. He'd never be able to live in the same town with Paula and another man.

"What did that wall do to you, Nick?"

He spun around and spotted Steph standing about ten feet away, smirking. "Hey, Steph. I'm just fixing a few things."

"Remind me not to get on your bad side." She took a couple of steps closer and lifted her hands in mock surrender. "Hold the hammer. I heard you were here, and I wanted to see how things were going between you and Paula."

"I'm still honoring her wishes to stay away for a couple of days." He took one more swing with the hammer then turned to face his cousin directly. "Any other girl and I wouldn't pay a bit of attention."

She snorted. "Any other girl and you wouldn't care."

"True." He dropped the hammer into the toolbox and pulled the crumpled list from his pocket. "Wanna help me paint the back porch?"

"Are you serious?"

Nick nodded. "C'mon, it'll be good for you."

Steph backed away. "I'm not very good at painting. You'll probably go faster if I don't help you."

"Don't pull an Alexa, Steph. You and I both know she sabotages her own work to get out of what she doesn't want to do."

"Yeah, and she's totally groovin' on working for Paula."

"I'm glad Paula's doing well enough to hire her then. Maybe it's time for more of the Papadopoulos family to branch out and see how other people live."

The instant Nick said that, he regretted it. He didn't want anyone in his family to think he wasn't grateful for everything, including the safety net of working for the family business if things went wrong.

"Nick." Steph clicked her tongue, just like Mama and his aunts.

"Okay, so do you wanna help me or not?"

Steph chewed on the side of her lip for a moment before she gave him a clipped nod. "Sure, just tell me what you want me to do."

He gave her a quick lesson on painting the trim before they got to work. At first they painted in silence, but after a few minutes she started chattering about keeping her schedule straight, Alexa working at Paula's shop, and how she'd like to work there too.

"Why don't you ask her?"

Steph paused and faced him. "Are you serious? You don't think that's taking advantage of her?"

"No. I think she'd actually like having you working with her."

"I think I'll do that then."

He laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"You." Nick pointed to his nose. "I sort of like that shade of yellow on you."

"I'll give you a matching one if you don't watch out."

As soon as her part of the painting was done, Steph handed him the paintbrush. "I'm done with this. It was fun, Nick. See ya." She turned and ran, not giving him a chance to thank her.

It took him another hour and a half to finish painting the porch. He'd just finished washing the brushes when he saw a late afternoon shadow come up from behind. This time when he turned around he saw Paula standing there.

"I thought you didn't want to see me for another day."

"I know. I talked to Steph."

Nick crinkled his forehead. "When did you see her?"

"About a half hour ago. She said she helped you do some painting, and I figured I'd stop by and see if I could help out."

"Nope. All done." He tapped the clean brushes on the side of the house and carried them to the table beside the outbuilding to dry. She followed him, but neither of them said a word until he wiped his hands on the towel and turned to face her.

She smiled. "Looks like I have good timing."

Nick folded his arms and widened his stance but never broke the gaze. "Maybe."

He could tell his look made her uncomfortable because she started shifting her weight from one foot to the other. It took every ounce of self-restraint not to laugh.

"So what are you doing now?" she finally asked.

"I'm heading back to the house to wash up."