The Icing on the Cake (9 page)

“No!  But I have two good eyes.”  She
grinned cheekily.  “Unlike my sister…”

“Krissy!”

“Kidding!  She’s fine.”

Joe sat quietly, watching her.  “You
were always adorable,” he said.  “Bratty, but adorable.”

“Hey!” she protested.  “You were the
bratty one.  You teased me incessantly,” she accused.

He smiled.  “I guess I did.”

“It couldn’t be helped, I suppose.  With
the age difference, I imagine I was a bit of a pest.”

“Naw,” he said, and leaned forward,
snaring her gaze.  “That age difference is irrelevant now.”

A waitress appeared before she could
respond and gave them each a menu.  She recited the evening’s specials and then
took their beverage orders.  After she left, Joe smiled.  “No comment?” he
teased.

She shook her head, pretending she
didn’t grasp his meaning.  But he was correct.  The age difference between them
was irrelevant now.  Sitting here, with him, she wondered what it would be like
to date Joe Lancaster. 

She met his eyes, entranced by the light
reflected there.  The flickering glow danced off the hard planes of his face,
touching his cheekbones and his lips.  Those lips, so masculine…  Kristine
shook her head, to ward off her romantic musings.   

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

She shook her head.  She wasn’t about to
tell him she was awed by his good looks and that she was so attracted to him,
she was having difficulty refraining from diving over the table and kissing
those finely-fashioned lips. 

“I’m hungry,” she said with forced
brightness.  “Where did that waitress go?”

Joe smiled.  He wasn’t fooled by her
diversionary tactics.  The chemistry between them was palpable—practically
popping with electrical current—and he knew full well she felt it too.

As if on cue, the waitress appeared. 
“Have you had a chance to look at the menu?”

Kristine hadn’t, but she feigned
readiness anyway.  She picked it up and carefully perused the selection of
Italian cuisine.  “I’ll have the…  Seafood fettucine sounds excellent.”  She
closed the menu with a smile.

The waitress turned her attention to
Joe.  “And for you, sir?”

“I’ll have the same.”

She collected their menus with a smile
and hurried off.

“So…” Joe said, “let’s talk about you.”

Kristine squirmed under Joe’s intense
gaze.  He’d folded his arms across his broad chest and was watching her
expectantly.  “Well,” he prompted.  “Tell me about you.”

“What’s to tell?” she said.  “I work a
lot.  I…”  She scrunched her face in thought.  “I work a lot.”

Joe gave her a commiserating smile. 
“But what do you do in your free—?  Stupid question.  You don’t have any free
time.”

“What about you, Joe?  You’re running
your dad’s company.  Do you have any time for yourself?”

“Yes, I do,” he said succinctly.  “I
make time for myself.”  He gave a self-deprecating shrug.  “There was a time
when I worked around the clock and had little to no leisure time, but I came to
my senses.  I sit here before you a well-rounded individual.”

She considered his words.  “I don’t even
know what I’d do if I had time on my hands,” she admitted ruefully.  “I guess
the bakery is my life.”  She paused.  “Wait a minute.  Are you suggesting I’m
not a well-rounded individual?”

“Not at all, and there are certainly
worse things to occupy your time than your bakery,” he said.  “But Krissy,
what’s the payoff for all the hard work?”

“What do you mean?”  She watched him,
puzzled.  “Isn’t it obvious?  The payoff is a paycheck.”

“That’s it?”

She considered the question.  “Well, no,
that’s not all.  Baking allows me to be creative, to come up with new
recipes—to create beautiful, tasty treats for people to enjoy.  And I take
pride in knowing I’m part of something bigger than myself—a family bakery that
has withstood the test of changing times.  Do you know how few families can say
they have a business that has been around since the turn of the century—the
twentieth century!  And under my management, we’re doing better than we’ve ever
done.”

“You are good at what you do,” he said. 
“But…”  He glanced away and back to her.  “Don’t you want to be married
someday?  To have children of your own?”

“Sure.”

He laughed.  “Okay, what are you doing
to accomplish those particular goals?”

She chewed her lip thoughtfully.  She
almost made the cheeky remark that going on a date with him was a step in the
right direction, but she didn’t want to alarm him.  Instead, she said, “I’m
building a future.”

“How so?”

“I’ve put away a tidy little nest egg.”

He chuckled.  “That’s good, but what are
you doing to accomplish those particular goals?”

“Which?” she said obtusely.

“Finding a husband with whom to have
children.”

“I’m starting to see your point,” she
admitted, but perked up.  “What am I
doing
?  Well, I’ve been asked out
on dates by several of my customers.”

“Have you ever gone out with any of
them?” he asked, bracing for her answer.  He realized he didn’t like to think
about her dating.

“No.”

“Why not?”

She suddenly glared at him as her temper
flared.  “You know why not.  I never know exactly what time I’m going to get
off work.  I have a nephew who, thanks to his mother, ends up stranded at the
daycare until Auntie Kristine comes to the rescue.  Until recently, my mother
was practically comatose and if you’ll remember, my dad died!”

“Krissy, I’m sorry.  I don’t mean to
upset you.”

“Then stop calling me Krissy,” she
insisted crossly.

“I don’t know if I can,” he said with an
apologetic wince.  “You’ll always be ‘Krissy’ to me.”

“Joe, what do you want me to say?” she
said finally, woefully.  “I get where you’re coming from and I agree with you,
I have no life to speak of.  There.  I said it.  But I don’t know what to do
about it at this point.”

“Sure you do.  You could establish
boundaries.  You could delegate more.  You could hire additional help.”

“I suppose.”

He watched her thoughtfully, unsure if
he should say the words that came to mind.  He took a deep breath and forged
ahead.  “You could … sell the business,” he said, anticipating the explosion to
follow.

None was forthcoming.  “Did you put the
idea of selling the business into my mother’s head?” she asked in a low voice,
watching him with a penetrating gaze.

“No, I’m telling you the truth.  But
maybe it isn’t such a bad idea.  You never know.  Maybe the new owners would
allow you to work there, or even manage it.  But you’d have to be firm about
restricting your work hours.”

“Oh, okay,” she said sarcastically.  “It
feels as if you’ve given this a lot of thought.”  She couldn’t help but wonder
why.

“I guess I have,” he said.

“Why, Joe?  You don’t even know me.  You
never did.”  She glared at him with a challenging glint in her eyes.

He held her gaze, refusing to avert his
eyes.  When a smile tugged at his lips, he feared she might come over the table
and strangle him, but he couldn’t prevent the smile that lit his face.  It
became even larger as her eyes flashed with fury.

“I don’t appreciate being laughed at,
Joe,” she said angrily.

“I’m not laughing at you, honey,” he
said.

She was caught off guard by the term of
endearment.  “Did you just call me honey?  I’m not your honey.”

He laughed as reached across the table
and held one of her hands.  “But I’d like you to be.”

***

Kristine was still pondering Joe’s
declaration that he was interested in her romantically when he dropped her by her
house.  Surprisingly, after he’d made his intentions more clear to her earlier
in the evening, the two had managed to settle down and have an enjoyable dinner
together.

She couldn’t deny she felt something for
Joe.  But she had so little dating experience, she wasn’t sure how to quantify
those feelings or put them into words.  It was nice having someone on her side
who seemed to care about her well being.  She spent so much time assuring
others’ needs were met, she had forgotten about her own.

When Joe had asked her what she was
doing to accomplish her goals, she hadn’t understood specifically what he’d
been asking.  He’d asked what
she
was doing to make things happen in her
own life.  He was asking if she was being proactive, rather than allowing
things
to happen
to her. 

It was interesting thinking about it
now.  She’d always been a ‘make it happen’ person.  As a youngster, she had had
spunk.  Her dad used to get a kick out of his spirited young daughter.  But
that girl had been lost somewhere along the way.  Why had it happened?  Why had
she
allowed
it to happen?

She couldn’t deny she was a pleaser, and
perhaps her desire to please outweighed everything else.  But why?

She had to admit that having Joe express
an interest in her was an ego booster.  The man was drop-dead gorgeous and not
nearly as annoying as he’d been when they were kids.  He’d morphed into a
pretty good guy.  And that handsome, good guy seemed to like her.

Unlike her sister, she preferred the
good guys.  She’d never been drawn to bad boys and didn’t intend to start now.

“Hello, honey,” her mother said,
stepping into the living room from the kitchen.  “Did you and Joe have a good
time tonight?”

She nodded.

“Why didn’t you bring him inside when he
picked you up?  You know I wanted to speak with him, and Lori was especially eager
to see him.  You could have invited him in when he brought you home.”

“Why?  I mean, I know why you wanted to
talk to him, but what did Lori want?”

“Well, Kristine,” she said crisply, “as
you recall, Lori and Joe have a history.”

What did that have to do with anything?
 
“Yes.  They dated for awhile in high school,” she said.

“For a year,” her mother clarified,
enunciating carefully.  “And during their senior year.  I was sure they were
going to get married someday.”

Kristine gave an unconcerned shrug.  “I
guess you were wrong, Mom.”  She started for the stairway leading upstairs, but
paused.  “I’m sorry, Mom,” she said wearily.  “I don’t mean to sound so…”

“Snotty,” her mother readily
interjected.

“Yeah,” she sighed.  “I guess I’m just
tired.”

“It’s not like you to be so curt.  And
it’s not like you to actively pursue Joe when you’re well aware he’s interested
in Lori,” her mother said.

“WHAT?” Kristine cried, as she shook her
head in surprise.  “What?” she repeated, still too stunned to formulate a
complete and coherent sentence.

“Kristine, you know exactly what I’m
talking about.  Joe stopped by the bakery looking for Lori originally.  Why
didn’t you tell her he was back in town?”

“But, he didn’t come in looking for
her.” 
Did he?
  She racked her brain.  Had he come seeking her older
sister?  He
had
asked about her several times…

“Yes, he did,” Lori said stiffly, as she
stepped out of the kitchen and joined them in the living room.  She glared at
Kristine with accusing eyes.  “I guess you flirted with him and gave him a
glimpse of that tiny little body of yours and he took the bait.”

Kristine’s jaw dropped.  How could Lori
suggest such a thing?  She’d made no overtures to Joe.  In fact, she’d
initially avoided him like the plague.

If it was bad enough Lori was making
accusations, it was blisteringly painful for her mother to do so.  Kristine had
taken full responsibility for running the bakery and the home, without help from
either of them.  She’d tried so hard to assure everyone’s needs were met. 
Lori, on the other hand, came and went as she pleased, without any regard for
the bakery or her mother’s mental state.  She seemed unconcerned about the toll
it was taking on Kristine to work around the clock attempting to keep them
afloat.   

And this is how she was rewarded for her
efforts?  With false and unkind accusations from the two people closest to her.

Tears sprang to her eyes.  She turned to
her mother.  “I can’t even fathom either of you talking to me like
this—especially you, Mom.  And I did not use my feminine wiles on Joe.  As Lori
has pointed out so often in the past, I don’t have any.”

“Oh, come on,” Lori scoffed.  “You know
you’re beautiful.”

Kristine froze in place.  “What did you
say?”

“You heard her,” her mother said,
seeming determined to back up her oldest daughter.

Kristine took a deep breath.  Did Lori
really think she was beautiful?  Her feelings and emotions were incredibly
conflicted right now.  She couldn’t recall her sister ever complimenting her
before, though this was definitely a backhanded version.

“I’m going upstairs,” she said, forcing
back tears as she started for the stairway.  She brought herself to an abrupt
stop and turned around, eyes flashing now.  “Mom, is it so difficult for you to
consider that maybe Joe actually likes me—that he came into the bakery to see
me?”

“Why would he?” Lori said dismissively. 
“You were just a child when he and I dated.  And it’s not as if you’ve spent
time together in the intervening years prior to his return.”  She gave a
callous laugh.  “If he likes you, as you say, then it’s a recent development of
your own making.”

She ignored her sister—their
relationship had been strained for some time—but her mother…  “Mom,” she said,
her eyes pleading.  “You know I would never, ever do what Lori is suggesting. 
I do have morals…”

Her mother sighed.  “Kristine, I know
that Joe cared deeply for Lori once.  It doesn’t make sense that he’s suddenly
interested in you.  He’s been home—what?—all of a week or so?”

Lori gasped.  “Wait a minute, Mom.  He’s
been here much longer than that.  Somebody told me he built his house. 
Constructing a home doesn’t happen overnight.”  Her eyes narrowed with
contempt.  “Kristine, you’ve been sneaking around with Joe!  Behind my back!”

“Is this true, Kristine?” her mother
asked.

“No!  I didn’t sneak around with
anyone,” she cried.  “And I don’t know when Joe arrived in town.  All I know is
that he came into the bakery and…”

“He’s suddenly into you,” Lori
interrupted, shaking her head.  “It doesn’t happen that fast,” she said,
scowling.

Kristine felt as if her world had been
turned upside down.  She hadn’t felt so lost and sad since her father’s
passing.  Having her sister turn on her was a fairly regular event, but her
mother…

How could her mom side with Lori?  It
was ludicrous to think she had somehow manipulated Joe into developing feelings
for her over her sister.  Suddenly, her eyes widened and she spun toward Lori.

“You have a boyfriend!  One you’ve said
is near to proposing to you.”

“I like Joe better,” she said, sounding
like a petulant little child.

“Wha—”  She stared at her sister,
stunned.  “You’ve been dating Chad for months.  You’re going to toss him aside
for Joe?”

“Well, I was, until you worked your
magic on Joe.”

“My magic?”  She directed her attention
to her mother.  “Mom?  Really?  You’re going to let her get away with this? 
Don’t you have any regard for poor Chad, who this very moment is under the
misimpression his girlfriend cares about him?”

“Kristine,” her mother said in a
frustrated tone.  “Joe was Lori’s first love.  She’s pined for him for years. 
The heart wants what the heart wants.” 

Kristine threw her hands in the air.  “I
can’t do this anymore.”  She turned toward her sister, eyes flashing with
fury.  “You know what?  I’m taking tomorrow off.  It’s time you put in a long
day at the bakery.  Lord knows, you enjoy the perks without the pain.”

“Kristine…” her mother said.  “Now, be
reasonable…”

“Mom, I firmly believe at this moment
that I’m the only reasonable one in this family.  And I realized something
else…”

“What?”

“You don’t like me very much.”

“How can you say that?” she said,
seemingly hurt by the remark.

“Think about the things you said to me
tonight.  You’ll figure it out.”  With that, she spun on her heel and hurried
up the stairs to her room.  When she threw open the door and glanced around,
the room suddenly felt unfamiliar—as if she hadn’t slept in that very bed her
entire life.  She glanced around her.  Nothing here really belonged to her. 
This was her childhood bedroom and contained childish things.

She dropped onto the bed and reached for
a Teddy bear she’d had since she was three.  She pulled it to her chest, and
then thrust it away from her.  Joe had asked her earlier what she was doing to
compel her life to move in the direction she wanted it to go.  Maybe it
was
time to sell the business.  Maybe it was time for her to leave Cooper Glenn
behind.  Thanks to her mother and sister, she felt like a foreigner in her own
town, not to mention her childhood home.