A Moment on the Lips (A Whistle Stop Romance, #3) (12 page)

“Hello, Piper.” The young woman lifted a pair of sunglasses and rested them atop her head. A friendly smile lifted her red lips. “I thought we should talk.”

Piper blinked, not quite believing her eyes. The woman who’d broken up her engagement was standing in her shop.
Oh no.
What was she supposed to do now?
Breathe in. Breathe out. Act normal
. After all, it was all in the past. She’d moved on. “Hello, Laney.”

“I’ve never been in your shop before.” She glanced around. “It’s truly lovely. I see now why people rave about it.”

Piper hoped they raved about her assorted baked goods and not the décor. But she wasn’t one to brush off a compliment. “Thank you.” The best thing she could do for her peace of mind was to hurry Laney on her way. “What can I get for you?”

The smile faded from the young woman’s face as her gaze lowered to the yellow and white skirt of her dress. “I want to apologize. You know, for all of the nastiness that happened—”

“You mean your affair with David?”

Pink stained the other woman’s cheeks. “Yes, that. It all just ballooned out of control. I’m so sorry you found out the way you did. Well, I guess we both found out about each other that night.”

What? Had she missed something? “Are you saying you didn’t know David was engaged?”

“I had no idea. If I had, it never would have happened. I swear.”

Piper didn’t want to believe her. It was so much easier to think of Laney as a lying, cheating, conniving hussy. But Laney wasn’t from Whistle Stop. She lived farther north, on the outskirts of Albuquerque. It was quite possible David had duped both of them—quite possible indeed.

So where did that leave them?

Piper clearly recalled walking into David’s apartment and finding him in bed with Laney. The woman had looked at her in surprise before demanding to know who she was, but at the time Piper hadn’t thought anything of it.

It’d been quite an uncomfortable moment for all of them. The worst part being that Piper had never seen it coming. She’d been so wrapped up in keeping her bakery running while trying to find someone to buy it, as well as making elaborate wedding plans fit for the son of the mayor, that she’d never had any downtime in which to wonder why David had never been around anymore.

She’d spent all of her time turning herself inside out trying to be the perfect bride for him. And while she’d been starving herself to fit into a size-five wedding gown and sacrificing the business she’d built from the ground up, he’d been off doing who knew what with whomever. The dredged-up memories left a bitter taste in the back of her mouth.

Piper cleared her throat. “That’s all in the past.”

Laney’s gaze met hers. “Do you mean it? You forgive me?”

“Yes.” Piper wanted to believe in Laney’s innocence and let it go. Her ex, on the other hand, was a totally different story. “Now, what can I do for you?”

A timid smile pulled at Laney’s lips. “You are amazing. No wonder David speaks so highly of you—”

“He does?” Piper bit down on her lower lip, hating that she’d let her surprise get the best of her.

Laney nodded. “He’s always saying how much he admires you.”

Piper just couldn’t imagine David saying any such thing. She had the sinking feeling Laney was buttering her up, but to what end? Surely the woman didn’t want to be her friend.

“Laney, what are you doing here?”

“Sorry. I was getting to it.” She clutched her designer handbag. “You know how David and I are getting married soon?”

Talk about smiling while sinking the knife in and giving it a little twist. “What does that have to be with me?”

“We’ve decided to have the wedding here in Whistle Stop.”

“And what? You want to invite me?”

“Heavens, no.” Laney pressed a hand to her chest, showing off the enormous rock on her left hand. “I’d never want to rub our wedding in your face. I know how hard it’s been on you, what with losing such a great guy”

Really? A great guy? Somehow, that isn’t the definition she’d use in reference to David. “Okay. I give up. Why are you here?”

“I’d like to try to make things up to you. Maybe we could start over since we’ll soon be living in the same small town.”

Piper crossed her arms. Something told her this was going to be quite interesting. “And how do you plan to do that?’

Laney leveled her thin shoulders and lifted her pointy chin. “I’d like you to create our wedding cake.”

If there had been the slightest breeze, it would have blown Piper over. Not quite sure she’d heard correctly, she asked, “You want me to decorate your wedding cake?”

Laney’s blue eyes lit up as she vigorously nodded. “I thought it’d be perfect.”

For whom? Certainly not for her. She wanted to be as far from that wedding as humanly possible. As it was, she still caught people giving her pitying looks and shaking their heads. No doubt they’d already written her off as an old maid, especially since her social life was nonexistent.

“I’m glad to see you’re at least thinking over the idea. Just before I came in here, I was worried you’d reject the offer without even considering what it’d mean to you.”

“What it’d mean to me?” She wasn’t following Laney’s line of thought. Was this some twisted way of rubbing it in Piper’s face that she was a loser? Wasn’t it enough that Laney had stolen away her fiancé? Was she spiteful enough to want Piper to suffer more?

Laney’s expression wasn’t anything but friendly. “With my father having one of the largest chains of car dealerships in the Southwest, there will be people from all over coming to the wedding.”

“And?”

“Don’t you see? It’s going to be the wedding of the season. Your cake will be seen, and tasted, by hundreds of people. It’ll most likely end up in various society columns. This would help your business.”

It would. A splashy affair like Laney described would definitely get the word-of-mouth advertising started. The thought of being able to immerse herself in extreme cake decorating was so tempting.

“Why would you do this for me?” There had to be a catch.

“Because you took the high road even after what David and I did to you. I really admire you. I don’t think I could have taken it so well.”

Piper may not have publicly displayed her broken heart, but that didn’t mean the breakup hadn’t taken its toll on her. She had other ways of dealing with the pain, starting with pints of chocolate ice cream followed by a large supreme pizza with extra cheese. And then there were the cupcakes—they were always there to help drown the pain.

“No one should ever go through what I did.” Piper met her gaze head on.

Laney flinched. “You’re right. Please let me make it up to you.”

Free advertising in exchange for a fiancé and her reputation? Somehow, they didn’t seem to equate. And yet, there was a pleading look in Laney’s eyes that had Piper believing what the woman was saying. Did that make Piper foolish? Naïve? Gullible?

Or would it once and for all prove to the citizens of Whistle Stop that she was past the broken engagement? Would the pitying looks finally cease? And would the event really help her business?

“So, will you do it?” Laney clasped her hands together. “Pretty please.”

Piper really wanted to dislike Laney, but she just couldn’t muster up the emotion. The truth was, they’d never be friends, but Piper could do business with her. She’d show David and the whole town just how strong she really was.

“I’ll do it. Why don’t you have a seat over by the window and I’ll bring you some cake samples to choose from? And we can go over your ideas for the design.”

Laney smiled and nodded. “I knew this would work out.”

Piper sure hoped she was right.

J
oe couldn’t believe an entire week had flown by so quickly. Piper had laid off the personal questions, and life had taken on an easy routine. After his morning run, he showered and showed up at the Poppin’ Fresh Bakery with the papers for his business and those pertaining to the fundraiser in hand. Only this morning, there was someone sitting at his corner table.

A frown pulled at his face. He’d staked a mental claim on that table. For now, it was his only office. He knew the thought was ridiculous. It was a table. But from that corner seat, he had a clear view of the entire dining area plus the counter. When Piper was out and about, he could soak up her beauty. He could admire the way she put people at ease with her charm and how she made them smile. If there was ever a natural saleswoman, it was her.

Piper glanced up from the cash register, making eye contact with him. He couldn’t just stand there and wait for the man to finish perusing the sports page and eating his pastry. Joe took a seat on the other side of the room, but he didn’t like it. It took him a moment to realize why. His view of Piper was restricted.

Just his luck, his crew was doing work on the shared wall between his shop and Piper’s. The banging of hammers and the drone of power tools from the renovation echoed through the bakery to the point of distraction. Joe shook his head, amazed Piper wasn’t throwing a royal hissy fit. If the roles had been reversed, he was certain he’d be at the end of his tether by now.

Piper was quite the standup lady. Not to mention the way she had a warm pastry and coffee waiting for him each morning. But he knew there was more to her gesture than just kindness. He could feel her eyes on him each morning as he devoured the still-warm bear claw. He knew what she wanted—an order for his coffee shop. But no matter how tasty her baking was, he was going to run his business exactly the way he wanted. He refused to be railroaded by a guilt trip. Why couldn’t she understand his need to do things his own way?

He only had so much willpower. It was so bad these days that by the end of his run, he was already envisioning the melt-in-his-mouth pastry waiting for him. At this rate, if he was around the bakery much longer, he’d gain at least twenty pounds. His doctor would give him a stern lecture, warning him about the risk factors for heart disease and his already borderline blood pressure. They had to finish up renovations on the coffee shop. And soon.

“Thanks for stopping by.” Piper’s sweet voice rang out. “I’ll be looking forward to those dance recital pictures.”

The bell above the door chimed as the customer left.

Now, Piper would be heading his way. She’d be armed with a bear claw. This time, he’d resist. He’d tell her that he’d appreciate it if she’d quit serving them to him every morning. He’d be nice and apologetic, but he’d set up some boundaries.

He’d just pulled his stack of papers from his attaché case when Piper rounded the corner with the expected bear claw minus the frosting and steaming hot coffee. The coffee was okay. It was black. No cream or anything bad for his diet.

As for the pastry, he’d politely push it away. He was ready. He could do this.

“Good morning.” Piper set the pastry in front of him along with the caffeine. “Beautiful day for a run.”

The smell of cinnamon rose up and filled the air. His stomach rumbled. He should have eaten before he came over. It would have made this so much easier.

“It was a great morning. Nice and cool.” He stared down at the bear claw.

His mouth watered. What would it hurt to eat just this one? Tomorrow he could tell her that he didn’t want any more of her mouthwatering creations. Yeah, that was it. He’d do it tomorrow.

He picked up the bear claw and took a healthy bite.

Piper interlaced her fingers and stared at him as though waiting for him to say something. She wanted him to admit he was wrong about them not jumping into business together. Suddenly, the pastry didn’t taste quite so good. He returned the half-eaten bear claw to the napkin.

“Don’t you have anything to say?” Her voice lacked patience.

“About what?”

“The pastry I serve you every morning just the way you like without frosting.”

His shoulders grew rigid. He should have known this moment would come sooner or later. His taste buds had been hoping for later. “Thank you.”

She stood there wearing a frown, her arms crossed and her right hip jutted out to the side. She obviously wasn’t going to let the subject rest. “And?”

Certain he wouldn’t say what she wanted to hear, he decided to play dumb. “What else do you want me to say?”

“How about mentioning that you like my baking. And don’t deny it. You practically inhale those bear claws.”

That’s what she wanted? A compliment? He felt like a total dunderhead. How could he have totally forgotten his manners? His mother had taught him better than that. Seemed like every time he was around Piper, his mind short-circuited. Well, this was one problem he could and would fix. Easily.

“I’m sorry. I’ve totally forgotten my manners. The bear claws are quite delicious. Thank you for going to so much trouble to have one waiting for me each morning. Worrying about the coffee shop opening on time has me totally distracted.” It sure wasn’t the only thing distracting him—not by a long shot.

“You’re that worried about it?” She eyed him up as though trying to decide if he were leveling with her or not.

“I am. I have flyers ordered, and I took an ad out in the local paper.” And this was where the conversation would get difficult for him. This was the best opportunity to say what must be said. “As for the pastry, you really shouldn’t go to such trouble. The coffee is more than enough. Speaking of which”—he reached for his wallet—“this is for you.” He held out what he hoped was enough to cover the food and coffee that he’d consumed, but Piper stepped back, refusing to take the cash. “If it’s not enough, I have more.”

Her brows scrunched together into a formidable line. “What is it with you? Can’t you accept that I like to do things for people without expecting to make a buck?”

He’d insulted her. Again. His lips pressed together in a firm line. It was all his fault. For so long, he’d argued and fought over money with Denise and her attorney that it seemed he’d let everything come down to dollars and cents. He’d forgotten there were other, more important things in life. Piper was giving him a wake-up call.