Love Stinks! (7 page)

Suzanne was quiet for a minute. Katie crossed her fingers. She would never really tell Suzanne’s secret, but this was the only plan she had. Katie hoped it would work!

“All right,” Suzanne agreed. “I’ll come.”

Katie was relieved. “And you’ll get some of the other girls to come, too?”

“I’ll try,” Suzanne said slowly.

Katie smiled as she hung up the phone. That took care of the girls. Now she had to deal with the boys.

Quickly, she dialed Jeremy’s phone number. When he answered the phone, she told him all about the party.

“I’m not going anywhere near there,” he told Katie. “I’m staying as far from Becky as I can.”

“I don’t think that’s too smart,” Katie replied.

“Why
^?
”

“Well, look what happened the last time Becky went to Cinnamon’s. She got you a heart. At least if you’re there, you can make sure she doesn’t do anything like that again.”

Jeremy was quiet for a moment. Finally, he said, “I guess you’re right.”

“I know I am,” Katie assured him. “We’ll go to the party right after our cooking club meeting. It’ll be fun, I promise.”

Katie spent the whole evening calling her friends. Her phone calls really worked. Almost everyone in the fourth grade agreed to come to Cinnamon’s Valentine’s Day party.

The next day, the kids arrived at Cinnamon’s Candy Shop. But they didn’t look like they were in the mood to party. Instead, they all looked angry. The girls still hadn’t forgiven Cinnamon for what was written on their hearts. And the boys hadn’t forgiven the girls for sending the hearts in the first place.

Cinnamon wasn’t about to let the kids have a bad time. She just kept smiling and handing out candy. Her smiles—and her sweets—were too much to ignore.

“Wow! Free candy!” Jeremy exclaimed. “Awesome.”

“Can I have some more jelly beans?” George asked Cinnamon.

“Sure,” Cinnamon replied. She handed him a bag of red and white ones. “Eat up.”

“Woohoo!” George exclaimed.

“This is my favorite song,” Suzanne said as a Bayside Boys song came on the radio. She started to dance.

So did Jessica. She
always
did whatever Suzanne was doing.

“Admit it. Cinnamon throws a great party,” Katie said, dancing over to the girls.

“Yeah, well, she owed it to us after the mess she made,” Jessica told Katie.

“But I think we can find it in our
hearts
to forgive her,” Suzanne said.

Jessica laughed. “I guess so.”

Before long, it seemed as though everyone had put the candy heart mess behind them. They just wanted to have a good time.

But no one was having as good a time as Cinnamon. Seeing her smiling again almost made Katie forget just how much she hated Valentine’s Day.

“Come in the back room with me,” Cinnamon said as she walked over to put her arm around Katie. “I have a special surprise.”

“For me?”

Cinnamon nodded. “I think you’ll like it.”

Katie followed Cinnamon back into the kitchen.

“Here you go.” Cinnamon handed Katie a big cardboard box.

Katie smiled as she quickly whipped the top off of the box. Inside was a candy heart that read:

“Valentine’s Day is a nice time to thank your friends for how happy they make you,” Cinnamon explained.

Katie smiled. “I never thought of it that way,” she admitted. “I figured it was just about love and crushes and mushy stuff.”

Cinnamon shook her head. “It doesn’t have to be.” Cinnamon peeked out into the front of the shop. The kids were laughing, talking, and snacking on candy. “See, no one’s acting mushy out there.”

“Do you think this whole crush thing is over?” Katie asked hopefully.

“For now,” Cinnamon told her.

That was going to have to be good enough. “In that case, I have to leave for a few minutes,” Katie said suddenly.

“Leave? Why?”

“I have to get to the pet shop. I didn’t get Pepper a valentine this year. And he’s my very best friend. Maybe they have a heart-shaped liver treat for him.”

Cinnamon made a face. “
Liver?
Yuck. I’m glad I make treats for
people
.”

Katie laughed.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Cinnamon said as Katie turned to leave.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Katie answered. And she really meant it.

Are you puzzled about what kind of Valentine’s Day card to send to
your
friends? This jigsaw-puzzle card is a great way to give a piece of your heart.