Five forty-five PM on Wednesday rolled around, and instead of being at home in my pjs with my TV on with warm, salty, buttery popcorn in an almost overflowing bowl on top of my lap, I was at the bakery, waiting for the mysterious MCR to pick up their order.
Yay. Not.
“I am here!” Avery called out before coming into the back.
I knew Rosie had tap class every week at this time at the same place I used to go to right on the corner. Avery usually waited in the little room designated for parents just inside the dance studio, but not where the children could see. Apparently, parents were a distraction that needed to be out of view.
Whatever.
“Where do you want me?” she asked.
“Ooh, over here,” I nodded at the workstation next to mine where I had a tray of fudge waiting to be cut and packaged.
Since I was going to be stuck here, I decided to get a jump on my fall flavors candy collections.
Yep. I made homemade fudge and caramels as well as baked goods, and it was time to get our pumpkin spice, caramel apple pie, and other fall favorites on!
First, I made sure my bestie washed her hands for a full minute before putting on a pair of latex gloves.
Next, I instructed her on how I wanted her to cut my trademark fudge, placing the pieces neatly in the little sample boxes with the clear cellophane window I had ordered.
Last, she would seal them with labels featuring my bakery logo, which was a she-Devil caricature of myself.
“Oh my God! Pretty Penny! These are adorable,” she said, using my mother’s nickname for me, and I grinned.
“I know, right?”
I piped thick chocolate icing onto the now cooled cupcakes sitting on the rack in front of me for my last order of the day. I’d made the cake and frosting fresh and waited to put them together so they would be perfect for this new and hopefully future frequent customer.
“So, you know how they hired a male dance instructor at Rosie’s school?”
“Yeah,” I replied.
“Well, he’s cute. Like really cute, if a little skinny, but anyway, he asked me if I wanted to go out with him for coffee,” Avery said, and my ears perked up.
“Wow, Av, did you say yes?”
“What? No way. I am sworn off men,” she told me like I was the idiot here.
“Avery, aren’t you always telling me to get out there and date? Why wouldn’t you take your own advice?” I asked.
“Um, hello? I have a kid,” she said.
“So? Does that mean your pussy was no longer able to accept any unattached penises?”
“Oh my God, Pen! An unattached penis better be silicone, as in a dildo, because that is just gross! Besides, I have Rosie, and no single man wants a ready-made family. Especially with her special issues,” she mumbled.
“Avery, stop it. First, you know what I mean,” I said, rolling my eyes. “If he’s single, why not go for it? And second, my goddaughter is perfect. She only throws up on people who are assholes,” I replied, and we both had to work on stifling our giggles.
“I can’t believe she did that to Mark, though. I mean, I thought he was a good guy,” Avery said, shaking her head, recalling one of her infrequent, failed dates.
“Cheats on his taxes, apparently,” I said, repeating something I’d heard from my accountant.
I had to hire Mrs. Mitchell as my own CPA when Burt filed for divorce to get all my affairs in order. We’d shared one before that. But I couldn’t trust my old accountant since he was Burt’s golfing buddy, and I did not want my asshole of an ex snooping around my finances.
“Easy with the frosting there, Pen. You’re going to send MCR into a diabetic coma,” Avery said.
I looked down and frowned at the mess I’d made while my mind had been wandering.
“Shit,” I muttered, wiping up the disaster.
“Don’t throw it out! Come to mama,” Avery said, grinning and taking the ruined cupcake from my hands, placing it in a tiny pastry box.
“I’ll have you later,” she told the dessert.
“I can’t believe I did that,” I muttered, but that’s what happened when you baked with anger instead of love.
And any time Burt slithered into my head, I was angry.
“Wanna take a minute?”
“No, I’m fine. Besides, I don’t have that kind of time. MCR will be here soon,” I replied.
I prepped a fresh bag of frosting since I actually wound up squeezing this one so hard it ripped a seam.
Oopsies.
“That’s it. I let this go long enough, but Pen, we need to talk.”
“What? About that?” I asked, concentrating on the task in front of me.
Avery crossed her arms and tapped her toe, like a proper mama bear scolding her errant child. I snorted a laugh then shook my head.
“Seriously, I don’t know what you are talking about, Av.”
Normally, I kept this stuff bottled in. Like how I didn’t want anyone to know about the problems in my marriage. Burt’s incessant lying. His habitual cheating. And now, even after the divorce, he was after me for a piece of my bakery.
The man could not stop pecking at me like he was a vulture, and I was just a piece of carrion in the side of the road.
Avery had her own problems, though. I didn’t want to burden her now any more than I had back when I was living with that asshat.
And just look at how that worked out for you.
“Burt’s lawyer sent another letter,” I finally confessed.
“What?”
“He isn’t going to leave it alone. He wants everything I have, Avery,” I whispered.
It hurt even worse, saying it out loud. As if he hadn’t done enough damage to my pride and self-esteem for the entirety of our seven-year union.
I wasn’t a total doormat. I had confronted him several times. But each time, Burt would cry and apologize while pointing out my own insecurities as the reason for his wandering eye.
“You’re so tired after work, Babe. I have needs.”
“You can’t leave now, Hon. I have finals and I can’t worry about all this stuff. I won’t do it again. Come on, we can really be good together. Have the life you always wanted. A doctor’s wife?”
I wasn’t shallow, and it hurt that he thought so little of my character. Truth was, I never cared about being a doctor’s wife.
I cared about being his wife. Something he conveniently forgot, and often.
But I was past the hurt now. I had moved forward, or at least, I tried to. The fact of his cheating was more of an annoyance than a pain these days.
Burt had no problem moving on. He was shacked up with one of the surgical nurses he worked with.
She was thin, blonde, and had an important job. All unlike me, of course. Things he shoved in my face every chance he got.
Fucking hypocrite.
Burt wasn’t exactly saving lives. He was a plastic surgeon. And not the kind that donated time to correct cleft palates or help accident victims.
Gem that he was, Burt refused to do anything but cosmetic surgery.
His biggest money makers were Botox, cheek implants, and lip fillers.
One of our biggest fights was because I refused any and all the treatments he offered. I was only now thirty-four. Younger when we’d been married, and he’d suggested I take him up on treatments.
Now, I wasn’t judging anyone for doing what made them feel good about themselves, it simply wasn’t for me. It just hurt that my own husband scorned me because of it.
I had hoped Burt could respect my choices. Unfortunately, I was just as mistaken about that as I was about the rest of him.
Of course, he’d brought it all up in the phone call he’d insisted on after I got the lawyer’s letter.
Prick.
“I can’t believe he brought all that up again!” Avery looked as horrified as Penelope had felt.
“Yeah, well, that wasn’t all he said. I mean, it was one thing when we were married to listen to him tell me how my aging naturally was bad for business, but I really don’t have time for his bullshit now,” I told her, shaking my head.
“I know. So what else did he say? You know, after telling you how entitled he was to your business,” Avery asked, and I could see her hatred for the man glittering in her eyes.
I loved the fact she had my back no matter what. Just like I had hers. I knew she had a lot on her plate, raising Rosie alone. But I needed a friend right now. I was having a difficult time processing how I’d ever gotten to this point.
“Don’t you worry about me, Pen. Go on, spill.”
I took a deep breath, trying to find the courage to say it out loud. See, as bad as he was, Burt had been my first big love.
We were supposed to do such great things together.
Have a family.
Grow old with each other.
Stuff like that.
But the truth was he never wanted the same things I wanted. He only pretended to because it was convenient for him at the time.
“Look, Pen, that creep is a user of the worst kind. He’s a manipulator,” Avery said.
Boy, did I know it!
Burt had somehow managed to wiggle his slimy way past my defenses. At the time, with my parents’ frail health and their moving away, Burt had actually convinced me it would only hurt them if I left him.
Never mind the damage it did to my own heart, soul, and self-esteem.
“Okay, so the sleaze ball I just divorced is not only suing me, me, for alimony and a piece of my bakery. But he, uh, he just got married. To his nurse. He wanted me to give him my ring. My ring! Can you believe that?” I asked, and angry tears pricked my eyes.
“Are you shitting me?” Avery gasped.
I shook my head and sniffed. No, I didn’t wear my ring anymore. But so what?
It was mine.
It was a gift.
Plus, I made the last half of the fucking payments on it!
“I shit you not,” I said.
“The gall on that tiny-pricked loser!” Avery huffed.
She knew the truth. How I paid off most of our debts alone while Burt was off working and apparently fucking anything with a willing hole.
“Tell me about it! I only finished paying off the loan to buy this place six months ago. His name isn’t anywhere on the deed, or anything. And Avery, I put that jerkoff through medical school! I worked two, sometimes three, jobs so he could play doctor with his nurse’s pink bits. AND I PAID FOR MY OWN FUCKING RING!” I shouted the last bit just as the bell above the bakery door chimed.
Shit.
“Okay, Pen. Easy,” my bestie said, her worried gaze on mine.
“I’m okay,” I said, and took a calming breath.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Um, can you finish boxing the cupcakes while I check on that?”
I wiped my cheeks with the back of my apron and sniffed.
“Am I running?” I asked, pointing to my face.
“Nope. Mascara is good, and the nose is clear. I will take care of the order for our mystery sweet tooth,” Avery replied.
“I am so curious,” I whispered, and made my way to the door separating the kitchen from the front of the store. “I mean who the heck orders six dozen Death by Fudge cupcakes for six o’clock on a Wednesday night?”
Obviously, my new customer had a sweet tooth, too. Looking down at my ultra curvy body, I shrugged.
I was a fan of food, too, and I was never going to apologize for it. Whoever my mystery customer was, they had good taste.
Those cupcakes were my number one bestseller. They were also my favorite.
Not that I ever met a cupcake I didn’t like.
That semi-smile turned into a frown as my ex-husband’s voice popped into my brain, stalling my hand as it reached for the doorknob
“You know, you would be so pretty if you just lost the weight.”
“Don’t you want to be the best version of yourself?”
That jerk.
How many times had he put me down, making me feel worthless and unattractive? As if fat was the worst thing a human being could be.
“I know that look. Do not give Dirtbag even one more second of your time tonight, Pen. He is not worth it,” Avery said, narrowing her eyes.
“I know. You’re right. Okay, I’m going to the front to find out who our mystery cupcake fanatic is,” I replied with a tight smile.
Shaking off those bad memories of my ex, I removed my rubber gloves, then pushed open the swinging door that led to the storefront.
“The cupcake fanatic would be me, Sugarplum.”
I startled hard as the sexiest voice I had ever heard replied to the comment I’d just made to Avery.
But how did he hear me all the way out here? And, oh my, is Mr. Tall Dark and Doable wearing a cowboy hat?