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Lauren woke up the next morning telling herself to be positive.
“Brrp?” Annie enquired as Lauren sat up in bed, yawning.
“Time to get up.” Lauren smiled at the cat sitting beside her. “Hopefully the cupcake guy won’t be there today – Mitch moved him on yesterday.”
“Brrt,” Annie replied in approval. She jumped off the bed and scampered out of the room.
“I’m coming.” Lauren threw on her robe and followed Annie to the kitchen. After feeding her beef and liver, she stumbled into the shower. She loved running the café, which she’d inherited from Gramms, but sometimes she disliked the early morning starts.
After they all finished breakfast, the trio trooped through the private hallway to the café.
“I bet we get lots of customers today!” Zoe unstacked the chairs.
“I hope so.” Lauren looked out of the window. Her car was still parked outside the shop, but she couldn’t see a pink van anywhere. Good.
They finished getting the space ready. Ed clumped into the kitchen through the rear entrance, his heavy work boots echoing through the swinging kitchen door. A moment later, the clang of pastry tins alerted them he’d started his day’s baking.
Ed wasn’t much of a talker and preferred to work alone.
“All ready for our first customer!” Zoe unbolted the front door and peered out. “No smirky guy either.”
Chug chug, grr grr.
“Oh, no.” Lauren froze. Had she imagined the sound?
Chug chug, grr grr. Louder this time.
“What?” Zoe burst into the street. “He’s back again!” Her short brunette pixie cut strands stood almost upright.
The bright pink van sailed past Lauren’s car and parked right in front of it. A few seconds later, the serving hatch opened and the smirking guy stuck his head out.
“How’s it going?” he asked. The big fat smile on his face told them he wasn’t going to be a pushover – for anyone.
Zoe had left the entrance door open, giving Lauren a front row view.
“Brrt?” Annie jumped down from her cat bed and trotted to the door.
“Stay there, Annie.” Lauren hurried over to the entrance.
Déjà vu.
“Woof!” A black and white dog with short hair and a bulldog type face stuck his head out of the hatch.
Lauren stepped onto the sidewalk, shutting the door behind her. She didn’t want Annie to be so curious that she left the café on her own. Annie stuck her nose to the glass door, her green eyes wide with curiosity.
“Who is that?” Zoe demanded, pointing to the dog.
“Do you like him?” Smirky grinned, patting the dog. “His name is Sweet Boy and he’s a French Bulldog. My grandpa says he’s a real ladies’ magnet.”
“What’s he doing in the van?” Lauren asked.
“He’s my helper. Just like your cat helps you get customers, Sweet Boy here is going to help me. The ladies won’t be able to resist him, you’ll see.”
“Woof!” Sweet Boy seemed to agree.
“Hi, I’m Scott.” Another guy who looked around the same age as Smirky appeared at the window, holding a black instant camera. He wore blue jeans and a purple t-shirt. He had short brown hair, an open face, and a slightly crooked nose. “Jason said you girls are cool about us parking here.”
“No, we are not.” Zoe drew herself up to her full height of five foot seven. “Jason—” she threw a death glare at Smirky “—was moved on by the police yesterday. Trading in a van in street parking is illegal!”
“You didn’t tell me that.” Scott frowned at his friend.
“It’s cool, Scott. Don’t worry.” Jason didn’t look worried at all. “We’ll do business here until we’re told to move on – by the authorities – and then we’ll just park somewhere else. I set up a page for the truck on social media last night, so we’ll be able to let our customers know where we are at all times.”
“As long as they know you’re on social media,” Lauren said tartly. She did not like this at all.
“Oh, yeah.” For a second, Jason looked like he hadn’t thought of that. He quickly recovered. “We’ll tell all our customers as soon as they arrive.”
“Ooh, cupcakes!” A middle-aged woman halted outside the café. She looked from Annie inside the glass door, staring out at the street and the pink van, and then glanced at the two guys at the van.
Jason smiled winningly at her.
“We’ve got awesome cupcakes,” he told her.
“We’ve got cupcakes too,” Lauren told the woman. She didn’t know her. “And Danish pastries by Ed.”
“And awesome coffee,” Zoe added.
“Oh, I’ve heard about Ed’s pastries,” she replied. She glanced at Annie. “And your cute cat. But I’m really in the mood for a cupcake, and I haven’t seen this van before.”
“Here’s our list of flavors today.” Jason pointed to the hand scrawled list next to the hatch. “Raspberry, chocolate, red velvet, and carrot.”
“Oh, they all sound so tempting.” The woman hemmed and hawed. “Carrot! No, chocolate! No, raspberry!”
“You’re going to love it,” Jason promised. He pulled out a container with a tall clear lid and grabbed one of the cakes with a pair of tongs.
Lauren’s eyes widened. A huge dollop of bright red frosting covered the small cake, along with squishy raspberries, their juice dripping into the bright frosting. She guessed the berries were either frozen and defrosted, or canned. She’d prided herself on always using fresh ingredients. Surely she hadn’t been wrong to do so? Didn’t customers care about what was in their sweet treats?
“Oh, my.” The woman’s eyes lit up. “Thank you.” She practically snatched the bag from him.
“Check out our social media page.” Jason winked at her.
“I don’t do that sort of thing. But my daughter does.” She brightened at the thought.
The four of them watched her hurry down the street, peeking into the pink bag.
“At least she didn’t barge into the café and start eating it,” Zoe whispered.
“Yes,” Lauren returned glumly. When was the last time she’d had a reaction like that to one of her creations? Not for a while. Maybe it was time she upped her game.
“Ladies?” Jason smirked at them. “How about trying one of my delicious cupcakes – on the house? And you could give me one of yours to sample.”
“No, thanks.” Zoe answered before Lauren could. “They don’t look as good as Lauren’s.”
Jason frowned. “They don’t? Why not?”
“As if we’d tell you.” Zoe tossed her head, swiveled, and stalked back to the café. Lauren followed, wondering if it had been wise to answer so quickly. She wanted to understand what was so good about their rival’s cupcakes.
“Start taking photos of me,” she heard Jason’s voice before she entered the café.
“I blew it,” Zoe mourned after she entered the café and closed the door behind them. “We should have tasted his cupcakes.”
“I agree,” Lauren replied.
“Sorry.” Zoe looked at her apologetically. “But this has never happened to us before. Everyone loves our baked goods and coffee.”
“Brrt!”
“And you, of course, Annie.” Zoe bent down and stroked the silver-gray tabby. “We’ve got the whole package right here – so why would anyone want to try his stuff?”
“Because it’s something different,” Lauren replied. “And I haven’t come up with a new creation for a while.”
“But you’ve got so many flavors already,” Zoe protested. “Don’t forget you came up with that amazing lavender cake.”
“That was in January,” Lauren told her. “And now it’s April. Maybe our customers are getting tired of the same old thing. The same with—” she lowered her voice “—Ed’s pastries. But don’t tell him that.”
“No way!” Zoe shook her head. “But maybe it’s easier to come up with new cupcake ideas than it is with pastries? Ed already makes honeyed walnut, blueberry, cherry, apricot, and apple.”
Lauren drew in her breath as an idea hit her. “What if we call our customers when Ed bakes their favorite? His honeyed walnut pastries are very popular.”
“Great idea!” Zoe beamed. “We’ll phone the customers who always rave about that one and tell them we can only hold their order for a couple of hours because so many people want it. They’ll skedaddle down here and BAM! We’ve made a sale.”
“I’ll ask him what he’s making this morning.” Lauren hurried through the swinging kitchen doors into the commercial kitchen. She’d inherited Ed along with the café, and knew he liked to work independently.
“What’s up?” Ed lifted his head, turning his attention away from rolling out a large rectangle of dough.
Lauren explained their idea.
“No problem.” A brief smile. “I was going to make honeyed walnut today, anyway. I’ll just make a double batch instead of apple.”
“You’re the best. Thank you.” Lauren left him to it.
“Watch out, Smirky Jason,” Zoe crowed. “We’re going to beat you!”
Lauren sat behind the counter and tapped her pen on her order pad. She needed to come up with some new flavor ideas. But however hard she tried, her mind was blank. It didn’t help that every time she looked out of the window, another customer was being served by Jason, his friend Scott, and Sweet Boy, the dog.
She frowned. Was the dog allowed back there? Because it was a certified cat café, Annie was allowed in the café area, but she certainly wasn’t allowed in the kitchen. What would the rules be for food trucks regarding pets?
Maybe she should check with the town council.
Lauren glanced out of the window. She couldn’t help herself. It was like picking at a hang nail.
Her eyes widened as she saw their friend Martha push her rolling walker to the cupcake truck. In her senior years, she had curly gray hair, and liked her independence.
“Zoe!” She beckoned her cousin over.
“What?”
“Look!” She pointed at the large window.
Zoe sucked in a deep breath. “No way! The traitor!”
Through the window, Lauren could see Martha talk to Smirky Jason at the truck. Then he handed her a pink bag. Martha placed it on the seat of her walker and shuffled a few steps away. Then she sat down on the walker and opened the bag, taking a bite of what looked to be a chocolate cupcake.
Zoe charged outside. Lauren and Annie followed.
“Annie!” Lauren turned around. “Go back inside, please.”
“Brrt.” Annie seemed to shake her head no. The tabby was an inside cat, although she accompanied Lauren for walks as long as she wore her harness.
Lauren scooped her up and hugged her.
“All right. But only if I hold you.”
“Brrt,” Annie replied in a mollified tone. She nestled her cheek against Lauren’s for an instant.
“Caught you!” Zoe scolded Martha.
“Whaa?” Martha mumbled around a mouthful of cupcake. The word guilty flashed across her face in red neon letters.
“How could you eat his cupcakes?” Zoe demanded.
“Fwee thample,” Martha explained thickly, swallowing the treat. “I didn’t ask for it, I swear.”
“But you took it,” Zoe replied.
“If someone’s going to give me a free cupcake, I’m not going to say no.”
“Brrp.” Annie sounded reproachful.
“Want a ride, Annie?” Martha beamed at the cat. Annie usually loved standing on the walker seat and allowing Martha to push the contraption.
“Brrt.” Annie turned her head away and snuggled her face into Lauren’s chest.
Lauren stroked her, the velvet fur soft against her finger tips.
“I think she’s upset,” Lauren murmured.
“I’m sorry.” Martha rolled up the cupcake bag, a woebegone look on her face. “It wasn’t that good, anyway. I didn’t even eat it all, see?” She held up the balled-up bag.
“Then you can put it in the trash,” Zoe told her.
“How was the cupcake, Martha?” Jason called out from the truck.
Martha shrugged, not seeming to want to be the center of attention for once.
“Leave our customers alone, you – you – cupcake stealer!” Zoe glared at him with her hands on her hips.
Jason held up his palms. “Hey, I didn’t ask her to come over to the truck.”
“Ooh!” Zoe flounced to the café.
“I wouldn’t have tried his cupcake if I’d known Annie and Zoe would be so upset,” Martha said. “You too, Lauren. Sorry.”
“I understand wanting to try something different,” Lauren attempted to be fair. “But we haven’t had any customers so far this morning, and hardly any yesterday.”
“I’ll tell the gals down at the senior center to come to your café,” Martha said. “And the cupcake guy doesn’t sell coffee, so you’re good there.”
“Except everyone seems so enthralled with his cupcakes that they’re not interested in a latte or mocha from us,” Lauren replied, thinking of the way Zoe had strong-armed the two women yesterday into buying coffee, when they’d only been interested in finding somewhere to sit down and eat the treats from the truck.
“I’m sure things will pick up,” Martha said sympathetically. She placed her hand sideways across her mouth and whispered, “And I’ll tell my pals that his cupcakes aren’t too good, anyway.”
“Thanks,” Lauren whispered back. “But only if it’s the truth.”
“It is.” Martha assured her.
“Brrp?” Annie lifted her head. She was still snuggled in Lauren’s arms.
“I’m sorry, Annie,” Martha apologized.
“Brrp.” Annie placed a paw on the senior’s arm, as if patting it.
“I think we’re all friends again.” Lauren smiled at Martha.
“Am I welcome to come in for a hot chocolate?” Martha asked.
“Of course!”
“Brrt!”
“I’ll even put in extra marshmallows for you,” Zoe called from the open café door.
“Goody.”
***
A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER, Lauren called their customers to let them know that Ed had just made a double batch of honeyed walnut pastries. Several people promised to be there by lunch to pick some up.
“It’s working!” Zoe grinned as she ended another call. “At this rate, Ed’s pastries will sell out today. Just like old times.”
“But it doesn’t look like my cupcakes will.” Lauren gazed at the tempting array of treats in the glass case. Cinnamon crumble, vanilla, and triple chocolate ganache. She hadn’t sold a single one that morning.
“We’ve still got the lunch rush and this afternoon.” Zoe tried to cheer her up.
“There wasn’t much of a rush yesterday.” Now it was Lauren’s turn to be glum.
“You’ll see.”
True to their word, customers picked up Ed’s pastries. But unfortunately, on their way out of the café, they detoured to the cupcake truck.
“Look!” Lauren grabbed Zoe’s arm and pointed at the window. “They’re buying his cupcakes!”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” Zoe’s eyes widened. “Now we’re giving Smirky Jason extra business!”
They stared at each other. Lauren was relieved that she didn’t have rent or a mortgage to pay and had a small cushion of profit so if the worst came to the worst, she could still pay Zoe’s and Ed’s wages. As well as her own. For a little while, anyway.
The tiny lunch rush cheered them up, but it was only a trickle compared to other days – before the cupcake truck had invaded.
“I’ve got an idea.” Zoe grinned, for an instant looking like the zippy Zoe she’d been the day before Jason and his cupcake truck had arrived for the first time.
“What is it?”
“Brrt?” Annie called from her cat bed. She hadn’t been very cheery that day either, despite making up with Martha. None of her favorite customers had come in.
“You’ll see.” Zoe giggled. “I’ll need about fifteen minutes, though.”
“No problem.” Lauren looked around the now empty café.
She watched Zoe zoom through the private hallway to the cottage, wondering what her cousin was up to.
When Zoe didn’t emerge, she sank back down on the stool and tried to come up with some new flavor ideas. But her mind was blank. Maybe just sitting here and forcing herself to be creative wasn’t working.
A black blur from outside the café caught her eye. Frowning, she walked over to the glass plated entrance door, opened the door and stepped outside. A person clad in black, and wearing a black beret and black sunglasses, stood near the truck, as if reading the menu taped to the side of the serving hatch. Then that person stepped up and spoke to Scott, Jason’s friend.
Lauren blinked as she watched the stranger hand over some money and receive a large bag in return. The clothes seemed familiar.
“No way,” she breathed.
A black sweater, black pants, black sneakers – the outfit was identical – apart from the sunglasses – to the one Zoe had worn a few months ago when she’d played cat burglar.
Chris, a tall guy in his late twenties with even, attractive features, whom Zoe was dating, strode toward the café, then did a double take as he glanced at the pink truck, and the person being served.
“Zoe, is that you?”
“Vat?” The person in black turned around. “Who iz dis Zoe?” The female voice had a thick French accent.
“It is you!” He came over to her.
Lauren took a few steps towards the duo, intrigued. What on earth was Zoe up to? Surely it was her, clad in that all black ensemble.
“I haf no idee vat you are talking about.” The female shook her head and attempted to walk past him.
“I know it’s you.” He fell in step beside her.
“Come, and you vill zee it iz not,” she said dramatically, pulling him toward the café. Lauren held the door open for them, shutting it firmly behind her.
The female cast a backward glance at the pink truck through the window, but Scott was now busy serving four giggling teenage girls.
“You nearly blew my cover!” Zoe yanked off the beret and sunglasses. “I was on a mission!”
“And what would that be?” Chris asked, an amused look on his face.
“These!” She held up the large pink bag. “Lauren and I need to test them to see why everyone is buying them.”
“And you couldn’t do that in regular clothes?” Chris gestured to her ensemble.
“Of course not.” Zoe frowned at him. “What if Scott recognized me?”
“Who’s Scott?”
“The guy at the truck.” She jerked her head toward the window. “I thought Smirky Jason might recognize me, even in this—” she waved a hand at her clothes “—but I didn’t think Scott would. And I was right!”
“I think your French accent needs work,” Chris said, stifling a smile.
“Critics.” Zoe sniffed in a good-natured way. “Now, we’d better try these cupcakes before anyone catches us.”
“Brrt?” Annie jumped out of her cat bed and trotted toward them, an inquiring look on her face.
“Hi, Annie.” Chris bent down to pet her.
“Brrp.” Hi.
Lauren fetched plates, and they all sat down to try the cakes.
“You can have some of mine,” Zoe said to Chris.
“Thanks.” He grinned at her.
Lauren wished Mitch could be here, but he was busy at work. She looked at Chris enquiringly.
“Day off,” he replied to her unspoken question. He worked as a paramedic in Sacramento. “I thought I’d stop by and see Zoe.”
“Any other time you would have been welcome.” Zoe smiled at him. She cut each cupcake into half, gave Lauren her share, and then cut her halves into a sixty-forty split. She gave Chris the forty percent pieces. “Give us your honest opinion.”
Lauren looked at the offerings. It seemed Zoe had bought one of each flavor – carrot, red velvet, chocolate, and raspberry. Each cupcake had huge, wobbly swirls of frosting with edible decorations crammed into the surface.
Lauren took a bite of raspberry. And blinked. The sweetness hit her right away, coating her teeth in an avalanche of sugary, slightly grainy frosting.
When she was actually able to taste the cake part, she frowned. Getting up, she got three glasses of water and set them out on the table.
“We might need these,” she said.
“Brrt,” Annie replied in agreement. She sat at the fourth chair, watching the three of them – and the cupcakes – with wide eyes.
“Good idea,” Zoe mumbled around a mouthful of cake. She made a face and swallowed quickly. “Well, I don’t think much of this chocolate flavor.” Colorful sprinkles, white and pink mini marshmallows, and silver sugar pearls fell off the frosting and scattered onto her plate.
“Let me try.” This time Lauren ignored the frosting and just tasted the crumb of her share of the chocolate cake. She gulped down some water. “You’re right.” She stared at her cousin. “You don’t think – he’s using a box mix, do you?”
Zoe snapped her fingers. “Hey, I bet that’s it!”
“You don’t think he made these himself?” Chris put down his half eaten red-velvet sample.
“What do you think?” Lauren gestured to his plate.
“Yeah, you’re our male taster,” Zoe told him. “Although more women than men come in here and buy Lauren’s creations.”
“But some of them take them home for their husbands as well,” Lauren reminded her.
“True. And Mitch enjoys your cupcakes – especially vanilla,” Zoe teased.
Lauren hoped the small touch of heat on her cheeks wasn’t showing.
“What’s your verdict?” Zoe asked Chris.
“It’s okay.” He shrugged.
“Okay?” Zoe narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean, ‘It’s okay’?”
“I mean, I guess this cupcake is okay.” He motioned to the smidgen left on his plate. “It’s not as good as Lauren’s, that’s for sure, but it’s not so bad I’m going to take it back to the truck and ask for a refund if I’d bought it.”
Zoe’s eyes remained narrowed. “But you can taste the difference, right? Between Lauren’s and Smirky Jason’s?”
“Of course,” Chris assured her.
All three females continued to stare at him.
“Which one would you want to buy the most?” Zoe continued to interrogate him.
“Lauren’s, of course,” Chris assured them.
“Good answer.” Zoe sounded partly mollified.
“What did you think of the frosting?” Lauren asked him.
“Too sweet,” he replied promptly.
“Hmm. You might have just passed the cupcake test,” Zoe told him.
“Do you cupcake test all the guys you date?” Chris joked.
“Just you so far,” Zoe replied.
They shared an affectionate look.
After a moment, Lauren cleared her throat.
“So why are people buying these cupcakes if they’re not too good?” she asked.
“Because like you said before, they’re new and different,” Zoe answered promptly.
“Yeah, and the truck is right outside. They don’t have to come in here and order something.”
The three of them looked at Chris.
“It’s not my fault people are lazy.” He shook his head.
“But we’ve got Annie,” Lauren told him.
“Brrt!” That’s right.
“And he’s got a French bulldog called Sweet Boy,” Zoe said glumly.
“I’m sure once your customers try his cakes and realize they’re not as good as yours, they’ll come back to you,” Chris said.
“I hope so,” Lauren replied. “While there’s still a café to come back to.”