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“HURRY UP, WE DON’T want to be late,” Katie said to Dana as she rushed into the office at the Cozy Cupcakes Café. “I just heard over the radio that Gigi’s at the Town Square doing rehearsals. She’s getting ready to perform!”
Dana finished processing the overtime on the employee timesheets to give to the accountant. “Okay, okay. I’ll be right there.” Dana grinned.
“I hear she’s going to sing her hit songs today, True Love Doesn’t Need a Reason and that other one, I’m Nobody’s Slave.” Katie squealed. “I can’t wait. I’m going to record it on my cell phone. I might upload it to YouTube.”
Dana smiled. “You always upload stuff to your YouTube channel, Katie.”
“And why not? This is Gigi we’re talking about. I’m going to have so many subscribers after this. You wait and see.”
A smile touched Dana’s lips. She was happy for her cousin. Katie really worked hard and to get her mind off the fact that her ex-husband was getting married again, she tried to find a fun hobby uploading cool videos to YouTube. But uploading a video of Gigi filmed on her cell phone? She didn’t know how that would work.
Everybody’s been talking about the world famous Gigi who only went by her first name, who decided at the last minute to come back to Berry Cove to host a benefit concert and possibly buy a home in the area to getaway from the Hollywood media circus that always seemed to follow her around.
Just then Inga, the baker, wiped her hands on her apron and walked into the office. “That’s the last batch sent to the Town Square Hall. Five hundred Valentine’s Cupcakes altogether.”
“Thanks so much, Inga. That really is a tall order. So glad we could make it in time.” Warmth centered around Dana’s heart. That was the first time they’d been hired to cater a benefit concert with desserts.
It was now noon hour and Gigi had promised to host a Valentine’s benefit concert at the Town Square for 2 p.m. to raise funds for preserving the Berry Cove famous walking trail which was in badly need of repairs. The mayor and the people of Berry Cove were eternally grateful.
“That’s so sweet of Gigi to do this, isn’t it?” Dana added.
“She’s also promoting her new album, too.” Inga’s lips were pinched.
“Oh, Inga. Why do you have to be so cynical?”
“I’m just calling it what it is. I don’t really like those celebrities. Over indulgent. Always giving as long as it is documented on camera.” Her thick Russian accent was so prominent as she rolled her Rs. “And what is with her bed hopping?”
“Inga!”
“It’s true. Wasn’t she supposed to be engaged to that rich Hollywood tycoon, Thomas Cicaro, last month?”
“That’s true, she was, wasn’t she? It was all over the tabloids,” Katie added.
“Now, she’s engaged to marry her back-up dancer!” Inga said.
“Yes, Carlos, that’s his name. I heard he’s from Berry Cove originally, isn’t he? He’d moved to LA to dance professionally but...”
Just then the sound of a plate smashing on the ground sounded from the kitchen.
Dana got up fast and ran to where the sound was.
“I’m so sorry.” Terry, the temp baker they’d hired over the busy Christmas season was on her hands and knees cleaning up broken pieces of a plate. “Slippery fingers,” she said.
“Oh, no! Are you all right? Do you need some help?” Dana scooped down to help.
“No. I’ll be fine, thank you.” Terry appeared nervous as she collected the broken pieces then swept them up with the small hand broom and dust pan and put them into the garbage.
Lizzy, one of the other baristas came to the back to help out Terry.
Dana sighed deeply and went back into the office. “Well, I still think it’s so sweet of Gigi to give a concert here. She’s number one on the charts and the town could really use the dough to do the repairs along the walking trail.”
“Whatever you want to believe.” Inga grinned and walked out of the office back into the kitchen.
Just then, Lizzy walked into the room. “Dana. I...um...I think there’s something you should know.”
“What is it?”
Lizzy closed the door. “It’s about Terry.”
“What about Terry?”
“Well, she was dating Carlos.”
“What? Gigi’s dancer? Her new fiancé?”
“Yes, they were pretty serious up until...he broke up with her last week.”
“Last week?”
“Yes, he told her that he was going to marry Gigi instead. So maybe we should keep it under wraps, this talk of the concert and all.”
“Oh.” Dana felt deflated. Her heart was also crushed for Terry. She knew what that felt like to be jilted for another girl.
“I’m really sorry to hear that,” Dana said.
“Yeah, so am I. I can’t believe Gigi would just steal someone else’s man like that,” Katie added.
“Well, you’d better believe it. I heard that a lot of people are pretty upset about this upcoming quickie wedding,” Lizzy added.
“Like who?”
“Well, our Terry’s not too happy about it. She’d been dating Carlos since high school, even though he went away to LA to do some dancing gigs. They’d still kept in touch. He had promised to marry her.”
“Oh dear.” Dana felt a stab to her heart.
“Then there’s Gigi’s ex, of course, Cicaro. I read somewhere that he promised to get revenge on her for humiliating him like that. He’d already had five hundred invitations sent out for their wedding which was supposed to be next month. A lot of A-listers in the movie industry were supposed to be there. What an embarrassment! I also hear he has some dangerous mob connections.”
Dana swallowed hard. “He does?”
“Yep. Look at this tabloid.” Lizzy showed Dana a copy of the National Intrusion.
A picture of a man in a suit with what looked like a spray tan, thick black hair, and a thick dark moustache. His eyes looked very dark and cold. He was a heavy set man wearing what looked like an expensive Italian custom-made suit, she noticed. He really did look mean in the photo. Unless the paparazzi caught him at a bad time.
“And then there’s Gigi’s father, Mr. Mercer. He’s upset over her new engagement.”
“Why would her father care whom she marries?”
“Because, he’s worried that Gigi’s new boy toy is just a gold-digger after her fortune. Oh, girl, this is really a strange love triangle. Everybody wants Carlos dead.”
Dana gulped.
“Well, see you guys later,” Lizzy said and walked out of the office.
Dana realized that Lizzy probably got most of her gossip from Bea’s Salon since she also did some part time work there, too. Lizzy was one of her part time staff that she’d hired after Grandma Rae passed away.
Dana then grabbed her coat. “Well, we can’t be too judgmental. Gigi’s here right now to help us raise funds for the walking trail. And...um...besides, it was so nice of Gigi to invite us to come over before the concert starts to take some photos.”
“That’s true,” Katie added. “Besides, I’m a true fan for life. That girl can sing!”
“She can sure sing. And besides, it’s Valentine’s. We should have feelings of love around us.”
“Sweet,” Katie said, shoving a piece of Valentine’s Cupcake into her mouth. “This really is delicious, Dana. The rich creamy icing and the smooth raspberry filling make it so scrumptious. You really outdid yourself with Grandma Rae’s famous Valentine’s Cupcake recipe.”
“Thanks,” Dana said, flushing.
To make each batch of 24 cupcakes, she used for the cupcakes: 1 cup of flour; 4 egg whites; 1 box of vanilla cake mix; ¾ cup sugar; ½ teaspoon of salt; 1 1/3 cup of water; 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil; 1 teaspoon of vanilla; 1 cup of plain yogurt; ½ cup of red raspberry filling and topping.
For the frosting Dana used: 1 cup of softened butter; 3 cups of powdered sugar; 2 tablespoons of heavy cream; 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract; and ½ cup of raspberry fruit filling.
Dana had then set the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. She’d lined the cupcake pan with the Cozy Cupcakes Café’s famous cupcake liners. She’d then combined the cake mix, flour, salt and sugar. She then added water, oil, vanilla, yogurt, egg whites and mixed for two minutes in the cake mixer. Dana then spooned the cupcake mix into the liners about ¾ full. She then baked each set for 18 minutes.
When done, Dana had cut a hole out of the centers of the cupcakes. She then cut off a piece of that to make a flat top and set that aside. Dana then filled the holes of the cupcakes with the delicious raspberry fruit filling and replaced the now flat tops on the cupcakes. She’d combined all the ingredients for the frosting except the fruit filling which she’d do last and mixed them in a bowl. She then added in the fruit filling to the frosting. She then piped the frosting over the cupcakes.
“Hey, I know what it is,” Katie said, arching her brow with a sly grin on her face. “You’re in love,” she sang.
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. I saw that hot kiss Detective Troy gave you on Christmas Eve at the café. And Grandma Rae always used to say that food tastes better when you put a lot of love into it when cooking it. That’s you, cuz! You really were singing your heart out while you were trying out that Valentine’s cupcake recipe in the kitchen. You’re in love.”
A surge of heat rushed through Dana at the memory of that deep and delicious kiss. Detective Troy really was an amazing kisser. Where on earth did he learn to kiss like that?
Butterflies tickled her tummy just thinking about it. Her heart fluttered in her chest.
Was she really in love? But she was supposed to be taking a break from serious relationships, right?
After Dana’s ex-fiancé sent her heart through the blender and grinded up what little hope of happiness she ever had—she swore she was off men for a lifetime—or at least for the next ten years or so.
“That was just one of those under the mistletoe kisses,” Dana replied, “It was just a holiday traditional...”
Katie placed her hands on her hips. “You don’t fool me, cuz. You’re secretly seeing him, aren’t you? You said you had to go out on a few occasions after the café closed, but you were with him, weren’t you?”
“Katie, I’ve been working on my mystery riddles blog.”
“Hmmm-mmm. You don’t fool me, cuz. Why are you hiding it? You said it yourself, it’s Valentine’s. Tis the season to show love and affection...”
“Okay, we’ve been on a couple of...lunch dates—not real dates. We’re not rushing into anything. Besides, he’s been very busy working on a ton of cases. The police station is short-staffed right now, would you believe?”
Mixed feelings surged through her. The truth was, Dana didn’t want to have egg on her face if it didn’t work out.
They weren’t officially a couple. Troy had been badly burned by his last serious relationship, just as Dana had been. Well, they certainly had that much in common, among other things, of course. He was so sweet. She enjoyed stealing discreet moments away with him, walking along the lake front in the brisk wind, going for bites to eat at cozy diners on the other side of town, but for now, she was going to take it slowly.
The last time she’d paraded her fiancé around town, he’d jilted her with her then best friend. The memory still haunted her till this day.
But as Grandma Rae would always say, “Leave the past in the past and live in the present. It’s a gift to be unwrapped, opened and enjoyed. You never know what surprises each day may bring. That’s why it’s called the present.”
And that was what Dana intended to do. Well, sort of. She would open each moment of the day with caution, of course.
“Hmm-mmm.” Katie couldn’t help but flash her wide grin. “If you say so, cuz. Anyway, let’s get going to the Town Square before the press get there.”
“That’s fine by me,” Dana said, breathing a sigh of relief that she didn’t have to get further into her sort-of relationship with hot and sexy Detective Troy Anders.
Dana couldn’t wait to attend Berry Cove’s concert of the year. This event promised to be unforgettable!
* * *
WHEN DANA AND KATIE arrived at the venue, the stage crew were setting up the stage with large red love hearts around. The lights were glowing. It was to be a midday concert and the energy was zinging through the air.
“I’m going to check on the cupcakes display, then I’m going to go find Gigi.” Katie couldn’t contain herself. She was such a huge fan of Gigi and a little star struck.
“I’ll be right here,” Dana said with a grin.
Just then, she spotted, Detective Troy Anders near by. What was he doing there now? Not that she minded at all.
Waves of delight swept through Dana. Her heart skipped a beat.
Okay, it wasn’t the first time seeing him but why on earth did her body always react to him that way?
Calm down, Dana. He’s just a guy, remember? Yeah, a hot detective with chiseled cheekbones and a body to die for.
She couldn’t help but gaze at his broad shoulders, his muscular build, dark hair and eyelashes framing those beautiful ocean-blue eyes of his. He really was hot!
“Hey,” Dana said, trying to contain her voice from all the excitement. While everyone was excited and looking forward to seeing the famous Gigi perform, she was just happy to see Detective Troy anytime she could catch a glimpse of him.
“Hey, yourself, beautiful,” he said. His dimpled cheek looked so adorable as he smiled. He looked into her eyes and she felt shivers of delight dance down her spine.
He called me beautiful.
Come to think of it, her ex-fiancé had never called her beautiful, did he?
Detective Troy looked hot in his tailored dark grey suit that accentuated his physique and his dark silk neck tie and crisp white shirt. He also sported a trendy trench coat.
“Surprised to see you here. You’re here for the concert? Or let me guess, security?”
“No, nothing like that,” he said. He then combed his fingers through his hair. “There’s been some activities going on since Gigi came in to town. We’re just looking into a few things.”
“Of course, and you’re short-staffed, too. I bet that doesn’t help.”
“No, it doesn’t. But let me know if you hear anything. Actually, there has been some death threats.”
“Death threats? Oh, no. You mean since Gigi announced she was getting engaged to that young dancer?”
“Exactly.” Troy glanced at his watch.
“Is everything okay?”
“I also have to look into a hit and run incident.”
“Oh, no. That’s right, a lawyer was hit. Is he all right?”
“I don’t think he’s going to make it, Dana.”
“So sorry to hear that. Wonder who could just drive away from an accident like that?”
“You’d be surprised. It was late at night, but still, we’re looking into all angles. It happened near Gigi’s house on the hill.”
Dana gulped. She wondered if someone was trying to hit Gigi or Gigi’s new fiancé. That didn’t sound good at all. A weird energy just zinged through Dana at the sound of that hit and run. Somebody was probably trying to kill Gigi or her new fiancé.
Oh, goodness, she hoped she was wrong. The last thing she would want was for another murder in Berry Cove.