How Sweet It Is Read Online Free PDF

back to herself. “Flour child. Nice to meet you.”
    “I remember this place being good, but not this good. Have you sold your soul for baking secrets? Is that what’s happened here?”
    Molly slid into the chair across from her and rubbed the back of her neck. She’d probably been up since o’dark thirty, which made Jordan feel a little sheepish for the nine hours she’d just stolen. “That would be a better story, but no. The truth is that I’ve been experimenting a bit. Tweaking some of our older recipes and developing a few new ones. With all the Starbucks popping up like Whack-a-mole, we have to step up our game, and even that hasn’t been enough. When the newest store opened right at the edge of town, our morning traffic took a real hit. Take a look around.”
    Jordan did and a sinking feeling came over her at the implication. Only the one other table was occupied. Her voice was quiet. “So are you in trouble?”
    “We’ll be all right.” Molly smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Jordan sensed that wasn’t the whole truth. While she was worried, this didn’t seem like the moment to push. Instead, she changed the subject.
    “How’s the new house working out?”
    “Well, it’s not exactly new, which is kind of the problem. Turns out ‘charming older house’ is actually code for ‘hope you like home repairs.’ The newest casualties are the shutters. It’s quite tragic.”
    Jordan quirked an eyebrow.
    “I had a jumper.”
    “No.”
    “Yes, and don’t look so horrified. Don’t think I don’t know when you’re making fun of me. I think I taught you how.”
    Jordan laughed. “I forgot that part.” A pause. “I could fix it for you, you know, if I thought you’d be eternally grateful. Maybe we could negotiate a back alley cinnamon roll agreement of sorts.”
    Molly studied her curiously. “Back alley cinnamon rolls I can do, but since when do you know anything about home repair?”
    Jordan raised her shoulder and let it drop. “You can learn a lot on a movie set. One of the perks.”
    “Apparently. But I don’t want to pull you from your much-needed R and R. I thought that was kind of the point of your whole sabbatical back here.”
    “Yeah, among other things. But it’s either help you with your tragic shutters or shuffle papers for the dueling doctors at the clinic. I need to stay busy, and I’m thinking the shutter thing sounds pretty good. Plus, I enjoy the sun time. I look good in a tan.”
    “Done. Hired. In return, all the baked goods you can eat.”
    “So incredibly dangerous.”
    “My middle name.” They shook on it and Molly stood. “Maybe day after tomorrow? In the afternoon?”
    “Cool. I’ll get the address from my parents.”
    Molly headed back to work and Jordan lingered, nursing the last of her coffee. She felt lighter somehow and she thought she knew why. Life as she knew it had a way of changing quickly. She rarely worked in the same place from day to day, let alone the same city. Producers, directors, budgets, and even the women she dated came and went. It was nice to know, however, that some things didn’t change. Molly was still the same kindhearted, whimsical girl she was when Jordan was nine years old and her family first moved to town.
    Molly and her father had lived several houses down for their growing up years. She remembered the day they’d first met vividly. She’d lost control of her soccer ball and chased it down the sloping street, losing ground as she ran. There’d been a teenager in a driveway washing a car. She’d stepped ahead of the ball just in time, stopping its progress. The girl popped it into her hands with her foot, smiled widely, and handed the ball back to Jordan. “I think you lost this.”
    Jordan, still breathless from her pursuit, grinned up at the girl with the light brown ponytail and halter top. “Thanks. Do you live here?”
    “I do. This is my house. And I’m guessing you must be the new neighbor I saw moving