Vanilla Beaned Read Online Free PDF Page A

sign holder above the door was empty, as if just waiting for a new owner.
    Mel tried to picture her retro fifties atomic Fairy Tale Cupcake sign swinging right overhead. She shook her head. No, it didn’t fit in here. She was not buying into the franchise.
    â€œI have the keys,” Scott said. He took them out of his pocket. “I’ll need to go in and deactivate the alarm. As you can see, it’s centrally located on the street. There are no other comparable businesses in the immediate area. And just so you know, I already had a woman looking at this property this morning and she was very, very eager to lease it.”
    â€œWell, she’s in luck since it’s not really what I had in mind,” Mel said. She glanced at Holly. “None of this is.”
    Stuart gave her an odd look and then turned to Scott and motioned for him to unlock the door. “Let’s not decide anything until we see inside.”
    â€œRight.” Scott put the key in the deadbolt.
    â€œYou know what, forget it,” Holly said. She put her hand on Scott’s arm, keeping him from turning the key. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I can’t do this. I can’t do anything. I’m just a stupid showgirl and that’s all I’ll ever be.”
    With a sob, she turned and ran down the walkway toward the fountain in the center of the shops.
    â€œHuh,” Mel said.
    â€œWhat do you mean, ‘huh’?” Stuart asked. “If you were any colder to her, she would have frostbite.”
    â€œI don’t know what you mean,” she said.
    â€œSure you do,” he said. Stuart gave her a shrewd look. “Tate told me you were balking about franchising and I was prepared for a little resistance, but I didn’t think you’d be so mean.”
    â€œI am not mean,” Mel protested.
    â€œReally? Then why is she crying?” He gestured to Holly where she sat on the edge of the fountain, doubled over and sobbing into her hands.
    Mel felt her heart sink into her shoes. She
was
mean. No, even worse, she was a bully, and for no other reasons than she was scared of franchising and Holly was pretty. She was a horrible person.

Four

    Mel approached Holly, feeling about as low as a cupcake heading for the floor frosting side down. She hadn’t meant to make Holly cry. She just wanted to keep her world in order—was that really so wrong? As she got closer, she tried to see Holly’s face. If the woman was a pretty crier, she really didn’t think she’d be able to offer her much comfort.
    Holly had her face buried in her hands and she was sobbing, not delicate little sniffles but deep-throated wails that sounded like someone was stepping on a duck, repeatedly, so that was promising.
    â€œListen, I’m sorry,” Mel said. “I was being a big jerk and I shouldn’t have said what I did. You are probably nervous enough, putting your life savings into a bakery without me making you doubt your abilities.”
    Holly peeked at her over the tips of her fingers. “You were so mean.”
    Mel blew out a breath. She would have protested, but Holly and Stuart were right. She had been mean. She glanced over to where Stuart and Scott stood waiting for them. Scott was checking them out and licking his lips. Mel had a feeling he was thinking impure thoughts about them, ew, or maybe he just had a nervous condition.
    â€œI’m sorry,” she apologized to Holly again, hoping to get this over with. “It’s just that this is more Tate’s thing than mine, and when I saw you, well, you really don’t look like a baker, and, oh, I have no excuse. I was just an ass. Can you forgive me? Can we begin again?”
    â€œYes, of course, but where is Tate?” Holly asked. “I dressed like this because of him.”
    Mel felt her hackles rise, and now she had to rethink being nice to this bimbo. “You do know he’s engaged, right?