Honey Pie (Cupcake Club) - By Donna Kauffman Page 0,95
to tell us what we can do to make it easier, and we will. Not that we won’t screw up.” Kit leaned in closer. “And not that there won’t be a few who totally won’t get it. But they’ll be easier to deal with when you have a posse of folks who do.”
“My own posse, huh?” Honey grinned. “I kind of like the sound of that.”
“I do apologize for grilling you,” Kit said. “When I first got here and started seeing Morgan—who was like the black sheep of the island because of his family—I got subjected to the same thing. I hadn’t dated in like, forever, and he was part of the family who’d ruined my business, so . . . I had questions, too. It was complicated.”
Honey’s eyes widened. “Wow. I didn’t know that part.”
“Well, he wasn’t personally part of it, but it took some sorting out. Have you met Lilly yet?”
“That’s his little niece, right? So sad about his brother and Lilly’s mom, but really amazing and wonderful that he’s taken on raising her.”
“She’s resilient and wonderful, and well—you’ll love her, everyone does. Not that I’m biased or anything.” Kit’s smile was bright.
Honey thought Lilly was a very fortunate little girl indeed, because she clearly had two people who loved her very much.
“I can’t wait for her to see your work, by the way. Alva said something about how you may be teaching classes? If you’re thinking of having any clay building type things for children, or maybe children-adult combo classes, sign the two of us up right now.”
Honey blinked. “I can see why Lani hired you to launch Babycakes. I’ll keep that in mind, about the adult-child classes.”
“Perfect! Well, anyway, I’m just trying to warn you. Sugarberry and the people on it . . . we’re like the Borg. We’ll assimilate you. Lani says it’s like living inside the best group hug ever, and I haven’t heard it described better than that. And, well . . . who doesn’t need that kind of support, right?”
“Right,” Honey said, slightly dazed and more than a little dazzled at the same time.
“Great! So, tomorrow night. Cupcake Club. Be there.” Kit pointed at Honey. “And you’re baking this time.”
“I almost burned down the bookstore today just making breakfast. I really don’t think you want me to—”
“Yes. We do.” Kit started to reach out, take Honey by the hands, then remembered and smiled as she lifted her hands, palms out. “We want you to, okay? Any of it, all of it.” She leaned in and lowered her voice slightly, even though they were the only two people in the shop. “And if you don’t feel like talking about Dylan, that’s fine. For now.” Her blue eyes sparkled. “Instead, you can just tell us all about how this vision thing works.”
“Oh, you really don’t want to—”
“Yes, we do. Really.”
Kit had cut her off again, and Honey began to see how she’d run an entire family empire single-handedly.
“Like it or not, Honey, you’re one of us now.” Kit grinned. “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
Honey was still smiling as she left the shop and headed back across the alley to the bookstore. She should probably stop thinking about it as the bookstore, she realized, and that had her shaking her head.
“What’s so funny, sugar?”
She looked up to find Dylan leaning against his pickup truck. She was surprised she didn’t trip over her own feet . . . or drool all over them.
Wearing black jeans and a blue polo shirt, he was freshly shaven. His hair, still a little damp, curled over his ears and against his neck. His lips quirked in that way they did, right before that sexy-as-sin grin slid across his handsome face.
Even though she’d anticipated it, it still gave her knees a bit of a wobble, and made her heart skip a beat.
“I was just realizing that I should probably stop thinking about the bookstore as the bookstore, and that led me to thinking about Sugarberry and books. I can’t decide if I’m Alice, and have fallen down the rabbit hole, or heading to Oz on the yellow brick road.”
“I’m afraid to ask what that would make me, in either scenario.”
She stopped walking just in front of him and let her satchel slide down her arm so she could set it by her feet. “You’re the Tin Man.”
His eyebrows lifted. “You think I’m heartless?”
She smiled up at him. “No, silly. I think you’re the one who thought he didn’t have a heart,