has cooled enough, it will fall out of the Bundt pan and onto the platter.
When the cake is completely cool, glaze it with Pink Grapefruit Glaze. The recipe follows.
PINK GRAPEFRUIT GLAZE
4 Tablespoons pink grapefruit juice
2 cups powdered (confectioners’) sugar
Using an electric mixer, combine the pink grapefruit juice with the powdered sugar.
Hannah’s Note: You can experiment with the amount of juice and the amount of sugar. This glaze is very forgiving. If it’s too thick to pour over your cake, add more pink grapefruit juice. If it’s too thin to coat the cake when you pour it on the cake, add more powdered sugar and give it a second coat.
Lois’s Note: The more glaze, the better!
Chapter Ten
“Okay, Hannah. Try these.” Lisa walked over to the work station and set a platter down on the stainless-steel surface. “I baked them last night and I need to know if you want to sell them for Valentine’s Day.”
“They look great, Lisa,” Norman said, reaching for one. “I like the pink frosting.”
“It had to be either pink or red,” Lisa told him. “And red is a lot harder to do with liquid food coloring. It only takes a few drops of red to make pink if you’re adding it to something that’s naturally white.”
“White chocolate?” Norman guessed, taking one and pushing the platter toward Hannah.
“Yes,” Lisa said, and then she turned to Hannah. “Are you still nervous about Ross?”
“I guess so. I just know that I’m not at all hungry and I feel a little queasy. I hope I’m not getting sick.”
“It could be anxiety,” Lonnie suggested, reaching out to snag a brownie. “What do you call these, Lisa?”
“White Chocolate Brownies.”
Hannah knew that Lisa was disappointed when she hadn’t reached out for a brownie right away. She didn’t want one, far from it, but there was no way she’d disappoint her partner. “Maybe I’m just hungry,” she suggested, grabbing a brownie from the platter. “All I had for breakfast this morning was coffee and these look really great, Lisa.”
“Thanks!” Lisa was all smiles, and Hannah was glad that she’d made the effort. Now all she had to do was eat the brownie and declare how good it was. She had no doubt that it was wonderful. It looked absolutely delicious. The only problem was that her stomach was roiling and she was having all she could do not to look as sick as she felt.
It’s probably just stress, Hannah told herself, but she didn’t believe it. The reason her stomach was acting up wasn’t important. The important thing was to convince Lisa that she loved her White Chocolate Brownies.
“I love the color of the frosting,” Hannah said, staring down at the brownie. Good for you! Her rational mind said. Don’t let Lisa know that you’re still feeling sick to your stomach.
“It smells wonderful, and the texture looks perfect,” Hannah went on, not listening to her mind’s running comments. Atta girl! her rational mind complimented her.
Oh, yeah? her suspicious mind argued. If Lisa’s White Chocolate Brownie is that perfect, why don’t you take a bite? If you don’t, Lisa will know you’re just paying her compliments to keep from tasting her brownie.
Hannah forced herself to open her mouth and take a big bite. She chewed, swallowed, and took a sip of coffee. “Delicious,” she declared. They’ll be perfect for Valentine catering, Lisa.”
“Oh, good! I was hoping you’d like them,” Lisa said with a big smile. “Thanks, Hannah.”
“They’re going to be a huge hit with our customers. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll take another and run next door to give it to Mother. She adores white chocolate.”
That said, Hannah rose from her chair, grabbed a brownie, wrapped it in a napkin, and hurried out the door, totally ignoring Lisa’s warning about taking her parka. As she hurried across the parking lot to the back door of Granny’s Attic, her mother’s antique shop, Hannah began to feel slightly better. The cold air was having a bracing effect and her stomach was no longer roiling. Perhaps she’d overdone it on the coffee this morning and that was why she’d felt sick. Or perhaps skipping breakfast hadn’t been a good idea and she’d just been hungry, after all.
* * *
Several hours later, Hannah stood outside the door to Lake Eden First Mercantile Bank and knocked loudly on the glass. She could see several workmen and the bank president, Doug Greerson, inside. Since one workman was holding a nail gun and the other was using a framing hammer,