office and hung up his chef’s jacket on the hook behind the door, then rushed out to the parking lot. He jangled his keys, considering his options. It was only five-thirty, so both the local fine-foods market and the Sea Star Bakery would still be open. The bakery would be more likely to have what he needed, but he wasn’t sure how much inventory they’d have left this late in the day.
He decided to take his chances on the bakery. Fate must have been smiling down on him, because not only did he find a parking space only a few stores down, but the glass display case inside bulged with baked goods. The dining area was empty, with the exception of Cassie’s son, Jace, who was chewing on the eraser of a pencil as he focused on a piece of paper bearing what appeared to be math problems.
“Hey, Taylor,” Cassie called out from behind the counter. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay at the Lodge?”
“Yes,” he answered automatically, then frowned. “I mean, no. Things are not going well. Lara decided it wasn’t important to make desserts for this evening at the restaurant.” He probably shouldn’t have told Cassie about his troubles with an employee, but at this point, he didn’t really care who knew.
Cassie’s eyes widened and her lips formed a silent “Oh”. “She didn’t make anything?” she said in a stage whisper as he neared the counter.
“Nope. Nothing.” He trained his eyes on the display case, but thinking about Lara’s unperturbed attitude regarding the whole mess made his vision blur with rage. The baked goods swam in front of him, their tantalizing aromas reminding him that he’d forgotten to eat dinner. After working in kitchens for so many years, he was used to smelling food all day, and had trained himself to work long shifts without a break. However, with this snafu, his defenses were down and now he could add hangry to his list of woes. “I need to buy something to serve. What do you suggest?”
“Hmm.” Cassie squatted down to look through the display case, her face distorted behind the curved glass. She grabbed a tray from the bottom and popped back up. “What about these mini cheesecakes? I’m still trying to figure out how much to make of everything, so I have a lot of these left over today.” She held up a raspberry-topped cheesecake in a ribbed foil wrapper. “What do you think?”
Taylor stared at the treat, mesmerized by the streaks of pink and red marbling the creamy surface. They looked amazing. Better than amazing. She’d made exactly what he’d asked Lara to bake. What were the odds? “I’ll take them.”
“How many do you want?” Cassie’s hand hovered over the tray.
“All of them,” Taylor said, rapidly calculating in his head how many customers they normally had on a Wednesday night in the summer. Way more than the three containers of ice cream could satisfy.
“I’ve got more in the back if you need them.” She furrowed her brow and peered into the case. “What about the berry pies? Could you use those?”
He looked at her solemnly. “Cassie, you’re a lifesaver. Thank you.”
She blushed and grabbed a box from behind the counter. “I should be thanking you. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with all of these.” She stacked the cheesecakes two-deep in a box with a thin layer of cardboard in between, then disappeared into the back room. A few minutes later, she returned with two more closed boxes and set all of them on top of the counter.
The bells over the front door jingled and they both looked in that direction.
Cassie waved at the newcomer. “Hey, Meg. After I finish ringing up Taylor, I’ll get the kids ready to go with you. I can’t even tell you how much Kyle and I appreciate you taking them for a few hours tonight. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a dinner date alone.”
“No problem.” Meg sidled up to the counter, raising an eyebrow at the number of boxes. “How hungry are you, Taylor? Cassie’s stuff is good, but this will take you a year to get through.”
He chuckled, and some of the tension melted out of his shoulders. He hadn’t run into Meg in a while and seeing her brightened his day. “It’s for the Lodge.”
“Lara forgot to make the desserts for tonight.” Cassie didn’t even try to hide the glee in her voice, reminding Taylor of how much she