Heather Ryan is the proud owner of Cupcakes on Royal. It’s a thriving business, but if she wants to put her cupcakery on the map, she needs to win the coveted Krewe of Bacchus after-party contract. When she finds out who’s leading the Krewe, Heather realizes she’s about to get a second chance with her first true but unrequited love, Alec Carlisle.
Alex is a successful New Orleans lawyer. As the leader of the Krewe of Bacchus, it’s up to him to put together the top caterers from around the city to cater the Krewe’s Fat Tuesday event. He has few regrets in life, but missing a chance with a woman from long ago is one he plans on rectifying when he finds out Heather is the baker behind Cupcakes on Royal. It won’t be an easy task, there are a lot of years behind them, but Heather is worth fighting for. His ex, Lila, who’s also vying for the contract, has her eyes on winning the contract at all costs. She also makes it clear she wants Alec back.
Will Heather and Alec find forgiveness of the past and be able to get past Lila’s obstacles to find the sweet ending he and Heather both deserve?
THE TROUBLE WITH CUPCAKES
The Trouble Series
{book four}
Kristi Ahlers
Published by Tirgearr Publishing
ISBN: 9781476452685
Author Copyright 2012 Kristi Ahlers
Covert Art: Amanda Stephanie
Editor: Kemberlee Shortland
Proofreader: R. L. McCoy
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away. If you would like to share this book, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please log into the publisher’s website and purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
DEDICATION
Thanks to the wonderful ladies at Cupcakes by the Beach, located in Fort Walton Beach, Florida {http://www.cupcakesbythebeach.com}. Y’all are great! And don’t get me started on your yummy cupcakes. Research has never been so much fun, or tasty!
Special thanks to mom for sharing her recipes with me. Love you!
CHAPTER 1
“911 what’s your emergency?”
“Yes, my name is Heather Ryan. I need to cancel the fire trucks that are on their way to 218 Royal Street—Cupcakes on Royal. It’s a false alarm.”
Heather waited for the space of a heartbeat while she wiped cake batter off her face before looking at the mess dripping from the wall and yes, she noted, the ceiling fan. Perhaps she was going to have to rethink this whole brilliant idea of her cupcakery.
Dark smoke billowed out of the industrial oven. She waved a potholder ineffectively, trying to clear the air. The pan of burnt cupcakes rested on the stainless steel counter, mocking her and once again proving she wasn’t a baker.
“You want to cancel the alarm?” The dispatcher asked, incredulous. “I’m sorry, ma’am. Once the trucks roll, we can’t cancel them.”
“Damn,” Heather muttered to herself as she walked through the black lacquered doors into the main room of the cupcakery, looking though the large windows into the predawn morning looking for the trucks. This was going to make the third time the fire department had come to her little shop and she really hoped the crew who showed up this time was not the same one from last time. The lieutenant had been old and cranky and swore he’d fine her the next time.
Was it her fault she got so caught up in something she lost track of all the other things needing to be done? “Well, duh, Heather, yeah it is,” she muttered to herself as the trucks pulled up. “Please, God, if you’re listening, don’t let Lt. Grump be on this crew.” Heather tried figuring out their schedule—yeah, sadly, she’d gotten to know her local fire department that well and she wanted to avoid talking to Lt. Marcus.
Lights flashing, the fire truck pulled up to the building. “Please God, don’t let him be on that truck.” She squeezed eyes shut before letting out a resigned sigh then moved to unlock the front door. She didn’t need the New Orleans Fire Department breaking the door or window in their attempt to save her from herself.
A sigh of relief escaped her as she watched Garret step down from the rig and walk toward the shop. Heather nibbled on her batter coated thumb; fear and nerves made her shake. If the sweet batter was anything to judge by, she may have gotten the recipe right. Finally! However, that was secondary to the mess she had to clean up and the sweet talking she was going to have to do in order to avoid a hefty false alarm bill.
Quickly, she grabbed a damp cloth and began wiping the remnants of blackberry cupcake batter off her face.
“Heather, darlin, you’ve got to do something about your alarms. One more false alarm and we’re going to have to fine you. Well, the parish will fine you.”
“I know, Garret, but I swear I don’t know what the problem is. I’ve done everything you’ve suggested I do, short of disabling the system and seriously breaking code. I don’t know what more to do.”
Garret removed his helmet and poked around, looking for whatever a firefighter was supposed to look for when clearing a false alarm.
Once his inspection was done, he walked over to her and wiped a smudge of batter off her face. “What happened this time, brat? Did a butterfly flit on through here this early in the morning?”
“Ha, ha.” Heather swiped at her face once again, resisting the urge to scratch at her neck where the cupcake batter had dried and left her itchy. Her cousin was such a riot…NOT. “I was paying attention; just forgot to set the timer. I have to get this order done and then I need to start working on the Krewe party order. I’m feeling totally stressed.”
An alarm sounded on his belt. “I’ve got another call. Set the timer next time and keep an eye on things.”
“Thanks, Garrett.”
Heather listened to the bell ring over the door as he left before she collapsed against the counter, cradling her head in her hands, her eyes squeezed shut. This couldn’t be happening to her.
She hoped to land a huge commission, baking cupcakes for the Krewe of Bacchus Party on Fat Tuesday. But she first had a tasting this afternoon with the two leads of the Krewe. She was making a Pecan Praline and a King Cake cupcakes, along with some fruity-flavored, bite-size fairy cakes. All she needed to do was get downtown with an edible batch for the tasting and hopefully win the hearts of the Krewe, or in this case their taste buds.
The bell over the door rang again and Heather looked up to see Ashley walking in.
“Hey, what’s up? Just saw the trucks pull away.” Ashley wandered over to the display case and perused the cupcakes. “These look so yummy, Heather!”
“Thanks. As to the question regarding the trucks, another false alarm.” A deep sigh escaped her; she was really growing frustrated with the alarms. “Thankfully, Garrett’s crew took the call.”
“So, what caused it this time?” She smiled as she pointed. “You have some pink goop in the center of your forehead.”
Heather swiped at her face and moved toward the kitchen. “Come with me. I have a mess to clean up and I still need to get the rest of today’s cupcakes piped and out in the case.”
“Holy crap!” Ashley looked around the kitchen. “What on earth happened?” A drop of cake batter chose that moment to drop and hit her on the arm. Instead of getting upset she scooped it up with her finger and took a taste. “Yummy.” She winked and continued to take in the disaster that was the kitchen.
Heather looked at her pink splattered kitchen. “I’m an idiot. I accidently flipped the mixer switch on high just as the smoke alarms went off.” She pointed to the ruined cupcakes on the counter
. “I seriously need to get at least a dozen more done and then I need to work on the Krewe party tastings for this afternoon.
Ashley put down her purse. “Well, then put me to work. What do you want me to do?”
Heather set her friend to mixing the batter and filling the cupcake papers while she worked on piping the remaining cupcakes and adding the decorations. Between the two of them, they got the rest of the cupcakes done in record time and into the display case before opening time.
“Thanks for the help, Ash.”
“Not a problem.” She grabbed a Blueberry Pancake cupcake and took a bite. “These are so good, Heather.”
“Glad you like them.”
“You look tired. Why don’t you go up and take a shower, get cleaned up. I’ll watch the store for you.”
“That would be great.” Heather still itched from the batter clinging to her skin from earlier and wanted to get changed. “I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time,” Ashley called, opening the front door and flipping the sign.
Heather ran up the stairs and into her apartment. Her cupcakery was located directly across the street from the famed Hotel Monteleone. She’d hoped the location would be a bonus, and since her store came with an upstairs apartment, she figured it was worth the cost of the rent. Now, if only she could get her act together.
Frustration, exhaustion and a sense of something inexplicable was going to happen coursed through her, leaving her tingling and anxious at the same time. Not a good combo.
Stress and determination to make something of her life the past few months had left her without much of a social life, add to the fact her closest friend, Ashley, just married her true love. It left Heather feeling almost left out. What she needed now was a little time for herself, and maybe a chance for a happy ending of her own. If Ashley could find ‘the one,’ so could she. Problem was, she just needed to schedule time to find him. Yeah, that would be a breeze.
Of course that would all have to wait until she made a success of her business.
“I’m going to be the single, cranky cat lady on the block,” Heather muttered as she stepped into the warm stream of water. “I can’t let that happen.” She was going to be the rare person who could have her cake and eat it too! After all she was a baker.
CHAPTER 2
“Hey, you’re back.” Ashley finished ringing up a customer. Once the woman left, she faced Heather. “I’ve been so busy. You’ve already sold out of your King Cake cupcakes.”
Shock left Heather a little floored. She hadn’t been gone all that long. “Are you kidding me? I made three dozen of those today.”
“I know. I sold the last dozen to the woman who just left.”
“Wow.” Heather didn’t know what to say. It was the first time she’d actually sold out of a flavor in less than an hour after opening. If she kept this up, she’d start turning a fair profit.
Ashley went to the sink and washed her hands before turning and facing her friend. “So word has it you’re going up again Lila Deveraux for the Krewe of Bacchus contract.” She smiled. “That’s quite a coup if you can swipe it from her.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.” The bell over the door rang and Heather took a moment to sell the customer two cupcakes and a cup of latte before she turned back to Ashley. “That’s an enemy I don’t need to make.”
Lila Deveraux was a member of one of New Orleans’s leading families and she was making great waves within society with her new catering business. Everyone knew she wasn’t the one responsible for the culinary wonders being served at some of the finest events the city had to offer; she was just an organizer. Lila was more interested in her nail and hair appointments. After all, it didn’t do too have her gracing all the tabloid covers not looking her best. But she wasn’t helping her reputation any by being known as the New Orleans party girl. Her father had set up the business as a way of cleaning up his daughter’s reputation and hopefully, Heather figured, to give her a reason to go to bed at a normal hour. However, no one was going to say anything negative about the party girl heiress and she was the first called when a party needed to be a Party with a capital P.
“I have a meeting with the Krewe leader in a couple of hours and I still need to finish the cupcakes for the tasting. I had plans to do that before the smoke alarm started going off.”
“You do know who the Krewe leader is, don’t you?”
Heather was busy straightening the boxes, “Hmmm, some guy named Seth.”
“Yeah, Seth Harrison and his partner, Alec Carlisle.”
Heather dropped the box she was holding. No! No way was it the same Alec she’d crushed on in high school. Was he the Carlisle in the well-known firm Harrison and Carlisle, Attorneys at Law? She groaned to herself. Alec had been the typical all-American, beyond handsome football star. And she was the good girl who was friends with everyone but didn’t belong to any certain clique. She was almost positive Alec never knew she existed. This could be awkward since, in her heart, she knew she compared any guy she contemplated dating to Alec—which was admittedly ridiculous since she hadn’t seen him since they graduated ten years ago.
“Hello.” Ashley waved her hand in front of Heathers face. “Anyone in there?”
“What?” Heather bent to pick up the box she’d dropped. “I’m good. What did you say?”
Ashley gave her a dubious look and shrugged. “Well, I don’t have anything going on today, so why don’t I stay here and help in the store so you can go back and get creative.”
“Are you sure?” She couldn’t believe her luck. If Ashley would mind the front of the store, Heather could get the samples whipped up in no time.
“Go.” Ashley made a shooing motion with her hand. “I’ve got a book to read in between customers.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Heather hugged her friend. “I want this so bad I can taste it.”
Ashley laughed. “You’ll get it. I have a good feeling about this.”
“I wish I felt the same.”
“Like I said, I have a good feeling about this.”
“Yeah, but you had a good feeling about Thomas, that cop from last year and look how that turned out.” In truth the Thomas situation had darn near broken Heather. Although she liked to pretend it hadn’t bothered her to find out he’d been such a jerk, the truth of the matter was Thomas had hurt her. It would have been easier if he’d cheated, but instead he’d been hurtful verbally. She had ended it before it turned abusive. A serious lesson had been learned.
“I admit I had that one wrong. I wanted you to be happy, and I was so happy I failed to see all the signs.”
“It wasn’t your fault, and I dumped the idiot before it couldn’t turn bad so no serious harm done.
“Look at it this way, you can still find a guy almost as awesome as mine, since I have to say I have the best there is anything else will be only second best.” She winked and made a shooing motion. “Now, get thee back to work.”
Heather resisted the urge to laugh. Since her friend had found love and married, her view on life had a decidedly rosier glow then normal people. “Okay well since you’re so convinced, I’ll go and get creative.”
“That’s the spirit.”
Heather stepped into her kitchen and realized she still had a rather battery mess on her hands. She filled the sink with hot soapy water and began wiping the place down. She couldn’t be creative amongst chaos—it was a bitch being so type A all the time.
Once the kitchen was clean and squared away, Heather pulled out her notebook and sat down at the butcher block table and flipped to the recipes she’d bookmarked. She was thrilled the King Cake cupcake had sold so well this morning. Sounds like she had been correct when she chose this cupcake as the best one to start with. And the Pecan Praline cupcake was a New Orleans favorite.
She glanced at the clock and noted she had about two hours to get the cupcakes made and iced before she was to meet Seth and this man called Alec. Really. There could be
two Alec Carlisle’s in the world. Couldn’t there? With positive thoughts in mind, she pulled down the mixing bowls down and got to work.
♥ ♥ ♥
Her belly was full of fluttering butterflies. No not butterflies. It was filled with whirling dervishes, and she wasn’t terribly sure if she wanted to throw up or laugh hysterically. After all, this was only her business at stake, and her ability to say, Ha! See, mama? I can be a success. Not that she’d actually say that to her mom but it was nice to think it at least.
“Hey, would you mind watching the store so I can get this tasting out of the way?”
“Go, shoo, I’ve got this.” Heather hugged her friend and then walked out the door. Judging from the clouds, a thunderstorm was headed her way and she needed to hurry if she was going to get there before the rain fell.
♥ ♥ ♥
Alec Carlisle looked up from the brief he was currently working on when his secretary, Doris, walked into his office. She was closely followed by the worst mistake he’d ever made, Lila Deveraux. Still beautiful as hell and sexy, but a more poisonous viper had never walked upright in four inch stilettos.
“Mr. Carlisle—”
“Alec, I told your bull dog you’d want to speak with me.” Lila shot Doris a heated look over her shoulder as she breezed through the door.
Alec tossed down his pen and sat back. “It’s okay, Doris. I’m sure whatever Ms. Deveraux has to say won’t take long.” When Doris closed the door behind her, he looked up at Lila but didn’t say anything.
Frankly, he didn’t give a damn about what she had to say but it was sometimes easier to give into her spoiled brat ways then to fight them. And he’d had a year of dealing with her demands, her bitchiness and finally he’d grown a set and broke things off. It had felt amazing. Since both of their families were very visible in New Orleans society, and even though they no longer dated, there was truly no way of totally avoiding her. So far, he’d been successful at playing nice and being cordial to her in public, and thankfully their meetings had been brief. This was actually the first time they were alone since the breakup.
The Trouble with Cupcakes Page 1
