Sugar And Spice (Holidays: Valentine)

by Charlotte French

  Crissy hesitated. She’d shoved the box in the back of her closet under a pile of dirty laundry she was ignoring.

  Andrea looked annoyed. Again. “Cristina, the clock is ticking. I already know the sizes for the dresses and right now you wouldn’t…”

  Before Crissy could speak up, Amy came into the kitchen, carrying a tray of dishes. She shot a dirty look in Andrea’s direction before she dumped the dishes in the sink with the loudest clatter she could manage.

  “Hey, Andy,” Amy said. “Haven’t seen you around here in a while.”

  “Don’t call me that,” Andrea growled. “It’s Andrea.”

  “Oh, right. Forgot. You told me that last time you were here, didn’t you?”

  “And every other time I’ve seen you in my life.”

  Amy grinned and waved her off. “Me and my silly brain. Can’t remember anything these days.”

  Andrea turned to Crissy. “I’ll be upstairs. Try not to be too long down here. We have so much to go over today.”

  “Oh,” Amy said, “but aren’t you hungry? You hardly touched anything yesterday, from what I heard. Had a little bridezilla meltdown.”

  Crissy sucked in a breath through her teeth. “Amy,” she whispered. “Stop.”

  Andrea froze, her back ramrod straight. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Nothing to worry about, Andy, honey.”

  “Andrea.”

  “It’s the blood sugar. Brides-to-be going on all these crazy diets to fit into a certain size when their man only cares about taking the dress off and…”

  “I don’t have to listen to this crude…”

  Amy swept a plate of cinnamon sugar cake doughnuts, still warm and steaming, freshly glazed, right under Andrea’s nose.

  “Doughnut?” she asked.

  Andrea glared. “I only eat low carbs, no sugar, and certainly nothing with fat in it.”

  “Ah, I see,” Amy nodded. She dropped the plate on the counter, grabbed a clean glass from the cabinet, filled it at the tap, and presented it to Andrea.

  “You’ll be wanting this then,” she said with a smile.

  Andrea’s chin jutted out and she snatched the glass before turning away. Amy faced Crissy, triumphant. Crissy shook her head.

  “Amy,” she sighed.

  “I have absolutely no regrets,” she replied. “I should have done that a long time ago.”

  “You know how volatile she is. We’re barely on speaking terms as it is now. You might have held back a bit.”

  Amy laughed as she stole a doughnut and bit into it, dribbling cinnamon sugar all over her t-shirt. “Oh, sugar, that was me being nice for your sake. You have no idea how much I just curbed what I really wanted to say.”

  ***

  Andrea stayed for three days and she was showing no signs of leaving. Crissy didn’t want to ask, in case she sounded rude. They argued over countless wedding details and Crissy suffered countless jabs below the belt about her appearance, her weight, her job, her ex-fiance… She was constantly walking a very, very fine line with her sister on an hourly basis and they already had enough upsets to stumble over. Crissy didn’t want to add any more arguments to their already mile long list.

  Then the weekend arrived. The weekend that Quinn had promised to plan something for just the two of them. And when Andrea came into the kitchen that morning, dressed to the nines as usual in a charcoal grey suit and matching heels, a ream of wedding plans in one hand, a wedding magazine in the other, Crissy stifled the urge to cry. Her sister wasn’t leaving. The shop was already falling behind because Crissy couldn’t bake nearly as much as she needed to while she was arguing with Andrea over her wedding plans.

  Amy whistled, interrupting Andrea’s chatter.

  “Crissy,” she said. “You have a visitor.”

  “I’ll be right back,” Crissy said to Andrea.

  “Is it that firefighter again?” Andrea asked.

  Crissy ignored her as she left the kitchen and found Quinn waiting on the sidewalk. He waved at her but she motioned for him to stay out there. As she slid her coat on, she glanced over her shoulder to see Andrea watching from the kitchen doorway, scowling. Crissy slipped out of the shop, slid her arm through Quinn’s elbow and pulled him away from the door.

  Quinn pressed her back against the wall and the broad, warm expanse of his hands wandered inside her coat, wrapped around her waist. He smiled, whispered a breathless, “hey,” as he ducked his head to kiss her. But he stopped, pulled back, concerned.

  “Crissy? You okay?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I’m fine.”

  “Why do I not believe you?”

  She looked up and met his gaze. “I’m fine,” she repeated. But the words held no conviction and she stifled a grimace at the weakness of her own voice.

  “You look exhausted.”

  Crissy sagged and leaned forward, nestling against Quinn’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her, one hand smoothing down the back of her head in a steady, soothing rhythm.

  “Your sister’s visit is taking a lot out of you, isn’t it?” he asked.

  Crissy nodded and closed her eyes, soaking up as much of his body heat and the comfort of his presence and the thrumming of his heartbeat at her ear as she possibly could.

  “And you have to cancel our date, don’t you?” Quinn continued.

  She groaned. “How did you know?”

  He shrugged and she could feel the movement through his whole body.

  “I could see it in your face. You look like you could use a good cry and some chocolate.”

  Crissy managed a small laugh despite the miserable ache in her chest. All morning, she had been worried how she could break the bad news to Quinn, let him down easy. She had wavered between excited at seeing him again and feeling utterly sick to her stomach at the same time. But here he had taken the words out of her mouth and the hard part was over because he already knew and she didn’t even have to tell him.

  “I’m so, so, sorry,” she said. “I thought Andrea would be long gone by now. She usually can’t stand to be around me for more than twenty-four hours, let alone staying in this little town for that long. She hates it here.”

  “Crissy, it’s okay. I get it. Family is important.” He paused, huffed a laugh. “Even if they are more than a little terrifying.”

  “I’m really sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

  Quinn shook his head. He let his fingers come to rest against the back of her neck as he pulled away to look at her.

  “I didn’t ask you to do that.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  He frowned. “That’s…not the point, Crissy. The point is that life happens and you don’t have to take the blame for it.”

  Crissy was silent at that statement. Amy always told her that too, that she didn’t have to take the fall for everything that went wrong.

  Quinn brushed his thumb over her chin and she leaned into the warmth of his hand.

  “Next weekend,” he said. “We’ll postpone until then. That will give you plenty of time to catch up on rest you very clearly have not had lately.”

  “That sounds good to me. So…what did you have planned anyway?”

  “Nice try.”

  “Not even a little hint?”

  “Nope. You’ll find out next weekend.”

  Crissy rolled her eyes and tipped her head back.

  “That’s so far away though.”

  Quinn chuckled, obviously amused at her dismay. “You better not die from the wait.”

  “It would serve you right. Then you’d have to find yourself another girlfriend.”

  “Well, I happen to like the girlfriend I already have. One-of-a-kind, very rare. I guess I could give you a little hint, just to hold you over.”

  Crissy grinned and tugged at his waist, drawing him closer. “Tell me.”

  He tipped his head to the side, considering, thinking. “More than likely…it has something to do with snow.”

  “That is not
a hint! There’s snow everywhere!”

  “I couldn’t give too much away. You might guess the surprise and where would be the fun in that?”

  “You’re a meanie,” she said, but she couldn’t keep the laughter from spilling into her voice.

  “I know.”

  He kissed her lightly, teasingly, but when Crissy rose up on tiptoe to kiss him again, he laughed and shook his head, straightening up so she couldn’t reach him.

  “As long as your sister is around,” he said, “that’s all you’re gonna get, sweetheart. Don’t want to incur the wrathful vengeance of your sister.”

  Crissy stared at him, silent, a soft smile on her lips, until Quinn started to look slightly panicked.

  “What?” he asked. “What did I do this time?”

  “You called me sweetheart,” she said.

  “…yes?”

  “I like it when you call me that.”

  Quinn raised his eyebrows, equal parts hopeful and relieved. “You…do?”

  Crissy laughed and tugged on the lapel of his jacket in an attempt to pull him down to her level but he wasn’t budging.

  “Yes, I do. Now get down here already. I can’t kiss you when you’re all the way up there.”

  “Your sister…”

  “Don’t worry about her.”

  “Yeah, that’s kind of impossible,” he whispered, eyes wide with mock terror.

  “Please tell me you’re not going to make me wait an entire week.”

  Quinn narrowed his eyes, thinking about it. “You’ve got a point there,” he said.

  He kissed her forehead, her eyes, her cheeks, her lips, until he was peppering her entire face with kisses and she couldn’t stop laughing. He placed a hand on her stomach and pushed her back despite Crissy’s attempts to keep him close.

  “Okay, I should…go,” he said.

  Crissy caught his hands and pulled him back easily, kissing him over and over despite the cold. He pushed her away again and held her firmly at arm’s length this time.

  “It feels like your sister is going to come charging around the corner any second,” he said.

  “She won’t,” Crissy replied. But a part of her felt the same way, she simply didn’t want to admit it, didn’t want to run Quinn off because of her sister.

  Quinn eyed her. “You don’t believe that.”

  “Fine, no, I don’t believe that. You should go. But I don’t want you to.”

  He smiled and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, trailing his fingers along the curve of her neck until goosebumps shivered over her skin, and not from the cold wind biting through her coat.

  “Next weekend,” he said. “If your sister is still here, I’m being selfish and stealing you away. Just so you know.”

  Crissy beamed up at him. “I’ll hold you to that.”

  Quinn studied her, his gaze roaming over her face before he smiled again and shook his head as he stole one final kiss, lingering for a moment as he pressed his forehead to hers.

  “Get some rest, sweetheart,” he whispered.

  Then he tore himself away and Crissy watched him walk down the sidewalk, coat collar turned up against the wind and a fresh lazy drifting snowfall.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Andrea left the following morning at six o’clock sharp and Crissy was more than happy to see her go. Andrea loaded the last box into her cab and turned to Crissy.

  “About that new diet Mother sent you,” she said.

  “Andrea, I…”

  “I know your circumstances might make things a bit difficult but it really does work. You should take a look at it. Mother knows what she’s talking about with these sorts of things.”

  Crissy pressed her lips into a tight line and nodded. “I’ll look into it. Thanks for coming by, Andrea.”

  Andrea nodded and almost seemed to hesitate for a moment before she climbed into the cab. The whole visit had been odd, as if they couldn’t quite establish a rhythm, even though it seemed…it almost seemed like Andrea wanted to. Then she would pull back and make some sharp remark that would put Crissy on edge again.

  Crissy sighed, climbed the stairs to her room, and flopped face down on her bed. At least she had her own life back now. And she had a date on the weekend to look forward to. Nothing would make her postpone it again.

  Her phone buzzed on her nightstand and she groaned. It was probably Andrea and she should answer it but…

  No. For nearly one whole hellish week, she had been at her sister’s beck and call for that cursed wedding. Crissy had done her time and now she was declaring personal space. Andrea could wait.

  The phone went silent and Crissy sagged into her pillows with a smile. Sweet peace and quiet. At least until the breakfast rush in about…fifteen minutes. Crissy grumbled at that thought and pulled her pillow over her head. Just ten more minutes.

  The phone rang again. Crissy ripped the pillow off her head, picked up the phone and prepared to shove it into the drawer of her bedside table when she saw the name and number on the screen.

  “Amy?” Crissy said. “Why are you up this early? You are never ever up this early. Ever.”

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Crissy choked and blinked in surprise. “What? Are you…sure? I mean, it’s early, isn’t it? You’ve only been off the pill for…”

  “Oh, I’m sure. One hundred percent sure. And it’s been two months now but I might have missed a few months before I went off the pill. I was never consistent with taking them. And I just realized I can’t be.”

  “No,” Crissy rushed in. “That’s not true. Of course you can be. You wanted this, remember?”

  “Yes, but…Crissy, what about our plans to open our own bakery? If I have a kid, I won’t be able to hold up my end of the finances. And that would mean you’d have to work twice as hard. And I feel like I’d be holding you back and I simply refuse to do that and…”

  “Amy stop,” Crissy cut in. “You are having that baby. Forget about the bakery. I’ll hire some extra help. The bakery is still a long ways off. Neither one of us are anywhere near that point in our lives.”

  Amy sighed. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

  “Does Manu know?”

  Amy hummed and hedged.

  “In other words, no,” Crissy said.

  “I’ve been wondering about it for a few weeks and I wasn’t entirely sure but this morning, I haven’t been able to keep anything down. And before you ask, no, I haven’t been having one too many tequilas and margaritas. I’ve had no alcohol. I’ve been very careful ever since Manny and I decided to have a baby.”

  Amy’s voice cracked on the last word, trembling slightly. There was a lengthy pause of silence and Crissy waited, allowing Amy space to continue if she wanted or if she needed a moment to compose herself.

  “You okay?” Crissy whispered.

  “Scared,” Amy said. “And excited. Feeling like I’m going to puke for like the hundredth time this morning.”

  “That sounds lovely.”

  “Don’t tease me, sugar. Raging pregnant lady hormones will make me even meaner.”

  Crissy snorted a laugh. “I don’t doubt it.”

  “And by the way, I resent the implication that I sleep in like a lazy bones. I get up at six a.m. all the time.”

  “When you’ve had caffeine directly injected into your bloodstream,” Crissy replied.

  “You make it sound like that’s a bad thing.”

  “I never said any of it was bad. I was just noting the unusual hour of your calling. That’s all.”

  “Is the Queen Bitch gone?”

  Crissy flopped back on her bed, snuggling deeper into her pillows. “Yes, thank god. Just left about five minutes ago and I have my life back. The coast is clear.”

  “I’ll be over in…”

  Amy broke off and there was a series of unpleasant sounds in the background that made Crissy wince in sympathy. After a minute or two, Amy’s voice returned, a little raspy and worn out.

/>   “Sorry,” she said.

  “I’ll look around for some hired help,” Crissy said.

  “No,” Amy replied. “I can manage.”

  “Over my dead body, Amy. You need to take care of yourself.”

  “And I already feel bad for postponing the bakery even more. I’m not going to leave you to take care of the coffee shop on your own.”

  Crissy gritted her teeth. She’d learned a long time ago that fighting Amy was pointless. Amy got her way, even if Crissy won the argument.

  “I still think we should look into getting some extra help anyway,” Crissy insisted. “I have a date this weekend and it would be nice to have days off every once in a while and we don’t have to close up shop.”

  “That sounds very mature and logical,” Amy said.

  “Does that mean you agree?”

  Amy grunted. “Maybe. But not because of the pregnancy. Only because we both need weekends every once in a while.”

  “Fair enough,” Crissy replied.

  ***

  Amy tried to keep up at the coffee shop and Crissy hugged her tight for it. She could see the strain on Amy’s face, the physical toll the pregnancy was already taking on Amy. But Amy didn’t complain and she managed to help out every day of the week for several hours.

  Crissy conducted a handful of interviews but no one stood out as someone she could work well with. She didn’t want anyone crowding her space in the kitchen and she needed someone who could welcome the customers in a way she couldn’t, someone like Amy.

  But that was exactly the problem. There was no one else like Amy.

  On Friday morning, Crissy was setting up the shop for the weekend, pushing the job interviews to the back of her mind and focusing on making enough doughnuts, brownies, and croissants to last until Monday.

  Amy poked her head in the kitchen after the lunch time rush had faded to a trickle.

  “There’s someone here to see you about the open position available,” she said.

  Crissy wiped her hands on a towel. “And? First impressions?”

  Amy shrugged. “Lots of energy. And she’s talkative.”

  Crissy nodded. “All right, send her in.”