Love & Chocolate: Valentine's Day (Holidays In Hallbrook Book 4)

by Elsie Davis

  Kevin was positive it was okay, because if not, he’d make it right anyway.

  Chapter Ten

  This morning started out as a bust, only to be followed by another slow day at the bakery. It didn’t help that it had been windy and cold, keeping most people home or at least, not in the mood for sweets and treats. Unfortunately, fewer customers meant less sales, excess inventory, and more time to worry about the future.

  It wouldn’t be long before Amanda would be forced to cut Diana’s hours. The high school student didn’t get many hours now between her schedule and Amanda’s limited resources. The girl depended on the extra cash to pay for her athletic equipment and Amanda hated to disappoint her, but there was no way around the inevitable unless she won the Anything Chocolate contest.

  The problem was, with the recipe she’d be forced to submit, Amanda wasn’t holding out much hope of winning. It was a good recipe, but not good enough to beat everyone else in the state of New Hampshire. The bank letter she’d gotten this morning was a cold, hard reminder of her financial situation and another dose of reality. It was time to start thinking of what would happen when the bakery closed.

  Cupcake wandered over and sat by her feet, leaning against her legs. “Hey, girl. What do you think I should do? I could always go over to O’Malley’s and see if they need another server. Or maybe I should check in Glen Haven.” But Glen Haven was probably no better than Hallbrook when it came to employment. “I’m just not sure what to do. And I’ve got you to think about.”

  Woof. Woof.

  Amanda hugged her sweet baby, drawing strength. Lancaster was her best bet for finding employment, but the roads in the winter were never reliable which would make it hard to leave Cupcake alone all day, unsure whether she’d be able to get back and forth. “There’s just got to be something I can do.” Cupcake nudged her leg, and Amanda responded by patting her head and her side.

  “Mom managed to keep the place afloat. Why can’t I? I had really hoped the contest was the answer. I thought with an online presence and master marketing program, we’d put ourselves on the map and make things work. But I don’t have the kind of capital it takes to do that on my own. But don’t you worry, girl. We’ll figure something out. I promise.” Amanda’s eyes filled with tears. It was one thing to say the words, another to believe them.

  Woof. Woof.

  “Come on, let’s get you some dinner. I’ve got some leftover pizza I can reheat for mine and some scrumptious turkey with gravy for you.” Amanda made her way to the kitchen and opened a can of dog food and portioned out Cupcake’s dinner. Covering the rest, she put it in the refrigerator and grabbed the Styrofoam box with leftover pizza. Not an exciting dinner, but it would have to do. She turned on the oven, preferring to reheat the pizza that way. Microwaves always made it too mushy.

  She grabbed herself a glass of water and sat at the table, waiting for the buzzer to indicate the oven was preheated. Her cell phone rang, and Amanda stood, crossing the kitchen to retrieve it off the counter. The name on the lit up screen shocked her.

  Kevin.

  “Hello,” she answered as she tried to control her racing heart. This morning he’d had no choice but to see her and it had been awkward, but this—he was the one calling her.

  “Hey, Amanda. I hope I’m not disturbing you?”

  “No, not at all.” Leftover pizza didn’t qualify as doing anything that couldn’t be disturbed.

  “I know this is going to sound really odd, and I won’t blame you if you say no, but the girls are asking if you can come over and see them. And before you say anything, I realize that based on this morning’s behavior and the way they’ve acted toward you in the past, there’s no rhyme or reason to the request, but they won’t tell me what it’s about, and they made me promise I’d call.”

  “And you always honor your promises, don’t you?” He was a man of honor, something she’d picked up on right away. Why did he have to be so perfect?

  “I do. Will you come over? I hate to ask for you to come here, but when I offered to bring them to your place, they balked. Maybe it’s the new eleven-year-old hormones.” He chuckled.

  “Careful, mister. Don’t go blaming hormones for things you can’t understand,” she joked. “They weren’t overly happy with my visit this morning, and I’m not sure I’m up to more of the same treatment. It’s been a pretty lousy day, but I’ll make an exception because it’s their birthday.” The last thing she wanted to do was go back out in the cold, but curiosity wouldn’t let her say no. On the bright side, at least the wind had died down.

  “Thank you. I wish I could say you won’t regret it, but with the twins lately, I have no way to know.” Kevin was honest to the core.

  What he didn’t understand was that the girls were becoming young ladies, and the transition could be mind-boggling. “I’m a big girl and I can handle myself.”

  “I’m sure you can. You seem to do quite well when you set your mind to something.”

  Mutual appreciation never hurt anyone. It made her feel all warm and fuzzy that Kevin seemed to understand her. “Thanks. Coming from you, that means a lot to me. I feel the same about you. I know the twins may be a handful now, but trust me, they’ll come around.”

  “In about seven years, right?” He chuckled.

  “I plead the fifth on that. When should I come over?”

  “Now?” he asked, the wishful question in his voice almost laughable. It was as though he never thought she’d agree.

  Amanda glanced at the oven and then back at the pizza on the counter. Dinner could wait. “See you in a few minutes,” she said and then hit the disconnect button. Amanda turned off the oven, tossed the pizza back in the refrigerator, and headed for her room, Cupcake close on her heels. “I’ll be back shortly to take you for your walk. I’m more than positive this won’t take long.”

  Amanda went to the closet and changed her shirt into a more casual sweater, something more flattering than the button-up blouse she’d worn to the shop. She ran a brush through her hair twenty times, determined to give it some lift and shine. After adding a few dabs of makeup and a dot of her favorite perfume, she was ready to go.

  She put on her boots and coat and made her way to the car. Luckily, the car engine was still warm enough that when she flipped on the heater, lukewarm air blasted her. At least she wouldn’t be an icicle by the time she arrived at Kevin’s. She backed down the driveway and headed up the street toward his place. The upside of her visit was she’d be able to pick up her cupcake containers if the girls had remembered to bring them home.

  Amanda pulled into the driveway and put the car in park. She carefully walked up the sidewalk, testing each step for slick spots until she reached the porch. Tap. Tap. Tap. The front door knocker was easier to use than removing her glove and exposing her hands to the cold while she waited. To her surprise, it was the twins who answered.

  “Hello, birthday girls. I heard you wanted to see me, so I came right over.” Amanda kept a cheerful expression on her face despite the inner trepidation she was feeling.

  “We’ve been talking, and we want to ask you something,” Lacy spoke first, but it was difficult to gauge her attitude.

  “It’s too cold to stand outside.” Macy grabbed her arm and pulled her inside. “We need to talk,” her non-committal voice with the attitude to match, in perfect sync with her twin.

  “Yeah, we need to talk.” Lacy echoed.

  Amanda moved inside and closed the door. She removed her scarf and hat and turned to face them just as Kevin walked into the room. Unsure what to expect, she was relieved to see him.

  “I thought I heard voices out here. You got here fast.” He shot her a smile that warmed her heart. “Girls, why don’t we let her take off her jacket and get settled in the living room instead of bombarding her in the foyer with whatever mission you’re on.” He was trying to help and was probably more than a little curious what they were up to.

  Makes two of us.

  “
We need to ask her something first, Daddy. Wait.” Lacy spoke up, holding her finger to her lips to shush him.

  “Your cupcakes were a big hit at school. Apparently, around here, you’re the queen of cupcakes. We didn’t expect everyone to be nice to us. They thought it was cool that you are friends with our dad.” Macy was doing the talking, and so far, without any of their normal disapproving tones.

  Amanda relaxed. “I hadn’t heard that title before, but I must say, I kind of like it.” She grinned. The question remained, did the twins? They were acting strange, and Amanda didn’t have a clue what was going on.

  “Well, we’ve been talking, and we wanted to ask you something important.” Macy was still taking the lead.

  “Yeah, something very important,” Lacy added, nodding in agreement.

  “I’m listening.” Amanda watched them closely as she tried to figure out where they were headed with this conversation.

  “Who am I?” Macy asked.

  Talk about out of the blue. It was an odd question, especially given the request Amanda come over on a cold night for the asking. “Is this a trick question? Are you two trying to play a joke on me?” She wasn’t gullible where the twins were concerned, at least not anymore.

  “No trick. Just answer the question.” Lacy spoke up, a hopeful smile on her face.

  It was the smile that put Amanda at ease. “Well, that’s easy. You’re Macy, and you’re Lacy.” She pointed to each of the girls, not questioning her response.

  “How do you know us apart every time? Most people at school can’t tell the difference, and you’ve only known us for a few days,” Lacy asked.

  The girls waited; the intensity of their expressions surprising.

  Kevin, on the other hand, stood back and watched the scene unfold. He looked just as confused as she was or in this case, had been.

  Everything fell into place with Lacy’s question. “Is that what this is all about? That’s easy.” Amanda shrugged. “Just because you are identical twins, doesn’t mean you’re identical in every sense. You’re both still unique, and those differences are shown in your personality, the way you carry yourselves, and in the way you speak.”

  “Is that why you made our cupcakes different?” Macy asked, her gaze never leaving Amanda’s face.

  It was like being under twin microscopes.

  “Well, yes. I’ve already explained I see you both as unique. I tried to decorate the cupcakes in a way that complemented your individual qualities. Lacy’s, for instance, were more feminine—no offense, Macy. But she tends to prefer things to be neater and prettier, more bows, lace, that kind of thing. Lacy keeps her hair perfectly in place, and her shirt tucked tightly into the waistband of her school clothes.

  You, on the other hand—” she turned back to Macy, “—you are more confident, and usually the first one to speak up. You prefer things to be done just right. No frills. But I also know how much you enjoy chocolate and butterscotch.” Amanda wasn’t sure where all this was going, but it was the longest she’d talked to the girls in an almost normal conversation. Strike that. This was the first time they’d had a normal conversation.

  “Butterscotch? How would you know that?” Macy’s forehead wrinkled in confusion.

  “Because the few times I’ve seen you, you’ve always had a pack of butterscotch lifesavers in your hand or nearby.” They were small observations, but apparently important ones.

  The girls looked at each other and shrugged, then looked back at her, soft smiles on their faces.

  “Do you know you’re one of the only people who’s really noticed those things about us? Even our own mother still gets us wrong sometimes.” It was Lacy who spoke up this time, surprising Amanda with the truth.

  “Well, I’m sure she’s just busy. Her career is demanding, and maybe she’s just not good at noticing details. But it doesn’t mean that she loves you any less. You do look a lot alike.”

  “But you can tell the difference,” Macy chimed in.

  “Yes, I can.” She nodded.

  “It was nice of you to go to the trouble to make them for us, and we’re sorry we were so mean to you this morning. And for all the other mean things we’ve done.” The girls waited expectantly for forgiveness, hope in their expressions.

  Amanda’s eyes welled up with tears. After a long day, their words were soothing to her heart and soul. At least something was finally going right. “Thank you for the sweet and heartfelt apology. I’ll let you in on a secret though, I had fun making the cupcakes and I’m so glad you enjoyed them. You only turn eleven once, you know?” Amanda teased, the girls taking a second to catch on to her joke.

  “We had a good day today because of you. And now, we have something we want to show you.” The two girls looked at each other, nodded, and headed out of the room.

  Amanda looked at Kevin for guidance. He shrugged, and the two of them started to follow the girls.

  Macy stopped and turned back. “Wait here,” she said, taking charge and pointing at the sofa. The girls headed for the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone.

  “This is bizarre,” Amanda said, looking at Kevin to see what he thought of the whole thing.

  “I agree. I had no idea, but I’m rather pleased. Just when I think everything is going downhill, they do something to renew my spirit. This is one of those times.” His eyes crinkled at the corners; his smile genuine.

  The girls were talking as they ambled back into the room, stopping in front of Amanda.

  Macy handed her a jar of vinegar. “This is what we put into your cake. We just thought you should know, and we don’t want you to lose the bakery.” They looked at their dad briefly, who rewarded them with a smile.

  “You’ve got to be kidding?” Amanda said, shaking her head. “How would vinegar make the cake better?”

  “We wondered the same thing. I’m sure you can guess we didn’t mean to make that happen.” The twins had the good graces to appear remorseful.

  “Thank you for telling me, but there has to be something else. This can’t be it. Maybe another clear bottle or something similar. Maybe corn syrup?” That was something she hadn’t thought of before. She turned to Kevin. “Do you have corn syrup?”

  “I wouldn’t know what to use it for, so it’s safe to say we don’t.” Kevin shook his head and shrugged as if he wished he had a better answer.

  “This. Is. It.” Macy stood there, hands on hips, insisting she was right. “I added three shakes into the batter and then stirred.”

  “Are you sure?” Kevin spoke up and repeated the question.

  “Yep. Make it and see what happens,” Macy said, her positive attitude gaining ground with Amanda.

  “Thank you, so much. I will make the cake with vinegar, just as you say. If this is the ingredient, you may very well have helped me save the bakery. If I win the contest, that is.” Amanda grinned, filled with renewed hope. Vinegar. It was nothing she’d ever used before in any of her own recipes—at least not in any of her sweets or treats.

  “You did a nice thing, girls. I appreciate you taking responsibility and stepping up to make things right.” Kevin hugged the girls, telling and showing them how proud he was of their actions.

  “Thank you, Daddy,” both girls cried in unison.

  “Now, I’m sure Amanda has plenty to do this evening, and we should let her get home. Not to mention, we have some birthday festivities to start.” Kevin glance at her, looking for support. His earlier tension had vanished, and Amanda was happy for him and the girls.

  She nodded. “I can’t wait to go home and try the recipe with some vinegar. I’ll call and let you know how it turns out. I promise.” Amanda stood to leave and made her way to where she’d draped her coat over the back of a chair.

  “Wait. We want you to come with us tonight,” Macy asked, her sister nodding in agreement.

  Kevin stood there speechless, a stunned expression on his face, probably one that matched her own.

  To go from begrudging buddies to bes
ties and hanging out was a huge leap. And spending the night hanging out with Kevin and the girls was a huge risk. She’d already figured out she was attracted more to Kevin than she wanted to be. Teamed up, Kevin and the girls were heart-warmers that could melt any frozen heart, including hers.

  “Thanks for the offer, but I really should work on this cake tonight.” It was a good, solid excuse, one that would keep her out of trouble.

  Kevin glanced her way, their gazes locking. It looked as though he wanted to say something but changed his mind, instead, grabbing his jacket out of the closet.

  “It’s our birthday. You have to say yes. We’re going to dinner and then ice-skating and then a movie.” Lacy smiled, willing her to agree.

  Ice skating was the last thing she wanted to do. It was something she hadn’t done since she’d fallen and bumped her head, earning her a trip to the hospital. It was also the night she’d come home from the hospital and discovered her dad had walked out on them and wasn’t coming home.

  “Please, Miss Amanda?” Macy’s expression tugged at her heart. This was a different side of the girls and she felt it was only right to meet them halfway in this new friendship mode they found themselves in.

  “Okay, then, but it’s because you all are being so sweet. That is, of course, if your dad doesn’t object.” Amanda looked to him for confirmation, unsure of what she’d see.

  “If the girls want you along, who am I to object? The more, the merrier.” Kevin shot her a wink. The man certainly had a way with the charm, and Amanda wasn’t at all immune.

  “I do need to stop at the house and let my dog out for a quick potty break if you don’t mind.”

  “You have a dog?” Lacy asked, her eyes lit with excitement.

  “I do. She’s a chocolate Lab. Friendly, and I’m sure you’ll love her.” Amanda followed Kevin and the girls to the front door.

  “What’s her name?” Macy asked.

  “Cupcake.” Amanda said, trying hard to keep a straight face.

  Everyone burst out laughing.