Drool Worthy

By Tami Brothers

 

                “Come on, Marianne!  You’re wasting away here.”

                Marianne Michaels blew a stray lock of hair out of her eyes as she straightened.  Heat immediately began seeping through the hot pad she was using to hold onto the pan of Snickerdoodles she’d just pulled out of the Convection oven.  “How am I wasting away, Lizzy?  I’ve gained five pounds since I opened Drool Worthy.”  Six months of sampling the treats she created in her own pastry shop would do that to a girl.  The time she’d spent getting her business up and running had seriously cut into her exercise routine, but she’d known the drawbacks of starting up a new business and lack of time to exercise was definitely one of them.

                “Five whole pounds?  I’ve gained ten and I don’t even work here.”

                “It’s all those Lattes you drink.”

                “Hell no.  It’s the honey drizzled croissants you bake to go with those Lattes that have done it to me. “ 

                Marianne shook her head as Lizzy reached over and grabbed another cookie from the cooling rack.  “Those and the ‘samples’ you sneak every time you stop by.”

                “Ohhhh.  But it is soooo worth it.” This was mumbled around a mouthful of cookie.

                The buzzer went off on the cake oven and Marianne stepped around her friend to grab the heavier hot pads.  “I’m glad you like them.”

                “What’s not to like?  Everyone in town LOVES your pastries.  Trust me when I say I think you’ve made it.”

                Marianne just grunted as she pulled a 10 inch round, lemon cake from the oven.  This was one of the middle tiers for a three tiered wedding cake she was baking for this coming weekend.  Who could have imagined a Halloween wedding, let alone two?  And with the Alexander family being one of those orders, this was shaping up to be one of her more profitable weekends. 

Yes, she was baking for THE Alexander family!  Heck yeah she’d made it.  The Alexander’s didn’t normally shop in their small middle Georgia town.  They didn’t have to.  They could afford to buy the best.  Which made the fact that they’d ordered their only daughter’s wedding cake from Drool Worthy incredibly impressive.  And scary as hell.  This order for the four tiered wedding cake, the multiple ‘groom’s’ cakes and the 800 individually boxed mini cakes to be sent home with the guests would cover the rent on the building for the coming year.  Definitely a very big deal.  “Yeah, well.  We’ll see.”

                “Oh, now you’re just sounding silly.  You seriously need a night away from it all.  Come to Jessie’s party.”

                Marianne shook her head as she placed several pans holding the mini cakes into the oven and set the timer.  Jessie Alexander was the bride-to-be and just the thought of attending her pre-wedding bash had Marianne’s head swimming.  She seriously disliked crowds and it was a sure bet that the Magnolia queen herself would draw a big one.  Or at least her mother thought so if she were to judge from the Petit Fours order.

                “Come on, Marianne.  Think of the contacts you could make.  The high society of middle Georgia will all be there and as a new business owner you can’t afford to miss out on that.”

                “Why do I need to attend?  My Petit Fours can represent me.”

                She glanced over at the stack of boxes that held the pastries and then up at the big clock on the wall.  Where in the heck was he?  She’d dreaded the visit from the hunky fitness trainer since Mrs. Alexander said her son would stop by to pick up the pastries on his way to the party.  Now that he was over an hour late, she was beginning to worry.   The matriarch of the Alexander family was known for her strict timelines and Marianne was fairly certain the woman wasn’t going to be happy about her son’s tardiness.    

                “Come on, girl.  You need to get away from this shop every once in a while.  Have some fun.  Who knows, maybe you’ll meet Mr. Right.  Oh!  Maybe Jessie’s older brother will be there.  Have you met him yet?”

                An image of the muscular hunk that’d helped her navigate her way around the jungle of free weights two weeks ago popped into her head.  The whole town had been ecstatic about the 50,000 square foot fitness center being built over the past 7 months and the idea that it would be outfitted with an indoor and outdoor running track as well as a swimming pool had only fueled the admiration the town had for the infamous bad boy.  “I may have seen him around town.”  Yeah, right.  Around town, her ass.  Just like every other woman in Brisbing, Georgia, she’d been suckered into purchasing a three month trial membership for the chance to ogle the sexy owner.

“Trust me.  You’d know for sure if you’d seen him.  He’s a walking billboard advertisement for sex.  Not that any of us have a chance with him.  From what I’ve heard, he’s shot down every woman who’s asked him out.”

That was an understatement.  Jason Alexander had been the hot topic each time a group of women, single or married, had gotten together to gossip.  With Drool Worthy being the hub of the downtown district, she’d been privy to quite a few of these sessions.  Marianne also had a front row seat to many of these humiliating rejections.  Because she had been setting up her pastry shop the same time he’d been procuring building permits for the gym, she’d seen him several times when he first arrived.  The crash and burn of some of Brisbing’s crème de la crème had been almost comical to watch.  She could see how the man’s lack of interest alone would fuel these women’s need to conquer him.  But not her.  She had absolutely no time for that, no matter how sexy the guy.  Shaking her head to convince herself as much as her friend, she muttered, “I’m just not interested.”

                “Come on, Marianne.  This is the only chance we get to bring in some new blood to this hole in the wall.  You know as well as I do that you aren’t going to meet someone around here.  Half the men are married and the other half are, well… Let’s just say they’re unmarried for a reason.”

                The corners of Marianne’s lips twitched.  As much as she loved this ‘hole in the wall,’ she had to admit Lizzy was right.  Here date with the pond scum who owned the hardware store summed that up for her.  Just because she’d agreed to dinner and a movie DID NOT mean she’d agreed to a quickie in the back seat of his Volvo.  Her knee in his groin had resulted in a three mile walk home that night.  The look on his face had been well worth it, even if it had meant walking in heels.  “I’ve got way too much going right now.”

                “You can’t be serious.  You’ll never meet anyone new stuck in this kitchen.  At least come and see what’s out there.  Besides your regulars, no guy is going to walk in the front door and say, ‘Hi.  I’m here for some pastries.’”  Lizzy snorted at her own joke as she slid off her stool.  After slinging her purse over her shoulder, she wiped the crumbs from her hands and eyed the remaining cookies on the rack.  “At least think about it, will you?  If not for the men, then to promote the shop.  I know you’re swamped right now, but it would be good to make new contacts for the bakery.  Can I take a couple of these cookies back to the office?”

                “Sure.”  Marianne had already grabbed a bag from the stack on the counter in anticipation of her friend’s request.

                “Promise me you’ll think about it.”

                She sighed as she scooped up a handful of cookies.  “I promise I’ll think about it.  ‘Think’ being the key word.”

                Lizzy leaned in and gave Marianne a quick hug.  “Thank you.”

                When the back door slammed shut, Marianne turned back to her kitchen and the mountain of work she still had to do tonight.  The batch of Snickerdoodles she’d baked for the Elliots’ baby shower brunch the next day had dwindled considerably, so she started pulling the ingredients back off the racks.  

Life was just too crazy for her right now.  Lizzy meant well, even if she did go off on a tangent and tend to nag.  Still, it was nice to know someone cared enough about her to worry.  Being orphaned at fourteen and then raised by an aunt who couldn’t wait to be rid of her, Marianne cherished the few people who actually cared.  Still, there was another batch of Snickerdoodles left to make as well as a boat load of Buttercreams.  That left no time to party with the rich and famous, no matter how much networking she could do. 

                The bell on the front jingled and of its own accord, her traitorous heart skipped a beat at the thought that maybe this was the resident hunk.  Straining her ears, she listened for the voice of the teen running the café section of the shop.  The ringing tones of a false laugh had her pausing as she measured out the ingredients for the cookies.  Definitely not the easy going contagious laugh Amber was known for. 

                After a few heartbeats she heard the words she’d hoped to hear.   “Ms. Michaels?  There’s a man here to see you.”  Amber’s voice warbled as she called out through the opening between the kitchen and the shop.

                “Be right out.”  The slight crack in her own was too telling and Marianne took a second to tamp down the excitement she couldn’t suppress.  After wiping her hands on a towel, she grabbed an armful of boxed Petit Fours and stepped through the swinging doors.  A quick glance showed the only customers were two regulars sitting at the corner table.  Both women wore dazed expressions and their eyes were glued to the backside of the man standing in front of the memory wall next to the café counter. 

Oh, dear heavens.  What a back-side it was.  Damn, he looked better than when he was dressed for the gym.  Gone were the baggy shorts and tight tank top and in their place was a pair of black slacks and a white button-up shirt with a sea green tie that matched his sister’s bridal colors.  Oh, did he wear it well.  

                Clearing her throat, Marianne looked away in an attempt to hide the lust she was sure radiated from her.  “Good afternoon, Mr. Alexander.  Here are two of the boxes.  I have eight more in the kitchen.  Did you want to drive your vehicle around to the back door?”

                “Ten boxes?  Are you sure?”

                The disbelief in his voice drew her gaze back to him.  The frown wrinkling the skin between his chocolate brown eyes was a familiar expression she’d noticed several times when she’d seen him around town the past seven months.  “I’m positive this is the number.  One hundred and twenty cakes per box.  Ten boxes.  Twelve hundred Petit Fours.  Plenty for the estimated guest count.”

                The man let out an exasperated sigh as he propped his hands on his hips.  The action pulled the fabric of his shirt tight against his chest.  Marianne stuck her tongue against the side of her cheek and raised an eyebrow at the uncharacteristic show of emotion.  From what the ‘gossip chain’ proclaimed, this guy was a robot.  Clipped words and military orders were his usual response whether he was dealing with contractors or training someone at the gym; as well as his responses to the blatant advances made towards him.  This show of human emotion, no matter how slight, was a complete surprise.  Also a tad confusing. 

                “Is that a problem?”

                Still obviously frustrated, Jason sauntered back to the counter.  He ignored the two women who were openly listening to the conversation as he tilted his head and leaned in as if he was about to reveal a secret.  “It is if you drive a two passenger convertible.”

                “Ahhh.”  Marianne nodded. Yes, that would be an issue.  She’d seen the little silver Ferrari Spider whipping around town a time or two and it was obvious the boxes would not fit in that car.  Suppressing a frustrated sigh, she pasted a smile on her lips as she mentally did the math on how long she was going to be spending here at the shop later tonight.  “Not a problem.  I’ll load them into my van and drive them over.”  Turning to Amber, she started issuing orders.  “I have cakes in the oven with the timer set.  As soon as it goes off, pull them out and leave them on the cooling rack.  I’ll take care of them when I get back.  Okay?”  If anything was wrong that she couldn’t catch by actually being here, then she would add some more time onto her to-do list. 

                “Sure.  Umm… Will you…”

                Marianne nodded.  “I’ll be back soon, so you’ll have plenty of time to get ready for your date.”

                “Thank you.  Do you want me to come back by after the dance and help you finish for the baby shower?”

                “No.”  Just the offer alone made Marianne smile.  The girl had been anticipating this dance for three months.  There was no way she was going to be the reason Amber cut it short.  “I’ve got it covered.  You just have a good time.”

                Turning back to Jason, Marianne continued to smile even when his questioning gaze stayed on her.  “I’ll bring these over to your parent’s house shortly.  Don’t worry about it.”

                He continued to stare at her.  “You weren’t planning to come tonight?”

                Marianne shook her head.  “No.  I’m not able to make it this evening.”

                “Why?”

                She had to work to keep the surprise out of her expression.  The only person who cared enough to question any of her decisions was Lizzy and that was because Lizzy was Lizzy and they’d been friends forever.  To have someone else question her decisions left her momentarily speechless.  After a few heartbeats, she was finally able to stutter, “I’m… I’m pretty busy.”

                “Aren’t we all.  Wouldn’t this party be a great place to network and make connections for you’re your business?”

                There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice, but Marianne had regained her composure and fixed her business mask back in place.  “I’m sure it would be.  I already have quite a few orders to fill right now, but I’ll do my best to make it to the next gathering.”  Which with this attitude wasn’t going to be his wedding anytime soon. 

                Okay, that wasn't fair.  She had seen a different Jason when she'd met with the Alexander family at their home when they were planning Jessie's wedding and asked her to bring over samples.  The way he'd treated both his mother and sister had been touching.  Although he'd still been distant with her, she'd seen the teasing and gentle way he handled them.  This glimpse into his personal life had been why she had relegated herself with the masses as one of his many admirers.  Of course, that hard body of his didn't hurt either.

                Jason stood staring at her, his confusion obvious.  She just wasn’t sure what he would question; the fact that she had the gall to blow off an Alexander party or that she was giving up the opportunity to pimp her business.  This was only the second time they’d spoke to each other in all the times they’d both been dealing with building their businesses, so she really had no idea why it would matter to him if she showed up or not.  Could there be a reason he wanted her there? 

                She quickly dismissed this.  Not comfortable with the direction her thoughts were going, Marianne pulled her gaze away from his face and shot another encouraging smile to her employee.  “I’ll be back within the hour, Amber.  I’ll have my cell with me if you need anything.”  Turning back to Jason, she nodded at his stony expression.  “Excuse me.”

“Let me help-“

Before he could finish, she cut him off.  “No worries, Mr. Alexander.  I’ve got this covered.  You just enjoy your evening.”

With that, she scooped up the boxes and headed back through the kitchen doors.  Before they had swung shut, she looked back and caught a quick glance at the sexiest half grin she’d ever laid eyes on.  As the doors swung shut, she was reminded of something Lizzy had said earlier.  The man was definitely a walking billboard advertisement for sex.   Just as the epiphany had hit her when she was brainstorming names for her shop, the best description she could come up with for Jason Alexander was that he was absolutely ‘drool worthy.’

                ~~~~~

                Marianne finished boxing up the final batch of Snickerdoodles for the baby shower and set them aside until Mr. Elliot could arrive to pick them up.  The Saturday morning breakfast rush was thankfully over.  She’d completed the Alexander groom’s cakes around midnight, the mini cakes at three am and just seconds ago, slid the Holland wedding cake into the cooler along with them.  The only thing left was to wait for the sea green roses to set up and then she could put the finishing touches on Jessie’s wedding cake; which she would do after she’d caught a few hours sleep.  No sense working on something this important while punch drunk with sleepiness when she was so far ahead of her schedule.  At this rate, she could deliver both cakes tomorrow and then be home in plenty of time to escape into a sleep deep enough that she wouldn’t hear the ringing doorbell from the trick-or-treaters. 

Stifling a yawn, she finally had a mindless moment to contemplate the conversations she’d overheard this morning during the breakfast rush. Everyone was all worked up and the gossip was flowing regarding the Alexander party.  More than one person commented on the change that had come over Jason Alexander.  Although he hadn’t accepted either of the two horribly obvious propositions people had seen, one of them being from the newly divorced mayor herself, more than one person commented that he was friendlier.  This resulted in a lively discussion on why that might be. 

Marianne ignored the jingle of the front door and concentrated on cleaning up the last set of pans.  A group of regulars were positive the change must be because of a female.  Bets were being placed about whether he would bring this mystery woman to the wedding tomorrow.  She was tempted to accept the invitation Jessie sent her just to see what type of person could capture the interest of Brisbing’s most infamous bachelor.  But then again, maybe not.  Jason and the antics of the crazy female population had made life in the small town a lot more exciting.  The thought of not having ‘that’ to look forward to was disheartening.  No way could the thought of Mr. Hunky being taken have anything to do with the sinking feeling in her stomach that resulted from this idea.

“Ms. Michaels?  There’s someone out here to see you.” 

“Be right there.”  Marianne stacked the pans on their shelf and grabbed the boxed Snickerdoodles on her way through the kitchen doors.  She did the customary quick glance around the room, taking note that all the tables were filled with customers and that the display case which held her pastries was almost empty.

“Yes.”  She spoke these words under her breath as the sense of satisfaction filled her.  Not only was the business going well, but her goal of making her shop a part of the community was becoming a reality.  With a lighter step, she turned to the café counter and almost stumbled when she saw who was standing there.  Jason Alexander. 

She blinked a few times as she regained her footing, then approached the counter and laid the cookies beside the register.  She placed her shaking hands on the countertop in an attempt to steady the tremble that always raced through her when she saw him.  “Mr. Alexander.  Can I help you with something?”

She sucked in a breath when he grinned and identical dimples appeared on his cheeks.  Wow.  No wonder he went around town frowning all the time.  This was definitely not the smile she'd seen when he talked to his mother or sister.  If he flashed this one at just anyone, he’d have to file for multiple protection orders to keep the women from crawling in the windows of his house just to experience the impact of them. 

“Hi.  I’m here for some pastries.”

This comment alone would have stopped her in her tracks because it was a mirror imagine of the one Lizzy made yesterday.  But what really had her jaw dropping open was the single red rose he placed on the counter next to her shaking hand.

Oh. My. Gosh!  Did this mean what she thought it meant?  Clearing her throat, she looked up into his heavenly brown eyes.  “We-” Her voice cracked and she had to clear her throat again.  “We sell lots of pastries.  Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?” 

“As a matter of fact, there is.”

With this comment, he flashed those killer dimples again and propped his elbows on the café counter.  The fact that everyone in the shop had stopped talking to watch the show never even fazed him.  Instead of frowning from all the attention, he continued to smile and the suggestive look he was giving her explained a lot more than any spoken words could.  As his meaning began to sink in, Marianne couldn’t help but think that just maybe this might be her best Halloween yet. 

Oh, and that she might actually attend the wedding.  You know, just to see what everyone else thought about the person who had finally captured Mr. Drool Worthy’s attention.

 

PF&HT Treasure Hunt Question: 

What is the last name of the second couple getting married on Halloween (not Jessie Alexander)?

Remember to write down your answers, keep them in a safe place and check back on the PF&HT blog for more clues throughout the month of October.  And don't forget the final drawing on October 31st!