Cupid's Cupcake (2 page)

“I’m sure it’s delicious, but actually I was curious
to hear your thoughts about the perception that if someone gives you a Cupid’s Cupcake on Valentine’s Day, it’s a sign that you are going to get married. According to my own tally, the cupcake to proposal ratio is pretty high.”

And there it was. She
mentally groaned.

“That certainly sounds silly
, doesn’t it?” Belle kept her voice light, but inside her stomach was churning. “I mean, I’m not whipping up magic cupcakes over here or anything like that.”

“Do you know how many people attribute their engagement to your cupcake?”
Suddenly his questions were more pointed. She knew they had reached the meat of his interest in her story.

Say no, say no, say no.
“I have no idea,” she lied.

“Fifteen that I’ve found so far,” Brian said.

Belle felt faint. “Well, like I said, that is silly. Flattering, but silly. Over the last couple of years, I’ve made my cupcakes for some family and friends because I always thought it helped make their day a little bit more special.”

“
So it’s true that you only make them once a year?”

“Yes,”
Belle said. “It’s called Cupid’s Cupcake for a reason. It’s a Valentine’s Day themed cupcake.” Her mind was still reeling. Fifteen? She knew of five. No wonder she had drawn the attention of Brian Draper. He probably thought that she was spiking her cupcakes with some version of a love potion. With that kind of angle, she was an intriguing little story that would probably sell some extra papers.

Something else was pushing
its way into her consciousness. It was slowly overpowering the dread. It took her a minute to put her finger on it. It was
excitement
. Maybe Tiffany was onto something. It was the perfect marketing promotion at the best possible time of year that could bring in a windfall of cash. Belle looked at the calendar. Three weeks to Valentine’s Day. It was doable.

“Normally I’d co
nduct this type of feature interview over the phone, but I admit that being able to taste test this famous creation would be the culmination of the story. Could I arrange a time to meet with you in-person for a little cooking demonstration?”

Belle
’s mind was racing. She was trying to remember all the things that Tiffany told her that she had to do. Then she looked at Draper’s profile picture again, and it sent flutters through her body. She wouldn’t mind meeting him in-person at all. “Uh, sure,” she said.

“I’d love to hear about and see the whole process, from inception to the end product.
It’s what my readers would expect. But based on my research, it looks you don’t have a storefront?”

A laugh almost escaped her lips. A storefront?
Belle could barely pay the rent on her apartment. Then horror blossomed in her mind. She couldn’t let him see her apartment. “Like I said, it’s small production that I only do once a year, so I’m able to use a friend’s kitchen. I’m sure she won’t mind if I borrowed the space for us to meet.” She sounded a lot more confident than she felt. Tiffany would be beside herself when Belle told her that she was taking over her kitchen for the interview.

“Sounds
great! My deadline is in just a few days, so would we possibly be able to meet tomorrow?”

“I need to check with my friend, but I think that will w
ork if we can meet after six,” she said. Belle did some quick calculations in her head. She would have to leave work early in order to have time to shop.

“Shoot me an email when you have confirmation of the time
and the address where I should meet you,” Brian said. Now he was all business. “I appreciate the fast response and look forward to meeting you.”

They said their
goodbyes and then she ended the call before sinking back into her couch. As she stared at the phone in her hand, thoughts whirled haphazardly through her mind. She had to call Tiffany. The situation called for some serious strategizing.

Belle
looked over at the far wall. Five smiling couples looked back at her. She stood and made her way over to them. Tiffany and Tom were in the first picture. They were the first recipients of the new and improved Cupid’s Cupcake recipe her junior year of college. The whole myth started with them.

Belle
grabbed her phone. She needed to stop daydreaming and start working on a plan to change her luck and hopefully, her entire destiny.

“This is going to end badly
.” Belle couldn’t stop her fingers from twitching on the countertop. A million thoughts were buzzing through her mind. She felt as if a movie reel of her life scrolled through her mind reviewing every time in her life where she tried to take charge and move it in a positive direction. It was a terrible movie.

“This is going to be awesome. It’s the beginning of your new life.” Tiffany p
ut a glass of red wine in her hand. “Here. This will help take the edge off.”

“I do
n’t want to drunk bake.” Belle took a sip of the wine anyway.

Tiffany snorted and rolled her eyes. “You also don’t want to pass out because you’ve gotten yourself all worked up into hysterics like you are prone to do.”

Tiffany had her, and Belle knew it. She looked at the wine bottle. A small consolation was that her friend knew how to take care of her. Belle had a serious weakness for California cabernets. She looked down at her pale pink blouse and cringed. She was trying too hard. “I should change. I look like a poor, destitute nobody. He’s going to take one look at me and think that he made a mistake. He’ll turn around and walk out of here, and I’m going to be stuck as a nobody for the rest of my life.”

Tiffany put her hand on
Belle’s arm. Belle could see the sympathy in her eyes. “Maybe you should have gone into acting. Dramatic much? You look great, Belle. Besides, I have nothing left in my closet for you to try on. And for your information, that shirt cost four hundred dollars. You certainly don’t look poor.”

“Why can’t you guys stay? Whatever happened to moral support?” Tiffany and Tom willingly gave over their kitchen
to Belle for her interview, but were going out to dinner instead of hanging around. Belle desperately wanted the buffer between her and the gorgeous Brian Draper.

“It’s time for you to grow up and be a big girl.”
Tiffany patted the top of Belle’s head.

“I think it’s time that you readdress that baby question with Tom so you’ll stop tal
king to me like I’m your kid.” Belle couldn’t help being snappish. She was way outside her comfort zone. She took another sip of wine as she glanced at the clock on the microwave. She wanted to will it to move ahead several hours so that this whole bad idea would be over.

Tiffany slid another bottle of wine from the rack by the refrigerator and set it next to
Belle. “You know where everything is. Use the liquid fortitude if that’s what it takes to get this done. Be your normal charming self. Everything is going to be fine. This is the coolest thing to happen to you in months.”

“
Or years,” Belle grumbled. There was a tiny part of her that was looking forward to meeting Brian Draper. He seemed pleasant enough on the phone, albeit a little direct. It would be the first time she was alone with a man since a horrible first date with a guy from work six months ago.

“You ready to go?” Tom appeared
in the doorway. He grinned at Belle. “Ready for your primetime debut?”

“It’s a newspaper ar
ticle, not a television show.” Belle rolled her eyes. Tom was a decent guy, and she sometimes thought that Tiffany got the last one. “He said that he found fifteen couples who said they got engaged because of my cupcake. That is crazy!”

“
Tiffany’s been saying for years that Cupid’s Cupcake is a gold mine. They are so good. I wish you made them more often.” Tom patted his stomach with a fond look on his face.

“I h
ave to maintain the mystique.” Belle took another sip of wine. She felt it settle into her stomach, and then a calming sensation radiated out from her core. That was good. She gave serious consideration to attempting to drown the butterflies with more wine. She pushed the glass away. She couldn’t risk sounding like an idiot.

Tiffany grabbed her p
urse and keys off the counter. Belle could see that her friend was running through her mental list. “Call us if you need anything.”

“You could stay right here so I wouldn’t have to call.”

Tiffany chose to ignore Belle’s not so subtle hint. Then she hooked her arm around her husband’s and waved to Belle. “Have fun.”

Belle
heard the front door open and close and then groaned. Her head slipped into her hands, and she started to rock in her chair. She didn’t move until the doorbell rang ten minutes later. Belle glanced at the clock. He was early. Of course.

Her feet dragged as she made her
way down the hallway to the door. Taking a deep breath, she swung it open. Brian Draper, in the flesh, stood in front of her. He was on the phone. Belle wondered why he hadn’t waited to ring the doorbell until he was done with his call. She could have used a few more minutes to wallow in her self-pity.

“Right. Right. Got it. Thanks, Bill. Okay, I have to go.” Brian’s head bobbed up and down, but he had the decency to shrug his s
houlders apologetically in Belle’s direction. “Yep. Yes. No problem. Bye, Bill.” He hit the end button. “I’m really sorry about that. My editor calls at the most inconvenient times. If I hadn’t answered that call, he would have kept calling. I appreciate that you were able to schedule this interview with me on such short notice, so I wanted to minimize any potential disruptions.”

The information was coming fast and furious.
“No problem. C’mon in,” she said, holding the door open.

He crossed the threshold
and looked around the vaulted foyer. “Nice house your friends have here.”

“Yea
, they moved built it about a year ago. It was Tiffany’s dream house.” Belle looked around her and up at the chandelier above their heads. In the four years since graduating, Tiffany had managed to work her way up at the ad agency where she worked. Both she and Tom were successful up-and-comers and they had the lifestyle to prove it. Belle tried not to compare herself to her friends, but it was difficult at times. Shaking her head, Belle tried to redirect her thoughts to the man in front of her.

She
watched him clean his shoes on the carpet. His profile picture hadn’t done him justice. In person, he towered over Belle’s own five foot two inches. He was wearing a brown leather jacket, and she could see a blue button down shirt peeking out from underneath it. He was trim and filled out his jeans in a mouth watering way. She couldn’t help but glance at his left hand out of habit. It was empty. She felt a small burst of glee. Maybe the interview wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

“Let me take your coat,” she said.

Belle hung his jacket on the tree stand next to the door and found herself fidgeting again. She wasn’t quite sure how to start or what was supposed to happen next.

“I’m excited to hear all about your cupcakes,” he said
, smiling at her.

She wasn’t sure if he was being serious, or
just humoring her. The moment of truth had arrived.

“Follow me,” she said. She felt so lame.
Belle led Brian back to the kitchen. Tiffany had insisted on pulling out every utensil and pan Belle would need and setting it neatly on the island. “Pull up a chair. Can I get you a glass of wine?”

“I shouldn’
t, but I will,” Brian said. He seemed relaxed as he perched on the middle stool. She figured that he did this type of thing all the time. She had spent a bit of time researching Brian Draper. His resume was impressive.

A small tape recorder appeared on the countertop next to him.
He leaned forward. “You don’t mind if I record this, do you?”

She did actually, but she
didn’t know how to tell him that with appearing rude. It was an interview after all, but she hated how her voice sounded on tape. She was glad that it was only a written article. With the added pressure of being recorded, she was doubly concerned that she was going to say something that would serve to humiliate her for years to come.

“Okay.”
Belle’s smile stretched across her face so wide it hurt. She picked up the open bottle and poured another glass. “So do you have any questions for me before we get started?”

“I do actually,” Brian
took the glass she offered him. “But first a toast. To new acquaintances.”

T
he craziest feeling came over her. She wanted to forget for just a moment that she was standing there toasting with a complete stranger, and instead indulge in a romantic fantasy that it was her house, and he was her husband. She was getting ready to make dinner, and they were about to exchange pleasantries about their respective days. She clinked his glass with hers, took a sip of wine, and succumbed to its siren call. It was a lovely daydream.

“
Belle?” Brian’s voice interrupted her thoughts.