My Curvy Valentine: A Perfect Fit Novella (3 page)

She looked at the glamorous redhead, who’d opened this store with her best friend, Ellis, three years ago, and knew that no matter what anybody said she would work up until delivery.
Even at seven months pregnant she dressed in fabulous clothes and wore the most insane high heels. She loved fashion and
Size Me Up
too much to stay away. “I know you like to work, but you can at least take it easy.”

“I know. I’m trying.” She walked over to Ruby and ran her fingers through her curls. “Are you going to tattle on me when Daddy gets home tonight?”

“You told him you wasn’t going to go to work today.”

“I didn’t mean to come in. I just forgot I had some things to do here before we went to the doctor. Is that why you look so worried today? Are you afraid Daddy is going to be mad at me?”

“No. I don’t want to go away with Grandma next week.”

“Why? You were so excited about going on winter break with her a few weeks ago.”

“I don’t want you to have the baby without me.”

“Oh, my poor baby.” Maggie watched as Belinda picked Ruby up and kissed her cheeks. Belinda had beautiful, rich, dark skin and exotic looks while Ruby was pale as an English rose. The two weren’t related by blood, but no one would have ever guessed that Ruby had only come into Belinda’s life a little over a year ago when Belinda adopted her husband’s daughter. “I’m not going to have the baby yet. What did I tell you?”

“That he’s got to bake for another two months and he’s not ready to come out yet.”

“That’s right. So I don’t want you to be worried about that anymore.”

“Daddy said you’re not supposed to pick me up anymore because I’m too big.”

“Your father isn’t the boss of me.”

“I know.”

“And you know that just because this new baby comes it doesn’t mean that I’m going to love you any less, right?”

“Right.”

“Because you’re my girl.”

“And you love me more than shoes.”

“That’s right.” Belinda smiled down at her. “Now ask Maggie what she’s got in that bag. I think I smell good stuff.”

The store’s door opened and along with a cold blast of air came Maggie’s mother Betty. She was all bundled up in one of her homemade knitted scarves and an old down coat that Maggie was sure was just as old as she was. Her apple cheeks were red, her long brown hair was pulled into the same loose bun at the nape of her neck as it always was. And she wore mittens, big pink lumpy knitted mittens. Her mother was never going to be a slave to fashion, but she was always smiling and Maggie thought she was adorable. Too bad her father had been too much of a jerk to see that.

“Hey, Mom. I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”

“How’s my baby?” She kissed both her cheeks and then squeezed them. “I was on my way to the yarn shop. I’ve got to get there early, you know. They put the best stuff out before ten and I’ve been eyeing some yellow brushed yarn that makes my mouth water.” She turned to kiss Ruby then Belinda, and finished her greeting with a rub to Belinda’s belly. “Hello, my beautiful
girls. I’m almost done with your blanket, dear,” she told Belinda in her still thick Minnesota accent. Alex had called her a Midwesterner, and she had been when she was an army brat, but her mother was the definition of the word. Born and raised there with a serious love of cheese curds and comfort foods.

“Oh, Mrs. Calhoun. You’re so sweet. I told you didn’t have to go through all that trouble to make me a blanket,” Belinda said.

“But I love to make them! Nothing makes me happier than knowing a sweet new life will be cuddled in something I made. Besides now that my baby is in her late twenties and doesn’t come by to visit me nearly enough I have loads of free time.”

“Wow, Mom.” Maggie shook her head. “You’ve been brushing up on your guilt skills.”

“Give me a grandbaby and I’ll leave you alone.” She pinched Maggie’s cheek.

“Okay!” Maggie returned to the counter. “Change of subject. Look at all the goodies Alex sent from the bakery today. You’ve got to try this new cake he’s made.” She began unloading the bag.

“Sweet carbohydrates!” Belinda gasped as she picked up two sticky buns and handed one to Ruby. “I’ve been craving his stuff all week. Rube and I were going to stop by this afternoon, but now we don’t have to.” She bit into the bun, her eyes closing and a moan passing through her lips.

Maggie smiled at her blissful expression. She knew the feeling. Alex’s food always made her feel that way.

“He sent some peanut butter brownies just for you, Belinda.” She kept unloading the bag. “And some tarts for Ellis. There’re doughnuts in here. Oh look, chocolate chunk cookies!”

“What did he send just for you, Maggie?” Belinda asked, a smile creeping across her face.

“A turkey sandwich,” she said, feeling a flush cross her face. “It’s no big deal.”

“Are you sure? He’s tall. He’s gorgeous. He makes you lunch and bakes like a dream. You sure there isn’t something you want to share with us?”

She laughed. Her bosses were both happily in love with their husbands and thought everyone else on the planet should be paired up as well. But a serious relationship was the last thing Maggie was looking for. Watching her parents go through their brutal divorce had soured her stomach on commitment, and lately on dating in general. “I’m one thousand percent sure there is nothing going on. He only gave me this sandwich because he doesn’t understand my love of cheese puffs and peanut butter and jelly on white bread.”

“I was just thinking about your wedding,” Belinda went right on, ignoring her. “The cake would be amazing and Ellis could make you a beautiful dress. And the dessert bar.” She put her hand to her chest. “It would be epic. With little petit fours, and a chocolate fountain, and those mini pies he makes.”

Maggie shook her head. “We’ll have him cater your baby shower so you can fulfill your dreams. Okay? Now don’t you have appointments to get to?”

“My baby shower! I didn’t even think about that. We can have lemon tarts and that triple chocolate cake. Oh, and his carrot cake is awesome too.”

“Don’t forget about his fruit cobbler,” Betty said. “It puts my grandmother’s recipe to shame.”

“Mommy, we’re going to be late.” Ruby tugged Belinda’s hand.

“You’re right, baby cakes. You’re so good to me. This pregnancy brain has made me all types of crazy.”

“I know, Mommy. I’m going to get your coat.” Ruby trotted off to the back, leaving Belinda grinning after her.

“I love that kid. Sometimes I wonder who the mother is.”

“My Maggie May was always a little grown-up, too. Her brother, on the other hand, was a big hyper nut. Cherish her.”

“I will. I’ve got to go before she grounds me. Call me if you need me, Maggie. Ellis and Mike won’t be in until this afternoon.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t need you, Belinda.”

“I know you won’t need me. That’s why we made you a manager. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She squeezed Betty’s hand. “Call me later, Betty. I want to hear about your date last night.”

She left, leaving Maggie with a bunch of questions about her mother’s social life.

“Mom, you had another date last night?”

“I did.”

“Didn’t you have a date on Sunday?”

“Yes, Maggie May. I did have a date Sunday.”

“With the same guy?”

“Nope.” She grinned. “I’ve been out with four men in the last six weeks. Who knew little old me would be so good at computer dating?”

“Hussy,” she teased. “You are being safe, Mom, right? You’re meeting in well-lit public places? You’re telling someone where you are? You’re using condoms?”

Her mother gasped. “Maggie May!”

“Why are you so shocked? You can’t trust people and you have to protect yourself. There’re condoms and dental dams. Just because you can’t get pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t get sick.”

“I’m not doing any of that, young lady! I’ve never been with anyone but your father in…” She stopped herself and shook her head, her cheeks going scarlet.

“But you’re divorced now, Mom. It’s okay to have sex. In fact I recommend it. Daddy isn’t waiting to move on.”

“You shouldn’t be mad at your father for moving on, dear. Your father deserves someone. He needs someone. I’m fine with it. You should be too.”

“I’m not mad at him for being with somebody else. I’m mad at him because he was a horrible nasty bastard to you. He wasn’t just a shitty husband, Mom. He was abusive.”

“He never laid a hand on me, Maggie. You know that.”

“Abuse doesn’t just mean physical violence.” She shook her head, stopping herself from saying anymore. “I don’t want to talk about this right now.”

“I’m sorry, honey.” Betty came over and smoothed kisses on her cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I need to. I’m not blameless in all of this. I stayed in a bad marriage twenty years too long. I think, because of that, it’s skewed your and your brother’s views of love.”

“No, it hasn’t. I just don’t think marriage and fulfillment go hand in hand. One doesn’t need a spouse to feel complete.”

“Maybe not, Maggie May, but having a partner, a spouse, is not a bad thing. Not everybody has a marriage like mine and your father’s. And you’ve been so intent on not letting anybody hurt you that you never let anybody get close anymore. You can find a good man that will love you. Look at your friends. See how their husbands treat them? You can have that.”

“Mom, I’m not looking for that right now.”

“What are you looking for? A couple of years ago you were working on creating bionic limbs for amputees and now you are managing a clothing store.”

“Do you have a problem with me working here?”

“No, I think this store and your friends have been really great for you, but what about your future? What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“When are you going to know?”

“I don’t know, Mom. Maybe never. I make good money. I’m supporting myself. I’m happy. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing. I just don’t want you to look back and realized that something is missing, that’s all. I don’t want you to have any regrets.”

“I won’t.”

“No? Your father told me he hasn’t spoken to you in six months. That you haven’t seen him in over a year and that you refuse to answer his calls.”

“I’ve got nothing to say to the man.”

“No, you have too much to say. Our marriage had its problems, but he loves you and he wants to make things right.”

“You still talk to him?”

“Yes. He’s been through a lot. You might want to get to know him.”

Maggie opened her mouth to respond, not sure what to say. Not sure how to process what her mother had just told her, but the door opened again and this time the cold air brought in the day’s first customer.

There was no more time for conversation. It was time for Maggie to get to work. “Welcome to
Size Me Up
. How can I help you?”

*

Alex stood in his empty bakery that evening, looking around the place he’d so carefully designed. He had just closed, staying later than usual to take a meeting with the owner of a local
gourmet grocery store. The man’s wife had brought him one of Alex’s chocolate cherry muffins and he loved it. He now wanted to do a trial run of cakes for his six stores and if that went well he wanted to talk about ordering on a weekly basis. This could be big for
Sweet Eats
. The gourmet market would bring in customers that might never have come into the store otherwise.

It wasn’t something Alex had considered before, trying to get his products into stores. He just wanted to open a place he wished had existed. Business was okay. He was covering the bills and his two employees’ salaries and healthcare. There was even enough for him to take home a small paycheck. But one bad month could change all of that. They were getting new customers daily, but he still lay awake at night thinking about how to make things better, about how to make the bakery standout in a town that already had more than one.

There were few parts of his life where he required perfection. His bakery and his food. That was it. He had lost girlfriends because of it. Friendships had been tossed aside all because he wanted to get to the top. Prove he was one of the best. He had been a young executive chef and many people thought because he was young he was too inexperienced to make his mark. But he proved them wrong, going from small bake shops to being in charge of the dessert menus in the best French restaurants in the country. He had been named one of the top ten pastry chefs in the U.S., but somehow none of that was enough.

None of it felt like it was what he was supposed to be doing. That’s why he had come back home to Durant, to open his own place. He had liked living in Manhattan, but he loved walking down the funky streets of Durant. He felt like he belonged here.

It had been twelve years since he had decided on his career path and his father still didn’t understand why he’d dropped out of school, abandoning his business degree to bake. To do
women’s work, Dad called it. But while his father was out growing his construction business and flipping properties, Alex had been at home in the kitchen with his mother and his Yaya learning to make milopita, amygthalota, and baklava. The Greek desserts they had grown up with. And when his mother got sick when he was in the eighth grade and his father buried himself in his work to avoid seeing her deteriorate, it was those same Greek pastries that brought her comfort. When she died, baking was the only thing that brought him comfort. It became a passion for him. His mother once told him that she would have loved to have her own little bakery. He wondered if his father knew that. He wondered if his father knew Alex did this for her. That’s why it was so important he didn’t fail. He couldn’t let her down.

“Hey, Alex.” He felt a warm hand brush across his back. He didn’t have to turn around to see it was Maggie. He knew her voice, the smell of her lightly scented lotion. He turned around to see that she was standing behind him, still in the clothes she wore that morning, but her hair was down now, in pretty waves that fell to the middle of her back. “What’s wrong?”

“What?” he asked distractedly. He wasn’t sure if he was more surprised that she came to see him out of the blue, or by how delicious she looked with her hair loose and messy when she normally kept it so neat and tied back. “Nothing’s wrong.”