When Only Cupcakes Will Do (26 page)

She stood up more quickly than she had intended and her chair wobbled but remained upright. She saw the expression on Alex's face change from bewilderment to embarrassment as the couple at the adjacent table offered sympathetic smiles. And was that a flicker of fear she'd seen stalk across his eyes? Was he expecting her to lose it again, this time in front of him? Yes! She could see the colour seeping from his cheeks! For God's sake, what did he take her for? This was Fortnum & Mason!

She walked away from the best table in her favourite restaurant. It was probably the last time she would see Alex but she didn't look back. There was only one person she needed to talk to right then. One person she knew shared her passion, her love of creating food, her craving for the gift of being able to offer those she loved a piece of her heart.

She dashed out onto Piccadilly, grateful to fill her lungs with fresh air. The street was teeming with shoppers and tourists, each seeking to cram as much into their time as possible. She scanned the road for a taxi but decided to take the tube instead, which would give her the opportunity to dissect her emotions. She joined the throng and made her way to Piccadilly Circus.

She paused outside the entrance to the Underground and studied her phone. There were texts from Jess, and from Steph and Hollie, asking her to call as soon as she left the restaurant to let them know what had happened.

Lucie smiled. She knew her friends would be as excited as she was about the deal she'd agreed with Georges Gasnier and would fire questions at her about what had happened afterwards with Alex. She knew Jess and Steph would be relieved when she told them they needn't bother shopping for a hat! Alex and Steph might work in the same profession but they couldn't be more different. Steph had been right, too, when she'd advised caution before she shot off to Tiffany's to ask Alex to marry her. February seemed like a lifetime ago.

She keyed in a quick response informing them of the contract with Fortnum & Mason and that she wouldn't be seeing Alex again. She knew Hollie would be disappointed that there had been no happy-ever-after for her and Alex. Unlike Steph, she had categorised Alex as ‘good husband material'; but still, even Hollie had demanded she settle for nothing less that hot, passionate, all-consuming love of the kind she had found with Elliot.

She loved her friends and would miss them tremendously if she couldn't indulge in their daily dose of gossip therapy. In the end, the decision to ditch Alex had been easy. Running the Travelling Cupcake Company meant she could see her family every day. She could pass on her skills to Jess and vice versa, and she could watch Lewis and Jack grow into independent young men.

But then the pendulum of optimism began to swing in the opposite direction. Was Ed even interested in a relationship with her? She had already filed away her relationship with Alex under past history but her feelings for Ed were immediate and fierce. And she knew she had to tell him.

Now.

She checked her watch. Four-thirty on a Saturday afternoon. Where would he be? She needed to think her next decision through so she ducked into a tiny French bistro. As she lowered her buttocks into a seat next to the window, a wave of exhaustion crashed over her. Her head lolled forward and whipped back suddenly, causing a needle of pain to splice through her neck.

With her elbow on the table, her hand supporting her chin, she watched the shoppers scuttle past the window. She allowed her thoughts to rotate through what had happened in the last two hours. It was no surprise she'd experienced a severe bout of dizziness. Now she understood what people meant when they said their emotions had been put through the wringer.

The recent events in the Diamond Jubilee Tea Room ricocheted around her brain but she still returned to her initial conviction that she had made the right decision. Leaving aside Alex's treatment of her after his rejection, had she honestly expected herself to be happy as a corporate wife in the suburbs, waiting by the kitchen sink for her husband to come home? Listening to him regurgitate the details of his day as though in some foreign language? A life where there was no room for creativity, for experimentation, for fun?

But even if she could accept such a life, there were two things she would never be able to live without – her passion for food in all its forms, and love. She no longer loved Alex. She couldn't put her finger on the precise moment when she had fallen out of love with him, but she experienced no sense of loss that she would not set eyes on him again. Unlike the emotions stirring in her chest at the prospect of not seeing Ed again; of not being able to stand next to him at the kitchen counter and challenge him to a bake-off. She still had a kaleidoscope of recipes she wanted to ask his opinion on.

She grabbed her iPhone and scrolled through Ed's social media accounts until she found what she was looking for.

Chapter Thirty-One

She cradled her phone in the palm of her hand, her thumb hovering over the screen that displayed Ed's current whereabouts.

What the…

She couldn't believe what she was seeing much less understand what it meant. Her indecision gnawed at her nerve endings and induced a faint feeling of nausea. She paid the waitress an exorbitant amount of money for her skinny latte and hailed a cab. This was turning out to be a day crammed with surprises.

The taxi drew to a halt outside the place that was as familiar to her as her best friend, never mind the people who created magic behind its red-and-green shuttered windows. She cracked open the door and peered in. A bouquet garni of tantalising aromas permeated the air, a mixture of buttery pastry mingled with garlic and fresh basil and coriander. She allowed her nostrils to guide her over the threshold, her mouth opening and closing like a demented goldfish.

‘Lucie? Oh my God, Lucie. What are you doing here?' Sofia dashed out from behind the bar and squeezed her with genuine delight. She must have seen the look of caution on Lucie's face, and misinterpreted it so added, ‘Don't worry, Francesca's not here. She's visiting a sick aunt in Milan.'

‘Sofia, why is…?'

Everything was so surreal. She couldn't take any more. Her brain experienced an overload and shut down. She slumped onto a bar stool and dropped her head down onto the cool marble surface.

Sofia's hand shot to her mouth. ‘Oh, my God, yes, sorry… Look, Lucie, I should warn you…' Her eyes swerved to a partially hidden table at the back of the restaurant and then back to Lucie.

‘It's okay, Sofia. I knew he was here, but what I don't understand is why?'

Sofia hesitated for a heartbeat before thrusting her iPhone under Lucie's nose. ‘Look.'

Lucie squinted at the screen and read the tweet:
‘Superb food @Francesca's. Best tiramisu outside Italy. Five stars from @Anon.Appetit. Sadly no sign of #LividLucie'
, accompanied by a photograph of Gino's best effort at the dessert she'd made her signature dish.

Lucie's heart escaped its moorings and soared. She ignored the curious glances of the few remaining diners, loitering contentedly over their espressos and digestifs, and made her way to the table in the corner.

‘Lucie?' Antonio popped his head out of the kitchen door and then retracted it before Gino came striding out, his arms as wide as his welcome.

‘
Ciao, tesoro mio!
I've missed you! Why have you not visited your best friend Gino before now?' Then Gino saw Antonio flapping his hand over his shoulder in the direction of Ed and took a step backwards, confusion creasing his forehead. ‘Oh, I…'

‘It's okay, Gino. I promise I have no intention of repeating my meltdown.'

She shot a quick look at Ed who was surveying the scene with interest as he fiddled with his glass of red wine, the dimples in his cheeks deep and just as attractive as ever. Her heart escaped its cage and dipped and swooped, performing a manic repetitive somersault. There was a different kind of meltdown going on this time.

‘What are you doing here?' she asked, a slight wobble in her voice exposing her nerves.

‘Reassessing my initial conclusions.'

‘And?'

‘Would you believe I may have decided I prefer my desserts with a sprinkle of smoked chilli powder if it means I get to meet the most gorgeous pastry chef ever to have propelled herself into my life?'

The corners of her lips twitched upwards as she slid into the chair opposite him. She was vaguely aware of a small audience gathering behind her but she didn't care. Her eyes bore into Ed's as he continued to speak.

‘Three months ago my life was ticking along nicely, no real excitement, no dramas, no crazy women taking me to task over my reviews. Then I met you and my peaceful existence exploded. Literally! I thought I had a handle on the vibrant passion creating an exquisite dish can unleash in a chef but with you the Richter scale of culinary zeal shattered.'

‘Ed…'

‘I've been an adrenalin junkie for most of my life, just ask my mother, but being with you has ignited every single one of my senses and more. You light up my world, Lucie Bradshaw, and you've shown me a more vibrant version I didn't even know existed.'

‘Ed, stop right there! It's me who should be thanking you for showing me how to break out of my comfort zone. You were right – I don't know what happened after I left Paris. Why I opted for an easy life instead of pushing the boundaries of culinary artistry further every day. I needed you to encourage me to start taking risks again, and not only with my baking.'

Lucie inhaled a deep breath. ‘I love you, Ed. Without you I would never have had the courage to reach for my dreams. I got the contract with Fortnum & Mason – they adored my cupcakes and cake pops. I wouldn't have been able to do that if you hadn't encouraged me to reach for the impossible.'

Ed leaned towards her and took hold of her hands. His dark eyes delved into hers and the dimples bracketing his cheeks deepened as he paused to ensure he had her complete attention.

‘I love you too, Lucie Bradshaw. You are an amazing, wonderful, crazy person and I don't want to spend a moment longer away from your side. Next stop Harrods? Or were you planning on world domination? Raffles?'

‘Why not?' she giggled. ‘And tell me that thing you just said again.'

‘What thing?' Ed smirked as he moved to within a breath of her lips.

A blast of his cologne reached her nostrils and she closed her eyes to savour the unique fragrance so intrinsically linked with who he was. He lowered his eyes to her mouth and drew her slowly towards him. Her whole body responded with a spasm of desire so acute she gasped.

‘That you love me?'

‘
Ti amo, amore mio!
I love you, Lucie. You make me laugh, you make me sing, you make me happy! I love you! Now kiss me! It's what all these people are waiting for!'

And at last Ed's lips met hers and their kiss was everything she knew it would be.

Apart from the accompanying concerto of applause.

Epilogue

Six months later

‘Happy?'

‘How can I not be happy, Ed? I'm in a hotel room overlooking Central Park in New York City and I've just devoured the hugest, most delicious piece of pineapple cheesecake I've ever tasted with the handsomest guy in the world. What more could a girl wish for?'

‘Well, don't get too comfortable. We're going out.'

‘We are? Where to?'

Lucie snuggled closer to Ed as they chilled out with a glass of Moet on the smooth white cotton sheets. They had spent the afternoon taking in the sights and her feet throbbed in objection at the assault. She just wanted to relax before they went out for dinner that evening. Ed had told her he'd booked somewhere special and she wanted to wear her stilettos with the dress she had bought specially, but she wasn't sure her feet would agree with her desire for sartorial elegance. It was also extremely cold.

‘I told you, it's a surprise.'

She glanced out of the window of their room on the thirty-fourth floor. ‘But it's still snowing.'

‘I thought you said it was like being in a fairy tale?'

‘That was when I was looking out at it from inside a warm, cosy bedroom, not wading through the icy streets of Manhattan. Can't we order in a pizza?'

‘No. You've got those boots and the most ridiculous Russian hat I've seen. Come on, it'll be fun.'

Ed leapt from the bed and held out her Ugg boots. She was amazed that her heart still gave a flip whenever he looked at her. She couldn't understand how she'd got to be so lucky.

‘Okay, okay. Can we stop for hot chocolate and donuts on the way? All in aid of research, I assure you.'

‘Sure, we can. But maybe we should do that on the way back,' he laughed, pulling her fur hat down over her ears.

They emerged from the hotel to see the streets of the City That Never Sleeps rippling with people anxious to get to their dinner or theatre reservations or simply enjoying the stroll along one of the most iconic streets in the world. Lucie adored Fifth Avenue at any time, but set against a backdrop of softly descending snowflakes it was magical.

‘Ah, isn't it wonderful, Ed! Thank you for bringing me here.'

They meandered arm-in-arm past the Plaza and across the road to the Apple store. Lucie paused outside the huge windows, but she wasn't looking at the most up-to-date technology on offer. She flicked a glance at Ed who was smiling at her, those little dimples like commas at the corners of his mouth so cute that she smiled too.

‘Want to take a look around?'

‘You don't mind?'

‘Course not.'

He linked his hand though her arm and they trotted across the road to Tiffany's flagship store. As they walked through the glass door, Lucie felt a surge of pure pleasure envelop her. It was exactly as she had expected; the store exuded calm, elegance and style. People were milling round the cabinets, some clutching the little turquoise bags, having been lucky enough to have made a purchase. Lucie knew she couldn't afford anything but it was enough just to be there to soak up the ambience and indulge in some unforgettable window-shopping. It would be a memory she could cherish. All around her the jewellery sparkled and shone and she couldn't hide her delight.