She had an idea of what Amanda looked like from her photo on thewebsite. Well, that and they’d technically met a couple of the times she’d beenin. Since she was nowhere to be seen, Quinn joined the queue. It wouldn’t berude to bring a latte into her meeting, would it?
When her turn came, she offered the woman behind the register asmile. “Good morning. I have a meeting with Ms. Russo.”
The woman, whose name tag read Tanya, gave her a quizzical look.“Is this about a cake?”
She was tempted to make a joke about wishing it was, but a numberof people had joined the line after her and it felt rude to take more time thanwas necessary. “No, no. I’m her architect.”
Tanya’s eyes got big. “Right. That’s today. Oh, we’re so excited.Can I get you something while you wait?”
Memories of her marriage or not, she liked this place. “Thatwould be fantastic.”
Tanya called her coffee order to the guy working the espressomachine. “Something to eat? The donut of the week is strawberries and cream.”
She should decline. She was about to take a business meeting. Andshe already had plans to bring things home. “Sold.”
Tanya grinned and nodded her approval. “You go make yourselfcomfortable. We’ll bring it over to you and I’ll let Amanda know you’re here.”
Quinn pulled her wallet from her back pocket, but Tanya waved heraway. “Amanda would have my head.”
The choice of phrase gave Quinn pause. Was she kidding or wasAmanda a tyrant? She’d figure out one way or the other soon enough. She’dbarely settled at a table by the window before her coffee and donut appeared.“Thanks.”
Tanya poked her head into the kitchen. When she emerged, shelooked Quinn’s way. “She just needs to clean up. She’ll be with you in a fewminutes.”
Quinn didn’t mind waiting in general, but especially when she hada gorgeous sugar bomb in front of her. She took a sip of her coffee—even betterthan she remembered—then dove in. The donut was fried to perfection and dustedwith powdered sugar. The filling, though, put it over the edge. Freshstrawberries surrounded by a heavenly concoction somewhere between custard andwhipped cream. It oozed onto her fingers. She licked it away, not wanting adrop to go to waste.
“Quinn?”
She looked up, thumb still in her mouth. Amanda was prettier thanQuinn remembered, her features softer. And, because that’s how her life worked,here she was looking like an idiot. She grabbed a napkin and wiped her fingersas she stood. She extended her hand, glad it wasn’t the one she’d been licking.“Ms. Russo. Yes, hi.”
Amanda shook her hand, an unreadable smile on her lips. “Amanda,please. Thank you for offering to meet me here.”
“Of course. I’d want to see the space sooner rather than lateranyway.”
Amanda took the seat across from her. She bit her lip in a way thatmight be flirtatious. Could Amanda be flirting with her? Either way, it bumpedQuinn’s pulse up a few notches. Even if she had no business flirting with aclient. “So, let’s start with your big ideas and then we can get into thenitty-gritty.”
“You, um…” She trailed off, leaving Quinn to wonder if maybe shemade Amanda nervous.
Quinn offered her most reassuring smile. “I what?”
“You have some powdered sugar on your nose.” Amanda bit her lipagain, and seemed to be stifling a laugh.
Quinn’s stomach dropped. She grabbed a napkin and wiped it acrossher face. “Did I get it?”
“Not quite.” This time Amanda did chuckle. She picked up anothernapkin and leaned across the table. “May I?”
Mortified, all she could do was nod.
“There.”
“Thanks.” Quinn swiped her hand over her face. She didn’t thinkAmanda would lie at this point, but it was like having a spider crawling up herarm. The phantom tickle got the better of her and probably would for the restof the morning.
“I really did get it. Sorry. I figured you’d rather know than getin your car and realize it had been there the whole time.”
The sincerity of Amanda’s voice lessened her embarrassment, atleast a little. “I appreciate it. Really.”
“Considering it was one of my donuts you were enjoying, I take itas a compliment.”
“That’s nice of you to say.” It was. Under normal circumstances,it would break the tension and be the end of it. Too bad she’d interpreted thewhole thing as flirting.
Amanda clasped her hands together. “So, let’s talk about whyyou’re here.”
She appreciated Amanda’s ability to shift the conversation awayfrom her gaffe so smoothly. “Yes. Right. You’re expanding.”
Amanda’s eyes lit up then, enthusiasm radiating from her. “That’sthe plan. I’m taking over the space next door.”
“Aha.” She’d noticed the empty storefront when she parked. Itlooked like a mirror of Bake My Day, only she hadn’t been able to tell what itwas before and had no memory of ever setting foot inside. “Has it been vacantlong?”
“About a year. It was an inspirational gift shop.”
That would explain why she hadn’t been inside. “And it’s similarin size to what you have here?”
“Identical, only they didn’t take half the floor space for akitchen. There’s only a small storeroom in the back.”
She could work with that. “And what’s your vision?”
Amanda let out a small sigh. She’d clearly been thinking aboutthis for a long time. “I’m hoping to completely reconfigure the major equipmentin the kitchen. I need more work space, mostly for assembling and decoratingwedding cakes, but I think it makes sense to improve the overall flow.”
Quinn opened the notebook she’d brought and started scribblingnotes. “It shouldn’t be difficult to combine the spaces and create somethingmore efficient.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. The other big thing is moreseating. We started offering lunch a few months back and people have to take itto go because there’s nowhere to sit.”
Quinn hadn’t sampled the lunch offerings, but if they
