She jolted upright at the thought. “I can promise you I won’t do that.”
“I wasn’t worried. I hope you enjoy the process. This could really help your business, not that you need it. You’ve done extremely well, especially to be in such a small town. We were all really impressed.”
“Got to love the Internet,” Kelly said. “I have the best of both worlds.” But as calm as she might appear on the outside, she was doing aerials and back flips on the inside. They like me!
“Have you ever been to New York?”
“I’ve never been out of Bailey’s Fork.”
Jennifer’s laugh filled the room. “You’re in for a treat. Bring your camera. All our production assistants are wonderful, and they know everything about New York. Yours will be with you pretty much night and day. So don’t worry. You’ll be in good hands, and if there’s something you really want to see, let her know. We can try to make that happen. Might even take a camera crew along for some candid interviews of your impressions of the city.”
“That would be fun.” Kelly led Jennifer out of her office. The rest of the team had already finished and gone. “Can I get you a little something to go?”
Jennifer raised her hand. “I’m gluten-free. And a vegan. No worries.”
“Oh, wait a minute.” Kelly took a mini cake out of the case. “Gluten-free, dairy, egg, nut- and soy-free vegan. Seriously, it’s so delicious. Rich and fluffy all at the same time.” She presented the chocolate concoction to Jennifer. The two rich, dark layers enveloped a fluffy layer of rich chocolatey frosting in the center and was topped with a swath of frosting and a raspberry on top. “You have got to try this. I’m quite proud of it. My mother is also a gluten-free toe-the-line vegan. I had to make something that she liked, else she might disown me.”
“You do it all! Thank you. I can’t wait to try it.”
“Great. I’ll box it up for you.” She tucked the mini cake into a small glossy box. “Not to sound cocky, but I have a feeling you’ll be asking me to bring some of these to New York.” Several of Kelly’s customers regularly bought them and didn’t even realize they were vegan or gluten-free.
“I just might,” Jennifer said. “As long as it can’t be seen as a conflict. Can’t schmooze the network people, you know, even if I’m not a judge. How about I just order it myself from your website?”
“Even better. No worries on the bribery. I intend to win this on skill alone.”
“I have no doubt you’re going to give the others a run for it.” Jennifer headed to the door, turning back to wave as she pushed it open.
“Let me know what you think,” Kelly called after her.
Kelly stood there next to Sara, neither of them saying a word until Jennifer got into the Suburban parked across the street. When it pulled out of the lot, they joined hands, and both squealed in a happy dance to beat all.
“Oh. My. Goodness! This is crazy. This is real, right?” Kelly’s hands shook.
“It’s happening! You’re going to be on television! We might have to run an extra shift. I’ll be ready to schedule it,” Sara assured her. “We’d better make a list.”
“Yes. A list. We definitely need a list.” Then all of her responsibilities and reality came crashing in. Her team could bake the cakes for the cafe, and the factory handled all the online orders anyway. But when it came to her personal life, there was a problem. “Oh, no. Someone will have to take care of Gray.”
“I can do that,” Sara said. “He’s no trouble at all.”
“What are you saying? He’s nothing but trouble. It’s a good thing he’s so adorable. And smart. You know Gray is needy as heck in the evenings. You’re going to have to spend time with him, and I’ve never been away. Who knows what trouble he’ll get into?”
“Stop worrying. I’ll just stay at your place.” She squared her shoulders. “I’ll be an awesome babysitter. He won’t even know the difference.”
She frowned. “He’d better know.”
“You know what I mean,” Sara said.
It wasn’t like she had a lot of options. Her parents were busy with the cafe, and she couldn’t drop a pig off at the local dog kennel for ten days. Not even a smallish pig.
That whole teacup pig thing had seemed like such a good idea at the time. She’d been so upset after she and Andrew had broken off their engagement that finally after three months of feeling lost and hibernating, her girlfriends had dragged her out for a day of pampering to get her out of her funk.
Over too many mimosas at the Pamper Me Perfectly Day Spa, Kelly’s friend Patty had said, “I’m glad you didn’t marry Andrew. We might not be here having a girl’s day. You don’t need him anyway. Good riddance.”
Those words had stung. She knew she had to get over it, but hearing it made it so real. Trying to play it off, she’d lightheartedly shared, “That’s exactly what my mom said.” She threw a hand in the air dramatically, imitating her mother’s more southern drawl. “He doesn’t know what he just gave up. That boy can be easily replaced.”
“Get a puppy,” Sara had suggested.
“I’m allergic.” Kelly couldn’t imagine a house full of dog hair anyway. Not when she did so much baking at home too.
Lulu raised her glass in the air. “My momma always had me gather all the pictures of the heartbreaking rat, and we did a burn-off.” She clicked her long fingers above her head. “Just made him disappear.”
“I can’t do that. I’d have to burn half of what I own.”
“Voodoo doll? My second cousin knows
