Haylee pointed at my chair and waited for me to sit down again. The sun was sinking in the sky, and I just wanted to finish this business meeting so I could go home and cry myself to sleep.
“We aren’t trying to take over the business, Amber.”
I sighed and let my chin drop to my chest. “I know, but it does feel like that sometimes. I’m just out of sorts if I’m honest. It used to be the two of us against the world. Now I feel like a third wheel to the dream team. I wish I hadn’t come up with that stupid saying last year.”
She snickered and shook her head at me. “I don’t exactly think you came up with it, but we have noticed you stopped using it. You aren’t a third wheel. There are still only two of us powering the bike. Brady knows and respects that. He didn’t even want to be here tonight.”
“But he is.”
She nodded and tipped her head to the side. “I asked him to be, only because I knew I’d need back up with you. You have stubborn in spades, and you don’t always listen the first time I say something. Sometimes, you need it said in both ears. That doesn’t mean he’s making any decisions in regards to what we do going forward at The Fluffy Cupcake.”
“But he’d like to,” I said smartly. “I can tell when he’s biting his tongue.”
“No, he doesn’t want any part in managing the bakery beyond what I task him with in the kitchen. When he’s biting his tongue, it’s to keep from saying that you need to take care of yourself and stop pushing before you do damage that you can’t walk back.”
“I’m lucky to walk at all,” I muttered.
She pointed at me again. “That’s our point! Gah, you’re so stubborn!”
I tossed my arms up in frustration. “I’m not stubborn, but what the hell am I supposed to do? I can’t just decide to stop working!”
She held her hands out to quiet me. “I know, that’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is, sometimes you have to slow down when things get tough, so you don’t have to stop working.”
“Easy to say, hard to do when people are counting on you, Hay-Hay. I didn’t think I had to explain this to you of all people. We take care of each other, and I’m not walking away during the busiest season at The Fluffy Cupcake.”
“We don’t want you to walk away. We want you to work smarter, not harder.”
“If I’m not working in the front, then I’m not working.”
“That’s not true,” she said, taking out a notebook from her purse as Brady arrived back at the table with the cake. He handed out plates and sat quietly, eating his cake and watching the lake beyond the trees. “You’d be working.”
“Hey, there’s Bishop,” Brady said, pointing into the yard across from us.
I swung my head automatically, my cheeks heating when our eyes locked. I waved awkwardly, and he waved back equally as awkward.
“Mind if I go chat with him?” Brady asked.
Haylee and I shook our heads at the same time.
He bussed her on the cheek on the way by and jogged across the driveway to talk to the guy I wished I was talking to, just to be anywhere but here, I realized. Faced with the truth of how my life had already changed was uncomfortable and challenging to grasp fully.
“As I was saying,” she said, pointing to the notebook, so I leaned in to read it better. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Brady and Bishop walking down to the lake, laughing like women at a coffee klatsch. I huffed and tried to focus back on Haylee. Unfortunately, my mind wanted to focus on a sexy teacher and single dad who had the most expressive, understanding eyes of anyone I’d ever met.
“And then we’re going to sell fish from a tank against the far wall to go with the bread.”
I tipped my head to the side and studied her for a moment. “What now?”
She snorted and shook her head. “You’re a million miles away tonight. Or rather, across the yard, it seems.”
I rubbed my face and sighed. “Sorry, I’m just—”
“Spread too thin?”
“Maybe a little bit in the current climate,” I agreed.
“More like you’re stretched so thin that you’re close to snapping. You’re carrying more than your share of the burden. You can’t do it all, but you’re trying to, and it’s wearing you out.”
“Truer words,” I muttered while I shook my head. “I have a lot of ideas I’d like to do with the bakery, but I don’t have time to implement the marketing strategies or work with you and Brady to brainstorm new product ideas. The business has exploded over the last three years—there’s no doubt about that. The last year, though.” I made the mind-blown motion with my hands and shook my head. “We rake in cash hand over fist, but it feels like we’re just treading water.”
“We are,” she agreed. “I feel the same way in the kitchen. I want to try new things, but we just don’t have the time with all the special orders.”
“And having a third baker would help with that?”
She nodded immediately. “Having a third baker would let us spread the baking out throughout the day. Another baker could get all the basic cakes made and ready for me to decorate. They could help Brady by starting some of his doughs or panning and pulling from the oven to prepare for pickup in the morning. I know those orders are bringing in a shit ton of cash, so we need to keep them, but we need help. Desperately.”
“You think Taylor is right for the job?”
“Absolutely. Taylor already knows the ingredients and what orders go to what companies since she’s doing all the
