Sugar Rush

Then she smiled, perfect white teeth so bright they could rival the sun. “Welcome to the Mayfield Bakery, Mr…”

“Montagna. Elberto Montagna, but my friends call me El.”

“Nice to meet you, El. I’m Sophie Mayfield.”

“Mayfield?” El frowned slightly.

“Sorry I wasn’t here to meet you this morning, but as you can see something came up.” She laughed. “The floor—when I hit it.”

Eliot smiled, liking her already.

“You’re back!” Lonnie came charging out of the back headed straight for Sophie, but Wayne quickly intercepted the girl and caught Lonnie up against him. The momentum knocked him back a step and Eliot realized the impact would’ve knocked Sophie down.

Two things occurred to him at once. The quickness with which Wayne stepped in to protect Sophie spoke of an intimate connection. Eliot didn’t want to dwell on that. And the second was that Lonnie had not realized she would knock Sophie down. Suddenly the blank look to her eyes made sense. She was apparently mentally challenged. It was fairly obvious at first meeting, and the people who loved her were aware of her shortcomings and compensated for them.

From Wayne’s arm, Lonnie’s enthusiasm did not diminish even slightly. “You’re back! You’re back!”

Eliot watched as Sophie braced her body and nodded to Wayne to release her, and Lonnie threw herself against her cousin. Sophie shifted for a moment before regaining her bearing.

“Yes, I’m back. See, I told you it was nothing.” Sophie smiled at the girl.

“Is the cast heavy?” Lonnie asked.

“A little, but I’m getting used to it.”

“Welcome back, Sophie.” Dante had come out of the kitchen behind Lonnie, and he was followed by Mae.

They all crowded around Sophie as if it were a family reunion and they had not seen each other in years. Eliot knew from earlier conversations she’d spent only one day away from them.

Mentally, he compared this small group of five to the hundreds of employees of Fulton Foods. The differences were like night and day, and yet this small group was now giving Fulton a run for its money.

It was amazing, really, and Eliot knew without a doubt the woman on the crutches was the reason why. She was the reason for all that new equipment in the back. She was the one who wanted to go after their contracts. She was the one with the ambition; she was the one who’d rejected their generous offer, not Mae. And therefore, as much as he might not want to, he knew she would have to be the one he brought down. And since he’d already decided he could not steal Mae’s recipes, he had no idea exactly how to go about his mission. Especially considering Sophie, unlike her trusting grandmother, seemed to have suspicions about him. He only hoped his earlier phone calls worked.

“I was meeting our new baker.” She gestured to Eliot.

“El here has been working his little heart out this morning.” Mae came to his side, making herself his advocate. “Even though he was hired to bake, he has been a real sweetheart about helping me with the inventory all afternoon.”

He nodded, his mind on the way Wayne stood protectively close to Sophie. It was becoming apparent that the two were close, and irrationally, Eliot found he didn’t care for their relationship.

“That’s good to hear, we like go-getters around here.” Sophie smiled at him again, and Eliot felt his heart skip a beat. The woman really was too gorgeous.

“We got the back room all fixed up for you, Sophie,” Lonnie said happily. “Wanna see?”

“Right now all I want to do is find somewhere to sit down.” She smiled and winked at Eliot. “And of course, get to know our newest addition.”

Sophie repositioned herself on her crutches and headed toward the back, the small group following patiently behind her, each giving her reports of what had happened in her absence. Soon Eliot was left alone.

Slowly, Eliot turned and followed the group as he replayed that smile and wink, and the possible implications of what she’d meant by getting to know him. He smiled to himself. This day was getting more interesting by the minute.

Chapter 5

Wow. As she settled into her desk chair, and placed her crutches against the wall, Sophie released a pent-up breath. Wow. Her new baker had completely lived up to the sexy voice she’d heard on the phone that morning.

She tried to focus on the conversation around her as Lonnie and Dante filled her in on every moment she’d missed. Her grandmother had said something about being hungry and left the room already. Wayne was standing in the door, half watching her and half watching someone in the kitchen; she could only assume he was spying on El. Wayne had made his feelings about the man perfectly clear, although she’d already decided to take his assessment with a grain of salt. After all, Wayne had a lot of alpha dog in him, and the thought of another grown man in what he considered his kitchen would have never sat well. Which was part of why she hadn’t warned him ahead of time.

Despite his bias, he’d been dead on regarding appearance. Despite the dirt and dust, El did look like he’d stepped out of the pages of GQ magazine like Wayne said, and although she thoroughly enjoyed the whole package, the pieces didn’t completely make sense.

For instance, she expected him to be arrogant and a bit of a prima donna. After all, he was one of the breed of chefs that considered themselves more artist than cook. Many of his type managed large staffs, as he probably did in his previous employment. So self-assuredness was expected, although this man radiated authority.

He looked as if he should be sitting at the head of a corporate board, not tossing dough in someone’s kitchen. And he dressed like it, as well. What the hell was up with the business suit and slacks, she wondered. Maybe at Catalan’s—the restaurant he’d last worked in—he’d been in a strictly supervisory position. That would explain his unpreparedness for labor. But, thankfully, he didn’t seem to have a problem with hard work.

Then there was that sexy way he looked at her. Spending so much time in the bakery, Sophie rarely had time to date. But some things you never forgot. Like that flirty look he’d given her. And like the sex-starved woman she was, she’d reacted from the gut, instantly flirting back.

Then there was the smallest, yet oddest thing about him. His name. Elberto? She was almost certain the résumé had read Alberto Montagana. But, a one-letter difference could simply be a typo, she thought. Either way, he didn’t look like either an Elberto or an Alberto. Strangely enough, “El” fit him. And she found herself eager to be rid of Dante and Lonnie, so she could talk to him…and in private.

Lonnie was giggling and smiling at Dante, as he accused her of being the reason it took them so long to clean up the back room.

The bell at the front of the store rang, announcing a walk-in customer. “I’ll get it,” Wayne announced. He gave Sophie an I-told-you-so look and headed to the front of the store.

“No, it was your fault!” Lonnie laughed loudly, her attention still completely focused on Dante. “You kept playing around, throwing that box of packing peanuts at me.”

“What packing peanuts?” Sophie asked.

“We found a big box almost filled to the top,” Dante answered, stealing glances at Lonnie. “Looks like it was used to ship something here.”

Sophie shrugged off the issue, discreetly watching the interaction between the pair. Wayne maybe on to something, she thought, because surprisingly Dante definitely looked infatuated with Lonnie, and Lonnie looked just as interested in Dante. Could it be the girl was sending signals she was not aware of? Maybe she would have to talk to Dante. She thought he understood that despite their being the same age and physical development, Lonnie’s mental development was not where his was. Maybe she’d have to remind him.

She reached into her purse and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, handing it off to Dante. “My doctor called in a prescription for a wheelchair. Can you go pick it up for me? Here’s the address.”

“Sure,” he said, pocketing the paper. “Wanna come?” he asked Lonnie.

“Okay.” With a wave, she followed him out of the store. “See ya, Sophie.”

Sophie frowned, watching the pair leave. They were too close. How had she not seen the relationship growing? But she hadn’t. Not until Wayne mentioned it. But, truth be told, she didn’t pay much attention to Lonnie—not nearly as much as she should, she thought guiltily.

Lonnie had been a victim of circumstance almost from the moment she’d been conceived. She was the daughter of Mae’s firstborn, Sharyn, who’d been into one thing or another since her teen years, according to family gossip.

Sophie didn’t know her mother’s older sister very well, because she’d been banned from their home most of Sophie’s life. But when Sharyn came up pregnant at the age of forty-one, everyone in the family was concerned, given her track record. And eventually, the concern was proven valid when Lonnie had been diagnosed with Down syndrome.

When Lonnie was born, Sharyn apparently did try to be a good mother for a while, but soon the responsibility of caring for a mentally challenged child became too much for her. Somehow—no one really remembered—Lonnie ended up in the collective hands of the family, eventually landing at the door of her grandmother, with whom she’d lived the past six years.

As far back as Sophie could remember, Lonnie had tagged after her like a little sister, desperate for attention and approval. And, although no one ever said it, Sophie did feel a certain responsibility for the girl.

Mae reappeared in the door with a plate laden with so much food Sophie’s eyes widened in concern. “Grandma! What am I suppose to do with all that food?”

Mae gave a look that seemed to question Sophie’s sanity. “What anybody would do. Eat it.”

Sophie shook her head. “I will never understand why you and Granddad opened a bakery instead of a restaurant. The way you like to cook…”