5. Madi

Chapter 5

Madi

Along with her house, Gigi’s Cozy Creek Confectionery was my favorite place to be. She’d been in this location on the corner of Creekview and Main Street since I was born. This was more than just a place to buy sweets or order a birthday cake. It was timeless; traditions began here. People came here year after year to order birthday cakes for their children, holiday pies for their parties, or cookies and candies for a quick treat to add cheer to their day.

Gigi had created a gathering place where locals and newcomers always felt welcomed. You could stay awhile, catch up with friends, enjoy a hot cup of tea, and relax with one of Gigi’s famous chocolate chip cookies.

Early morning sunlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling plate glass windows lining the front of the stately brick building. I smiled to myself as I took in the way their rays twinkled through the white etched logo that emblazoned the store’s name wrapped around an adorable cupcake.

I’d left Gigi at one of the sidewalk tables to sit with her friends while I headed inside. She said she’d catch up after she said hello to them, and I was glad. I needed a moment alone to get the melancholy and nostalgia out of my system.

I’d grown up begging my mom to let me spend my weekends here with Gigi, and she had usually let me. Only in the last few years had I spent less time here, and I regretted it. I’d missed it here, and I hadn’t realized how much until we had pulled into her parking space out front.

Sure, there were plenty of weird things about small towns, everyone knowing my business being at the top of the list. But there was a lot of good stuff, too. People cared. Last night, I’d spied a stack of casseroles from her book club in her fridge. Having neighbors like Cole, who were willing to pick up a random relative from the side of the road, was on the list, too. She had loads of help before I had even arrived in town.

I recalled learning to bake at Gigi’s side, decorating pastries and cakes, making candies, and every treat you could imagine. I could run this shop if I had to, and in my secret dreams, I hoped one day I would. Memories washed over me as I moved through the shop, outweighing the negative aspects of small-town life I’d thought of when I was stuck in my car.

My heels clicked over the rustic wooden floor as I wound through the bistro-style tables and chairs toward the display cases and service counter in the rear. Each round table was decorated with various differently colored rosebuds in tiny hand-blown glass vases atop a crisp white tablecloth. It was as gorgeous as ever in here. Gigi had somehow combined the sophisticated charm of a French café with the casual warmth of a small-town diner. It was as cozy as it was gorgeous.

The scents filling my senses were familiar and heavenly—vanilla, spices, chocolate, and fresh-baked bread—if I could bottle the smell and sell it, I’d be a billionaire.

She started as strictly a confectionery, selling various candies and sweet baked goods, but later added fresh bread and other types of pastries to her ever-growing and changing menu.

Over the last few years, she’d added protein shakes and breakfast sandwiches to her repertoire. Now, she was the unofficial breakfast stop for the Cozy Creek Fire Brigade, much to the delight of her older and primarily female early-morning patronage. It was a win-win, she had informed me. Her friends now had eye candy to accompany their tea and scones, and the fire brigade had another place to hang out aside from Bookers Pub.

I froze when I spotted Cole and his brother Tate at one of the tables with breakfast sandwiches and protein smoothies in front of them. They each wore that loose-fitting tank top over tight jogger pants and baggy shorts combo that was popular lately. I watched him, mesmerized. His thick, muscled arms flexed as he raised his shake to take a sip. I bit my lip as his luscious, completely kissable lips wrapped around his straw, and the last traces of sweat ran down his temple.

Say good morning, stupid. Don’t just stand there staring at him.

Cole looked up as I got closer and smiled at me.

Why did I have to find him so attractive?

His brother was equally good-looking, but I didn’t care one bit about him.

My knees wobbled as I slowed, hesitating to get any closer, so much for my determination to steer clear of him.

“Good morning, Cole. Hey, Tate.”

“It’s been a while. How’s it going?” Tate’s sympathetic smile made me cringe inside.

Did everyone in town know about my pathetic breakup? Probably.

I sucked it up and plastered a huge smile on my face. “I’m good, thanks. I’m just happy to be here to help Gigi⁠—”

“Mornin’, Madi.” Cole’s gaze was as soft as a caress. My feet drifted ever closer to his table as if every time I saw him, the pull would be stronger. I had to fight the startling urge to jump into his lap. “Are you working today?”

“No, I’m just here to get reacquainted with the place. I haven’t been here baking with Gigi in ages⁠—”

“Hey, girl.”

“Kenzie?”

I spun, thrilled to find my cousin Kenzie behind the counter. It didn’t matter how much time we spent apart. She was the kind of person I would always be close to. We’d spent our lives picking up right where we left off. Distance didn’t matter when it came to Kenzie. She would always be my bestie. Us being cousins was just a bonus.

She was practically my twin with her long chocolate brown hair and heart-shaped face. But she had green eyes lit from within with her naturally effervescent joy instead of brown like mine. She was full of mischief, too, like right now, as she spun in a circle and waved at me with both hands. She wore white slacks, a white button-down shirt, and the shop’s official pink and white checkered apron. She clearly worked here.

“Kenzie! I didn’t know you worked for Gigi! Why didn’t you tell me?”

I beamed from ear to ear as I rushed to the counter and wrapped her in a hug. We were the same height, five foot six on the dot.

She was the only child of my aunt Laura, my father’s only sibling and I’d always adored both of them.

“I started last week. I told Gigi not to tell you.”

Gigi wrapped an arm around my waist as she joined us at the counter. “Surprise!”

“This is amazing! I’ll get to see you every day?”

“Every morning from the crack of dawn until lunch. Midnight Baker takes the late shift. Have you met him? I’ve never met him. We’ll meet him, Madi, even if we have to stalk him. Does he even exist, Gigi? I swear that man never sees the sun, and I find it totally suspicious. Is he a vampire?”

“Midnight Baker?” I questioned. “I haven’t had the pleasure. Spill it, Gigi.”

Kenzie answered before Gigi could even open her mouth. “He’s the mysterious and hopefully sexy dude who bakes all the bread. He’s always gone by the time I get here, like poof.” She waved her hands in the air for emphasis. “He probably turns into a bat and flies away inside of that cloud of delicious fresh baked fumes he leaves behind like a clarion call for all the carb junkies in this town. I’m tempted to hide behind the dumpster to catch him as he leaves. But getting up is hard enough already without adding being early to my sunrise to-do list. I am not a morning person. At all. Ask me how much coffee I’ve already had today.”

“He exists, sweetheart,” Gigi replied with an amused sigh as Kenzie held up three fingers, indicating she was already three cups deep. This was clearly Kenzie’s latest preoccupation, which she found funny. “He’s shy, is all. Don’t go chasing him away. Think of the bread we won’t be able to eat if you scare him off, my darling. The sourdough alone is worth being discreet. Try for me? Pretty please.”

“Pfft. Shy? That’s it? Okay. I’ve been building him up in my mind since I started working here. He’d better be hot, too, and that’s all I’m going to say on the matter, for now anyway.”

Gigi and I exchanged a glance. It seemed like Kenzie was still as boy-crazy as ever, or was it man-crazy now? We’d get into so much trouble whenever I was here as a kid, sneaking off to run around with her friends at the park. I’d always had so much fun with her.

“Anyhoo,” Gigi said, taking my hand and squeezing it. “Let’s get you upstairs. I’ll show you around the apartment, get you settled in, and then you can start working tomorrow.”

“I heard you’ll be the counter girl slash supervisor slash go-to Queen of the Confectionery until the sprained ankle boot of doom is gone.” Kenzie nudged my arm with her elbow. “How much supervising you’ll actually do is up for debate since this one will be sitting at her table all day taking it easy.” She air-quoted the phrase “take it easy,” and I laughed. I had no illusion that I’d be in charge and wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Queen of the Confectionery?” I laughed.

“Yeah, Gigi does it all around here, but mostly, she makes sure everyone is happy. No one ever notices she’s ruling this place with an iron fist.”

“Ahh, maybe I can be the princess then. We both know she’ll be right over at her table keeping an eye on us.”

“You’ll be the princess of pastries, and I’ll be the cupcake queen. We need those on our name badges, Gigi.”

“Okay, girls. Tease me all you want. You know I love having you both here with me. We’re going to have such fun, the three of us.”

She was a force, and I aspired to be like her when I grew up. Yeah, so maybe I was already grown. I should take a page from her book and start living my life with more purpose.

Caring what people thought of me had gotten me nowhere I wanted to be. I had just turned thirty and was working a job I liked but would rather be doing something else. I was not married, had no kids, and didn’t even have a cat or a dog because Ross had insisted he was allergic.

Allergic to pets?Doubtful since he had kept a picture of his childhood dog on his bedside table. I’d since come to the conclusion what he was really allergic to was a real commitment.

I’d let everything I wanted fall to the wayside to keep Ross in my life.

I felt so stupid and frustrated with myself for having fought so hard and so long, for a relationship that was one-sided and passionless from the beginning. I should have known better.

Change was afoot, and I suddenly couldn’t wait to get started. I decided to be different when I returned to my real life in Colorado Springs.

Madison 2.0 would take charge and be confident in all aspects of her life. No one would dare walk all over me ever again, not this girl. I would get a cat, too—no, two cats—I deserved to have something cute and fluffy to love. I was now officially off the market, about to become a cat mom, and it felt freaking great.

“Let’s get to it!” I clapped my hands together.

“I’m so happy you’re excited about this.”

“Wait ’til you meet Kenny,” Kenzie said.

My head whipped to the side. “Who? What? Kenny?”

“You’ll see. He’s the latest.”

“Yeah, about that,” Gigi hedged. “Um, come on. I’ll show you.”

“Okay…”

I followed Gigi to the interior entrance of the two apartments above the shop, wrapping an arm around her waist and helping her climb the stairs.

She already had a tenant in the unit across from mine. She’d told me at dinner last night he was one of the town’s Huber drivers. Old Jimmy Huber had seen an opportunity and jumped on it. He had a couple of guys working for him, and my soon-to-be neighbor, Noah, was one of them.

“Okay. Listen.” She stopped. Hesitating with her hand on the doorknob. “I didn’t tell you this at dinner last night, but the apartment already has a few tenants.”

Hell to the no.

“Roommates? I⁠—”

“No. Not quite.” She threw open the door and waved me through.

Three cats were asleep on the most adorable purple and white striped sofa I’d ever seen. It was covered with a rainbow array of throw pillows and a sunshine-yellow throw blanket that I remembered watching her knit with rapt attention when I was a little kid.

A coffee table was in front of the couch, with a squat vase filled with mums and marigolds in the middle, while a fuchsia wing chair with a tall back sat perpendicular. Its twin was across the room, flanking the fireplace—either chair would be a great reading spot. I could picture myself with a book, feet tucked beneath myself as I read the day away.

“Ahh, Gigi! Oh my god!” I didn’t know where to look—at the cats or the newly redecorated apartment interior. It was like she had raided a cottagecore-themed tag sale. Or, more likely, her attic. Grandma chic was the dominating theme in the space, and I had fallen in love with it at first sight.

To my left was a fireplace framed with two massive bookshelves, while straight ahead was an enormous bay window overlooking the street. Soft light filtered through panels of lacy white curtains, and in the distance, I could see the craggy glow of the Rocky Mountains. The window seat was upholstered with the same purple and white fabric as the couch—I could see myself there, curled up with a book and the cats.

To the right was the entrance to the kitchen and a door leading to a half bathroom.

It seemed that Gigi had taken note of everything I’d told her I liked over the years and had stuffed this place full of it.

I spun in a circle, taking everything in. It was a girlie paradise, with pastels, flowers, cozy, overstuffed furniture, and books, so many books. I took note as my eyes scanned the shelves. All my favorites were present and accounted for, from Jane Austen to the Brontë sisters, Nora Roberts to Charlaine Harris. It was all there.

“Gigi, what did you do?” I burst into ugly tears as I rushed to where she stood and hugged her hard.

There was one bedroom and a full bathroom down a short hallway to the left of the front door, and I couldn’t wait to see what she’d done in there. The bathroom had a huge copper clawfoot tub, which I’d always loved to soak in whenever my sisters and I stayed with our mom on holidays.

Gigi had redecorated and transformed this place into the apartment of my dreams, and I couldn’t help but wonder what I had done to deserve this.

My eyes shot to the shelf next to a little intricately carved bench in the entryway, and I reached out to grab a tiny glass cat figurine. “Hey, I remember this.” I sniffled through tears and tried to recall where I’d seen it before.

“I found it at the house, under the guest room bed years ago, tucked into your old Hello Kitty suitcase. You were like a cute little crow, always stealing everyone’s stuff, remember that? You’d snatch it if it had sparkles or a cat on it.”

“Uh, I forgot I used to do that.” I hid my face in my hands. “I’m so sorry. I guess I just really loved cats. This is humiliating.”

“Ah, don’t worry, honey. It was cute.” She hobbled over to the couch to plop down and pet the cats. “We all thought so. Anyway, look around; you might find some memories tucked here and there.”

“Oh my god. I’m so embarrassed.”

“Pfft, don’t be.”

I smiled as a sleek black cat wound through my legs. I reached down and scooped her up.

“That’s Sage,” Gigi informed me. “The Maine Coon is Victor, and the chubby orange tub of trouble is Kenny. Sage started hanging around in the alley, and before I knew it—” She shrugged lightly. “I had a cat to love. But Basil isn’t fond of cats, and of course, I’m allergic to them, so I moved her in here.”

“And the other two?”

“They’re her buddies. Not long after I set her up in here, she got out through the window and came back with Victor and Kenny. I came in to feed her, and they were in a pile on the old couch, sleeping as soundly as could be. I adore them. I’d take them to the house to live with me, but as you can see,” she started violently sneezing, “I can’t. Kenzie, Cole’s kids, and I visit them every day. It’s been a little over a week, and they seem to like it here. The vet said they were not chipped, and they weren’t fixed. I checked the local lost pets boards, and they’re not on them. So I kept them.”

“Say no more. I love everything about this. Why didn’t Cole take them? I mean, if his kids like them and all.”

“Well, he wanted to, but—” She hesitated before finishing. “Um, I knew you would be coming and, I uh⁠—”

“Ah, I see. You’re sweetening the pot with the new décor, cats, lasagna last night, and coffee cake this morning. You’re trying to get me to stay in Cozy Creek. Am I right?”

Her grin was infectious. “Perhaps.”

“Well, you’re scoring points left and right. I already love it here, and I always have. And I love you so much; you’re my favorite thing about Cozy Creek. You know that, don’t you?”

“I do know it, and I love you too, my sweetheart. And listen, I’ve taken them to the vet. They’re perfectly healthy, have had all their shots and flea treatments, and I got them fixed. There’s nothing for you to do. I’ve taken care of everything.”

By this time, I was already cuddling Sage against my chest, grinning as she purred and butted the top of her head beneath my chin. “We’re going to be just fine, aren’t we, sweet girl?”

“You have to keep an eye on her,” she warned. “That one likes to get out and run around the neighborhood sometimes. She has a wild soul. Victor will be on this couch all day long. And Kenny, he’s not all there, if you know what I mean.”

“What?”

She patted the top of his head and then scratched beneath his chin. I could hear him purring from across the room. “He’s an idiot, honey. He’s the dumbest cat I’ve ever met. He’s sweet as can be, though.”

“Oh, gotcha. I feel like I should take notes or something.”

“You’ll be great. You’re a cat lady with no cats. We both know this.”

“Ha, you’re right about that. I might be in heaven right now. I love how you decorated in here.”

“I knew you would. The kitchen is stocked with all your favorites, and the bathroom has all kinds of goodies. I know you’ve always coveted that big bathtub. You have everything you’ll need for a nice, long soak.”

“Thank you. I might have to keep crying for a few more minutes. But I’m trying so hard not to.”

“Don’t fight your feelings around me, honey. I’m so happy you’re here. But beyond that, you’re doing me a huge favor. I can’t spend one more day at the shop. I need to sit down on my couch with my foot up. I’m supposed to keep it elevated. Speaking of which, I need to get back down there. Kenzie needs to finish decorating the cookies in the back, and my afternoon helper is off today.”

“I should get started now. There is no need for me to hang out up here with nothing to do but get lost in my feels. You join your friends for tea, then go home and get some rest, and I’ll take over for you at the Confectionery for the day.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely. Let’s go. I can get to know my new kitty cat besties later.” I gave Sage one last cuddle before setting her on the floor, and then I found a box of tissue on the shelf, grabbed one, and dabbed it beneath my eyes. “I’m okay. I got this.”

Even if Cole was still down there when I arrived.