Chapter 16

Nate and I texted a lot when our schedules didn't match up. Late games made it hard to get up early. He still came by the bakery to get his croissant fix, but with the larger crowds hoping to catch site of a hockey star, our conversations kept getting cut short. I found it very strange whenever someone asked for a photo with me simply because I knew him. Hannah had assured me that it was a good thing that the fans loved me.

Lou poked his head in through the door, during a surprising lull in the crowd, looking around quickly for Maria. I'd managed to sell him a muffin twice since Maria put him on the banned list for no reason.

"She's in the back."

With hurried steps, he rushed to the display case. His eyes grew big with excitement as he looked over the wide array of options. "I want one of everything. Wait..." he held up a finger, "scratch that. Make it two of everything."

I couldn't stop the smile or my laugh as I asked him, "Are you sure?"

"How fast do you think you could box it all?"

I shook my head with amusement and began boxing his order. As I rang him up at the register, Maria emerged from the back, her expression a mix of outrage and disbelief.

"You!" she exclaimed, slamming a tray onto the counter and snatching away the box I had prepared for Lou. "You don't get these."

Lou bristled. "Oh come on!"

Maria turned on me. "And you know he's on the banned list."

I winced in response.

"So..." she continued. "The only thing you get are these."

Lou's expression softened as he looked to where she pointed at the tray she'd brought up. It was full of lemon bars topped with powdered sugar.

He lit up like a kid at Christmas. "You made all these for me? I knew you didn't hate me."

"I did make them for you," Maria smirked. "Left Wing Lemon Bars, because you suck."

She stormed back to the kitchen, taking the box of goodies back to the kitchen with her. Lou looked like he was caught between anger and awe as he stared at the lemon bars. Minutes passed, and I wondered if I should text Nate that Maria had broken Lou. But then he shrugged, picked up a lemon bar, and took a bite.

He groaned in absolute delight and shoved the square treat in his mouth. With his mouth full he said, "I'm going to need that entire tray in two boxes."

I pulled out two new boxes, and shaking my head in amusement, did what he asked.

"The guys are going to be so jealous that I got something named after me." He picked up another lemon bar before I could box it.

"Warn me when you're coming in next time. I need popcorn for the show." I rang up his order.

He grinned, paid for his order, and left a hundred-dollar bill on the counter. "Let her know that's for the first box."

"They don't cost that much."

"I know." He took his boxes and left.

Still smiling, I picked up the bill and walked it back to the kitchen. Maria had a half-eaten eclair in her hand.

"He gone?" she asked before taking a bite.

"Yes, and he left this to pay for those." I held up the bill and pointed at the box.

"He's insufferable," she grumbled.

"Seriously what did he do?" I asked.

"I let you go a whole year before you told me about your ex. You can wait until I'm ready to tell you."

"You did give me a year. But it was a year full of regular pestering so I hope you'll forgive me for giving you the same."

I left her to her musings and laughed when I got a text from Nate with a picture of Lou protecting the lemon bars from Dan.

Can you do me a favor and meet Penelope at my place when she gets home from school? Coach wants to talk and it'll make me late.

No problem. What's your address?

I'll be there as soon as I can.

He sent me the address for his place, and I finished out my time at the bakery. Much to Maria's delight and frustration, the lemon bars were a hit with the customers, and she had requests for more tomorrow. I helped her clean the bakery so it was ready for tomorrow and then I headed out for Nate's place. The sun was shining and outside felt a little bit warmer as I walked to his condo.

I really shouldn't have been surprised when I saw his building. It was within walking distance of the arena. I was just reaching the door to his building when a car stopped by the curb and Penelope got out. She waved to the people inside the car and smiled as she walked toward me. She had her backpack slung over one shoulder.

She held up her hand for a high five and just before my hand connected with hers she pulled it away.

"Too slow." She laughed.

I laughed with her. "Your dad asked me to meet you here."

"He's meeting with Coach. I know, he texted me, which is why my friend's mom dropped me off."

"Oh, well should we go up?"

"Can we go get ice cream first?" She made her eyes all big and innocent.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Yeah, I don't think so, your dad said he'd meet us here."

She shrugged. "Worth a shot."

"How was school?" I asked her as we walked inside.

We headed up to the top floor, and I realized that Nate lived in the penthouse condo. Penelope didn't waste time walking in and dropping her bag by the couch, before plopping onto it and turning on the TV. She pulled up a YouTube channel and started watching videos on how to do hair and makeup.

I grimaced as I saw old trends making a comeback. Mullets really should not be a thing and I can't be convinced otherwise.

On the screen, an influencer demonstrated a vibrant makeup look she'd dubbed the 'Sunset Eye.' Starting with an orange and gold eyeshadow palette, she expertly applied the hues and blended them so the colors shifted like that of a sunset sky. Then she picked up a liquid eyeliner that was a shimmery purple color. With an expert hand, she swept it above and below the eye, connecting at the outer corner with a dramatic wing.

Penelope was absolutely enamored with the video, and didn't look away as the next video popped up. This time it was a tutorial on overlining lips to make them look fuller.

"You have to be careful if you're going to do that."

Penelope paused the video. "What do you mean?"

I pointed at the screen. "It's easy to make it look great for a photo or even video. You can control the angles to make sure it looks good. But in person, if not done right it can make you look like a clown."

"You know how to do all this?" She asked. "Not just hair?"

"Yeah, I know how to do a lot of it."

Penelope let out an excited squeal and grabbed my hand to pull me into her bathroom. A white marble vanity with a single sink took up an entire wall. Penelope opened up one of the cupboards and pulled out what looked like a sparkly teal toolbox. It was so full of makeup, it looked like someone went to the mall and ordered one of everything at the makeup counter. The lip gloss and a few of the items had been used, but the rest looked like they were still brand new.

"I've been too scared to try," Penelope told me. "Katie came to school after Christmas break in so much makeup that people made fun of her."

That made me sad to hear. "Seventh grade is hard enough without that. Makeup should be fun and complement your face. Some cheekbone or eye shapes aren't as flattering. Colors can be even trickier. For the longest time I wanted to wear red lipstick, but only a few shades look good with my hair color. Do you want something bold or more natural?"

We got lost in the makeup, and I helped Penelope learn how to do a classic winged eyeliner and neutral-toned blended eyeshadow. It made her look older, more like the teen she was becoming. She smiled and then started to wash it off.

"I want to try something bolder." She pointed to a blue and purple eye shadow palette. "I'm thinking this with a black eyeliner?"

"That sounds beautiful," I told her.

Her stomach growled.

"Hungry?"

"Yes!"

"Any idea if your dad has something to eat?"

She shrugged. "We eat a lot of spaghetti. He should have a bottle of sauce and noodles in the cupboard."

"I'll start making it, why don't you work on applying the look you want while I'm doing that."

I left her to practice and headed into the kitchen. While rummaging through the cupboards, I stumbled over the edge of a rug, sending me teetering forward. In my stumble, I flung open the last cupboard and discovered an array of pasta sauces neatly stacked on a shelf. Red ones, white ones, and a variety of flavors greeted me.

"Found you." I grabbed a jar at random and sat it on the counter.

The noodles needed to be cooked before I could heat up the sauce, so leaving the sauce jar on the counter for later I filled a pot with water and sat it on the stove to heat. The spaghetti noodles were in a tall glass jar on the counter, and Nate must have the best stove in the world because the water quickly came to a boil. I carefully added the noodles to cook, and kept an eye on it as it cooked.

My phone pinged with a text from Nate.

Sorry this is going so late. I can order you two a pizza.

Smiling, I texted him back.

Penelope told me where to find the spaghetti stuff. It'll be done soon.

You're amazing. I'll be there as soon as I can.

Penelope walked out of her room as I was texting Nate not to worry."The noodles are almost done."

I looked up from my phone and saw Penelope's attempt at a smokey eye. She'd done a pretty good job for someone that was just starting out. Some of her blending had caused the powder to spread farther, and without the bright vanity lights, it almost looked like she'd gotten a black eye. She just needed to use primer and maybe a different brush.

I opened my mouth to praise her and provide some pointers when there was a knock at the door.

Her eyes went big, and I could see a little bit of panic. She was not confident with her look, and she'd probably planned on washing it off after showing me.

"Can you watch the noodles while I get the door?"

She nodded, her panic disappearing.

Smiling to myself I went to the door and opened it. A short, older woman stood in front of me, a serious expression on her face.

"Can I help you?" I asked her.

"I'm with Child Protective Services, I'm here to see Penelope Mitchell."