CHAPTER ONE

SIERRA KIPLEY

“I’m blaming you if we end up in jail.” My best friend and current accomplice hisses as we creep through the back door of Brewed.

“Relax. We’re not getting caught, so we’re not going to jail.” I cross my fingers and hope that’s true because being found snooping through Suitor’s Crossing’s favorite coffee shop, which also happens to be owned by my archnemesis, would be terrible for my image as the local bakery owner. My mugshot on the front page of the Suitor’s Gazette with the bold headline “Baking Bad: Local Baker is Toast” has me sending up an extra prayer for good luck.

A criminal record is not what my business needs right now.

After replacing the silver key on top of the doorframe, I quietly close the door and mentally pat myself on the back for finding Caleb’s not-so-secret hiding spot. Our first obstacle was figuring out how to actually get into a locked Brewed, but the discovery of the key made it easy enough and negated the use of the tools I brought. Slim credit card. One of those thin metal picks for turnlocks. I’m no cat burglar, but I’ve seen enough movies to learn a thing or two.

Which explains my whole get-up from the tool kit to my outfit.

Black attire molds to my body in an attempt to be as sneaky as possible, and to live out my Bond girl dreams, though I doubt Sheriff Lawson will accept that as an excuse for why I’m scoping out Brewed after hours.

But I’ve got to know what the heck Caleb is up to over here.

Especially since a new chain restaurant opened its doors six months ago. A familiar chain that combines both of our specialties—coffee and pastries—into one easy location, efficiently cutting into our businesses. At first, I denied their impact, but as each month passed, the bakery numbers didn’t lie. There was a steady decline. Nothing drastic that made me fear shutting down in the next few months, but enough of a change to raise concerns for a sustainable future.

Caleb let it slip that he had a plan to combat our latest competitor while bragging about his updated pecan braid recipe.

I rolled my eyes at the implication then just like I do now at the memory. As if Caleb’s pastries have ever surpassed mine. No matter how many adjustments he makes to his recipes, he’s not going to beat a nationally known chain either by upping his pastry game. No, he’s got something else planned. I just have to figure out what. Which is why I’m bent over and tip-toeing through Brewed like an international jewel thief.

“Cole is going to kill me for doing this. After he laughs his ass off,” Shannon mutters from behind me. Her husband and Caleb are pals, so it doesn’t surprise me that he’d disapprove of his wife’s late night shenanigans. But tough luck. Shannon was my best friend long before she married Cole, so my needs take precedence.

It’s simple girl code.

“Stop worrying about Cole and start looking for—” To be honest, I’m not sure what I’m expecting to find. A binder full of schematics? A dossier of dirt to halt the rising popularity of the chain shop?

“Your dignity, perhaps?” Lights flash overhead and blind me for a second. Blinking in shock, I see Caleb standing by the light panel, arms crossed over his chest, and an annoying smirk twisting his handsome features. “Tsk, tsk, Sierra Bear. You’ve got some explaining to do.”

Ugh!I hate his nickname for me. And I hate that he caught me snooping around his cafe.

Shannon groans behind me as red and blue lights paint me in the colors of my future—a convicted felon with nothing to show for it.

Is breaking and entering a felony if you didn’t have a chance to take anything yet?