Nora elbowed Kate. A little thrill ran through her at his words. Why did she care?
Darn those eyes of his.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Brody said. “I’m as far from getting married as a man can be. This is for my little brother, Riley. He’s getting married next Saturday and it’s a small, private affair, but I thought it would be nice to provide the dessert so his new bride doesn’t have to cook it. She owns a diner in the city. Maybe you’ve heard of it. The Morning Glory.”
“I’ve seen it before when I’ve been in the city,” Kate said, stepping in with a change of subject before her grandmother found a way to turn a diner, a brother’s wedding and a cupcake order into an opportunity for matchmaking. After all, hadn’t Brody just said he had no interest in marriage? That screamed stay away, commitment-phobic bachelor. “Didn’t the diner host an animal shelter thing a month ago?”
“It did. Went well. The diner’s main chef is on a trip to Europe and they’ve got a new one filling in, but I think doing the dessert and the food might be a bit overwhelming for him. Plus it’s a nice way for me to show my support for my brother and his new wife. As well as give some business to a local shop.”
It all sounded plausible, but still, something about the story Brody told gave Kate pause. She couldn’t put her finger on it. Why come here? To this shop? There were a hundred bakeries in the area, several dedicated to weddings. Why her shop?
She decided to stop looking a gift horse in the mouth. She needed the income, and she’d be crazy to turn down the opportunity to get Nora’s Sweet Shop name out there. Especially if she sthe tuck to the plan about expanding, every public event was an opportunity to spread the word, ease into new markets.
“You’ve come to the right place,” Nora said, as if reading Kate’s mind. “We’ve done lots of weddings.”
“Yeah, I saw that cupcake thing you had in the window. My brother and his fiancé thought it’d be a great idea because they’re having their wedding and reception at the diner. It’s going to be more low-key than your traditional big cake and band kind of thing. They aren’t your typical couple, either, and loved the idea of an atypical cake.”
Kate thought a second while she tapped her pen on the order pad. “We could do a whole morning glory theme. Put faux flowers on top of the cupcakes and arrange them like a bouquet.”
Brody nodded. “I like that. Great idea. And I know Stace—that’s the bride—will love it, too. The diner is important to her.”
The praise washed over Kate. She’d had dozens of customers rave about the shop’s unique sweets. Why did this one man’s—a stranger’s—words affect her so? “How many people are we serving?”
“Uh, about fifty. I think that’s what my brother said.”
“Sounds great.” She jotted some notes on the order pad, adding the details about the cupcakes, his name and the date of the event. Considering the number of orders already stacked up in her kitchen, adding his one into the mix would take some doing. Thank God she had her assistant Joanne to help. Joanne had the experience of ten bakers and had been with the shop for so many years, neither Kate or Nora could remember when she’d started.
“And what about a phone number?” Nora piped in. Kate shot her grandmother a glare, but Nora just smiled. “In case we need to get a hold of you.”
Brody rattled off a number. “That’s my office, which is where I usually am most days. Do you want my cell, too?”
“No,” Kate said.
“Yes,” Nora said. Louder.
Brody gave them the second number, then paused a second, like he wanted to say something else. He glanced across the room, at what, Kate wasn’t sure. The cupcake display? The awards and accolades posted on the wall? “So, uh, thanks,” he said, his attention swiveling back to her.
“You’re welcome. And thank you for the order.”
“You said spread the word.” He shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin. “I did. I’m sorry it wasn’t more.”
She chuckled. “I appreciate all business that comes my way.”
Again, he seemed to hesitate, but in the end, he just nodded toward her, said he’d call her if he thought of anything else, then headed out the door. Kate watched him go, even more intrigued than before. Why did this doctor keep her mind whirring?
“Why did you keep trying to fix us up?” Kate asked Nora when the door had shut behind Brody.
“Because he is a very handsome man and you are a very interested woman.”
“I’m not at all.”
“Coulda fooled me with those googly eyes.”
Kate grabbed the order pad off the counter and tucked the pen in her pocket. “My eyes are on one thing and one thing only. Keeping this shop running and sticking to the plan for expansion.” Her gaze went to the article on the wall, the only one that truly mattered. To the plans she’d had, plans that seemed stalled on the ground, no matter how hard she tried to move them forward. “Because I promised I would.”
* * *
Brody tried. He really did. He put in the hours, he smiled and joked, he filled out the charts, dispensed the prescriptions. But he still couldn’t fit back into the shoes he’d left when he’d gone to Afghanistan. After all his other medical mission trips, he’d come back refreshed, ready to tackle his job with renewed enthusiasm. But not this time. And he knew why.
Because of Andrew Spencer.
Every day, Brody pulled the card out of his wallet, and kicked himself for not doing what he’d promised to do. Somehow, he had to find a way to start helping Kate Spencer. He’d seen the grief in her eyes, heard it in her voice. Andrew had asked Brody to make sure his sister moved on, followed her heart, and didn’t let the loss of him weigh her down, and do it without telling her the truth. That he had been the one tending Andrew when he’d died.
She doesn’t handle loss real well, Doc. She’ll blame herself for encouraging me to go over here, and that’ll just make her hurt more. Take care of her—
But don’t tell her why you’re doing it. I don’t want her blaming herself or dwelling on the past. I want her eyes on the future. Encourage her to take a risk, to pursue her dreams. Don’t let her spend one more second grieving or regretting.
When Brody had agreed, the promise had seemed easy. Check in on Kate Spencer, make sure she was okay, and maybe down the road, tell her about the incredible man her brother had been, and how Brody had known him. But now…
He couldn’t seem to do any of the above.
Maybe if he wrote it down first, it would make the telling easier. He could take his time, find the words he needed.
The last patient of the day had left, as had Mrs. Maguire, and Brody sat in his office. His charts were done, which meant he could leave at any time. Head to his grandmother’s for the weekly family dinner, or home to his empty apartment. Instead, he pulled out a sheet of blank paper, grabbed a pen, then propped the card up on his desk.
I
