Page 84 of The Alpha and the Baker
“That’s how it is.”
“This stuffdoeslook good,” another shifter said.
“You bet your ass it does. And my name is Felicia, by the way. It’ll be good for you to know it when I’m beating the brakes off you in the bake-off.”
“So much confidence,” Sal half-taunted, his posture becoming relaxed enough that he leaned on my counter. “You really that good?”
“No, I’m thatgreat,” I countered. Was I laying it on a little thick? Yes. But I figured I deserved it. After all, a group of seven shifters had just invaded my bakery, thinking they could scare me into backing out of the competition. Besides, I was protective of Cas, even though he definitely didn’t need much protecting.
“Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is?” Sal asked casually. “My niece’s quinceañera is this Friday. I’d like to hire you to bake a cake for us. Something with a lot of layers and one of those edible pictures printed on it. How much would that run me?”
“I can get you some quotes depending on what you want,” I said cautiously, “but you’re not going to buy me off. I’ll bake you the absolutely best cake I can and still beat your ass in the bake-off.”
He grinned at me. “Is that any way to talk to a customer?”
“It’s the way I’m gonna talk to you.”
“No wonder she knows the McCallisters are wolves,” one of the youngest piped up. “She probably ordered all those pansies to go fetch.”
“Don’t talk about them that way,” I said quickly, and Sal clicked his tongue.
“Apologize,mijo.We are guests inSeñoritaFelicia’s business. Be polite.”
“But—”
“Apologize, Dante.”
Dante looked like he didn’t want to, but that didn’t seem to matter. Sal was probably the alpha of the rival pack I’d heard so little about. It seemed like I’d defused the situation, but that begged the question: How much trouble had I been in? And was I out of the woods yet?
“I’m sorry. The McCallisters are… nice. I’m sure.”
“Thanks, Dante,” I said before turning my attention to Sal again. “If you and your friends want to have a seat, I can pull out my binder, and we can put together something lovely for your niece.”
“Yeah, let’s do that. And everybody get something to eat. I know you animals are probably starving.” He gave me a wink that I was sure charmed many women. “I’ll take one of those everything bagel breakfast sandwiches. With bacon.”
“Coming right up. I’ll make it fresh for you.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
That was how I ended up sitting at a table with Sal and Javier, who I guessed was his beta, while the other four men sat at another and demolished a dozen donuts and a dozen bagels. The process of putting together the order took a lot longer than I would have preferred because I had to help other customers who stepped in, but such was the way with Sundays.
If those customers thought anything of all the strapping men crowding my small shop, they didn’t mention it. Some paused, but that was about it.
Salvador never complained. He just sat back, took a bite of his bagel or a sip of his coffee, or ordered something new to munch on. Honestly, shifters were greatcustomers with their sizable appetite. I’d already earned more off the seven of them than more than a dozen humans, and we still weren’t done.
We finished over an hour later, and I was honestly exhausted. Never in a million years did I think my financial woes could be cured by shifters, but with the strange alpha deciding on two different specialty cakes, I would be able to keep my head well above water. One of the cakes would have multiple layers of churro-inspired cream filling and a printed picture topper, the other would alternate between mango compote and passionfruit custard between layers of vanilla cake with a citrusy Erminebuttercream and a generous dusting oftajinon the edges. Apparently, his niece was wildabouttajinon basically every fruit in existence, so I was tickled pink to make something so completely unique for her. That was the whole reason I got into baking in the first place.
“You know,” he said as he paid his bill—the deposit for the cakes and delivery as well as the dozen donuts, dozen bagels, half a dozen scones, three breakfast sandwiches, two muffins, and three loaves of bread they ordered to take home. It was definitely difficult not to have dollar signs in my eyes as I rang it all up. Man, IlovedSundays. “You do well with this party, I’ve got a big family with a lot ofbigevents coming up. Parties that need cakes and cookies. We’ll focus on all the other stuff.”
“I would be more than happy to bake anything your family needs,” I said, grinning. And boy did I mean it. “But like I said, you can’t buy me off.”
“Ain’t got no intention of that. Right now, I want to see what I’m up against. And if you turn out to be as good as you say, well… I like supporting small businesses.”
“Trust me, your support isveryappreciated.”
“Yeah. I get that impression. You seem like good folk, SeñoritaFelicia. It’s too bad you got yourself all wrapped up with those colonizers, but it’s never too late to see the light.”
My first instinct was to defend the McCallisters, but I recognized the teasing for exactly what it was. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
