Page 74 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes
The old Daisy would have threatened to fire Rio. Kept boundaries and bolstered her emotional wall. Present Daisy was desperate for advice. She gestured for the joint and bogarted it for a good minute.
“I like her.”
“No! Really?!”
Rio did their best Kevin McCallister impression and slappedtheir palms against their cheeks. In contrast to Daisy’s gala wear, they were dressed for comfort in baggy cargo shorts and a printed tee. It was their day off, after all, yet here they were. Taking the joint back, Rio managed a smirk while they took in a toke.
In an exhale, they mused aloud, “You like her. You think she likes you. But you’re afraid to shoot your shot because of how much of an ass you’ve been?”
“I… Yeah. What should I do?”
“Hm. Seems to me like you’ve gotta grind out some rep.”
“What?”
“Reputation points. Like inStardew Valley, or some dating simulation. You were picking the worst conversation options for a while, and now you need to make up for it.”
Daisy glared. Still, stripping back the nerd veneer, the take made sense. She asked, “How?”
“Well, the normal stuff. Talk to her daily, give gifts from her favorite list, do quests… Although I guess she’s the one on the stealth mission. You outta come up with a good reward since you skimped her last time.”
Dumbfounded, Daisy wondered, “How is ityou’rethe one with a steady girlfriend?”
At Rio’s dual fingergun flash, they both broke down in a riot of smoky giggles. For a little while longer, they burned the night away chatting about life and love. Eventually, Daisy’s phone buzzed with a burst of texts. Rio snickered as they read over her shoulder.
Candace: I’m back!
Sorry again for everything. I’m going to do my best to make things right. Let operation Bad Candy begin!
Also…I didn’t get a chance to say it earlier, but you looked gorgeous in that dress. Goodnight, partner.
Daisy hid her face behind her hands, fighting a fierce blush. It was not fair. Whether or not Candace had romantic feelings for her, she was sure making it difficult to stop Daisy’s from growing.
Chapter 19
Candace
July on the Wonderwood boardwalk was a sight to behold.
It was the busiest part of the summer season, with shoobies swarming like locusts upon the small shore community. From the Fourth of July, with the town’s bombastic celebration, to annual festivals like the Country Music Beach Jamboree and the Mega Monster Truck Rally, you couldn’t go a week without some big event going on.
Bagel Bombs! capitalized on the influx of spenders with themed deals and promotions. Their red, white, and blue dyed bombs, along with their limited-time double-size ‘monster mounds,’ were huge hits. Every day, it seemed like Daisy whipped up a new, creative take on the humble breakfast food.
In addition to walk-up business, their online presence was helped by an unlikely source. Along with their love of nature, Rio had a passion for programming and web design. It turnedout that they had been doing some solo tinkering since even before Candace came onto the scene. With a fair amount of ego, they unveiled a basic but customer-friendly app. A rewards system, plus mobile ordering, brought a whole new edge to their game.
Then there was Dotty’s friend who worked with the local news station. Mid-July, right in time for National Bagel Day, Dotty’s friend got the cafe featured for a puff piece. Daisy looked so cute and nervous talking to the sophisticated news anchor. She even did the dance from her parents’ commercial, which took off spectacularly with their#BagelBabefans.
Times were great for the renovated Bagel Bombs! cafe, and everything was coming together.
But Candace could only watch from afar.
As she suspected, Uncle Perry stuck her in a closet—literally—with a mountain of busy work. He did not intend on using her expertise to help with his expansion or to manage his accounts. No, aside from trotting her out for the occasional visit from the Solid Rock investment team, AKA the God Squad, Candace might as well have been a ghost. Her uncle left her in a moldy old office beneath the Manta Coaster, stuffed to the brim with disintegrating documents and a paper shredder.
“Straighten up,”he told her with a sneer.
Some papers had not seen the light of day since the early 90s, before her uncle bought the pier. Just like Candace hoped, he kept most of his records the old-fashioned way. So, one document at a time, Candace did as she was told, all while keeping an eye out for anything incriminating.
Could she find the magic piece of dirt they needed to shut Peter Perry up for good? It seemed impossible. But, then again, so did her relationship progress with Daisy. The woman wanted to save Bagel Bombs!andbe Candace’s partner. Whatexactlythe word “partner” meant to Daisy was a gnawing question. But, with the reassurance she was wanted at all, Candace had to try.
