Fool for Love; A Cupcake Lovers Novel

7/31/2019 Fool for Love; A Cupcake Lovers Novel

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To my literary agent, Amy Moore-Benson.My champion. My friend. Thanks for believing in me.

Together we persevered!

This is a work of ction. All of the characters, organizations, and eventsportrayed in this novel are either products of the authors imagination orare used ctitiously.

Copyright 2012 by Beth Ciotta.Excerpt from The Trouble With Lovecopyright 2012 by Beth Ciotta.

All rights reserved.

For information address St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York,NY 10010.

ISBN: 978-1-250-00132-0

Printed in the United States of America

St. Martins Paperbacks edition / September 2012

St. Martins Paperbacks are published by St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth

Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

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NOTE:If you purchased this book without a cover you should beaware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as unsoldand destroyed to the publisher, and neither the author nor thepublisher has received any payment for this stripped book.


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ONELife is uncertain. Eat dessert rst.

Ernestine Ulmer

Manhattan, New YorkUpper East Side

How many years do you think Id get for death by Cuisin-art?

ChloeIm serious, Monica. I want to kill him.With a hand mixer?I dont want it to be quick.Or easy. How exactly would that work?Chloe didnt knowexactly. She wasnt thinking ratio-

nally. Her brain was choked with visions of Ryan licking

vanilla-bean buttercream frosting from her beatersfrostingshed prepared for a celebratory cakeright before announc-ing he was leaving her for a Parisian tart. (Chloes descrip-tion of the other woman, not his.)

Heart full of equal parts grief and fury, Chloe squeezedback tears as she continued her long-distance tirade with herclosest and oldest friend. Maybe youre right, she said intoher smartphone. Maybe I should skewer his traitorous heartwith my meat fork. Or pulverize him with my tenderizer.

Thats just grisly. And totally out of character. Youre apacist, hon. Zero tolerance for gore. You threw up when we


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2 B E T H C I O T T A

accidently ran over that squirrel on Route Twenty-two. Re-member?

Senior year of high school. Driving home from a rehearsalfor West Side Story. Monica had swerved, but not enough.Chloe had screamed when shed felt the thud, then, lookingout the rearview window and seeing the furry roadkill, hadpuked all over the backseat of Monicas 1992 Camaro.

Remember?Sort of, she mumbled, letting out an aggrieved sigh.

Monica was right. Violence and gore wouldnt do. Just think-ing about that squashed squirrel turned her stomach andsoured her killer instincts. Once she was depleted of rage,Chloes knees buckled. She slumped onto the love seat sheand Ryan used to cuddle on, misery pouring over her soul,slow and thick like the homemade maple syrup Monica hadshipped from Vermont.

Two years. Chloe had invested two years of her life in thisrelationshipher longest serious liaison ever. Shed had a

severe falling-out with her dad when shed moved in withRyan, and shed lost touch with a contingent of her NYCfriends when shed given up partying for domestic bliss. Shehadnt expected a conventional union, what with Ryan fre-quently traveling oversees for his job, but she hadnt expectedthis. She hadnt suspected an affair, hadnt felt Ryans affec-tions straying. Shed thought they were a solid couple, des-tined for marriage. She felt like the biggest freaking idiot onthe planet.

Listen, Chloe. I know youre crushed. The bastardcheated on you. That sucks. And hes leaving you for her.Sucks worse. But . . .

But what?Monica blew out a breath. Okay. Here comes some tough

love, sweetie. You had a comfortable relationship, lived acomfortable life, but did you seriously want to spend the restof your nights with a guy who couldnt nd your G-spot?

Chloe ushed. I had orgasms.

With the shower massager. Doesnt count.I shouldnt have shared that with you.


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F O O L F O R L O V E 3

Why not? I told you about the time I got off sitting on topof the crazed washing machine.

Are you trying to make me feel better? Because, newsash, youre not.

Im trying to tell you Ryan Levine isnt worth twenty-ve to life in the state penitentiary.

Dont worry. The murderous urge passed.Good.Now I just want to curl up and die.

Oh, honChloe burst into tears and poured out her heart. Maybe

Ryan wasnt worth a stretch in the clink, but he was sure wor-thy of a good cry. He ruined the happiest day of my life,Monica. After all these years, all the botched courses andcareers, I nally followed through, nally excelled at one ofmy passions. After four hundred and forty hours of in-classtraining and a two-hundred-and-ten-hour externship, I notonly earned a diploma from the Culinary Arts Institute;

I graduated with honors.What? Youre kidding! I mean, thats fantastic! Why

didnt you tell me?I just found out today. About the honors part, anyway.

The happiest day of my liferuined! The affairs been go-ing on for months. He couldve waited a day or two to dumpme. Any day other than my proudest.

Or, Monica growled, sounding like a provoked motherbear, he couldve broken off with you weeks ago, when the

ing started.He said he didnt want to distract me from my studies.Big of him.Said hed feel better leaving, knowing I was nally fo-

cused on a sensible career.Bastard.Hes coming back at the end of the month to pack up his

things. Hes actually transferring to the companys resort inFrance so he can live with her. Said our apartments paid up

for the next three months. That gives me three months tond a roommate or to nd a place I can afford on my own.


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You could say that. She lives alone in a beautiful old colo-nial home. I bet if I asked, I could get her to include freeboard.

MonicaIts perfect! Time away. Time with me. Plus you get to

cook. Lets put that diploma to use, honey!I dont know.I do. Say yes.She hugged Ryans favorite toss pillow to her chest,

breathed in his scent. Her aching heart pounded with re-newed fury. What the hell. Yes.

Fantastic! Ill line everything up. You pack. Oh! Speak-ing of activities, you can join Cupcake Lovers. Hit us withsome of those fancy recipes you learned in culinary school.

No, thank you.Monica had mentioned the local club in her e-mails. A

small group that met once a week to swap recipes and ideason how to make a difference in the world via cupcakes

chocolate, red velvet, banana walnut . . .Chloe envisioned the devils food cake shed chucked in

the garbage less than an hour ago. Thought about the wayRyan had sampled the frosting, the groan of delight just be-fore the weary sigh. Remembered the way hed raved abouther cooking over the last few months, especially the dishesshed created during her Contemporary Desserts course.

Equating confectionary with heartache, she wondered ifshed ever be able to mix up another dessert without feeling

depressed or homicidal. Im swearing off sweets, Chloesaid with a sniff. Forever.

Monica snorted. Now thats just crazy talk.


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Two days later . . .Sugar Creek, Vermont

Devlin Monroe massaged his throbbing temple as his brother

relayed troubling news. He shifted the phone to his left earand scribbled a name on a notepad. Thanks for the heads-up,Luke.

If you wouldve accepted her invitation for breakfast youwouldve heard it from Gram herself.

Backed up with work.Youre always backed up with work. You need to get a

life, Dev.So you keep telling me. He signed off with his brother

and glanced at his watch. Nine fteen a.m.The store had been open to the public for fteen minutes.

Most of the employees had arrived fteen minutes beforethat. Devlin, Chief Operating Ofcer of J. T. MonroesDepartment Storefamily owned and operated for sixgenerationshad been on the property since 7:00 a.m. Hedalready crammed three hours of work into two, focusingon a short, medium, and long-range report regarding thenineteenth-century retail stores ability to compete with the

Walmart Supercenter opening two towns over, a short thirty-minute drive for anyone in or around Sugar Creek. A concern

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that had robbed him of a months worth of decent sleep. De-termined to bring J.T.s into thiscentury, hed e-mailed thereport to the CEO, his dad, who was in Florida enjoying therst year of his semi-retirement. Even though the old manhad handed over the reins, he couldnt, or wouldnt, get outof the damned drivers seat.

Just after Devlin had texted his dad about the incominghigh-priority document, Luke had called. Now Devlin staredat his phone contemplating who to wage war with rst. His

dad or his grandma.Before he could decide, his sister, Rocky, blew into his

ofceunannouncedand dropped into the seat acrossfrom his desk. As always, she was dressed in jeans and lay-ered T-shirts, her thick blond hair woven into two braids.Twenty-nine and still a tomboy. A tomboy with womanlycurves and the face of a Hollywood starlet. Thankfully, shescared off a lot of men with her blunt talk and tough attitude;otherwise, given his overprotective nature, his big-brother

role would be daunting. Have you heard the news? sheasked.

Most people knock.Im not most people. Im your sister. Besides, the door

wasnt closed all the way.Ah.As if that made all the difference.Gram hired a companion.I heard.You dont look thrilled.

Im not.Why? Youre the one who convinced Gram she needs

help.I was hoping shed rely more on us. Or hire someone

local. Someone we know.Were lucky she hired anyone at all. You know how stub-

born she is. Now we dont have to worry about her startinganother kitchen re or running over another re hydrant.This woman can cook Grams mealsI heard shes a gour-

met chef, by the wayand drive her wherever she needs togo. Rocky crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Youre


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just pissed because Gram excluded you from the interviewprocess.

Im concerned, Devlin said, leaning forward, becausewe dont know this woman.

Her name is Chloe Madison.Luke told me.Did he tell you that shes an old friend of Monica

Smiths?Devlin nodded. Doesnt mean shes trustworthy.

I dont think Monica would hook Gram up with an axkiller. She frowned. You need to loosen up, Dev. Seriously.This is good news. For all of us.

You drive all the way here just to bust my balls?No. Thats a bonus. Actually, I came to ask a favor.You couldve called.Too easy for you to say no over the phone. This way I can

charm you by smiling and batting my baby blues. She pro-ceeded to do just that.

In spite of his tense mood, Devlin smiled. What do youwant?

Your house.What?For one night. Tomorrow night. Its my turn to host the

meeting for Cupcake Lovers and my ovens busted.Since when?Since this morning.Ill buy you a new one.

I like my old one. I called a repairman, but it wont beready in time. By the way, if I wanted a new cooking range,Id buy it myself. Thats the trouble with you, Dev. Alwaystaking control. Sometimes people like to make their owndecisions, take care of their own problems.

Not helping your case here.So can I take over your kitchen and living room for about

four hours? Ill make an extra batch of cupcakes just for you.Toss in a pot of your vegetable beef stew and youve got

a deal.Her mouth quirked. You know, if you had a wife or even


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a steady girlfriend, you wouldnt have to bribe me for theoccasional home-cooked meal. Of course that would meanactually getting out and socializing so you could meet some-one.

Ive met a lot of someones.Just not the right one. I swear you set yourself up for fail-

ure. Take Tasha for instance.Do you want my house for the night or not?Cupcakes and stew it is. She stood and moved to the

door, pausing on the threshold. We missed you at breakfast.Meaning we miss you, period.His family had always been close, and even though he and

his sibs and cousins were adults with full lives and careers,they still got together regularly. Except for Devlin. With hismultiple business interests and investments he spent moreand more time at the computer. Seeing the genuine hurt inhis sisters eyes, he offered a smile and a promise: Ill seeyou at Sunday dinner. A running tradition at Grams house.

Rocky rushed over and offered her pinky.He crooked his own pinky around hers and squeezed.

Swear.Smiling, she kissed him on the cheek, then rushed out,

leaving the door open in her wake.Shaking his head, Dev snagged his cell and, while moving

to shut the door, dialed his best friend, a private investigatorwhod relocated to Brooklyn, New York.

Jayce answered on the rst ring. Calling to shoot the

shit or to raz me about the Jets?Professional call. Need you to dig into someones life.Must be serious.Concerns family.On it, Jayce said. Whats the name?He glanced at his notepad. Chloe Madison.

* * *

In two days time, Chloe had secured a job and lodgings inSugar Creek, put most of her belongings into storage, and


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purchased a one-way ticket to Burlington, Vermont. Shedworked fast, refusing to second-guess her decision. The apart-ment was in Ryans name and hed purchased the majority ofthe furnishings. She suddenly felt like a kept woman, espe-cially since hed repeatedly pointed out her spastic work r-sum. She needed to get her act together and, as Monica hadsuggested, take time to heal. Ryan had dinged her sense ofsecurity and blown a hole in her self-esteem. Was she reallythat much of a ake?

When her plane touched down in Burlington, Chloe vowednot to fall apart when she saw her best friend. Besides, Chloewas fairly sure she was all cried out. Shed gone through fourboxes of tissues and two rolls of toilet paper in her two-daypacking spree. Nope, she wasnt going to shed one more tearfor Ryan-the-Cheating-Bastard Levine. She wanted to makethe most of her time with Monica. Unbelievably, even thoughthey frequently e-mailed and talked on the phone, they werelucky if they saw each other in person once every three years.

In fact, the last time shed seen Monica was when Chloe hadown back to their hometown in Indiana for Monica andLeos wedding. That was also the last time Chloe had seenher dad.

Oh, my God, Monica squealed as Chloe rushed towardher in Baggage Claim. Youre a brunette!

I didnt have time to keep up with the blond highlightswhen I was in school, so I went back to my roots, so tospeak. Chloe hugged Monica and held tight. But she didnt

cry.The taller woman pushed her to arms length and eyed

her with a sympathetic smile. You look good. A little thin,but beautiful as always. How the hell did you lose weight inculinary school? Dont you eat what you cook?

You end up tasting and sampling on the run rather thansitting down and lingering over a meal. Plus, between theheat of the kitchen and the anxiety and excitement . . . Sheshrugged. Watch. Ill put on twenty pounds in the next

month.


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Documents

Fool for Love; A Cupcake Lovers Novel