“Everyone’s fine.” Mark nodded. “Paulette was a bit shaken up. Needless to say, she forbade Natalia, the kitchen staff member, to use the oven anymore. I felt bad for Natalia. She’s fresh out of high school and wants to go to culinary school. She was just trying to help. Anyway, I helped her make the bread step by step, and it turned out great. Natalia was thrilled, nearly crying because she was so happy. There’s hope for her yet.”
Arianna stepped aside and let him in. As much as she wanted to scold Mark for breaking his promise to her, she couldn’t bring herself to form the words. His selfless act was endearing, and it wasn’t fair to be upset with him. “You seem to be in pretty high demand around here,” she finally said.
“Blame Pauline.” He rubbed the back of his head. “She’s making me out to be some sort of celebrity.”
“According to most of the town, you are.”
“That’s just crazy.” He paused and sniffed. “Mmm. Something smells great.”
“There are cookies and cupcakes in the oven, and I’m making cake pops. I’m a bit behind on where I need to be.”
Mark pursed his lips. “That’s my fault, and I’m sorry.”
“No.” She clenched her jaw. “I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. I’m glad you saved the bed-and-breakfast from burning down.”
“Still, I made you a promise.”
She smiled at his insistence and decided not to argue about it. The sincere apology was one thing she would’ve never heard from her ex. He’d had no shame in hurting her. “Okay. We have two hours left to prepare before the shop officially opens.”
Mark removed his jacket, revealing a brown knitted sweater underneath. He rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands in the kitchen sink. “So where do I start, boss?”
Arianna laughed, though the title had a nice ring to it. “Just Arianna’s fine.” She gestured to the pan of cooled tree-shaped cookies. “How about you start decorating those? Just paint them like festive Christmas trees like these.” She pointed at a pan of extravagantly decorated tree cookies.
Mark nodded and approached the preparation counter. He picked up a squeeze bottle full of green icing and began carefully painting the trees.
Arianna noted his steady hand and extreme perfection as he coated the tree neatly and precisely in a matter of seconds. At this rate, they would finish all of the pastries in no time. She took a batch of cupcakes out of the oven then resumed making cake pops. She poured the batter into the cake pop maker and set it to Bake.
“I just noticed something,” Mark suddenly said, not stopping his work. “This place isn’t decorated for Christmas.”
Arianna rolled her eyes. Again? “It is. You just didn’t look hard enough.”
Mark finished decorating three large cookies and moved on to the next three. He glanced over his shoulder at her. “A place like this deserves to be done up right. Especially with the amount of traffic you get through here.”
“Eh, people care more about the treats than they do the interior decoration.”
“It’s all about atmosphere. And getting into the Christmas spirit.”
“I haven’t had time to decorate. Tonight’s the Christmas parade, and I have to use every second to get these pastries done.” She wasn’t sure if her response was too harsh, but he had to understand that she was a businesswoman first and foremost. When he didn’t reply, she turned her head, peering over her shoulder at him.
He’d already finished decorating an entire pan of cookies faster than she could blink. This guy ran circles around her when it came to productivity.
She prepared another large bowl of batter for a coconut cream cake. “So why in the world would Paulette the innkeeper think you’re a celebrity?” she asked, trying to lighten the mood. “You didn’t mention Justina’s show, did you?”
“Of course not. She kept raving over that quiche I made and begged me to help make more breakfast items for the guests.” Mark chuckled. “And I guess it didn’t help that she knows I’ve worked in nice New York restaurants. Apparently, my food’s a hit now, and she’s dubbed me a celebrity. Go figure.”
“Paulette did come off as a bit… enthusiastic.” Arianna fell silent as Mark stood next to her, holding a pan of cake pops. She sucked in a breath.
“How about I decorate these cake pops as little snowmen heads?” he suggested.
She considered it a moment then smiled. “Snowmen heads. I like it. It’ll be a hit with the kids.” Her heart warmed from his closeness. They shared something special in the kitchen, and they certainly made a great team when it came to efficiency.
Soon all of the pastries were baked, decorated, and placed in the display cases, ready for eager customers. The white hot chocolate was prepared and ready. They managed to beat the odds and finish forty-five minutes before noon.
Arianna slumped down in a chair and sighed, grateful that Mark had come in time to help. She hoped all of their hard work would pay off.
“So, about those decorations,” Mark said, breaking her out of her thoughts.
Arianna looked at him curiously. “You want to decorate now? The shop will be opening soon.”
Mark gave a dismissive wave. “Trust me. If we work together, in a half hour, we can turn this place into a Christmas paradise.”
She thought about the Christmas decorations in the storage room. It would take forever to sort through everything. She slowly pointed at the storage room door beyond the kitchen.
Grinning, Mark flung open the door and hefted out a large bin that was overflowing with multicolored lights and silver garland. He set the bin in the middle of the floor at the front of the shop.
Arianna rummaged through the bin and pulled out two faux-fir wreaths. “I’ll hang these up.”
Mark nodded. “I’ll get these lights untangled.”
They worked quickly, unloading all of the decorations and putting each piece in place. In no time, the two of them had transformed the shop’s interior into one with a memorable Christmas atmosphere. White lights hung from the ceiling, giving the illusion of tiny shining stars. Garland traced the window trim, and small Christmas knickknacks were placed strategically around the shop.
Arianna beamed proudly at their combined efforts.
“We make a great team.” Mark glanced around admiringly.
She nodded. They certainly did, but in the back of her mind, she knew this teamwork would be short-lived, and in two days, he would be gone forever.
Chapter 5
Mark was awake before sunup the next morning. He decided to try to sneak out of the house before Paulette or the other staff could nab him for breakfast again. While he found it flattering that they treated him like some celebrity, he also found it unnecessary and would rather spend time cooking alongside Arianna, who continued to capture his curious heart. Last night at her shop had been a great success. Despite the large crowds from the Christmas parade, Arianna ended up having enough product to sell and even had a few cookies left over, which she and Mark had shared as a victory celebration for their successful teamwork.
Bundled in his leather jacket and gloves, Mark crept out of his room and padded down the carpeted stairs. The place was unusually quiet. The scent of last night’s flavorful cinnamon nut bread dessert lingered, reminding him of the small event Paulette had hosted when he returned from Arianna’s shop. He made a beeline for the front door.