“I’ll show you wild,” Walter said with a little growl in his voice.
Oh, boy.
“Excuse me,” a male voice said, cutting through our ridiculous conversation.
Walter turned to face the middle-aged man at the counter. “Welcome to The Mix Up. What can I get for you?”
The poor man probably wished for one of thoseMen in Blackmind eraser things after what he’d likely overheard.
“Is the owner or manager in?” he asked.
His voice had a professionalism that had me shifting into business-owner mode. I did a quick appraisal. He was likely in his forties, wearing khakis and a polo shirt, and holding a clipboard. I movedtoward the counter. “Hello, I’m Sutton Holland. I own the bakery. How can I help you?”
The man gave me a curt nod, not cold in any way but efficient. “I’m Craig Leonard. I work for the Oregon Health Authority. There was an anonymous complaint about your establishment. I’m here to do a spot check.”
And with that, my world dropped out from under me. I was a stickler for cleanliness in my bakery, being one of those people who was over the top in my dislike of germs. But you never knew what an inspector might find that wasn’t exactly as the code required.
And if he fined me or paused me being able to serve? I’d never recover.
26
SUTTON
The last thingI wanted to do tonight was go out to a bar—not even one that had a country band playing. Not after the day I’d had.
The inspector from the Health Authority hadn’t found anything that would affect my license to serve food and beverages, but when I’d asked what the report had been about, he’d gotten cagey. Thea had swooped in to get more information, telling him we wanted to fix anything a customer perceived as not being up to our excellent standards.
That had seemed to set the inspector at ease, and he shared that someone had reported we weren’t washing the dishes properly. I knew that was complete bull. We had a three-step processbeforeputting them in an industrial washer.
It had to be Rick trying to mess with my business. I knew he was annoyed that he couldn’t up my rent, but I never thought he’d take it so far as to shut me down. The thought had my stomach churning. If I got booted from my current spot, I didn’t have enough reserves to set up elsewhere. And I needed every cent I was saving on rent now to get settled in a new apartment.
My phone dinged on the bathroom counter, and I forced my thoughts away from all those depressing possibilities.
Thea
We’re five minutes away. If you’re in pajamas, I’ll make you come anyway.
One corner of my mouth kicked up as I picked up my phone and quickly typed out a reply.
Me
It’s not you who scares me. It’s Lolli. So, I’m almost ready.
Thea
Wait until you see her outfit…
I grinned down at the device. Lolli never disappointed.
I set my phone down and picked up my makeup brush. If we were doing a girls’ night, I was going all out. I dabbed a smoky color on the outside corners of my eyes, sweeping it across the lids. Then I swapped the color for something lighter with a glittery accent that made the turquoise of my eyes really pop. I followed it with eyeliner and lip gloss and figured I was ready.
Stepping back, I surveyed myself. It wasn’t half-bad. It had been so long since I’d had a reason to really dress up. Not that my outfit was fancy, but having a reason to put a little more effort in was nice. I wore a floaty dress in a dark blue that hit me right at mid-thigh. The spaghetti straps and lacy bodice did great things for my boobs, and the skirt’s gauzy material gave it a flouncy, fun air.
I was thankful I’d grabbed a pair of cowboy boots at the thrift store a couple of months ago. The only thing I didn’t have was a hat. But that would’ve ruined the hour I’d spent taming my hair into loose curls.
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my clutch and headed out. As I moved into the hallway, I heard voices below. It wasn’t just Luca and Cope; I heard Arden’s mixed in there, too. It sounded like they were playing a game.
Luca hooted. “Four spots, baybeeeee.”
