Six Days: Book One in the SIX Series Page 2

  Mallory gave me very specific instructions as to what I would be in charge of, and I appreciated how organized she was with her process. She set up a small work station for me, giving me all the tools I would need to accomplish whatever she had set out for me to do. It was a little overwhelming, but I could tell immediately that she would be patient with me, which relaxed me quite a bit. I still wondered how well I would be able to pull all of this off, given I literally had no experience whatsoever with what she was expecting me to do.

  The following three days were a blur. We baked, sorted things, decorated, baked some more, and then packaged up our creations. The hours passed by so quickly I couldn’t recall if I had even closed my eyes for a nap at any point. Mallory pointed out that I did get a ninety minute snooze along the way, sometime on day two, although I may have been standing up for most of it. I’m not sure that type of slumber truly counts unless you’re a horse.

  The theme “May Flowers” was a little cliché if you ask me, but safe enough for a politician gathering I guess, which was the catering job. Mallory didn’t know the specifics, other than just how many people would be attending the event, which was quite a few. Somehow in the last three days I piped one hundred and seventy-eight ladybugs, two hundred and forty butterflies, and at least four hundred flowers of all varieties onto various cookies, cupcakes, chocolate tortes, Oreo pops, and a even a cake. The cakes were Mallory’s forte, so she did all the others. I couldn’t believe how many items we made, but was more horrified that somewhere along the way I was counting ladybugs and butterflies.

  While we baked, Mallory explained that the building belonged to her grandparents. They left it to her when they passed away. There were two small apartments upstairs. Mallory lived in one of them and the other was rented out to some long-time tenants, which covered Mallory’s utilities on the building. She just recently had the bottom renovated and turned into the bakery, but it was still only a part-time gig for her, just a little start-up project. It was more of a hobby than anything else, and she liked having a place bigger than her apartment kitchen to experiment. She admitted the inside was overdone given that it was decorated to a tee despite not having many actual customers, but she loved the atmosphere and believed it encouraged her to want to bake even more. Because the bakery was located on a side street, there wasn’t much foot traffic from the downtown tourists. She was only officially open once a week when she had open houses where people could come in and sample her work and place large orders.

  Mallory also worked part-time as a fitness instructor at a local gym teaching spinning classes and Zumba. Kind of ironic for a girl who otherwise worked in a bakery, surrounded by calories. She was very bubbly and personable, which was infectious. She invited me out for a shopping trip once we were finished with this order, and I was happy to have made a friend so quickly after moving to town. I never would have imagined I would be helping someone out in a bakery, but so far it somehow seemed like a good fit for me and I was glad I could help.

  Once we finished perfecting the last of the order, we packaged it up and organized all of the boxes. It seemed like she had enough supplies to get through an entire year’s worth of orders, so again I was baffled by the fact that she talked about this shop as such a small side hobby when clearly she seemed prepared for much more than that. Sure, the actual customer area in the bakery was small, there were only two small bistro tables set out for people to sit down. But even then, she definitely had enough baking space in the back to handle some significant sized outside orders, and she had plenty of storage space to house everything. I really didn’t understand why she hadn’t expanded her business to being open a little more regularly. Surely she should be doing more than a birthday party here and there and the rare occasional large catering job like this one.

  “Well, you did it,” Mallory said after doing one final count to make sure we had completed everything on her list. Although she should have been a zombie by then, she radiated with pride. “This is going to do amazing things for my business. All these people at the party reading my name on the display boxes, eating all of this. I really couldn’t have done this without you, Addie. Whatever you want, I’ll pay you. Any amount, I swear,” Mallory said, making her way over to the cash register.

  “Oh no, I just… I mean, I’m just glad I could help. I'm happy that I was in the right place at the right time. I’m not looking for anything, really,” I answered back. Sleep. I just really wanted sleep. “Look, like I said earlier, I just moved here from out of town. I'm in one of those apartments just down the street within walking distance. Maybe if you need help again you can call me?” Yes, a job, that’s what I actually needed.

  “Are you kidding me? Really? You would want to work here? I only started this up a few months ago, so it wouldn’t be a ton of hours. Well, not steady anyway. It’s pretty sporadic. Honestly this is the most time I’ve ever consecutively spent here. But business has been picking up, and obviously I lost the only other help I had when my roommate left. Would you really want to help me? The job is all yours if you want it.” Mallory smiled, as if she already knew my response. I nodded, too tired to say much more.

  I slowly walked back to my apartment, mildly surprised my limbs still worked well enough to get me there. Must be all the frosting I had coursing through my blood stream. Good thing I now knew a fitness instructor, I was pretty certain that would be helpful at some point. I smiled, clearly delirious at the thought of any kind of exercise after everything I had just eaten the past three days. I turned the key in my lock, walked down the hall to my bedroom, and flopped down on my bed face first. As terrible as I felt in that moment, this new life already felt better than the one I had just left behind.

  Chapter 3

  Fourteen hours. Had I ever in my life slept for fourteen hours straight? It felt amazing, and I had no complaints about the rental bed I was in, so long as I wasn’t thinking about who else may have slept in it at one time or another. Mallory and I had plans today to do a little shopping and she promised to show me around town. In the seventy-two hours we had spent together, all the baking and decorating didn’t leave much room for deep conversation. Well, she really did most of the talking.

  As I learned a few things about Mallory, I quickly realized we were from two different planets. She had grown up in a small farm town nearby with two loving parents and a brother, one of those “normal” upbringings, if you can call that normal anymore. Her parents actually met on a blind date and they married three weeks later, and had been happily married ever since. Stories like that really baffled me. Mallory went to college and ended up studying abroad in France, Italy, and even Australia for a semester. She spoke whimsically about her experiences, the guys she met there, the places she saw. It further made me realize I hadn’t had much adventure in my life at all.

  That afternoon, and the several days that followed, we became fast friends. There was something about her, something, well…. fun. She seemed so carefree, almost cavalier, but in an adventurous type of way. We spent some more time at the bakery and she officially put me on the “payroll” as she called it. Just like Mallory had warned me, the bakery wasn’t open many hours. But once a week when she would host one of her beautiful open house events, a good number of people would come to sample her work and place orders. Just the preparation for that one event seemed to keep me busy enough, let alone a couple side jobs and orders she had here and there. She was extremely patient with me, and worked hard to teach me new techniques with her piping bags during our downtime. I was surprised by how easily it came to me, considering I had never even held one in my hands before meeting her. We saw a couple movies together and did a little more shopping, picking up some basics I needed for my apartment since I was still trying to get settled in.

  “So next weekend some friends of mine are having a little get together,” Mallory said as she stretched out on my uncomfortable leather couch one Sunday afternoon. “I thought it would be fun for you to meet some more pe
ople. You know, broaden your social circle a little bit.”

  “I don’t know, I’m not really a ‘big group of friends’ type of girl. Is it like a party, or like an intimate gathering of close people?” I asked quizzically. I certainly didn’t have many close friends growing up, given I was constantly moved around from place to place. Even back when I was in school it seemed like everyone I was close to eventually got into a relationship or moved away, so I never stayed in contact with anyone very long. Once I met Grant, I didn’t exactly expand my social circle then either. We had friends, sure. But they were all his friends, so I guess I didn’t really lose any in the break-up since I wasn’t all that close with them to begin with.

  “Oh come on, it’s just a few friends getting together for some food and drinks. There may be a decent sized group of people coming and going, but by the end of the night it will dwindle down and there will probably be less than ten of us. We can just sit around and hang out. It’ll be fun, I promise. Besides, I know a few eligible bachelors who will be there,” Mallory replied, raising an eyebrow at me.

  “Eligible bachelors? Are you a 1980s dating show? Who says that?” I shook my head, only slightly amused. “Dating isn’t really my thing. That’s pretty much how I ended up here, actually.”

  I explained my history with Grant, leaving out a few of the messy details. She seemed to understand. The first few days in the bakery Mallory and I had plenty of juicy conversations about love, but they were all her stories. Although none of her stories worked out either, they all sounded more romantic and whimsical than mine. She clearly she didn’t seem too broken by them.

  “Look,” Mallory continued, “I’m just saying that I think it would be good for you to meet some more people. Now that you’re planning to stick around town for awhile since you just got a fancy new job, I just think it might be nice to make some good new friends. Other than myself, of course.” Mallory flashed her big confident smile, as if to tell me she already knew I would be going to the party with her.

  The rest of the week flew by, spent busy learning some new frosting techniques and brainstorming some event ideas for the bakery. I thought maybe if we spread the word a little more that her shop even existed, perhaps she would be able to increase her orders, thus giving me more work to do, which I needed. Mallory taught me some new recipes as well and we experimented with some new desserts, trying to expand her available menu. I was surprised at how well I was picking up what Mallory taught me, given that I never really dabbled with baking before. I felt as though I could finally bake a few of her items from scratch without her supervision, which seemed like great progress for me. Even when we didn’t have much to bake, it was still nice to hang out with her at the shop. We talked and laughed, and Mallory had endless funny stories to tell. I really enjoyed getting to know her better.

  A couple of Mallory’s friends stopped by throughout the week and they all seemed pretty nice and sincere. There was Megan, a girl Mallory had known from school. She had long dark straight hair and striking green eyes, one of those girls who was just naturally pretty, but didn’t seem to act like she even knew it.

  Then there was Steve. He was handsome, like, really handsome, with blonde hair that either seemed messy or perfectly done, though I couldn’t tell which. His eyes were an unusual hazel-green mixture, and he had a defined jaw line and a dimpled smile. He insisted I come to the party Mallory had mentioned on Saturday night, though I sensed he was being urged by Mallory to talk me into coming.

  Stephanie and Tyler stopped by the bakery that week as well, a couple Mallory knew from college, though they were married and had moved a couple towns over so Mallory didn’t see them too often. A guy named Johnny stopped by the bakery twice. He had short brown hair and dark eyes, and Mallory seemed close with him. Not in a romantic way, but more like they had just known each other for a long time. Mallory briefly explained that Johnny and Kate, her friend that ditched out on her and the bakery, had dated for awhile. Apparently things didn’t work out between them, given Kate was no longer in the picture. All in all, everyone I met seemed so genuine. Since the party Saturday night was at Johnny’s house, he talked me into coming. He promised me a good time, though I was nervous as to what he meant by that.

  Saturday finally came, and for some reason I felt nervous about meeting all of Mallory's friends. Even though I had met a few and liked them all instantly, I still had a pit in my stomach. Mallory came over to my place so we could get ready together. I never really cared much about what I was wearing. I gravitated towards leggings and tunic style shirts, which were effortless and comfortable. They seemed to work well with my slightly curvy five-foot-six frame. I usually didn’t do much with my long blonde hair either. I pretty much relied on just drying it with a round brush and then moving on with my day, sometimes throwing it up in a pony tail or a loose bun, especially while at the bakery. Mallory, however, thought it had much more promise.

  Of course Mallory also had killer fashion sense, so she was constantly trying to improve my wardrobe. I never exactly told her why I arrived with only one large bag of clothes and little else. I had mentioned wanting to leave Grant behind for a fresh start, but I didn’t really explain that I left on such a whim without leaving so much as even a note behind.

  “Seriously, Addie, just wear this,” Mallory said, holding up a peach chiffon dress. “I’m telling you, there will be some guys there who want to see you in this dress.” Mallory’s eyes pleaded with me to say yes.

  “That thing is practically see through. Guys won’t be seeing much of a dress!” I exclaimed. I picked up a grey tunic shirt and some leggings. “These seem moderately adventurous, no?”

  Mallory laughed. “I have a camisole dress you can wear under this. You’re wearing the peach dress.”

  I pretended to pout.

  “Besides, Mr. Right could be there tonight, and he might lose you in a sea of leggings if you dress too boring,” Mallory said, already pulling the chiffon dress off the hanger and laying it over my bed. “Trust me. I’ve been in love like sixty times. Wear the dress,” Mallory said, giggling.

  “What does that even mean, a ‘sea of leggings’? I bet Mr. Right would have found you by now if he could ever figure out what you were saying,” I teased back, shooing Mallory out of the room so I could put on the peach dress.

  Damn. Maybe I should start paying a little more attention to what I wear. The dress fit perfectly, and the color actually went well with my blue-green eyes and light hair, which Mallory had curled and pinned back on one side.

  After Mallory finished accessorizing me, we finally made our way over to Johnny’s downtown apartment. It looked like a relatively trendy area of town. All of the small apartment buildings were intermixed with coffee shops and boutiques. As soon as we arrived, the door flew open and Mallory was quickly pulled inside. I reluctantly followed, relieved when Megan spotted me and gave me a quick hug.

  “I’m so glad you made it! Wow, that dress is ah-mazing. Let me introduce you around,” Megan said, grabbing my hand. She led me through the fifteen or so people gathered throughout the living room and the kitchen.

  Mallory was right, there sure were some good looking guys at the party. Steve looked even more handsome than when I saw him in the shop. He was wearing a light blue collared shirt with his long sleeves rolled half way up.

  “Hey Sweet Cheeks Two,” Steve said in a soft, low voice as I passed. I’m pretty sure I blushed more than would be reasonably expected from just one quick comment.

  “Oh, ignore him Addie. He’s always called Mal ‘Sweet Cheeks,’ mainly because all the guys back in college joked that the cupcakes she was always baking led to her perfectly sculpted derrière. So now that you’re in the baking business as well, you’re going to get plenty of that. I think he means it in an endearing way, actually,” Megan giggled. “So anyway, what do you want to drink?”

  “Um, wine?” I wasn’t much of a drinker, so I wasn’t even sure of my options. Please God, anything but w
hisky.

  “Sure, coming right up,” Megan said, reaching for a half-opened bottle of wine. She filled up one of the wine glasses already lined up on the kitchen counter. The wine looked light and even a little bubbly, so I hoped it would taste sweet, rather than dry and bitter like one of the red ones Grant always liked. I certainly needed to gulp down the glass whether I liked it or not, just to loosen me up a bit.

  “So Mal tells me you’re single, huh?” Megan raised an eyebrow, and then leaned in to whisper. “If you see someone who interests you, let me know. I can give you the rundown on most of the guys in here.”

  I wondered just how much Megan knew, and how she knew it.

  “Oh no. I mean yes, I'm single. And there are some attractive guys here, but I’m not really interested in that whole thing. I mean, I’m interested in guys,” I continued to ramble, “just not really, you know, at the moment. I kind of just ran away from one, so I’m not exactly looking at falling back in love right now, you know?”

  “Who says you have to fall in love,” Megan mused, clearly indicating we were having two different conversations. “Just let me know, Addie. I’ll give you the dirt on whichever guy you like.” I laughed, as if it was that easy to just pick one you liked and that was that. Although for a girl like Megan, maybe it was that easy.

  Megan pointed at a few random people and told me their names, as if I would remember them all later, then left me to work the room. Mallory was nowhere in sight. I glanced around the room, noticing that everyone seemed to know each other well. Just then, I locked eyes with a man standing against the back wall of the living room talking quietly on the phone. I quickly glanced away, feeling the warmth on my cheeks from blushing. He had thick dark hair and piercing grey-blue eyes. His jaw line was perfectly chiseled and I couldn’t tell if he hadn’t shaved in a day or two or if he had just walked off the set of a cologne advertisement photo shoot. He was wearing dark jeans and a white button down shirt, his long sleeves rolled halfway up. I glanced back at him. He seemed to be having an intense conversation on the phone, but even with his furrowed brow he was still by far the most handsome guy in the room.