Cinnamon and Spice Conundrum (Cinnamon Rolls and Pumpkin Spice)

Chapter 27

Sadie

“He brought you flowers,” Judith says as she walks into the break room where I’ve been hiding out with Michael and Ella. She hands me a cellophane-wrapped bouquet of wilted daisies.

I cried buckets of tears last evening after I got home from the concert, but a few more tears leak out at the sight of the floppy white blossoms. The sweet gesture is so typical of Jack—

He’s not Jack!

My resolve to stay mad at the man comes back with a vengeance. I’ve been wronged and I’m not letting go of my anger! His list of offenses ticks off in my brain. He pretends he’s poor and has no clue about fashion... He acts like he loves simple things like fishing... He drives a junker car, almost as rusty as mine...

I bet Mr. Turnbill laughed at how easy it was to pull the wool over the na?ve small-town girl’s eyes. I cringe when I remember telling my brother to give Jack a raise! Sam must have chuckled all night over that one.

All this time, a billionaire has been my fill-in barista. No wonder he was such a whiz with his spreadsheets and pricing strategies.

“He looked terrible, like he hadn’t slept all night,” Judith adds as she settles into the chair beside me. “And his voice sounded sincere when he said he wants to explain and apologize.”

“Was that Jack talking or Ryan?” I fire back.

Her brows draw together. “Ryan?”

Waving my hand in a dismissive fashion, I say, “See? We can’t trust him. ”

She balances her hand on my arm. “Sadie, why don’t you hear him out? Maybe he had a good reason for his deception.”

I spring to my feet and start pacing in the tiny space, gesturing wildly with my hands. “No way! Why would he need to deceive me? I’m his business partner’s sister. Like I said, I’ll never be able to trust if he’s pretending to be Jack or if he’s being himself. Ryan “The Liar” Turnbill.”

“Liar, liar, pants on fire!” Michael adds.

Oops. My foul mouth is rubbing off on the youngsters. Sorry , I mouth to Judith.

“Come help me mix up some muffins,” Judith says, shooing Michael and Ella towards the kitchen. “We’ll leave Sadie to cool down.”

“Mommy says air conditioning helps you cool down,” Ella says.

“Thank you, Ella. I’ll remember that,” I say contritely.

Truth is, I need a bucket of ice water tossed at my head to cool down from my anger towards Ja— er, Ryan.

Come to think about it, while I’m still holding on to my anger, I’ll call Sam and give him a piece of my mind as well.

“Hey, sis! How are things going after the Pinecone Festival?” Sam asks in an overly upbeat tone, right after the second ring. My eyes narrow. Has he already talked to the liar? I figured those two schemers would have shared all the gory details with each other already.

“Oh, just peachy,” I reply in a snide voice.

“I talked to Ryan—”

Cutting him off, I say, “Ah ha! I figured you two traitors would talk.”

A couple beats of silence hang awkwardly between us. “Listen Sadie, Ryan had a good reason for the disguise.”

“I see. That’s what you’re calling it? The disguise? How about we call it what it was? Duplicity. Deceit. Dirty pool. ”

“He wasn’t trying to hurt you,” Sam says.

“Well, I feel like a fool! I fell for his pack of lies,” I say, my voice cracking with emotion. A few tears trickle down my cheeks and I swipe them off. “I thought he was poor. I even asked you to give him a raise for Pete’s sake!” Embarrassment over that particular conversation really stings.

Clearing his throat, Sam says, “Did you consider that he didn’t want you to know about his wealth, so you’d see the real Ryan?”

Sam’s words give me pause, and I’m silent for several beats.

Would I have treated Ryan differently if I thought he was a billionaire CEO? Maybe. Maybe not.

“Why did you agree to his silly plan to keep me, your sister, in the dark?” I ask.

My brother sighs. “I didn’t see the harm. I thought Ryan would be there a couple weeks, help you out, then return to Denver.”

“Didn’t you consider that I might meet the real Jack and the real Ryan some day?”

“It was unlikely. You’re always too busy to leave the café.”

That comment hurts, but it’s the truth. I haven’t visited Sam in Denver since I moved to Pinecone Pines.

“Talk to Ryan. Please give him an opportunity to explain,” Sam says.

“Maybe,” I say begrudgingly, then hang up, still miffed at my brother.

I’m not sure if I’m ready to listen to Ryan The Deceiver yet, or if I’ll ever be.

No more than an hour later, a woman dressed to the nines saunters into the café. She ignores me standing behind the bakery case, strides up to the counter, looks down her nose, and says to Judith, “Is Ryan Turnbill available? ”

My eyes widen. Wow! Once his cover was blown, word got out fast that Ryan is hiding out here.

“He’s not here right now. May I help you?” Judith says in her most professional tone.

Tapping what must be a Louboutin-clad toe on the linoleum floor, the woman says, “I simply can’t believe one of Denver’s most eligible bachelors is hiding out here . I bet he can’t wait to get back to his old life.”

I grit my teeth and count to ten, desperately wanting to stride over and bop the arrogant lady on her rather beak-like nose, but Judith maintains her composure. Rather than show that she’s offended by the woman’s tone and comment, my new barista says, “Can I get you a coffee?”

Tossing my employee a haughty look, the woman says, “I’d like a grande quad nonfat one-pump no-whip mocha.”

“Um,” Judith says, as she sways back and forth on the balls of her feet. “I’m not sure we offer one of those—” Her voice trails off and I stifle the urge to leap in to help her. However, I want Judith to build up her confidence, so I remain mute.

“What kind of coffeehouse is this?” the woman yelps.

Judith flinches, then after a couple beats, she fires back, “The kind that treats people with respect.”

Trying to keep my expression neutral, I mentally fist pump the air. Go Judith!

The woman’s mouth flops open. She looks like a fish out of water for several beats as her mouth opens and closes. “Well, I never! Don’t expect me to come back here ever again,” she shouts, then flies out the door.

Judith turns beseeching eyes to me. “Sadie, I’m sorry if I lost that customer.”

I snort. “You handled her perfectly. I’m glad she won’t be coming back. ”

Silence falls between us for several seconds as we return to our tasks. “If those are the kind of women who are after Ryan, no wonder he was hiding out,” she comments as she refills the coffee stirrers. “Seems like he had a pretty good reason for doing what he did.”

“Maybe,” I grumble, acknowledging the horrible behavior we just witnessed, but still peeved that Ryan didn’t fess up to his real identity once things started getting serious between us. I thought I was kissing impoverished Jack, yet I was making out with a billionaire. My anger latches on even more firmly, and I seethe at the thought that Ryan didn’t care for me enough to tell the truth. He needs to go back to his old life just as the snotty woman suggested.