Take the Cake Read Online Free Page A

everyone else that’s worked here too. I trust her judgment, but screw us over and you’ll be dealing with her.” She nodded toward the smaller woman standing by her side.
    Wren opened and closed her mouth, then turned to Emily. “It’s true,” she admitted. “I just showed up and convinced Kate that she needed me and that’s how we’ve worked ever since.”
    Kate gave Emily a wry smile. “She calls me boss, but sometimes I really have to wonder who’s in charge,” she said.
    “Tell me about it,” agreed Emily.
    “So, boss, while I show Emily around, what say you have some lunch?”
    “You trying to get rid of me?” teased Kate.
    “Hell, no, you’re too good a cook, but you ought to eat something besides frosting.”
    “Okay, I’ll make something up.”
    “How about you eat the bagel I’ve got ready for you in the refrigerator over at that table,” Wren supplied, pointing at a table near the front door.
    Kate stared at her. “When the hell did we get married?”
    “Please, like you could afford me.” Wren snorted.
    “Wren, whoever gets you will be one lucky guy, but I just hope he knows what he’s taking on,” retorted Kate over her shoulder as she went to get her lunch.
    ~~~
    Michael kept walking. He paused at a travel agency, looking at the posters and prices, for a moment entertaining the thought of getting out, getting anywhere, getting all the way far, far away. Going someplace where nobody knew what he did, what he used to do, what he was supposed to be doing. He sighed and walked on.
    It was early afternoon before he paused at the intersection, waiting for the light to change, and actually took a good look around to get his bearings. He slid his sunglasses down his nose and squinted around at the buildings. Where the hell was he? He knew he was in the Village again, but he must have gotten turned around somehow; his sense of direction felt skewed. Peering ahead, he recognized the red canopy flapping in the breeze, halfway down the next block.
    The bakery—he knew where he was now. He walked along the block, and then stood on the other side of the street, staring at the shop front; he wasn’t sure what he was doing. He shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced up the street. It was just a bakery, no big deal, so why did he feel like it was? He looked at the chalkboard hanging up out in front of the store, sporting a new quote for the day. At least someone was able to write. He crossed the street for a better look.
    The road to hell is closed for repaving.
    He grinned and his feet made the decision for him as he stepped inside.
    ~~~
    Kate walked out of the kitchen with her bagel on a plate, eyeing it with trepidation. “Wren, do you think you made this one big enough?”
    “Relax, boss. I made them for us at home this morning.”
    “Maybe, but it’s the size of a Volkswagen!”
    “You work very hard, so you need a good lunch,” said Wren with a placid smile. “Now go sit, and I’ll bring you a coffee.”
    Kate nodded and went to find somewhere to sit; she knew better than to argue with Wren.
    Michael stood in the doorway of the café, his eyes darting toward the counter. There were two women standing behind the coffee machine, one in the process of teaching the other how it all worked. They were deep in conversation but looked up with ready smiles at his approach. He studied their features but neither was the woman that he had spoken to a few days before, and he was surprised to feel a stab of disappointment.
    “Hi there, what can I get for you?” Wren watched him with quiet appreciation. There was something different about him. His eyes were hazel with a generous abundance of eyelashes that women paid a fortune for in mascara to achieve, but despite his striking looks he moved with a kind of shy caution.
    “Just a coffee,” Michael ventured.
    “No problem.” She smiled. “You go take a seat and we’ll be right with you.”
    He took his change and nodded his thanks before