Close to You

like an angel and wear sinful
shoes.
     

Chapter Three
     
    Eve looked out her café’s window and
then reached for the phone. Taking out the scrap of paper Freya had
given her, she dialed the number.
    Voicemail again, just like the other
mornings she’d called. She left another brief message and hung
up.
    She didn’t want to come off as a
stalker but this was important. She’d projected the revenue a
celebrity book launch party would bring in and figured it was
enough to cover a whole month of expenses. That was if it did
modestly well, and it didn’t factor in the increased business it’d
generate. Daniela was her savior. Eve wasn’t going to give
up.
    Speaking of repeat
business…
    Eve glanced out the window again as
she wiped the counter.
    “ Who are you waiting for?”
Allison asked, coming around the counter with a tray of
muffins.
    “ No one. Why?”
    “ Because you keep looking
out the window like you expect to see someone stroll up the
block.”
    Her cheeks warmed. She wanted to deny
it but she wasn’t a good liar. Allison would see through her in a
second.
    Allison grinned, setting
the muffins on the rack to cool. “You are waiting for someone, and that
someone isn’t Freya.”
    “ Did you put the scones in
the oven? Maybe I should check on them.”
    “ It’s a man.” The older
woman’s eyes widened. “Who is he?”
    “ No one.” She pictured
Treat, with his chocolaty eyes, broad shoulders, and easy smile and
flushed all head-to-toe.
    “ It’s not no one ,” Allison
insisted. “Tell me about him.”
    Eve shook her head. “There’s nothing
to tell. This guy came in yesterday and he was cute. End of
story.”
    “ So cute you’re still
thinking of him. Did you get his name?”
    “ Treat.” She didn’t say she
also had his email address. Not that she was going to use it to
contact him—that’d just be wrong. Tempting, but wrong.
    Her barista laughed. “Was he good
enough to nibble?”
    “ Allison. ”
    She laughed louder.
    The phone rang. Eve leapt for it,
eager for the reprieve. “Hello?”
    “ Eve Alexander,
please.”
    “ Speaking.”
    “ Hello, Eve, this is Carmen
McKnight. I run Daniela Rossi’s PR.”
    Butterflies took flight in her belly.
The pressure of getting Daniela Rossi, the hottest dessert chef in
the country, into her store grayed her vision, and she had to
breathe deeply to focus. Waving to Allison, she headed to the
kitchen for privacy.
    The McKnight woman
continued in her brisk New York accent. “I understand you’re
interested in hosting the launch party for the release of Daniela’s Desserts at Home .”
    This was it. Her entire future, and
that of her café, rested on making this event happen. “It’ll be a
great fit. Grounds for Thought is in San Francisco, Mecca for
foodies, and the café’s atmosphere compliments Daniela’s
style.”
    “ Have you seen the
cookbook?”
    “ No, but I’m familiar with
Daniela’s TV show. I’m a big fan. I even use her recipe for
biscotti here in the café.”
    “ Hm.”
    What did that mean? Using her firm
marketing voice, Eve improvised. “Grounds for Thought is unique in
that not only do we bake our own pastries, but we also feature
select books. I’m happy to send you a packet on the café, including
pictures. You’ll see that the homey atmosphere here would
compliment Daniela’s cookbook. Of course, we’d feature some of her
recipes in the week leading up to the event as well.”
    “ You understand that this
is Daniela’s first cookbook. We want to make a huge
splash.”
    “ I assure you, I have the
connections and knowledge to make this an unforgettable event. I
was the marketing director for Evolve Design here in the city. Have
you heard of them?”
    The woman’s tone warmed
from frigid to minorly chilly. “They handled the Pantone Magazine launch,
didn’t they?”
    “ I drove the marketing
efforts on that campaign personally.”
    “ Hm.”
    This time Carmen’s hum was more
thoughtful. Even though Eve wanted to push she knew she’d appear
more confident waiting for the other woman to make the next
move.
    She hated waiting.
    Finally Carmen said, “The cookbook
comes out in a month. I trust setting the event’s date for the
fifteenth would work for you? You’ll have enough time to take care
of everything?”
    “ Definitely,” she said with
calm she wasn’t feeling.
    “ I still need to talk to
several other people who’ve approached us about the launch. In the
end, however, the