{"id":2621,"date":"2014-11-17T06:57:33","date_gmt":"2014-11-17T11:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/?p=2621"},"modified":"2014-11-17T06:57:33","modified_gmt":"2014-11-17T11:57:33","slug":"raspberry-kisses-chapter-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/raspberry-kisses-chapter-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Raspberry Kisses – Chapter One!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RaspberryKisses_FINAL-1\"<\/a>Raspberry Kisses is now available for order on Amazon!<\/a><\/p>\n

Chapter 1:<\/p>\n

Chapter One<\/p>\n

Rhea and her assistant, Candy, piped white icing over the cupcakes. The enticing scent of chocolate filled the air as Rhea glanced at the clock. While swirling frosting over the last treat, her hand shook, and the sugared topping spread into a wavy line. \u201cI can\u2019t believe I messed up another cupcake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to calm down, Rhea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using a spatula, she wiped the frosting off and re-iced the last one. The customer would arrive soon to pick up her order. Wiping sweat from her brow, she stared at the cakes. This three-hundred cupcake order would bring in much-needed revenue for her dwindling business.\u00a0 She really needed this money to pay her growing mountain of unpaid bills. She\u2019d dealt with this customer before and she\u2019d always been nit-picky about her desserts, making changes at the last minute. This order was not a done deal until the customer showed up and paid.<\/p>\n

She dropped the pastry bag into the sink. \u201cWe finished in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candy dropped her pastry bag into the sink, too, her nose stud twinkling under the bakery lights. \u201cI\u2019ll box them up before\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

The phone rang and Rhea lifted the receiver. \u201cMaple Grove Bakery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, I\u2019m calling about my cupcake order.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhea gripped the receiver, heart thudding. The client\u2019s high-pitched, emotional voice resonated in her ear. Hopefully, she\u2019d be arriving soon to pick up her order. \u201cOh, we just finished icing them. We\u2019re about to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m canceling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhea\u2019s mouth dropped open, and she paced the bakery. \u201cYou can\u2019t do that!\u201d In order for her bakery to survive, maybe she needed to change her policy, requiring the client to pay a deposit when the order was placed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I can. I got them for half the price you\u2019re charging over at the Grove Mart.\u201d The customer hung up, and Rhea slammed down the phone.<\/p>\n

She pressed her hands together, gritting her teeth, forcing herself to stay calm. She\u2019d lost two hundred dollars on the cupcake order. What could she do now? She shut her eyes, pressed her suddenly aching head into her palm.<\/p>\n

Candy touched her shoulder. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhea struggled to control her voice. \u201cThe customer canceled. She got them for half price from the grocery store.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candy rolled her eyes. Her light brown skin reddened with anger. \u201cThis is the fifth cancellation we received this month.\u201d She shook her head, her dreadlocks swaying. \u201cWe can\u2019t go on like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Struggling to control her anger, Rhea kicked a cabinet before slumping onto a stool, silently agreeing with her assistant. She could not go on like this. She\u2019d already lost over one thousand dollars in sales that month because of the recent opening of the new Grove Mart. How could she get her customers back?<\/p>\n

She eyed the trays of recently-decorated cupcakes. Unable to resist, she selected one, shoving most of it into her mouth. The wonderful taste of moist chocolate cake and creamy vanilla frosting comforted her. She gobbled two more cupcakes, stopping when she eyed her size-twelve hips.<\/p>\n

Candy grabbed two cupcakes. \u201cThis has been an awful day. I need to take a walk.\u201d Candy shoved the door open, the bell above the door jingled as she went outside.<\/p>\n

Pacing on the sidewalk in front of the bakery, Candy gobbled two cupcakes before walking up and down the street, talking on her cell phone, while Rhea struggled to come up with a plan. She needed to figure out how to compete with the grocery store bakery. If she didn\u2019t, she\u2019d be forced to close her business.<\/p>\n

*<\/b><\/p>\n

Rhea pulled into the empty space in front of her apartment complex, removing the paper sack of baked treats from her passenger seat. She\u2019d be eating baked goods for dinner, not wanting to waste money on food. Her stomach rumbled with hunger as she unlocked the foyer door and stopped at the mailboxes, hesitating.<\/p>\n

She unlocked her postal receptacle and envelopes tumbled out onto the floor. The bright pink and blue notices from the creditors reminded her about the delinquent bills. Bending over, she lifted the unwanted bills, stuffing them into her bag.<\/p>\n

She trudged up the steps toward her unit on the third floor.<\/p>\n

Leonard, her obese landlord, stood at the top of the steps, stooped down, sliding something underneath her door.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, no, now what?\u201d she mumbled to herself. Her shoulders tensed. Did she have enough time to run outside and hide before he spotted her?<\/p>\n

Almost as if he sensed she stood behind him, he turned toward her, his signature cigar hanging from his thick lips. His gray hair looked like crinkly cellophane under the bright lights, and his eyes widened when he spotted her. His too-small T-shirt lifted slightly, giving her a peek of his fat, hairy stomach. He pulled his shirt down, shoving the hem into his dirty blue jeans. \u201cRhea! I need to talk to you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Lord, help me.<\/i><\/p>\n

She swallowed, walking up the steps, grasping her keys so hard that they dug into her skin. Hopefully, he wouldn\u2019t try to ask her out again. He always leered at her as if she were a thick slab of meat that he wanted to gobble up. \u201cLeonard, what do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour lease expires in four months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not letting you renew it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She gripped the stair rail, groaning. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Leonard charged the cheapest rent in Maple Grove. There was no way she could afford to live elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy nephew just graduated from college. He\u2019ll be needing a place to stay later this summer. So, I\u2019m letting him have your unit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t do that!\u201d Balling her hands into fists, she glared at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

She scowled, getting into his face. \u201cYou have an entire apartment building. Why\u2019d you choose my unit to give to your nephew?\u201d<\/p>\n

Smoke curled from his cigar, the stench making her stomach clench. He pulled it from his mouth, licking his lips. He continued standing in front of the entrance, unmoving, like a statue. Why didn\u2019t he answer her question?<\/p>\n

She pointed toward her door. \u201cI need to go inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head. \u201cNot until we talk.\u201d His hot, musty breath fluttered around her face, almost making her gag. \u201cYou think I\u2019m too old for you, but, if you go out with me, I might decide to choose another tenant\u2019s apartment for my nephew.\u201d<\/p>\n

He took another puff of his cigar. She gritted her teeth. Could she really stand here, continuing to talk to this man any longer?<\/p>\n

\u201cMove!\u201d<\/p>\n

He refused to budge. \u201cMake me move.\u201d His taunting voice broke her patience. She reached forward, pushing, her fingers sinking into his fleshy arms. \u201cI love seeing you angry,\u201d he purred, leaning toward her, pulling her to his chest, his foul lips descending toward her cheek. The stench of his body wafted over her. When was the last time he had a bath? Her heart pounded, and using all her strength, she kicked his shin with her hard-toed shoes.<\/p>\n

He hollered, his lit cigar, dropping from his mouth, landed on the dirty carpeted floor. Cursing, he turned away from her, lifting his cigar from the floor, placing it back into his mouth. \u201cThat\u2019s the last time I try and be nice to you! You better find a new place to live! I don\u2019t want you in my building anymore.\u201d He narrowed his eyes, glaring at her. \u201cYou think you\u2019re such a high and mighty broad, but, I got news for you, you\u2019re gonna wish you\u2019d taken me up on my offer when you\u2019re homeless!\u201d<\/p>\n

Raspberry Kisses is available for order!<\/a><\/p>\n

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Raspberry Kisses is now available for order on Amazon! Chapter 1: Chapter One Rhea and her assistant, Candy, piped white icing over the cupcakes. The enticing scent of chocolate filled the air as Rhea glanced at the clock. While swirling frosting over the last treat, her hand shook, and the sugared topping spread into a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[35,91,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cecelia-dowdys-books","category-raspberry-kisses","category-the-bakery-romance-series"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paovYP-Gh","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2621"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2622,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621\/revisions\/2622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}