Sleeping With the Entity by Cat Devon

may just have been polite in telling you they’d show up.”
    “You’re offering BOGO.”
    “Buy one get one half off for the first twenty-five customers. Yes, that might help.”
    “What happened to thinking positively?” Suz asked.
    “Panic got the best of me.”
    “Never.” Suz squeezed Daniella’s shoulders. “I refuse to let that happen. Remember, you won’t be alone. Xandra is coming to help bake the cupcakes at five tomorrow morning. And I’ll be here, too. At six or so. You open at eight.”
    Daniella resumed her nervous lip nibbling. “Maybe I should have opened on a Monday instead of a Saturday. At least then we’d have the commuter foot traffic heading for the CTA bus stop on the corner. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there isn’t a lot of foot traffic otherwise, and the parking around here isn’t great.”
    “We discussed both of those issues when you first came up with the idea of opening your shop,” Suz said. “Besides, Monday is the one day you are closed. And the location is what it is.”
    “It’s not like I had a lot of choice. I couldn’t afford the rent anywhere else. Not and get the equipment I needed.”
    “Bake it and they will come,” Suz said.
    “The floor is uneven.”
    “You told me that was charming.”
    “I lied,” Daniella said.
    “Well, the place was built almost a hundred years ago. What do you expect?”
    Daniella took a deep breath. “I expect a great grand opening. I have to believe that. I have to visualize that.” Instead she visualized Nick lifting her onto the stainless-steel worktable and sliding his hands under her T-shirt.
    She hadn’t seen much of him since that eventful night. She wondered if he was avoiding her. The possibility stung. Which was ridiculous. She had enough to worry about as it was. She certainly didn’t need to add a brooding sexy man to the mix.
    “Why do I not believe you’re thinking about cupcakes?” Suz said.
    “I was wondering why I couldn’t get the dark chocolate and orange frosting combo to work out right,” Daniella lied.
    “I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually. You have enough varieties as it is. Three standards.”
    Daniella nodded. “Vanilla cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, and red velvet. Of course for this week I’m calling them Blood Red Velvet.”
    “And then you’ve got the specials that change each day. Like the spice cupcake with the cinnamon frosting and the little fondant leaves.”
    “I wasn’t sure about the leaves at first, but I think they add a nice touch.”
    “You already know I love the s’mores cupcakes. That combo of a chocolate cupcake, chocolate frosting, marshmallow cream piped in the center, and then crumbled graham crackers on top.” Suz made a smacking noise with her lips. “Yumm.”
    “We can even torch the marshmallow if the customer wants.”
    “As long as you don’t torch the shop. I’m kidding,” Suz quickly added.
    “The fire department already checked us out.” Daniella pointed to the fire extinguisher on the wall near the oven. “We passed their inspection and the health department’s.”
    “So there’s nothing to worry about. You’re going to do great.”
    Daniella kept telling herself that even as she kept doing stuff in the kitchen. She couldn’t seem to stop herself. Baking was therapeutic for her. But she knew she was risking burning out if she didn’t get some sleep. She’d considered sleeping on a fold-up cot down here but decided that would be silly since her bed upstairs was so nearby.
    She was bone-weary by the time she slid between her sheets. She wore her cupcake cotton pajamas for good luck. Suz had given them to her last Christmas.
    The next five hours involved lots of tossing and turning but little sleep. Daniella was simply too excited. She leapt out of bed before the alarm went off.
    A quick shower was followed by multiple gulps of coffee. She got dressed in her jeans and Heavenly Cupcakes T-shirt in record time. Ditto for