The Heavenly Baker by J J Monroe

the evening is a blur I believe him. Being in television, I know a few people, and one of those is good at analysing drinks and the chemicals people put in them.’
    â€˜I don’t follow.’
    â€˜Matt was drugged last night. We have conclusive proof. Someone went to his room, slipped him a sleeping pill crushed up in a glass of champagne, and then presumably sent you a text, because he has no recollection of ever having sent it.’
    â€˜You seriously expect me to believe that someone drugged Matt last night then sent me a text inviting me over to see him?’
    â€˜Not just someone, but Roxy McQueen,’ explains Laura. ‘You don’t know the little minx but I do and she’s as scheming and vicious as they come.’
    â€˜So why didn’t Matt warn me about her?’
    â€˜He was trying to protect you by playing it cool, not showing you any attention so Roxy wouldn’t have been any the wiser about you two, but Matt being Matt, he didn’t figure that a woman’s sixth sense would come into play. Roxy suspected all along. Matt has been playing cool with her for weeks and she’s no fool. She’s been watching the competition so far and the chemistry between you and Matt is white hot. It doesn’t take a genius to work out what’s going on.’
    â€˜Is she really that vindictive?’
    â€˜She’s worse. She’s a woman scorned and you know how that goes.’
    â€˜Yes, I do.’
    â€˜I know it doesn’t make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things,’ admits Laura. ‘But I thought you should know.’
    â€˜I appreciate the truth,’ I tell her. ‘But I’m not sure I can deal with it right now and seeing Matt earlier really didn’t help.’
    â€˜That’s because you didn’t know the truth back then.’
    â€˜Maybe,’ I say, but I can’t quite shift the image of him with Roxy. It is corrosive, gently burning into all the good memories of Matt and me that I have been building up to savour on a rainy day. ‘I have to go.’
    â€˜If you need anything,’ she whispers, hugging me. ‘All you have to do is ask.’
    â€˜Thank you.’ I hug her back before walking back into the hospital. Perhaps someone has news for me about my father because the waiting is just desperate.
    I put Laura’s news to the back of my mind but it refuses to stay there. I concentrate on focusing all my positive energy on my father but as I look around I see boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, families looking after each other in times of need, and even though what I saw wasn’t the truth, it still hurts. To think of Matt with another woman sears my heart. It is too painful to think about and I have enough pain to deal with right now, thanks very much, so maybe I’m better off without the hassle. After all, blood has always been thicker than water and my family needs me right now. The rest of it is just a distraction. So I sit and I wait and I squeeze my mother’s hand.
    Out of the blue she says, ‘So where’s this famous baker I’ve heard so much about?’
    Her question takes me completely off-guard.
    â€˜He’s not here right now.’
    â€˜I can see that,’ says Mum. ‘The question is why not – or is the answer obvious?’
    â€˜We had a disagreement.’
    â€˜Surely this trumps disagreements?’
    â€˜I thought he cheated on me,’ I tell her. ‘But his assistant is convinced his ex-girlfriend drugged him. I know it sounds crazy, but she really believes that’s what happened.’
    â€˜Do you believe her?’
    â€˜She has no reason to lie.’
    â€˜Not even to cover for her boss?’ asks Mum.
    â€˜I don’t think she’d do that.’
    â€˜So call him. If this has taught me anything then it’s that every minute is precious and yet we take it all for granted. We get distracted