The Little Brooklyn Bakery (Romantic Escapes, #2)

by Julie Caplin

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says I’m Possible! Audrey Hepburn

And then she spotted the notice above the counter. You’ve got 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to smile?

This almost felt like home and suddenly she wanted to be in the kitchen, mixing, stirring, tasting and baking.

‘Sophie!’ The girl squealed, dropping her cloth and racing around the counter, and putting her hands on Sophie’s arms, surveying her with bright-eyed enthusiasm, rather like a great aunt who hadn’t seen her for years. ‘Hey! It’s so great to see you. I’m Bella. Your landlady. I’ve never been a landlady before. Is the apartment OK?’ She let go of Sophie and gesticulated eagerly, letting her hands take a share in the conversation. ‘Do you need anything? I’m sorry I didn’t get any groceries in. I think maybe I should have, I didn’t know but then we had a rush order and I just … well it’s always mad on a weekend. Welcome to Brooklyn.’

Bella’s just too darn cute 🤗 her reactions are everything!

He exuded self-assurance which made her feel doubly inadequate, out of place and alien.

Chris Hemsworth.

‘And there’s something about a cake. It says love. It says sugary yumminess. It’s like a tiny hand-held hug. Cakes are for Christmas, celebrations, holidays and birthdays. Weddings. For happy, happy days. That’s why I love making them. The world needs more happiness.’

‘Someone once told me that things taste better when they’re made with love.’

‘I’m serious. You should never stop trying new things. You might miss out on something amazing.’

‘Kind is my middle name,’ said Todd airily.

With some people kindness could be quite self-serving, almost calculated. Todd’s came naturally.

The Big Apple.

‘This is one of the greatest cities on earth. Brooklyn is one of the best neighbourhoods to live in.

‘You should check some places out. Prospect Park. DeKalb Market Hall, north of Fulton Street. About three blocks over. I’ve heard it’s a real foodie haven. There’s a great flea market up at Kent Avenue. What are you doing next weekend?’

Every morning you wake up with two options, to continue to sleep with your dreams or to wake up and chase them. The choice is yours.

Courgette and lemon, carrot and orange, pumpkin and apple.

Hip without being too glitzy and still comfortable in her own skin. She felt like herself.

‘A meal is the sum of many things, not simply the food. It’s the atmosphere, who you’re with, the memories you create. There’s a special warmth about the perfect meal, a sum of all the right things coming together.

‘I need to try it for my food education.’

Brimming with energy and bounce, he looked the epitome of health and fitness.

debutante

‘smart, definitely smart dresses for dinner, a cover-up is fine over your suit at breakfast, bikinis are OK at lunch if you’re at a pool party and just about anything goes on the beach, although not topless’ – and a quick Google on the Hamptons, Sophie was confident that she’d packed and shopped accordingly.

floral shorts, two gorgeous summer dresses, high- and low-heeled sandals as well as a vest top and two new T-shirts for the beach. Like most of her purchases, the tiny bikini had been an impulse, vanity buy.

‘You’re the original sunshine girl.’

‘I brought breakfast. A flask of coffee and … home-made cinnamon rolls, baked this morning.’

Commitment-shy in different ways.

There was something special about Todd’s company, he seemed to have an innate ability to know when to tease, when to talk, when to be serious and when not to say anything at all. It probably came from the fact that he was comfortable in his own skin. He seemed to know who he was. Sophie had thought she’d got it all taped and now she questioned her own judgement, which had turned out to be incredibly bad.

perceptive,

He was, she realised with a warm glow in her chest, a very kind man and, judging by the way his lips suddenly compressed together, not very comfortable acknowledging it.

‘Without sounding … you know … girls tend to … I’m not complaining – I got damn lucky with the genes, but that’s all some people see. Hell, I can’t believe I’m even saying this … eye candy. Those girls don’t know the real me. Nice as they are. You,’ he smiled at her, a proper smile that met his eyes and turned her to mush, ‘you treat me like a real person. I like you, English. When we went to Onyx that night, I realised … we’re friends.’

‘I really enjoy being with you … it kind of feels like I can be me. I never have to think about what I’m saying. It’s easy being in your company.’

‘Yeah, nice but …’ he pulled a face, ‘how do I say this without sounding like a complete ass? She’s nice but insubstantial. Conversation stops at what do you do for a living, where do you come from? She would never tease me about my harem. Or …’ his eyes twinkled, ‘threaten me with her washing.’

dressed in a uniform of coloured shorts and smart white polo shirts and designer loafers.

winsome.

Gilmore Girls and Riverdale.

sumptuous,

superlatives

‘Unbelievable.’

‘No, Sophie. You were kind, like you always are. I bet you’d have had a go at that game even if you’d had two left thumbs, when you saw how much spending some time with me mattered to him.’

Playing second fiddle at the outset.

Halitosis?

debonair

avaricious

winsome,

diffidence.

He really did need some kindness in his life. He would be an easy man to love, even if he didn’t think so. And she shouldn’t love him, but she could give him the care and kindness he deserved.

‘Todd McLennan, you have such a big head. If you think the blue eyes, charming smile and big Hollywood teeth are all it takes to make women fall at your feet, you need a reality check.’

He laughed out loud. ‘And that right there is exactly why I like you.’

‘Jet, darling. Welcome to the Hamptons.’

Baywatch,’