1

The February before…

Milli Haywood was rapidly decorating cupcakes for a wedding when her boss shouted at her to pick up line two, it was her sister.

Scowling, Milli snatched the cordless phone tossed her way out of the air, “Not now sis, I got a thousand cupcakes and a cake to finish by 5 PM for delivery.”

Marni laughed at Milli’s tone. “You always say that.”

“Well, this time it is true. The family booked a wedding online, but the outside caterer they hired off the internet was a scammer and took them for the whole food budget. We are scrambling to get the wedding cake and cupcakes for over 500 plus ones done and delivered by 6 PM.” Milli shifted the phone and shouted out, “Tray pickup!”

“Ow! Too loud!” Marni complained.

Twisting the icing bag in her hand, Milli made black bows with a practiced hand and revealed the wedding details tiredly, “Seriously Marni, I gotta go. I still have to do the royal icing piping on the cake. Chick wants red filigree and black ribbons. Her colors are blood red and black over a red velvet cake with blood orange and pomegranate filling. It’s going to look like it’s bleeding when they cut it. I heard the bridesmaids are all in red with black flowers, the bride is in white with red flowers and black bows. It’s gonna look like a freaking vampire wedding.”

Marni laughed at her sister again, “Vampires are all the rage. Haven’t you read the Twilight books I got you?”

“Nope, I like my sleep too much. Do you still need a ride to work tonight because it looks like I might be doing the cake service too?” Milli stretched to her full five foot and almost one-inch height, before leaning over the tray to pipe red flowers next to the black bows.

“I’ll get a ride, or call a guy, or maybe I’ll just drive myself.”

“Marnianne! You will not drive yourself! Your license is suspended. If they catch you, it’s jail for a year. If you don’t get a ride, you will call me OR ELSE.” Her voice was a deeply low growl.

Jackson Harper and Ramses César looked at her warily and moved slightly away. Everyone knew Milli had a temper like nitroglycerin. She may be tiny, but she was volatile, and her sister seemed to delight in pushing her to the edge of sanity on a daily basis, especially since their parents died in a carjacking gone wrong.

“Fine. I’ll Uber, just pick me up after.” Marni hung up without saying goodbye.

Milli bent over and immediately messed up the frosting flower on her next cupcake.

Ramses chuckled at her frustrated snarl. “Go ahead and crush it. Pretend it is your sister and get it out of your system, Chica.”

Milli grinned evilly at him and shredded the red velvet cupcake into tiny pieces, her hands stained blood-red by the frosting and crumbs.

“Ahhhhh, so much better,” Milli sighed in demented pleasure.

Laughing, Jackson held out a towel, “Now that you’re done murdering innocent cupcakes, can you finish that tray? We still have 4 more trays to do and the wedding cake.”

Milli scrubbed the crime scene off her hands. “Fine, Jack-a-boy. But the last one through the next two trays does Vampira’s filigree.”

The race was on and even with Ramses helping Jackson on the last half of his second tray, Milli still beat him.

Milli taunted, “Aww, did Jack the Beanstalk lose to little pixie me?” Mocking the other decorator’s over six-and-a-half-foot height. “It must be the thin air up there that slows you down so much. Maybe you should wear oxygen when you get up in the morning.”

“There is nothing pixie about you, troll doll,” Jackson teased back.

Milli’s mother was a French mulatto from Louisiana Creole country, and her afro-like hair became fluffy in the bakery’s heat despite Milli’s attempts to pull it up in a bun. By the end of a shift, she could pull out the elastic stays and her hair would stand up almost straight for the first half-hour, earning her the nickname troll doll. That and her favorite pastime – trolling her bestie with practical jokes.

Milli planted her hand on her hip and mocked her best guy friend. “You’re just jealous that I can grow hair on my head, and you can only grow it in your armpits and ears,” she retorted smugly as laughter broke out around them. The comradery in the bakery gave it a comfortable, homey atmosphere like they were a loosely connected family.

“Ha haaa, Princess Trollina. I guess I’ll go mess up the filigree,” Jackson whined as he slowly made his way toward the cooler where the cake was resting.

Ramses raised an eyebrow at Milli, who shook her head negatively, but the longer the old man gave her the eye the more she felt herself caving in. Ramses had been both her mentor and boss since high school.

“St. Honore give me patience and a steady hand,” Milli muttered praying to the patron saint of bakers, then she yelled at them, “Somebody else better be serving!”

Ramses gave her a sly smile, his voice a conspiratory whisper, “You knew you couldn’t let him and his four espressos a day touch that cake. It’s why you are my best decorator.”

“Hrmph, shut up Papa César, or I’ll stuff you both in the big oven,” she pretended to snap as he and Jackson sat the giant cake on the turntable. She glared at the sketch. ‘Red filigree with black ribbons’, rolling her eyes, she pushed away her thoughts and imagined the finished cake in her mind. Milli slipped in her earbuds and picked up the bag of gloss red and began free handing the design. She lost herself in the decorating. Some people meditated, some people worked out, but for Milli Vanilli Velvet Haywood, all she needed was a cake, and a bag of icing and all her stress melted away.

They shared a quick, fond smile and left her to work her magic. At 22, she was one of the best cake decorators in the country, and they knew she loved it.

* * *

Milli tossed and turned until her alarm went off. She felt guilty about yelling at Marni while stressing over Vampira’s wedding cupcakes. She dressed comfortably and headed to the Velvet Rope. Marni would be getting off and Milli would have plenty of time to drive her home, get changed into her chef wear, and make her 4 AM shift at the Famous Vegas Cakery, but it was going to be a two-cappuccino day. As she waited at a light, she watched an amorous couple and wished she could find someone to love the way Emily and Charles had loved each other. She wanted what her adoptive parents had. She wanted what her best friend Jackson had with Mitch. They had come through a rough patch and seemed so good now. At the end of the street, she could see the place where her sister worked, and her monsters lived.

The Velvet Rope was the strip club and brothel where her mother Diva had danced and solicited sex. It was owned by the notorious Valtini mafia family and run by Donnie Valtini, the pedophile who had bought Roxie when she was fourteen.  Milli was so glad her sister’s boss didn’t recognize her, especially after Marni had gotten Milli the contract to make all the cakes for the Velvet Rope’s event parties. She hated it, but every cake she made for Donnie’s cousin in prison and every party brought her hundreds of dollars closer to financing her dream… owning her own bakery.

Milli was thinking about her long-term plans when she pulled in to wait for Marni. She barely noticed the white BMW or the men around it until she heard a shout. Three men were dragging a man out of the expensive sports car. One got in the driver’s seat while two beat the man on the ground. Terrified, Milli called 9-1-1, knowing the Rope’s bouncers wouldn’t help the man. She jumped out with her can of pepper spray and prayed the carjackers didn’t have a gun.

“Hey. Leave him alone!” She shouted. “I called the police.”

The man looked up at her, “Help me… please…”

“Just walk away, midget!” One pulled a knife and she sprayed him. He staggered back into the other, swearing loudly, “She maced me!”

“I said shove off or I’ll let you all have it. Chop shops won’t take a car ruined with pepper spray,” Milli boasted, but inside she was shaking. Several people ran out of the club toward them.

“This ain’t over!” the driver shouted as the others crowded into the car.

Cedric the bouncer glared at them, “Are you threatening Mr. Valtini’s personal chef?”

The thieves looked terrified, then sped off in the stolen car.

“Dammit, Milli, what were you thinking?” Cedric growled as lights and sirens rushed toward the Velvet Rope.

Milli bent over the injured man. “I was thinking I was about to see some guy murdered like my parents.” She held the cuff of her sweatshirt to the man’s head over a cut. “Hold on, help is on the way.”

The February wind was cutting through her hoodie. She struggled not to shiver as she tried to shield his battered face with her body.

“Th-thank you.” He mumbled.

Marni almost tackled her from behind, “Omigawd! Milli!” Then she knelt next to her.

The man glanced at Marni, then back to Milli. “Thank you, Milli.” He repeated. “I’m Edgar Rowling. You saved my life.”

“I did. I guess I am responsible for you now.” Milli smiled at him, her green eyes were soft and seemed to sparkle in the flashing lights.

“Yes ma’am, I guess you are,” Edgar agreed in a slow Texan drawl.

“The ambulance is here,” Marni announced, but Edgar didn’t even look at her. “Come on, Milli.” She pulled her sister away as the paramedics bent over him.

“What were you thinking?” Marni hissed.

“I was thinking about our parents and how if someone helped them, we wouldn’t be alone,” Milli snapped back and Marni’s glare softened into guilt, “Sorry, sis.”

Milli told the police officers what she saw and gave descriptions of the carjackers. They didn’t even bother to take a statement from Cedric, the bouncer said he came out as the car drove away and refused to say more. The ambulance left before they did.

Milli raced home to drop Marni off and to get to work. Then she endured Jackson going off on her for taking such a chance because Marni had outed her heroics to her best friend. All day she created her art, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Edgar Rowling and how he stared at her, barely looking at Marni. As Milli left the Cakery, she got a box of assorted pastries then went to the hospital.

Walking through the hospital, Milli stopped in front of her parents’ memorial picture and the dedication plaque naming the children’s wing after them. Blinking back her tears, she went to the desk for Edgar’s room number and then rode the elevator up to his room.

Milli knocked lightly before going in. “Hello, Get Well present delivery.”

Edgar smiled at her handsomely. “My heroine.” He looked at her with such gratitude and admiration from his hospital bed, it embarrassed her. His face was bruised but she was glad he was alive.

“I just did what was right.” She blushed slightly at his praise. “I… uh… Brought you a sampler from the Famous Vegas Cakery, I didn’t know what you liked. How are you feeling?”

Edgar groaned, refusing to answer, instead he said, “I was lucky to be rescued by my tiny guardian angel.”

“I’m not…” Milli tipped her head at him in glowering rebuke as he held up a hand, stopping her.

“Okay, Lil’ Miss Modest… I have two broken ribs and a concussion. But I would be dead if you hadn’t stopped those guys.” He looked at her with a sudden intensity. “I owe you dinner and anything else you want, and I don’t even know your last name.”

“It’s Haywood, Milli Haywood.” She reached to shake the hand he offered, but he turned it and kissed the back of hers chivalrously. Dark-lashed, pale blue eyes shined with interest reminded her of a guy from that Arrow show Mitch watched but she couldn’t think of the actor’s name. “It is nice to meet you, Milli Haywood.”

Milli’s heart fluttered, no one had ever looked at her that way after meeting Marni. “Well, I’ll go…”

“Eddie, there ain’t a decent thing to eat in the… Oh, uh, howdy ma’am?”

Milli turned and the epitome of a tall, blond cowboy stood in the door, if Chris Hemsworth was a cowboy…

“Heith, this is the angel that saved me. Milli Haywood, this is my cousin, Heith Rowling. He came out from Texas,” Edgar introduced them.

Heith’s jaw dropped before he laughed, “This little tiny thing saved you? How? Were you carjacked by gnomes?”

Milli’s jade eyes flashed bright green as she marched up to Heith. “I’ll have you know I may be small, but I am perfectly capable of stopping someone from killing someone else. I pepper sprayed those guys before they could kill Edgar, and I am not afraid to take a baseball bat to you either, too tall Texan.”

Heith looked shocked as Edgar chuckled then groaned from the bed. “Don’t mess with her, Texan.”

Heith nodded, “Beggin’ your pardon, Miss Milli. I meant no offense; you just aren’t what I was expecting.” His smile was swoon-worthy and Milli wondered how her sister would react to the handsome cousins.

Suddenly, she felt very out of place. “Um, I need to go… I promised to take my sister to work. I am glad you’re going to be okay, Edgar. Is there anything you need?”

Edgar nodded, “I need your number, you’re not getting out of dinner with me.”

“I can take you to dinner tonight,” Heith announced and Edgar gave him a black look.

Milli swallowed as the tension increased in the room, then offered, “Um, why don’t I bring you dinner later?” She backed toward the door, “Nice to meet you both.” She was down the hall and to the elevator before Heith could follow.