Red Velvet Revenge Read Online Free Page B

felt, and it had become painful for Mel to watch the two of them, knowing that they loved each other but were too chicken to do anything about it.
    “Well, with business being so slow and all,” Angie said, “I just thought we could take the time to…”
    “Go to California?” Tate supplied.
    “Or Canada,” Angie said. “Or Nepal. You know, there’s a whole great big world out there.”
    “Uh-huh,” Mel and Tate said together.
    “Look, if we’re going to do the rodeo, I need to know if you’re in, Angie,” Mel said. “I figure we’ll need to bring Oz, since it’s his truck, but space is limited, so we’re looking at just the three of us.”
    “What?” a voice barked from the swinging door. “You can’t go without me.”
    Marty stood, staring at them, looking outraged with his hands planted on his hips.
    “We only have so much room, Marty,” Mel said.
    “But I brokered the deal,” he said. “I’m the one who talked Slim into hiring you.”
    “And I really appreciate it,” Mel said. “But you and Tate are going to have to stay behind. There’s just not enough room.”
    “What?” Tate asked in an equally put-out voice. “But I’m a partner in this bakery. I demand to go.”
    Mel looked at Angie. “Well, if you want to bag out, it looks like I’ll have plenty of help.”
    “Oh, no, I’m totally going,” Angie said. “I’ve never been to a rodeo before.” Mel grinned. She knew it was selfish, but she was delighted that Angie had chosen the bakery and her over Roach.
    “Well, that settles it, then,” Mel said. “You, me, and Oz. We just have to get the okay from his parents.”
    Tate and Marty exchanged indignant looks. Tate pointed to the kitchen door behind Marty, then hooked his thumb at the back door and Marty gave a nod. Before Mel could figure out what they were up to, they were both lying on the floor of the kitchen, blocking the exits.
    “What is this? Occupy Fairy Tale Cupcakes?!” Angie asked. “What do you think you’re doing?”
    “We’re in protest mode,” Tate said. “We’re going limp and we’re going to lie here until you agree to let us come along.”
    “Are you kidding me?” Mel asked. “What if I don’t give in? Are you going to hold your breath until you turn blue?”
    She watched Tate lift his head and look at Marty. He raised his eyebrows in silent question, and Marty gave him a small nod.
    “Thanks for the idea,” Marty said.
    The kitchen door slammed into his side, and Marty grunted but held his ground. The kitchen door didn’t budge.
    “Hey, the door is stuck,” Oz yelled from the other side.
    “Yeah, we know. There’s a one-hundred-and-seventy-pound dust bunny blocking it,” Angie shouted back.
    “One hundred and sixty-four pounds,” Marty corrected her.
    “Whatever,” Angie said, making her hands into the shape of a
W
.
    “
Clueless
.” Tate identified the movie quote from his supine position.
    Mel and Angie looked at each other and the two men on the floor. This was a losing battle if ever there was one.
    “All right, you can come,” Mel said. “But you may be riding on the roof to make room for the cupcakes, you have to take a shift selling cupcakes out of the van, and I don’t want to hear any whining. Deal?”
    Marty and Tate sat up with matching grins and said, “Deal.”
    “Why do I get the feeling I’m going to regret this?” Mel asked.

Four

    “Are you sure Sal can have the van fixed in time for you to go?” Joe DeLaura asked.
    Mel looked up from where she was squatting on the floor of her apartment’s tiny kitchenette, pouring milk into a saucer for her cat, Captain Jack.
    Captain Jack was all white with a couple of black patches, one of which covered his left eye. He looked like quite the pirate and had a rogue’s temperament, so when they had rescued him from a Dumpster a few months ago and Angie had dubbed him Captain Jack, Mel hadn’t bothered to change it.
    His purring, which sounded remarkably like an