Tempted in the Tropics Read Online Free Page A

business had improved, too, but that hadn’t been Paige’s primary motivation. Even so, she’d tossed and turned, wondering how her sales might suffer courtesy of the temperamental Dr. Anderson. He was a dreamy doctor in a worn leather bomber jacket, but he was definitely bad news for Paige and Sweet Bee’s—maybe for his patients, too. But what could she do about it?
    Paige had gotten up early, worked out with a Pilates DVD—the closest thing she’d get to a real Pilates class in Maple Creek—showered, and made it to Sweet Bee’s just thirty minutes after Cynthia had opened shop. Her commute was short, since she lived in the apartment above the bakery.
    She chatted with a couple of customers who relaxed at tables in front of the sunny windows, enjoying coffee and pastries—full-throttle recipes made with sugar, butter, flour, and whole milk—then headed into the kitchen.
    “What the heck are you doing here?” Cynthia never minced words. She even had Paige beaten when it came to blurting out what was on her mind, and that was saying something. Cynthia had grown up with overly strict parents—her father was the pastor at the local Methodist church, and her mom had been the head librarian at Maple Creek’s tiny library since before Cynthia and her brother were born. The silent rebellion Cynthia had staged while she was growing up had become loud and clear after she’d gone to college and adopted the nickname Cyn, much to the chagrin of her parents. Like Paige, Cyn had never planned to return. But here they both were in sleepy old-ville, happy that they at least had each other.
    “Good morning to you, too,” Paige teased, heading straight for the espresso machine and guessing what was in the oven simply from the smell. “Lemon-almond poppy seed loaves?”
    Cynthia nodded, a section of her glossy, nearly black hair escaping from her ponytail. “Some sugar-free”—she lifted her chin, her nose high, her pretty face pinched primly—“for the Queen.”
    The Queen happened to be Mrs. Fairleigh Hawthorne, the matriarch of Maple Creek and Cynthia’s primary employer. Located on the edge of town, her sprawling estate was Maple Creek’s scaled-down version of Downton Abbey. Cyn lived in a restored outbuilding on the grounds and served as the Queen’s personal assistant.
    “Want me to take them to her when I go over there tonight?” Paige asked. “That way you won’t have to see her on your day off.”
    Cyn lowered her eyebrows for a moment, then raised them quickly. “Tonight’s the dinner—with the pies!”
    Paige rolled her eyes. “Nothing like getting in on the action after it’s all over.”
    Despite her efforts to keep up with the times, the Queen always managed to stay a bit behind them. Several months ago, Paige had been featured in both the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun because of the baseball-team-themed pie war that had taken place at Sweet Bee’s between her best friend, Liza, and Liza’s now-fiancé, Cole Collins—the super-hot first baseman for the Washington Nationals. Since Liza’s parents co-owned the Orioles, the pie war had made for an entertaining story, and the publicity had boosted Paige’s business, if only temporarily. The Nationals had beaten the Orioles in the World Series a couple months ago, and people had turned their attention to football, yet the Queen wanted to host Paige for dinner and she’d asked her to bring replicas of the Nationals and Orioles pies from the event.
    “Sorry I wasn’t invited,” Cyn said with a sly smile.
    “No, you’re not.”
    “I see enough of her. You keep her company for a change.”
    Cyn worked part-time for the Queen to make money. She worked part-time at Sweet Bee’s to stay sane.
    “It was nice of her to invite me…” Paige finished making her espresso and inhaled the bittersweet aroma of instant energy. “I think.”
    “She means well,” Cyn said. “She just can’t stand not to be the center of attention in Maple