The Cupcake Diaries by Darlene Panzera

waited in line a half hour. A moment later everyone dispersed.
    Dave with no customers? How could that be? Stacey took the next order for a white chocolate−macadamia cupcake and put the money in the cash drawer. When she looked up, she realized some sort of miracle must have taken place because Dave’s customers had actually left him and were now lined up in front of her stand.
    Dave gave her a quick glance as he circled his truck. “Did you jinx me?”
    She could have shot back a reply, but she could tell he was stressed, and besides, she couldn’t think of one. Instead she asked, “What happened?”
    “My refrigeration broke.”
    Stacey’s mouth dropped open. If Dave couldn’t fix it, he’d lose all his homemade ice cream, not to mention all his sales—and on this day, too, the busiest of the year.
    This was her chance to laugh at him and gloat in this moment of glory, but she remembered he did stop to help her change a flat tire when he passed her on the road two weeks earlier, and she figured she could return the favor.
    “I might be able to help,” she offered.
    “You? How?”
    The same man from Dave’s line who had complained, shouted, “Hey, lady, are you going to serve us the cupcakes or not?”
    She was finally selling and serving a steady stream of customers. If she closed her booth to help Dave, she’d lose money, too. Making up her mind, she served the customers who had already ordered and pulled the window down on the Volkswagen bus.
    “Sorry,” she told the others in line. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”
    Realigning the electrical circuit points on Dave’s refrigeration system actually took a bit longer than that, but in the end his freezers were back up and running.
    “Where did you learn to do this?” Dave asked, looking over her shoulder.
    “My father specializes in appliance repair and over the years has taught me a thing or two.” She dropped her multipurpose knife and mini-flashlight back into her emergency backpack and turned toward him.
    His expression was one of wild disbelief. “I can’t believe it. You have saved the day. You’ve no idea what kind of mess I would have had if you hadn’t helped. I’m so happy, I could kiss you!”
    Taking her by the shoulders, he spontaneously pulled her close and pressed his warm lips against hers, leaving Stacey’s senses spinning. Did this mean he wasn’t going to ignore her anymore?
    When the kiss ended, Dave released her, looked her in the eye, and smiled at her with the same intensity as on the day they’d first met. “You did good, Idaho.”
    She cleared her throat. “I-I only passed through Idaho. I grew up in Nebraska.”
    “Nebraska, huh?” Dave chuckled. “Doesn’t have the same kind of ring to it.”
    “Call me Stacey.”
    He smiled at her again. “Okay . . . Stacey .”
    She could have remained in that moment forever, but Rachel returned from the bathroom and interrupted. “I feel sick. No offense, Dave, I love your ice cream, but I think I might have eaten too much. Mike’s going to drive me home in the Cupcake Mobile.”
    “The lines of people have doubled in the last hour,” Stacey told her. “Who’s going to help me sell?”
    “I will.” Dave put his arm around her and gave her a sideways squeeze. “Guy needed time with his sister and left me to sell on my own, too. But as a team, we can help one another.”
    Stacey stared at him. “You mean, sell ice cream and cupcakes together?”
    Rachel nodded. “I think it’s a great idea.”
    “We can offer a two-for-one deal,” Dave said, his enthusiasm spreading across his whole face. “But since I’m the one with the product that needs refrigeration, why don’t you bring your boxes of cupcakes over to my truck?”
    Work the rest of the day side by side with Dave Wright, the handsome blond with the big muscles and shining smile, who just moments before had given her a heart-palpitating kiss? Now, that was an offer she couldn’t