The next morning, I drifted into the cafe humming away to some song I'd heard on my car radio. I floated over to the cupboard like a graceful ballerina and scooped several cups of flour into a bowl. I felt lighter than air. I twirled, picked up a measuring cup, leveled out the sugar and dumped it into a bowl, carelessly spilling some on the floor. Connor confessed his love to me last night.

"That must have been some date, or you put a rise and shine charm on the coffee again." Lilly hung her coat next to the door, washed her hands and grabbed an apron.

"Everyone should be this happy." I took a few eggs and cracked them into the bowl.

"Uh-huh." She passed me the whisk. "Hey, love drunk girl." She snapped her fingers in front of my face and pointed to the flour on the floor. "Can you at least try to pay attention? It took an hour to clean up your cake-tastrophe yesterday."

"No exploding cakes today. Promise." I put the eggs aside and folded the cocoa into the flour mixture. "I'm on a personal mission to brighten Rachel's day."

"The Bake-a-Wish lady?"

"Yeah, her." I grabbed a teaspoon off the counter and leveled out a spoon of baking powder. "Tonight's her anniversary with her cheating husband."

"Then she needs a lot more than a cake." Lilly rested against the counter, opened the vanilla and passed it to me. "Like a good lawyer."

"Or a wish come true."

"Oh, no you don't." She grabbed the metal measuring spoon out of my hand and held it out as she spoke. "It's one thing to add a little karma to make things head a customer's way, but it's a whole other thing to get the goddess involved."

"That lady deserves a lot more than karma." With my arm wrapped around the bowl, I swayed to the silent music still playing in my head. "Besides, she paid for a wish, not karma."

"Well, leave me out of it, cupid's little helper." Lilly dumped a clump of butter into a mixer and turned it on. "I have enough mess to clean up at the end of the day, without you adding to it," she hollered over the noisy mixer.

I dumped the remainder of the dry ingredients into the bowl, then pulled a crumpled piece of paper from my pocket and spread it out on the counter. The spell I'd written out the night before warmed my fingertips demanding to be released.

I shut my eyes and focused on drawing the energy of the universe toward me until my hands tingled. Then I grabbed a spatula from the counter and recited the spell as I stirred.

''Heartache and pain sprinkle down like rain.

Sugar and sweet, two lovers meet.''

I reached into the sugar jar and pinched a few grains between my fingers, then sprinkled them into the mix. Next, I plucked the tiniest amount of cocoa from the can and flicked it into the batter.

''Bitter-sweet taste when love is replaced.

Chocolate thus spelled if vows not upheld.

Actions that sour picking her flower.

Goddess to measure his salted pleasure.''

I walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of lemon juice and unscrewed the lid. The spell only needed one drop, any more and this dessert might become another one of my cake-tastrophes, as Lilly liked to call them. I was sure if cake batter dripped down the walls again today, she'd embark on finding a new sister. I wet my finger in the sour juice and carefully let one bead drip into the bowl. Then I dried my fingers on a towel, spooned out a few crystals of salt into my palm and watched them fall into the chocolate mixture.

That only left the wish. Half expecting the thing to explode, I squinted and plucked the envelope with the tarot card inside, off the counter. Wafting it above the bowl, I said the last words of the spell.

''Cake and a plea,

this card is the key.

Please grant this wish

within this baked dish.''

No explosion or batter covered walls. I opened my eyes and squealed in delight. I picked up the bowl, poured the contents into a greased pan and paraded it by Lilly on the way to the oven.

I slid the masterpiece onto the wire rack and went back to help Lilly while I waited for it to bake. After mixing and decorating for hours, I emerged from the back area and placed the remainder of the day's treats behind the glass case.

My phone chimed with the text tone I'd allocated to Connor. I dug my cell out from my purse under the till where I'd stashed it earlier.

How's my lucky charm this morning? The message read.

I chuckled at the pet name. The truth behind the shop's name hadn't come up in conversation yet, and I still wasn't sure how he'd take dating a witch.

Baked my heart out this morning, just taking a quick break before we open the doors for the day. I keyed in and pressed send.

The symbol in the corner of the screen showed he was writing something back. What? But I thought your heart was mine. At least that's what you claimed last night.

A silly grin spread across my face as I read his comment. Then the image of him raising his eyebrows with those questioning ocean blue eyes I found impossible to resist, popped into my head.

Haha. My heart's all yours. Still on for tonight? I texted back.

Within a heartbeat, the words, Wouldn't miss it, appeared.

Someone tapped on the door. When I glanced up, a man at the front of the line pointed to his watch and then the hours of operation sign on the door. I looked at the clock, five minutes after eight. Oh, geez--if I weren't one of the owners, I'd probably be fired. I shoved my phone back into my purse and rushed over to open the door.

Just as I made it back to the register, the kitchen doors swung open, and Lilly strolled out toting a chocolate siren cake.

"Two days in a row?" I tossed Lilly a dirty look and handed a customer their change.

"What?" she said with an air of innocence. "Customers love this cake."

"The usual, Jim?" I asked one of our regular coffee connoisseurs who'd finally made it to front of the line. He pulled a few bills from his wallet and nodded.

Exhausted from yesterday, I turned to Lilly and said in a hushed tone, "You're answering the phone today then."

She giggled and stuck her tongue out at me. "They're just jealous that their cakes aren't as good."

Baking ability had nothing to do with it, and she knew it. The line was already getting longer by the second.

Thanks to Lilly's stupid Siren cake, today was our new busiest day on record. I grabbed the tarot cards, a pot of tea, and my phone then headed over to the reading table. A few text messages lit up the screen.

There were a couple from my aunt Gillian warning me about another one of my cake disasters. She may be psychic, but her timing was off as usual. That bit of info would have been great yesterday before I batter splattered the entire kitchen. I scrolled down and smiled when I saw there was a message from Connor too.

Hey, Cupcake... Winding-up something tonight, so I can't pick U up till 7:00 now. Hope that's OK. See U then.

That was perfect. It gave me enough time to help Lilly tidy up and get ready for my night out.

The chimes above the door rang, and five more people walked in. My first reading of the day was among them, so I stuffed my phone under the seat cushion and welcomed her in.

A few hours later, I pushed back the privacy curtain that separated the alcove from the main room and walked my last reading of the day to the door. Lilly had already swept the floors, and the chairs were turned upside-down with their seats on the tables.

Her hands folded over the top of the broom, and she rested her chin on her hands. "Okay, maybe you're right."

"About--?" The bolt clicked as I flipped the lock on the door.

"The Siren cake. Today was insane." She wiped a lock of hair that had come loose from her ponytail from her face. "Did you see how long that line was?"

"Yeah. I know our desserts are good, but even I wouldn't stand in a line that long."

She laughed, and I emptied the teapot into the sink, then gave it a quick rinse with some soap.

"Oh--Your karma-wish lady came in while you were giving readings. She said to tell you she was going to talk to him and to thank you for the reading and the cake."

"Hope things turn out for her." I dried the teapot and put it back on the shelf.

"She seems nice." Lilly dumped out the dustpan into the garbage. "Is Connor picking you up?"

I folded the tea towel and nodded.

"Cool." She picked up her broom and gave me a weary smile. "Meet you back at the house later?"

"Maybe..." I said like I might not come home tonight if things went right.

She giggled and pushed open the door to the kitchen. "All right, have fun."

I quickly changed into some clean clothes and fixed my make-up. It was already well after seven, and Connor still hadn't arrived. He probably got caught up at work, showing another house to a client. I grabbed the tarot cards, collapsed into a chair at the reading table and decided to do a quick spread of the cards.

I mixed the cards over the table and stacked them into a neat pile. What to ask?

"Does Connor truly love me?" I said aloud.

I dealt out the ten cards face down. As a child, my mother always explained the meaning of each card's placement when she read my tarots. This card is for who I am now. This one for what crosses me. A card to picture my past and glimpse at my future. Her summary would continue until all ten cards were rooted to the table.

I'd just started turning the cards over when my phone rang. The lover's card stared at me as plucked my phone from my purse, thinking it had to be Connor.

But when I glanced at the screen and I laughed, Lilly's name was on display. "What did you forget?"

"Are you still at the shop?" Lilly asked sounding relieved.

I rested back in my chair and placed the deck of cards on the table. "Yeah, why?"

"I don't know, just a bad vibe. Maybe check the back locks and set the wards before you leave?" She paused a moment, and I heard our cat Sadie meow in the background. "Hey, I thought Conner was picking you up at seven."

"He's probably running late."

"And he hasn't texted you to apologize ten times already? That's not like him."

I peeked my watched, half past seven. "Connor doesn't text me that often."

She chuckled like she almost couldn't believe I'd suggest otherwise. "Oh yeah, he does."

"What can I say? He loves me. I'll give him a shout and check the security if it makes you feel any better--Mom."

"Just check the locks, will you?" She yawned. "I just have the feeling something is off."

"I'm going." I got up from the table. "I'm walking there now. If there's anything wrong, I'll call you back."

"Kay, bye."

The line went dead just as I got to the bolted, locked back door. The wards seemed fine too. The map of the town we'd taped up had peeled off again and was lying on the floor. I picked it up and placed it on the workbench.

Strange still no message from Connor. He was over a half hour late, and Lilly's call had me questioning if he was all right.

I unlocked my phone, tapped his name in my favorites and listened to the phone ring.

The line rang until his greeting picked up. "Hey! This is Connor. I'm not available, so you know what to do at the beep."

"Connor? Are we still on for tonight? Maybe things went a little late at the office. Give me a shout when you get this."

I hit the end button, stared at the ground and tapped my fingers against the workbench. The map crumpled, and the sound of the crinkling paper gave me an idea. I lifted my necklace over my head and dangled the pendant above the map. After clearing my thoughts for a minute, I asked my question.

"Where is Connor?"

The pendant swayed back and forth, lightly at first, but as I moved my hand over the map, the crystal swung more violently. When my hand hovered over Alderwood Street, the crystal dropped from my grip like it had been pulled from my fingers.

He's only ten blocks from here? I couldn't help feeling a little angry. My last boyfriend's cheating made it difficult for me to trust any guy. No way I was going to be the last to know this time. I snatched up my necklace, hurried through kitchen doors, grabbed my purse and was outside the cafe front doors within seconds. With my fingers on the doorknob, I thrust up our security wards.

If he was going to stand me up, he owed me an explanation, and for his sake, it better be a good one. I tromped around the side of the building to my car, opened the creaky door and slammed it shut behind me. The old, white VW Rabbit, groaned and sputtered with the turn of the key. After the second try, the engine started, and I pulled out of the stall.