The Bakery Sisters by Susan Mallery Read Free Book Online

for the job. Looks like you’re stuck.”
    Nicole’s expression tightened. “I have friends I could call.”
    â€œBut you won’t. You hate owing anyone anything.”
    â€œLike you said, you don’t actually know me.”
    â€œI can guess.” Claire hated being obligated, too.
    â€œDon’t pretend we have anything in common,” Nicole snapped. “You’re no one to me. Fine, if you think you can help, help. I don’t care. The good news is I don’t think you’re capable of anything beyond being served, so my expectations are fairly low.”
    This was so not what she’d imagined, Claire thought sadly. She’d hoped they would be able to find their way back to each other. She and Nicole were twins…fraternal, but connected from conception. Had all the time apart, the anger and misunderstandings really broken that bond?
    She was here to find out.
    â€œYou probably want to rest,” Claire said. “I’ll get out of your way.”
    â€œIf only.”
    She ignored that and started to leave, then paused. “Do you have a cleaning service you use?”
    â€œFor the house? No. I managed to scrub it all by myself.”
    â€œOh. Okay. I didn’t mean…Never mind.”
    Nicole stared at her. “What didn’t you mean?” Her gaze dropped to the blouse in Claire’s hand. “You mean a service to clean my clothes?”
    Claire took a step back. “It’s not important.”
    â€œYeah, right. Let me guess. A piano princess like you couldn’t possibly be expected to take care of your own clothes. I’d tell you how to use the washer, but that’s probably not going to help, is it? Too much silk and cashmere, I’ll bet. Poor, poor Claire. Never owned a pair of jeans. You must cry yourself to sleep every night.”
    Claire did her best to deflect the hurtful darts that jabbed at her. “I won’t apologize for my life. It’s different from yours, but that doesn’t make it any less valuable. You’ve changed, Nicole. I’ve always remembered you being angry before, but I don’t remember you being mean. When did that happen?”
    â€œGet the hell out of here.”
    Claire nodded. “I’ll be down the hall if you need me.”
    â€œThat is not going to happen. I’d rather starve than deal with you.”
    â€œNo, you wouldn’t.”
    Ignoring the burning in her eyes and sense of loss weighing her down, Claire returned to her room, determined to fix whatever had gone wrong.
    Â 
    T HE ALARM WENT OFF at three-forty-five in the morning. Claire turned it off and then stared at the unblinking red light. What had she been thinking? Who got up this early?
    People who worked in a bakery, she reminded herself. She was one of the Keyes sisters. She had an obligation to the family business. As Nicole was in no position to check on things and Jesse had disappeared for reasons still not clear, it was left to Claire.
    She got up and pulled on clothes. Wrinkled clothes made only marginally better by their time in a steamy bathroom. She washed her face, applied some light makeup, pulled her long hair back in a ponytail and quietly crept downstairs. Less than fifteen minutes later, she had arrived at the bakery and parked in the back by the other employee cars.
    There were lights on in the building. Claire hurried to the rear door and walked inside.
    The space was warm and bright, smelling of sugar and cinnamon. Equipment filled counters and lined walls. Huge ovens radiated an impressive amount of heat. There were deep fryers and massive mixers, stacks of flour and sugar and what smelled like the richest chocolate in the world.
    Claire paused and breathed in the delicious scents. She’d only been able to fix soup again the previous night, not that Nicole had been all that interested in eating. But three days of a nearly liquid diet had left Claire starving.
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