sugar & shelves.

Chapter 1: The Meet-Cute

Sophie Bennett was not having a good day.

It began with her alarm failing to go off—resulting in a half-awake sprint to the bakery—and then her coffee machine deciding it was done for the day. It didn't stop there. The new batch of strawberry jam she'd spent hours perfecting was somehow too sweet, her favorite apron was covered in flour stains, and, of course, the tray of cupcakes she was preparing for Mrs. Harper's weekly delivery—well, they had just flown out of her hands.

And now, in front of her bakery, she was staring at the tray of cupcakes as they lay in the middle of the cobblestone street like tragic little works of art. Perfect pink frosting had splattered onto the pavement, and the soft vanilla sponge had been squashed under the force of impact. A single cupcake, now upside down, was somehow wedged between a nearby flowerpot and a passing bicycle tire.

Sophie inhaled sharply. She could feel the embarrassment creeping up her neck. If there was one thing she hated, it was looking like a mess in front of others. She could already hear Mrs. Harper's disapproving cluck of her tongue in her mind. Not to mention, Mrs. Harper had asked for her best batch.

"Well, at least it's fresh," Sophie muttered to herself, lifting the tray to salvage what she could, but as she crouched to pick up the cupcakes, a low voice interrupted her.

"Whoa, careful!"

Sophie's eyes shot up just in time to see a tall figure step into her path. In the flurry of the moment, her foot caught on a cobblestone, and she went down. The cupcakes flew—again—but this time, she was sure it wasn't just the frosting that hit the ground.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. She flailed, feeling the burn in her knees as they scraped the rough pavement. In the next heartbeat, she was caught by a pair of strong hands, steadying her before she could faceplant in front of him.

"Are you alright?" the voice asked. It was warm, like someone who genuinely cared, but it had an edge of amusement, as though he found the whole situation a little too funny.

Sophie blinked, her cheeks flushed as she steadied herself. And then she looked down—right at a pair of worn leather boots, now decorated with her ruined cupcakes. Her heart dropped. She opened her mouth to apologize, but all that came out was a nervous laugh. "Oh, no. I swear, this wasn't how I planned to start my day."

The man—who she could now see had dark, messy hair and a jawline that would probably look unfairly good if he weren't standing in the middle of her embarrassing disaster—looked down at his boots, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "It's alright," he said, with a calm that made Sophie want to crawl into a hole and hide. "Honestly, they're just cupcakes."

She glanced at him, then back at the ruined tray of sweets. "Just cupcakes?" she echoed weakly. "They were supposed to be Mrs. Harper's best cupcakes. She's going to kill me."

"I'm sure she won't kill you over some cupcakes," the man said with a soft chuckle. He helped her pick up the tray, carefully wiping the worst of the mess off his boots, but not without accidentally smearing some frosting onto his hand.

Sophie could feel her stomach twist. "I don't know. She's... picky. I've been baking for her every week, and I've never messed up like this before. She'll probably say something about how I should've 'measured the sweetness,' or—"

"You're stressing over cupcakes," the man interrupted, offering her a warm smile. "It's alright. It's a little mess."

Sophie bit her lip. Of course, he was right—she was making a bigger deal out of it than it was. But the truth was, this was just the latest in a string of things going wrong. The bakery had barely been making ends meet since she took over for her aunt, and every little setback felt like a weight on her shoulders.

"Yeah," she said, her voice a little quieter. "I guess you're right."

There was a beat of silence before he spoke again. "I'm Ethan, by the way. I run the bookstore across the street." His voice was calm, but there was a curiosity in his eyes, like he genuinely wanted to know how she was handling this embarrassing moment.

"Sophie." She managed to offer him a smile, despite the overwhelming mortification still rushing through her. "Owner of Sugar Blossom Bakery... or at least, I'm trying to be."

Ethan's eyes sparkled with the tiniest glimmer of amusement. "Well, you've definitely made an impression. I've never seen anyone throw cupcakes quite like that."

Sophie rolled her eyes, the blush deepening on her cheeks. "Thanks, that's really reassuring."

Ethan's smile softened, and he placed the tray carefully back on the sidewalk, a few cupcakes still intact. "You know, I've heard a lot about your bakery. Mrs. Harper always raves about your pastries."

Sophie raised an eyebrow. "Mrs. Harper?"

"She gets a box every Friday. She's basically your number one fan." He paused. "I guess you could say... she's my number one customer, too."

Sophie blinked, the awkwardness fading just a little. "Wait, you're the Ethan? The one she talks about? You're always 'so nice to her' and 'such a polite young man.'"

Ethan shrugged, clearly trying not to smile too widely. "That's me. The polite young man who somehow ended up with cupcakes all over his shoes."

Sophie chuckled softly, feeling the tension finally break. "I think the polite thing to do now is to let me make you a fresh batch. For the... inconvenience."

Ethan raised a hand in mock protest. "Really, it's fine. It's just a couple of cupcakes. I'm sure they still taste good, even if they've been... um, road-tested."

Sophie was still trying to decide if he was being genuine or just too nice for his own good when he added, "But, I'll admit, I could go for some fresh ones. Maybe tomorrow?"

Sophie smiled, the corners of her lips tugging upward as she looked at the cupcakes—well, what was left of them—on the ground. "Deal. Come by tomorrow, and I'll have a new batch ready. On the house."

Ethan's grin widened, and for the first time since her disaster of a morning, Sophie felt a little flutter of something unexpected. "I'll be here," he said, his voice light and teasing. "You've got a deal."

Sophie watched as he turned to walk away, the image of him still fresh in her mind. She stood there for a long moment, staring after him, her heart pounding just a little faster than it should've been.

Maybe today wasn't so bad after all.