Chapter 1 A Whisper in The Bakery

Lily's POV

The sharp ringing of a bell announced my entry as I stepped inside. Within moments, the warm sweetened air of freshly baked pastries enveloped me. Sweet Crumbs had always been a refuge, which seemed to be a place of peace. The rich aromas of cinnamon, vanilla, and butter in it made everything seem just a little better no matter what was happening without those walls. But today, those alluring smells simply reminded me how much everything hung in the balance.

I glanced at the clock on the wall, and it was almost noon when the bakery would fill up with people. I pulled up my apron tightly and tied the strings behind my back. It was pending scones to be baked, loaded bread from the oven, and almost endless small chores. My mind, though, kept wandering back to the news I heard early this morning.

Sweet Crumbs was no longer there. At least, it felt like it. A small but suddenly monumental part of me would slip through my fingers realizing that the beloved haunt was no longer just mine-it had grown into something larger, a part of an acquisition, an afterthought in a deal that would likely change everything.

I wiped my hands clean on my apron, my chest feeling tighter. It was hard to wrap my mind around it. How had this all happened so quickly? I hadn't even been given the chance to fight for it. I'd spent years growing Sweet Crumbs from a dream into something real, but the thought of it being torn from me in the blink of an eye felt... suffocating.

Firmly I pushed such thoughts aside. Panic wouldn't assist, I reminded myself, gnawingly wiping flour off the counter and gathering ingredients for the next batch of cookies. Everything would go, having no choice but to find a way to protect Sweet Crumbs.

I glanced at the front door, where yet another customer entered: Mrs. Delaney, a regular favorite of mine, with her bright purple scarf wrapped around her neck like a flag. She always looked like she had just stepped out of a magazine. I gave her a smile, attempting to mask the worry creeping up my spine.

"Morning, Mrs. Delaney. What can I get you today?" I asked, trying to sound cheerful.

She spent some time examining the pastries before deciding on her favorite, the raspberry tart. As I packed it into a box, she raised her eyebrows and leaned a little closer, lowering her voice.

"Have you heard the news, dear?"

I froze, my hand hovering over the box. I had a sinking feeling I knew exactly what she was about to say.

"About what?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

Mrs. Delaney lowered her voice further. "About Mr. Westfield. They say he plans to raze the whole bakery to the ground, you know. The whole town is buzzing about it."

I could feel my stomach drop. There it was, the whisper of something I'd feared ever since I'd first heard Alexander Westfield's name in connection with the acquisition of Sweet Crumbs.

"He's planning to replace it with one of those...what do you call them? A corporate coffee chain, I think. Probably going to bulldoze the place. It's only a matter of time, not now.

Her words were heavy, as if someone had lifted a ton of bricks onto my chest, and I felt the sharpness of panic coming up in me as if it was almost uncontrollable. I smiled weakly as I handed her the tart.

"Thanks, Mrs. Delany," I said, a little unsteady in voice as I had wanted. "I'm sure everything will work out,"

But I knew it wasn't going to work unless I did something to make it so.

Mrs. Delaney gave me an understanding look. "I hope you'll do something about it, dear. This town needs Sweet Crumbs. It's the heart of the Dales. Without it, what would we have left?"

I nodded, but her words were in my ears long after she'd gone. Sweet Crumbs was not a bakery, but a part of the fabric of this town. The regulars who stopped by each morning for their coffee, families who picked up pies for their Sunday dinners, and tourists who had stumbled in, lured by the smells of fresh bread were all part of something bigger. Losing Sweet Crumbs would be like losing a piece of Dales itself.

I stood right in the center of the bakery, and the very worrisome situation was pressed down on my head, making me feel more hopeless than before. What can I do now? I can't allow this to happen. But what have I got?

It was just then that the thought occurred to me: wild, absurd, and altogether impulsive, but the only thing that I could think of might work.

I turned quickly as I grabbed my phone from the counter and quickly dialed Emma's number. She was my best friend, my rock, and she would help me figure this out.

After several rings, Emma picked up the phone.

"Lily? What is it?", she asked cheerily, but I could tell she was in the middle of the bustling café sound in the background.

"I want you to do something for me. Something big," I said with a sobering undertone in my voice.

I could hear her drawing a breath on the telephone. "What's going on, anyway? You sound tense."

"Emma," I said quickly, heart thumping madly. "I need you to start a rumor. A big one. Enough to get everyone's attention-from Dales and beyond. Tell them that Alexander Westfield proposed to me."

There was a long silence at the other end of the line.

"What?" asked Emma, at last, her disbelief sounding in her voice.

"I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. I'm going to tell everybody that he proposed to me when he visited this town. That's why he's buying up Sweet Crumbs-to keep it as a romantic gesture for his fiancée." I let out a shaky breath. "I know it's a lie, but I've got to do something, Emma. If this town thinks I'm engaged to him, maybe they will leave the bakery alone."

One moment longer, Emma's silence dragged on before she spoke again, her voice soaked in doubt. "Are you absolutely sure about this? This could backfire, you know."

"No choice," I replied shallowly. "If I don't do something right now, everything slips away."

She sighed, and I could hear the hesitation in her voice. But finally, she spoke again, but more assertively, "Fine. I'll help you. I'll spread the word."