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Chapter 1

“Our cake is a visual masterpiece,” Shari told her cousin, Carter Drayson, the artisan cake maker for Lillian’s Bakery, and the black sheep of the family. They stood in a large studio kitchen with cameras in front of them. “It’s by far the best cake. We are going to win this.”

Shari glanced behind her to look at the four-tier champagne cake before finally setting her eyes on her nemesis Dina English’s cake from Brown Sugar Bakery.

Dina was standing there, looking poised and sophisticated in designer duds, making Shari feel dowdy in her jeans and Lillian’s Bakery T-shirt. But that was okay, because Lillian’s was the better bakery. Not only had Dina stolen Grant Robinson, Shari’s first love, and run off with him to get married, but she’d stolen Lillian’s recipes for her own bakery. And Shari felt responsible.

When Shari and Dina had attended Ledgeman University together, Grandma Lillian had taken a liking to Dina almost immediately and offered her a summer job after freshman year. While in college, Dina had continued to work at Lillian’s during the summers. Shari had hoped that she and Dina would work side by side at the bakery after graduation. They’d been a great team. With Shari’s background in business and Dina’s finesse, they would have been unstoppable. Shari would have finally risen to the top in her family instead of always feeling like a dimly lit planet among her confident, smart cousins, the real stars of the Drayson clan. But life had thrown her a curveball when Dina had left to create her own bakery.

Five years later and Shari had never truly recovered from the betrayal. How could she when Dina had married her son’s father and prevented them from ever being a real family?

“We got this,” Carter said confidently. He had an arrogant swag about him that Shari sometimes envied.

You Take the Cake’s host came over and stood between the two bakeries and said, “And the winner is... Brown Sugar Bakery!” Applause erupted from the live audience, and Shari’s heart deflated.

How can this be? Shari looked over at Brown Sugar’s creation. The cake was at best ordinary.

Dina came over and laughed. “That’s right, Shari. I win again.”

Shari rushed over to the host of the show and grabbed his arm. “There has to be a mistake. She should be disqualified.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” the host asked.

“The whole world should know what kind of person Dina English is.” Shari turned and glared at Dina. “She traded on our nearly four-year friendship, turned her back on my family’s bakery and then stole the man I loved. You can’t let her win!”

Dina smirked and gave Shari a pitiful look as she walked toward her. “You’re so pathetic. Can’t you see? I’ve already won.”

Shari looked down, but not before seeing, to her horror, Dina holding her son, Andre, in her arms and carrying him away. “Noooo!”

Shari woke up with a start and her eyes popped open. She was surprised to find her four-year-old son, Andre, peering down at her. He was wearing his favorite Spiderman pajamas and was holding his stuffed animal, Wiggles. “Mama, are you okay? Were you having a bad dream? You were yelling awfully loud.”

“I must’ve been, baby.” Shari sat upright, throwing the down comforter back off and pulling Andre into a bear hug. “I’m sorry if Mommy scared you.” She glanced at herself in the mirror. The wrap she’d been wearing on her hair had come off, and her hair was a tangled mess. Add the old tank top and pajama bottoms she was wearing and it was no wonder she couldn’t find a man.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Andre’s expressive green eyes looked into her brown ones, eager for reassurance.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Shari scooped him up in her arms, slid on her slippers and padded off into the kitchen to make him some breakfast.

“Can I have Cocoa Puffs?” Andre asked when they reached her large, country-style eat-in kitchen.

It might be modest to some, but her two-bedroom bungalow in Chicago’s Glenville Heights was just perfect for her and Andre. Since she loved to cook, she had added modern white cabinets and appliances, including a flat-top stove, double-sided refrigerator and a dishwasher.

“Are you sure?” Shari inquired. “Because I was going to make chocolate chip pancakes, but if you’d rather cereal...” She shrugged her shoulders and waited for the response she knew was coming.

Andre shook his head. “No, I want pancakes! With lots of syrup.”

Shari smiled. “Sure thing.” She lowered him into a chair at the pedestal table.

She pulled the pancake mix and chocolate chip morsels out of the pantry and the milk and eggs out of the fridge. Usually, she would make them from scratch, but she needed to get to the bakery.

A couple of months ago, her grandmother, Lillian Reynolds-Drayson, had informed her children and grandchildren that she’d signed the bakery up to participate in a reality TV Show called You Take the Cake. On the show, bakeries were asked to perform culinary feats, and at stake was a $100,000 prize. Last year’s winners had become overnight sensations and their bakery had gained national prominence. For two months, the entire Drayson clan had been looking at recipes and cake designs in the show’s “Around the World” theme to blow the competition away.

Her grandmother had made quite a speech about how they had to stop all the backbiting and work together as a family. She indicated she would soon be passing the business to one of her grandchildren. The decision wasn’t going to be an easy one. They were all qualified to run Lillian’s. They’d all started learning the business from the bottom up, delivering cakes, working the dock and cleaning the store.

Shari knew she had tough competition from her cousins for the position. Shari, Drake, Belinda and Carter all considered themselves the best bakers in the shop. No wonder Grandma Lillian couldn’t decide among them.

Her cousin Belinda, Aunt Daisy’s daughter, excelled at everything she did whether it was school or baking. Somehow, she made it all look effortless. Belinda always dressed smartly in designer clothes and didn’t go out of the house without her full makeup and her long black hair ironed bone straight. Now, she’d hooked one-time basketball pro and Lillian’s baker, Malik Anthony. Belinda was now set to be the first of her cousins to marry.

Then there was Belinda’s brother Drake. He knew marketing and social media better than any of them. Drake, Malik and Carter had started a blog called “Brothers Who Bake” that offered recipes and advice and was attracting a wide audience. The success of the blog had inspired them to write a cookbook that was now under contract with a major publishing house.

Last but not least, there was Carter Drayson, Lillian’s artisan cake maker and a real charmer. Up until recently, her cousin had been a true ladies’ man just like his father, Uncle Devon, who’d never married. But then her tall, handsome cousin had gotten hit by the love bug last month. And on top of that, Carter was the most sought-after cake designer at Lillian’s. Shari couldn’t help but be a little resentful of her older cousin. She, too, was an equally skilled baker and designer, but she had to admit no one could create artistry on cakes quite like him.

Shari knew she was good, but in a family of stars, it was hard carving out her piece of the pie. She was not as confident as Belinda, as technically savvy as Drake or as skilled as Carter, but she deserved a shot to run Lillian’s. Her business degree was evidence of that and she had come up with the idea to package Lillian’s cake mixes. But somehow her baby sister, Monica, had taken over running the cake mix business; she just had to prove to Grandma Lillian that she had what it took to be a leader.

* * *

Two hours later, Shari and Andre walked from the parking garage where she had a reserved spot to the front of Lillian’s on North Michigan Avenue. Shari smiled as she always did when she saw the marble facade standing out from the other Magnificent Mile designer boutiques. Her grandparents owned the entire sixteen-story building, which included a slew of offices on floors two through sixteen, while Lillian’s Bakery spanned the entire first floor.

Lillian’s was written in large, gold, script lettering on the storefront windows through which passersby gazed at ornate wedding cakes and lavish cake designs. Some might say the cakes, cookies and other sumptuous desserts looked like fancy pieces of jewelry or handbags, but the best part was that they were edible.

Lillian’s had been a Chicago staple since the 1960s when her grandparents had opened their first storefront in Hyde Park. Their love story was one Shari would never forget. Her grandmother, Lillian Reynolds-Drayson, was a widowed single mother whose husband, Jack Reynolds, died of a heart attack. Shari’s father, Dwight, had only been a year old at the time. Grandpa Henry had arrived a few years later and patiently wooed her grandmother until she’d finally let her guard down. They were married soon after and Grandpa Henry adopted her father. As for the business, the rest, as they say, was history.

Shari couldn’t help but think of that story every time she entered Lillian’s. Today was no exception, even as she rushed inside because she was a few minutes late. Andre had lost his favorite toy, and they’d been unable to leave the house until he’d found it.

The store always brought a smile to her face. Her grandparents had spared no expense with the decor. It screamed opulence and elegance. Rich mahogany woodwork shined throughout the store while the crystal chandeliers sparkled like brilliant diamonds. Ribbons of copper and gold were inlaid in the glistening marble countertops and matched the ambiance of the various boutiques on the Magnificent Mile, where only the rich and famous shopped.

Grandpa Henry was working the front counter and retail area when she arrived. His hair was shock full of gray and he was dressed in a Tommy Bahama shirt and trousers. “You’re late, Shari,” he said. “Everyone’s already here.”

“I know, Grandpa,” Shari responded. “Can you watch Andre while I go into the meeting?”

“Of course, darling.” Grandpa Henry smiled down at his great-grandson. “Come with great-grandpa.” He held out his hand and Andre took it.

Shari rushed down the hallway past the framed photographs of Lillian’s through the years. Her grandmother had been a real looker in her heyday. Even now, she was tall and slim with caramel skin, and her face held nary a wrinkle even though she was approaching eighty. There was a picture of Grandma Lillian holding Shari’s father, Dwight, in front of the first storefront in Hyde Park, another of the grand opening of the Mag Mile location, but Shari’s favorite was the Drayson family picture when Lillian’s was featured in a local magazine a year ago.

She walked past the kitchen to the adjacent executive office area, which included a conference room, and found the entire Drayson family already gathered around a large square table with high-backed chairs.

“Hello, hello.” Shari gave a quick smile to her grandmother, who was sitting at the head of the table, while Aunt Daisy and Uncle Devon, her cousins and Belinda’s fiancé, Malik, sat flanking each other. Shari nodded at her father and her sister Monica before sliding into an open chair.

“So happy you could join us,” Grandma Lillian said reproachfully.

Shari shrugged. “Andre was a handful this morning.”

“When isn’t Andre a handful?” Carter said fondly from across the table.

Shari knew Carter adored his little cousin and the feeling was mutual. Andre looked up to his “uncle” Carter. She supposed Andre had a special place in his heart because he was a little bit mischievous and probably reminded Carter of himself.

Shari’s sister Monica laughed. “This is true.” Watching Andre was not an easy task, Shari knew, and because Monica was so short at five foot three, and Andre was really tall for his age, Monica found him to be a handful.

“Well, as you know, the You Take the Cake competition is almost upon us,” Lillian said. “I’d like to know what recipes and plans you’ve come up with to ensure Lillian’s the win.”

Everyone started talking all at once, eager to impress Grandma Lillian with their recipes. “One at a time, please,” she admonished, holding up her hand.

As usual, Drake was the first to speak. Adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, he explained, “Carter, Malik and I have come up with a number of great recipes.”

Her cousin Drake had a medium build that was always dressed in trendy clothes. Today he wore a military jacket, jeans, an oxford shirt and Timberland boots. He looked like perfection. And he always thought he was right.

Belinda spoke next. “And I’ve been collaborating with Malik here—” she turned to give her fiancé a wink “—on a couple of wedding cake designs.”

Grandma Lillian turned to Shari. “Shari, how about you?”

All eyes in the room turned to Shari and she swallowed hard.

“I have some ideas, too,” she offered, “using unconventional ingredients in the cakes. You know, the show is known for its mystery ingredients.”