chapter 5

Chapter 4: Lila woke up the next morning with a head full of dreams and a stomach still buzzing from the muffins Grace had baked the day before. She could hardly believe it—things were actually happening. The bakery idea was no longer just an abstract "what if" floating around her head. It had actual momentum now, powered by muffins, coffee, and—oddly enough—Ben's reluctant yet surprising support.Of course, there was still a long way to go. Her plans were all over the place—she was still figuring out how exactly a “muffin experience” was supposed to look—but there was no denying that things were heading in the right direction. And that direction was filled with muffins. And, maybe... a certain grumpy, oddly charming café owner?Lila shook her head, trying to banish the thought as she grabbed her coat and slung her bag over her shoulder. She had a plan for the day. Today was about research—and a tiny bit of eavesdropping. It was time to see how people really felt about Ben’s café. And whether or not they were actually ready for the muffin revolution she had in mind.At the Café...By noon, the café was already buzzing with its usual crowd. There was the older couple who came in every Wednesday for their two cups of coffee and apple scones, the college student with the overly dramatic headphones who looked like he was either on a deep philosophical quest or just trying to avoid doing homework, and, of course, the local gossip squad, who always took the same corner booth and spent their mornings arguing about everything from local politics to whether or not it was socially acceptable to wear flip-flops in the fall.Lila settled into a corner table, notebook open, pretending to work while keeping an eye on the café's vibe.Ben was behind the counter, doing what he did best: looking effortlessly cool, like a man who had been born with a coffee cup in his hand. He didn’t seem to notice Lila watching him—she assumed he was too busy eyeing the suspiciously bubbly regulars near the window, who were clearly just waiting for an excuse to gossip about the latest town drama.Lila scribbled some notes in her notebook, outlining the “theme” she wanted to create for her future bakery corner. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. “Muffin Mania,” she wrote. “An immersive experience. Guests decorate their own muffins. ‘Baking with Ben’ event. Secret menu muffins.” She stopped, chewing on her pen. It was a little messy, but that was okay. The idea was in progress.That’s when things started to go wrong.It wasn’t anything major, really. Just a small slip-up that would go unnoticed to anyone else. But to Lila, it felt like a catastrophic disaster.As she was scribbling some more ideas, the page fluttered over in the light breeze from the open door. Before she could stop it, her pen flew out of her hand and landed—right in her coffee.Lila froze.Her first instinct was to scream. Or, better yet, to sink into the ground and pretend the entire situation didn’t exist. But neither was an option, so she did the next best thing: she stared at her coffee cup in horror as her pen swirled in it like a tiny, caffeinated little tornado.“Great,” she muttered under her breath, reaching to grab the pen from the depths of the cup.And that’s when she heard it.Ben, who had been expertly making lattes and perfecting foam art at the counter, glanced over at her just in time to witness the entire coffee disaster unfold. His lips twitched, though he tried to mask it.“Need some help?” he asked, his voice betraying a hint of amusement.Lila, still holding the pen in the cup like it was some sort of cursed object, tried to salvage her dignity. “No, I’ve got it. It’s fine. Totally fine.”Ben raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. “Uh-huh. Sure.”She pulled the pen out of the cup with exaggerated care, trying to ignore the damp, coffee-scented disaster she had just created. “See? Totally fine. It’s... it’s... just a pen.” She paused. “And, like, my dignity.”Ben let out an almost-silent laugh, but it was enough to make Lila feel like she’d just been hit by a truck of embarrassment. She was about to try and recover when Grace walked in, eyes landing immediately on the scene.“What’s going on here?” Grace called out from the door, hands on her hips. “Lila, did you just drown your pen in coffee?”Lila, whose cheeks were now glowing brighter than the café’s fairy lights, nodded sheepishly. “Uh... yeah, but I’m fine. I can fix it. No big deal.”Grace raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. “Right. You sure? Because it looks like you’re about five seconds away from a full-on meltdown.”Before Lila could defend herself, Grace turned to Ben, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Hey, Ben, want to teach Lila how to avoid turning pens into espresso shots?”Ben shrugged, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “She can figure it out herself. Maybe she should join the ‘Muffin Decorating’ class first.”Lila blinked. “Wait. There’s a muffin decorating class?”Ben gave a slight nod, like it was no big deal. “Yeah, but it’s not happening yet. Just an idea. Grace here’s been pushing me to start something more interactive.”Grace grinned. “If you want to make your bakery idea happen, Lila, you need to bring the fun. People want an experience, not just muffins. They want the story behind it. The joy. And maybe... maybe we start with a ‘Decorate Your Own Muffin’ night? Could be fun.”Lila's heart skipped a beat. This was it. This was the moment she’d been waiting for. Ben was finally on board.“I’m in,” she said quickly, her earlier embarrassment forgotten as the adrenaline kicked in. “Let’s do it. Let’s make this happen.”Ben raised his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, alright. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. You might end up loving the idea a little too much.”Lila shot him a look that was half teasing, half serious. “Are you worried I’m going to steal your café? Because I might just do that.”Grace burst out laughing. “Careful, Ben. She’s onto something. You might want to keep an eye on your muffins.”Ben narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, sure. I’ll keep an eye on you.”But despite the banter, Lila couldn’t help but feel like they were all on the same page now. There was something exciting in the air, something bigger than muffins and coffee—it was the beginning of something that could be great. And maybe, just maybe, a little bit of magic was starting to brew between them all.Lila smiled, taking a deep breath. This was it.