Single mom Kaitlyn is all set for her daughter Natalie's spring chorus concert—until she learns at the last minute that she's supposed to bring several dozen brownies for the bake sale that will be set up in the lobby during the concert. Natalie suggests enlisting the aid of their neighbor, Eric, who owns a bakery. But . . . things have been awkward for Eric and Kaitlyn after a failed love connection last fall. The last thing Kaitlyn wants to do is ask him for a giant favor right now. But she can't disappoint Natalie. With hope for a second chance at romance, Kaitlyn brings Eric her problem . . . and her heart. The original version of this short story first appeared in the anthology Recipes for Romance, released by And You Press, an imprint of Nicole Frail Books, in January 2025. It has since been edited.
Author
Katie Fitzgerald is the author of Library Lovebirds, an ebook collection of bookish romances, All Year with Anthony, a stand-alone short story, and a novel in flash, The Bennetts Bloom. Her short stories and flash fiction appear online at Havok Publishing, Syncopation Literary Journal, Little Free Lit Mag, Spark Flash Fiction and Micromance Magazine. She is a 2024 Sparkie Award recipient for Best Romantic Suspense, a nominee for the Pushcart Prize, and a finalist in three categories of the 2025 Cupid Prize. A graduate of Vassar College and a trained librarian, Katie resides in Maryland with her husband and five kids. Katie's work also appears in the following anthologies: ✿ Wither and Bloom ✿ Of Ink & Paper ✿ Crowns: A Heartbooks Anthology ✿ A Winter Promise: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology ✿ Summer Sweethearts: A Contemporary Romance Collection ✿ Tails, Scales, & Tiaras ✿ Another Chance to Get It Right: A New Year's Eve Anthology ✿ Written Tales Chapbook XV: Echoes of Ink ✿ 12 Days of Book-Club-Mas ✿ The Dragon Bone Journal: 2025 Issue ✿ Recipes for Romance: A Sweet Valentine's Day Anthology ✿ I Love You Unconventionally
