Page 41 of Cut The Cake

“True enough,” he agreed. “But everyone likes one part of baking over another. For me, it’s the frosting.” Crossing to the fridge, he pulled out a bowl of blended butter and cream cheese. He grabbed a fresh set of beaters from a nearby drawer and snapped them into place. “This time, I’ll hold the mixer while you add the confectioner’s sugar.”

Jenny eyed the canister on the counter. “How much?”

He shrugged. “The frosting will form peaks when you’ve added enough.”

“That doesn’t sound very scientific, but I’m game.”

She scooped up a heaping measuring cup of the fine powder. Before Nick had a chance to warn her to go slowly, she dumped the whole thing into the bowl, just like she had with the cocoa. Instead of pulling the sugar into the mix, however, the beaters kicked the loose powder into a cloud that sweetened the air.

“Uh-oh!” Jenny blinked as sugar began to settle. Soon, it coated their hair, arms and faces. It dusted their clothes in snowy white. The tiny particles rained down on the counter and the floor as heat climbed onto her cheeks. “That wasn’t supposed to happen, was it?”

Nick swallowed and tasted sugar, but it was the distraught expression on Jenny’s face that required his immediate attention. “Hey, sometimes things don’t work out perfectly the first time you try something new. It’s not a problem. You’ll do better next time.”

“Seriously? I’ve practically destroyed your kitchen.” In what must have been an attempt to clean herself up, she clapped her hands together. Her efforts merely stirred more white into the air.

Nick squinted through dusty lashes. Extra-fine sugar coated everything within a four-foot radius. “It’s easy enough to clean up. A damp rag will do the trick.” He grabbed one from the sink at the end of the counter. When he swiped it through the white dust, it left a clean streak. “See? Easy as pie.”

“I never understood why people say that. I watched my aunt make pies once. There wasn’t anything simple about it.”

“The easy part comes when you eat it.” He grinned and handed her a second cloth. “Dust yourself off, and we’ll get back to work. We’ll wait until we’re done to clean the rest.” He shot her a teasing glance. “Just in case, you know, it happens again.”

“Oh, you!” Jenny swatted at him with the rag.

Nick sidestepped just in time to avoid getting smacked. “Trust me. You’re not the first to make that same mistake. You won’t be the last.” When Jenny finished blotting her face and arms, he pointed to her cheek. “You missed a spot.”

“Here?” Jenny dabbed again.

“Nope. Still there.” He grabbed a fresh cloth and moved closer. He’d nearly reached the stubborn sugar when a plaintive meow sounded at the door.

Nick froze. The noise had kept him from making a big mistake. No matter how good he told himself his intentions were, deep down he had to admit that he wanted to do more than brush a few sugar crystals from Jenny’s cheek. Which could only lead to trouble. He reluctantly dropped back a step. “You know what? You have a lot more on you than I thought. Why don’t you wash up in the ladies’ room while I grab our cupcakes?”

Jenny’s gaze shifted from his face to the ingredients that waited on the counter to be mixed. “But what about the frosting? I—”

He cut off her objection. He needed her to go, needed her to leave the room before he did something really dumb—like pulling her into his arms. “I’ll finish up here. Trust me. It’ll be better this way.”

Or if not better, at least safer. For both of us.

The confusion that clouded Jenny’s features cleared. Her arguments died, and she spun on one heel.

Nick clenched his teeth and watched her until she disappeared behind the swinging doors. Only then did he straighten.

Idiot. I’m an idiot.

He’d had one job to do—help a bride in need. But he’d ruined everything by falling in love. And he had fallen in love with Jenny. With her ready wit, her sparkling personality, how she went out of her way to be kind to everyone she met. He’d never known anyone like her, and he wanted them to spend the rest of their lives together. There was just one problem—she was engaged to someone else. Which meant, no matter how he felt about her, he couldn’t act on his feelings. Not even a little bit.

His mouth set in firm lines, he forced his focus to the tasks at hand. Removing the cupcakes from the oven, he set them on a nearby cooling tray. That done, he turned his attention to the frosting. By the time Jenny returned, he’d incorporated the last of the powdered sugar into the buttery mix.

And his feelings? He’d buried those so deep that Jenny would never see them.

“What flavor do you want?” Determined to stick to the program and not get lost in Jenny’s gaze, he handed her a tasting spoon loaded with frosting.

“Hmm.” She delicately licked the sample. “Do we have to? I think it’s perfect just the way it is.”

“Okay,” he agreed, looking anywhere but at her. “There’s nothing better than a chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting. Then again, I might be slightly prejudiced.”

“You think?” Jenny teased.

He refused to get sucked in by the sparkle in her eyes. Setting his lips into a grim line, he demonstrated the proper way to fill a piping bag. His determination failed him, though. No matter how hard he tried to remain aloof and detached, he grinned when she spun perfect circles across the tops of each of the cupcakes.

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