Page 42 of Cut The Cake

“They look good enough to eat,” she declared as she polished off the last cupcake with a delicate swirl.

“You can add toppings if you’d like.” He pointed to a row of bins built into one wall. Each housed a different confection, ranging from crushed candy bars to candied fruits. “Or how about a dash of cinnamon?”

“I might have to try one before I can know for sure,” Jenny said, clearly angling for a taste test.

“Spoken like a true baker.” He lifted one of the cupcakes from the rack while Jenny did the same. By mutual agreement, they took their first bites at the same time.

“Not bad,” Nick pronounced. The chocolate nearly overpowered the sweetness of the cupcake, but for a first effort, Jenny had done quite well. He glanced at her to see if she felt the same way and stilled.

She stood, her eyes closed, an expression of pure bliss on her face.

He’d always thought she was pretty, but seeing her standing there, her beauty shone brighter than it ever had before. There was a dreamy air about her that he’d expected to see when she spoke about her fiancé. It was a look he’d begun to wonder if she was even capable of. Yet, there she stood, right in front of him, practically rapturous over a simple cupcake.

His heart melted. All of a sudden, he couldn’t fight his feelings anymore. His heart thudding, he decided to take a chance.

“Jenny?” he whispered and stepped closer.

Chapter Thirteen

The heady mix of chocolate and buttercream overwhelmed Jenny’s senses. She closed her eyes. Sure, she’d had better cupcakes. Nick’s daily specials had more complex flavors. The texture of this one wasn’t nearly as fine. But she’d definitely give it an A for effort. Especially since it was the first one she’d ever baked by herself.

Well, with more than a little help from Nick, she corrected. She licked her lips. How could she thank him?

Air brushed softly across her shoulders. Something—or hopefully, someone—had moved nearby. Praying Nick had taken a step toward her, she pried her eyes open wide enough to peek out through her lashes. He had definitely moved closer. Her heart responded by kicking into high gear. A giddy thrill passed through her as the realization that she was about to be kissed struck home.

She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and sighed. She couldn’t kiss Nick until he knew her secret. She had to tell him the truth, no matter what the cost. Then, and only then, could she find out how he really felt about her, about them.

Music blared, and she flinched. Her eyes sprang open just in time for her to see Nick double-stepping a hasty retreat. He didn’t stop until his hips rested against the counter behind him.

Another blast of music struck. Recognizing the theme song from her cousin’s last hit movie, Jenny firmed lips that had softened in preparation for a kiss that was so not going to happen. “Perfect timing,” she muttered while a potent disappointment swirled through her chest. Fighting it, she reached for the device she’d stuck in her back pocket when she’d left the bed-and-breakfast. “Hello,” she said, thumbing the button.

“Where’ve you been? I’ve been trying to reach you all day!” So much for the dulcet tones Kay used whenever she appeared before the cameras. Strident, her voice grated across Jenny’s raw nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard.

“Really?” Figuring this was not a conversation she wanted Nick to overhear, she held up one finger, asking him to give her a minute. At his nod, she speed-walked through the swinging doors to the public side of the bakery. On the way, she pointed out a decided lack of voicemail to her cousin.

“You know I never leave messages.” Although Kay didn’t say as much, Jenny couldn’t miss the implication that such mundane tasks were beneath someone who’d achieved her level of stardom. “So where were you?”

“I was out,” she answered on a long, low exhale. She’d spent the day wandering in and out of the shops on Honeymoon Avenue and thinking about Nick. She probably should have returned Kay’s missed calls, but her feelings for the baker were too new, too fresh to share with anyone, much less with the cousin who’d sent her to Heart’s Landing as a pretend bride. “I planned to call you when you got home from the studio tonight.”

“But I needed to reach you right away. We have a huge problem.”

“What now?” She didn’t have any problems other than a cousin who’d just interrupted the most important moment of her life. Honestly, sometimes Kay’s flair for the dramatic rubbed her the wrong way. This was one of those times.

“It’s a crisis. And you’re the only one who can fix it.”

Phooey. Just when she thought things had been going so well. Kay hadn’t ordered a single change to the wedding plans in nearly a week. She should have known it wouldn’t last.

“It’s the cake. It’s all wrong.”

Say what?

Jenny squeezed her eyes tight. Nick had designed a stunning, multi-tiered creation that Kay’s guests were sure to rave over. She pointed out what they both already knew. “It’s exactly what you said you wanted.”

“And now I don’t,” Karolyn said, her voice petulant. “Everyone in Hollywood is on this new diet. They’d rather die before letting one drop of sugary icing touch their lips. We can’t. We just can’t. I’d be mortified.”

“Karolyn,” she said, trying to make her cousin see reason, “your wedding is a special occasion. People make exceptions for events like this. Think of Thanksgiving or Christmas. You wouldn’t serve Thanksgiving dinner without pumpkin pie, would you?”

“No, but—”

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