Page 27 of The Break-Up Pact

My lips curl into a smile. “I’m gonna have to steal her recipe. I can’t believe I’m watching you enjoy a dessert with my own two eyes.”

“It’s mild,” says Levi in his own defense. “Not so sweet.”

“Hmmm,” I say, tapping my fingers on my chin. “Almost like a scone, one might say.”

That wrestles an exasperated smile out of him. “I’ve seen enough of your handiwork over the years to know most of your scones are giant cookies, June.”

I put a hand to my chest in mock offense, hoping it covers up the faint blush at the reminder that Levi was keeping tabs on me. “A giant cookie? That sounds so unlike me.”

Levi’s lip twists to the side in the beginnings of a smile. There’s a crumb of pistachio cake stuck on the edge of his mouth. I lean in without thinking, pressing my thumb to it. The instant the cold of my hand meets the heat of his mouth, we both go very still.

“You have a…”

I’ve forgotten the word for crumb. Or more accurately, forgotten how to speak. Because suddenly my brain has put me on hold, deeply committed to other thoughts. Thoughts like using the thumb I have on his face as an excuse to skim my fingers down the sharp line of his jaw and pull it closer to mine. Thoughts like leaving that crumb exactly where it is and pressing my lips to it instead. Thoughts like wondering what the rest of him would taste like if he let me give it a try.

Somewhere outside the room the front door to the bakery jingles open, and I pull my thumb away, the crumb falling to the ground with it.

“Thanks,” Levi says, his voice unmistakably hoarse.

My face is so hot I’m tempted to fan myself with the cake look book. As soon as this fake dating thing is over, I’m going to have to take a year’s worth of cold showers.

Sana sweeps back into the room then, rescuing my thoughts from spiraling any further down the Levi-shaped rabbit hole, and says, “Let’s get a picture of you guys next to the display case that Cassie can post.”

I look forlornly at Levi’s leftover cake, then remember we’re on a schedule here. I have to get back to Tea Tide.

“I have the updated contract on my computer, if you want to take a look before you bring it to Dylan and Mateo,” says Cassie.

Levi nods and follows her out. I’m about to do the same when Sana collects her phone from the stand and says, “Oh, and if either of you confessed to any murders while I was gone, let me know now. Because I had this rolling the whole time.”

My eyes just about fly out of my head. “Sana!”

She points a finger at me. “Honestly, this one’s on you. Fool you once, shame on me. Fool you twice, shame on…” She waits until Levi’s out of the room to waggle her eyebrows at me suggestively.

“Are you sure you want to work for Fizzle?” I grumble. “Because New York is that way, Gossip Girl.”

Sana skims a hand down today’s long French braid and settles it on her shoulder. “Go smile pretty for my camera. You’ll thank me later.”

We do just that, me warning Levi about the footage just in time for his cheeks to go pink as we’re posing with Cassie’s signature oversize cupcakes with blue sparkly frosting and a subtle “C” swirled on top. After we get a few standard photos, Sana tells us to loosen up, so I pretend to shove my cupcake into Levi’s mouth. Then Levi abruptly does shove his own cupcake into my mouth, leaving us two blue-frosting-faced, spluttering messes when I commit to fully shoving mine back.

“This is it,” I say, holding up blue frosted fingers at Sana. “The money shot.”

Levi reaches back for a napkin to hand me and says, “We’re probably going to have glitter on our mouths for a month.”

I tuck away the thought about licking that off him too, just in time for Cassie to swoop in.

“Thank you both so much for this. Seriously,” she says, hooking an arm around each of our necks and pulling us in with our mismatched heights for a seesaw of a hug. “I’m going to be slammed for the next week or two, but if there’s anything I can do to help you out, please let me know.”

She hands a bag to Levi, whose expression brightens. “Maybe you could talk to June about what it’s been like to open other locations sometime.”

Cassie’s mouth drops open in delight just as my stomach drops down to my sneakers. “June!” she says, swatting my arm playfully. “See, this is why you have to start coming to our small business owner meetups. I had no idea you were looking to expand!”

“I’m not,” I say quickly, but Cassie’s already pulling out her phone.

“Let’s get something on the books. It’s been wild, but it’s been a blast.” She’s on such a roll that I don’t have the heart to interrupt her—or maybe it’s just that I’m too curious to interrupt her. That a part of my heart is snagging on every word she’s saying, part of my mind stretching to imagine it for myself. “I mean, you already know some of it. We started with the food truck before we opened our second location in Hoffman Beach, just to feel out the area—I’m not sure if you’d want to go that route, but either way, I’d love to spitball ideas.”

It feels like a jack-in-the-box just flew open with all these loud, bright possibilities I’ve been trying to bury, and now I have to slam it shut all over again.

“I’m not opening any other locations,” I say again, more firmly. I plant a smile on my face to try to soften the words, but I can tell from the way everyone in the front room goes quiet that it doesn’t quite work. “I mean—I appreciate it. But we’re just staying in Benson Beach for now.”

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