Page 64 of Frosting and Flames

Throwing my hands up, I search for some kind of explanation, but all I can say is, “It’s complicated.”

Jae rolls her eyes. “No, it’s not. Now give me all the details.”

I sigh, knowing this was bound to happen at some point. It was a matter ofwhen, notif.

I tell her about the first accidental kiss on Wednesday during the prank, then the real kiss on Thursday.

“It’sSaturday,” Jae says with accusation in her voice. “Why am I only hearing about this now?”

I pick at my nails, not looking at her. “Because I don’t feel the need to broadcast every second of my life to everyone?”

“Nice try. Now tell me why Nick is under the impression you’re into Kyle.”

Okay, that I don’t understand. “I never said that.”

“So, what did you say? Because I just ran into him at the grocery store and he seemed pretty sure about it.”

I shut my eyes, thinking back to that awful moment on the couch, lust still coursing through me even as an irrational certainty filled me that Nick was going to do the same as Kyle.“I… I told him I couldn’t do this.” I gesture toward my mouth. “The kissing. That I wasn’t ready for anything with anyone.”

“Why?”

It’s the same thing Nick had asked, and even after ruminating on it for days, I don’t have a different answer.

“You know what happened with Kyle. I trusted him and he—” I swallow hard, shaking my head. “I can’t go through that again.”

Jae’s gaze is full of sympathy. “Kyle isn’t half the man Nick is.”

I huff out a breath of laughter. “You barely know either of them. And I obviously didn’t know Kyle as well as I thought I did.”

“Okay, everything I do know about them says I’m right. I’ve seen how Nick looks at you and let me tell you—Kyle was never that guy.”

I press my lips together, looking down. “I can’t trust myself,” I whisper.

“You can’t let Kyle ruin all men for you forever.”

She’s right. I know she’s right. But when I remember how small Kyle made me feel, leaving me for another woman… “What if I get hurt again?”

“That’s a risk everyone has to take. What if Josh did that to me? If I did it to Josh?”

Okay, that’s crazy. The two of them would never—

I pause at her knowing smirk. “Point taken.”

“I’m not saying you have to dive in headfirst. But maybe give him a chance? You deserve something good.”

I want to believe she’s right. That it’s time to stop letting fear be the loudest voice in my head.

She moves to hug me, and I let her, her arms encircling my back, rocking me side to side. As usual, I feel better almost immediately after one of her hugs.

Damn it.

We talk a little while longer, and when she leaves, I cautiously head back into the bakery, finding Sydney on a stool, focused on the cake she’s carefully working on. She looks over at me, one eyebrow raised. As Jae would say, she wants me to tell her thehot goss. It suddenly feels unfair that I’m expected to spill all my secrets when no one else is sharing any of their own.

“How’s your love life?” I ask her, relishing the surprised widening of her eyes. It’s fun catching her off guard on the rare occasions I can.

She quickly recovers, though. “What kind of love life can I have when we’re working six days a week while Mom and Dad are gone? And half the time coming in on my day off for emergencies?”

“I never said—” we both say in unison, and I frown at her smirk. She set me up for that, knowing exactly how I’d respond.I never said you had to come in.

---