Page 60 of Potions and Proposals
Rolling his eyes, he chewed and swallowed, then raised his eyebrows. “The red velvet is delicious.” He licked the cake from the corners of his mouth. “I hope you enjoyed that.”
The traces of icing still on the corner of his lower lip looked rather enticing. Lucy found herself swiping it off with her thumb.
“I did,” she agreed, bringing the icing to her lips.
His eyes widened, and she froze. She didn’t know what had come over her; the sweet, tangy cream cheese frosting had been too tempting. She wanted to tell him it was the icing and nothim, though as he studied her lips part of her was sure he’d be downright delicious.
Just then, a blinding cramp forced her to lean against the counter for support. She needed some painkillers and a water bottle.
“Are you alright?” Benedict rested a hand on her lower back. The pressure was nice; she almost groaned when he removed it. Waiting for the wave of pain to subside so she could reply, she gripped the corner of the table.
Benedict jumped back as the red velvet cake before them burst into flames. He grabbed Lucy, pulling her away from the blazing cake. The icing melted quickly, and the decorations turned black. She was too stunned to speak; she hadn’t meant to start it.
“It was the pain,” she started to say as Benedict protected her from the rippling flames. As quickly as it had caught fire, he doused it in water. Smoke shrouded them. It was a slightly alarming miracle that the fire alarm didn’t go off.
“We can’t let them see this!” Lucy panicked, staring at the swing doors as they heard the others returning.
“What the hell are we supposed to do?” Benedict ran his hands through his hair.
Lucy did the only thing she could think of.
“Where the hell is the cake?” Benedict hissed when it disappeared.
“I think I sent it to my house.” She wasn’t entirely sure.
“You think?!” he barked, checking the door.
“I panicked when I heard them coming. I didn’t exactly have time to think it through!”
Benedict shook his head. “So there’s a burnt, soggy, six-tier cake around town somewhere?”
Lucy winced, and they both stared at each other for a moment before erupting into laughter. She laughed until her chest hurt, and Benedict braced himself against the counter.
Mrs Crawford and Mr Lark halted at the strange scene. Benedict straightened, fixing his tie as he returned to his stoic self.
“I sent the cake to the Manor,” he announced.
“We thought we’d save on time and the courier,” Lucy chimed in.
“Good idea. It’s late as it is, and we wouldn’t want to keep the wedding guests waiting.” Mrs Crawford sniffed the air with a small frown.
“I should settle the bill.” Benedict distracted Mrs Crawford by leading her out of the kitchen. Lucy wasn’t going to argue; she didn’t want them to figure out something had gone wrong. She only hoped she’d find the cake in the kitchen when she got home.
Hoping she’d be free to go, Lucy headed out of the kitchen only to find their table covered in small plates of cake. She forced herself to smile, not wanting to offend Ms Fowler since she’d gone to the trouble.
“I pulled some cakes from the counter for you to try, now that everything is settled,” the baker said, ushering her to the table. “We should pick the cake for your binding banquet before you leave so I can get started.”
Mrs Crawford and Mr Lark took their seats happily. Lucy locked eyes with Benedict, who wanted to leave as much as she did. However, they both bit the bullet and sat down, trying every cake pushed in their direction until they couldn’t eat another frosted bite.
“The white chocolate is far too sweet for the season,” Benedict said, as though he cared. Lucy knew how much he hated sweet things, except for pumpkin pie.
“We need something rich, but not too sweet,” Mr Lark agreed, shoving the giant slice of chocolate fudge over to Lucy.
“Dark chocolate is my favourite,” she hedged, so full of sugar she thought she explode if she took another bite.
“Want some pumpkin?” Benedict offered, holding out a fork. The glint in his eye told her he was referencing her and not the cake on it.
“I hate pumpkin, and we want a crowd-pleaser,” she said softly.
