Page 60 of Noble Neighbor
“You did.”
“And I was abrupt.”
“Yes.” She leaned against the doorjamb.
He sighed. “You’re not making this easy for me.”
“I called you. You ignored me.”
“You called …? Oh.Oh. No, Sunny, no. I kinda …” Oliver stepped forward, cursing the red in his genes as his face flushed with heat. “I wasn’t ignoring you on purpose. I … I broke my cell.”
“You broke your cellphone.”
“Yeah.”
“How?”
He looked at his boots, rocking back and forth. Now she’d think he was a violent person.
“Oliver?”
“I threw it against the wall in frustration. It broke. Shattered, actually.”
“So, you throw things.”
“Not usually. No. But” — he rubbed his nape again — “I chuck things. From time to time. Notatanyone, please believe me.” He reached out but thought better and dropped his arm.
“So, Oliver Armstrong has a fault. Good to know.”
“I’m sorry for being an ass earlier. Really. You warned me, plenty of times, that you’re not wanting anything serious. And I … well, I want to be in your life, Sunny. Any way you’ll have me.”
16
Down the rabbit hole
Sunny placed the sparkles on the cake and stood back to admire her handiwork. Okay, disclaimer — her and Bella’s work.
Oliver moved to stand beside her. Close beside her. “It’s a work of art,” he said.
She’d asked for some time. A bit of space. And they’d reverted to being just friends. With no benefits.Oliver had, with reluctance, agreed. Their deal included no endearments, no touching, and most definitelyno kissing.
It wasn’t easy, especially when he wassonear, and it would besonice to snuggle in for a few moments and enjoy the feel of his arms closing around her. Maybe even share a few kisses …
But alas, it was not to be. She’d made her decision, and she needed to focus on what was important. And today was a special day — Kenzie’s birthday.
Sunny shuffled a few inches away from his intoxicating scent — why hadn’t she added a social distancing clause? — and focused on the cake. “It turned out well,” she murmured.
He snorted. “Sunny, it’s a masterpiece.”
Oliver was right. With Bella’s expert andverypatient guidance, Sunny had labored over the topsy-turvy, triple-layered cake for the last few days. And nights when the girls slept.
Each layer was an individual cake made up of cut-to-a-slant sublayers, trimmed two inches narrower than the previous, and coated in white chocolate icing and colored fondant. Turquoise and white diamond shapes decorated the largest layer; pink and purple stripes covered the middle one; and a pale green for the smallest.
Decorative trim concealed the joints, a bow draped across the middle layer, and the Mad Hatter’s 10/6 card lay tucked against the top layer. A large Rice Krispy’s Treat ball, covered with pink gum paste and decorated with cheerful white daisies, formed the teapot perching on the top. She’d battled with the spout and handle and, finally admitting defeat, handed the task to Bella.
“How do you cut it?” Oliver asked.
“Layer by layer. With a knife,” she added, lips quirking. “It’s all edible, but the gum paste used on the teapot isn’t the tastiest thing around. But beneath all the colorful layers? Yummy ganache and vanilla cake.”
