Page 26 of The Uncomplicated Café
A bleach blonde in an expensive beige suit stood on the other side.
CeCe’s heart stopped. She immediately recognized Jayce’s shrewd and unsavory agent from photos on social media. Based on everything Jayce had told her, she’d never liked the woman at the best of times, let alone standing on her doorstep uninvited.
“You must be CeCe. I’m Gretchen Schroeder with SRT Talent Management. Jayce Hunt is one of my top clients.” She peered over CeCe’s shoulder as if she expected to see him. “Please tell him I’m here.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Schroeder, but it’s rather early in the morning, and I need to get to work.”
“I’m sure your assistant manager, Piper, can handle things for a few more minutes. I really need to speak with Jayce, if you don’t mind.” She made a move to step inside, but CeCe didn’t budge, blocking her from entering.
Shedidmind, thank you very much. And how did this woman know about Piper or that Jayce was in her apartment?
Eerily, as if she’d read her thoughts, Gretchen said, “I make it my business to know everything there is to know about my clients, including the people close to them. Which is why I’m still not sure how I didn’t know aboutyou.” She swept an openly skeptical glance over CeCe from head to toe.
CeCe shivered beneath her brazen scrutiny.
“Frankly,” Gretchen added coldly. “I find it hard to believeyou’reJayce’s fiancée.”
Burning with embarrassment, CeCe tugged on the frayed hem of her oversize T-shirt as if the extra millimeter would cover the ice cream stain on her cotton shorts. The same shorts she’d owned since middle school. Why hadn’t she updated her closet in the last decade?Oh, right. Because until this moment, she’d never cared about fashion trends. She loathed that this woman—thisstranger—had the power to make her second-guess her wardrobe.
“I think someone’s ready for breakfast.” Jayce strolled out of the bedroom, cradling Spock in his arms.
For a split second, CeCe enjoyed the flicker of shock on Gretchen’s face. But her delight quickly faded, replaced by the mortification of the situation. She didn’t want to give this woman the wrong impression of their relationship.
“Good morning, Gretchen. I see you’ve met my beautiful bride-to-be.”
The way Jayce accentuated the wordbeautiful—with a casual confidence as if her beauty were the most obvious thing in the world—made CeCe stand a little straighter. Of course, she still felt compelled to set the record straight, and awkwardly blurted, “We fell asleep watching TV. He doesn’t normally stay over.”
Gretchen shot her a funny look that revealed her indifference to their lifestyle choices before glancing back at Jayce. “My sources said you’d be here, but I have to say, I’m surprised. You two must really be engaged.”
“Happily.” Jayce draped an arm around her shoulders, grinning like he’d won the matrimonial lottery.
From his perch in Jayce’s other arm, Spock glared at Gretchen, his incisors bared.
CeCe’s heart warmed. Between Jayce and Spock, she’d never felt more protected.
“What do you want, Gretch?” Jayce’s tone had lost its cheerful edge.
“Now that the cat’s out of the bag—”
Spock interrupted her analogy with an offended growl.
Startled, Gretchen paused and cast Spock a wary glance.
CeCe suppressed a giggle.
“Now that your engagement has been leaked to the press—” Gretchen amended.
“Earlier than we agreed upon.” Now it was Jayce’s turn to interrupt. He fixed Gretchen with a frown so stern, the Ice Queen actually squirmed.
CeCe had to admit, she didn’t mind seeing the obnoxious woman thrown off her game.
Gretchen cleared her throat. “Based on some of the more, shall we sayunfortunateheadlines, I think we need to do some damage control.”
To her credit, Gretchen refrained from detailing CeCe’s disastrous debut in the spotlight. Was it possible the Ice Queen had a heart after all?
“I’d like to put our own spin on the press coverage,” Gretchen continued. “Starting with some feel-good stories about how you two met, life in Blessings Bay, etcetera, etcetera. Let’s really sell the sappy small-town fairy tale. But first,” Gretchen added, turning to CeCe, “I’d like to meet the bride’s parents. How soon can that be arranged?”
CeCe’s stomach twisted. She met Jayce’s eye. The shadows muddying his gaze mirrored her own fears.
