Page 31 of Key Lime Kisses
“What do you mean the bake sale with that jerk alpha?” I repeated.
“That's how I got the cruise,” he said. “Didn’t I tell you that?”
“You didn't say anything about a bake sale.” Impossible. It had to be a coincidence.
“Yeah.” Shea casually took another bite, unaware that my heart felt like it was about to pound out of my chest. “There was a big sale back in March to benefit the Children's Hospital. My nephew was really sick a few years ago and that hospital saved his life. I told you my brother keeps poking his nose into my love life; he insisted I go to the bake sale. Well…” He took another maddingly slow bite. “I call it a bake sale, but it was really more like a big auction. You bid on a pie and a blind date.”
“And you got the key lime pie… and the brunch cruise,” I said slowly.
He nodded around another mouthful of pie. “Yeah. It was really good pie too. Aside from the nutmeg. You added the perfect amount.”
“I added too much to the other,” I said softly. “It was all clumped up and I was in too much of a hurry to scoop it out.”
Shea started taking another bite, but stopped with the fork halfway to his mouth, staring at me. “What?!”
I took a deep breath. “Shea,” I began. “My sister asked me to bake a pie. After I was done, she told me it was for an auction and that omegas would bid on the pie… and the cruise. My sister thought it was just a brunch cruise, that’s why weboththought we were getting brunch.”
Shea gaped at me. He stared down at the pie, then slowly looked back up to me. “The alpha who baked that pie wasn’t there…”
“I didn’t know I was supposed to be,” I murmured.
“But ifyoubaked the pie…”
“Your blind date was supposed to beme,” I finished in wonder.
His eyes narrowed. “Then why did that asshole…” Shea trailed off and his eyes widened. “Oh!”
“What?”
“That jerk never actually said he was my date! He only asked me if I was alone and I told him I was waiting for a blind date.” Shea snorted and crossed his arms in annoyance. “And I thought he was a jerk before! He just invited himself, sat down, and let methinkthat he was my date! Even if you had walked by, you wouldn't have known I was supposed to be your date because you would have seen me sitting with someone else.”
“Unbelievable,” I said. “I didn’t walk by though…” I frowned curiously at him. “I was outside waiting.”
“Oh yeah… How did we end up in different meeting places?”
“We were supposed to meet on the upper deck, right?” I asked. “At the back? That’s where I was. Top deck, near the tables at the back.”
Shea’s eyes widened and his lips parted slightly. “Weston,” he breathed. “Meetatthe Upper Deck. The Upper Deck was the name of the restaurant!”
I stared at him in disbelief. “I don’t believe it.”
“Neither do I,” Shea said. “We were supposed to be each other’s date all along!”
Just then, the dog trotted in, followed by her puppies. She went up to nose Shea and he reached down absently to pet her.
“Hey sweetie pie,” he told her. Suddenly, a broad smiled crossed his face. “I have names!”
“For the dogs?” I asked in surprise.
“Well, pie brought us together, right?” Shea asked. He pointed to the mother dog. “Sweetie.” Then he pointed to her two blonde coated pups, who in my opinion looked quite a bit like yellow lab mixes. “Apple and Banana Cream. And…” Shea pointed to the pup who took after her herding dog mother. “Shepard.”
I laughed. “Those names are perfect!”
Shea grinned, then looked down fondly and patted his stomach.
“Just don’t name the kid after a pie too,” I teased.
Chapter Nine
