Chapter twenty-three #2
“It’s definitely something!” I say, unable to lie to her. But I also can’t be honest and tell her I’ve never tasted something this bad in my life. Aubrey takes her baking to heart, it’s the only times I see her get badly emotional, and her pregnancy hormones take over.
“Okay, try this one.” She hands me some type of flaky pastry with chocolate seeping out the sides.
I put down the cupcake and take the pastry, inspecting it for a moment. Okay, this looks promising. I take a bite, expecting the delightful taste of chocolate, but instead I’m hit with an intense, bitter taste. Not promising at all.
“Wow…” That’s all I can manage to say as I force the bite down.
“That one is a honey mustard and chocolate pastry knot. They’re so easy to make, if you like them, I could make you an extra batch!” She holds onto my arm with a proud smile, and I feel like shit for the thoughts racing through my mind.
“Oh, that’s okay, sweetheart. There are already so many, no need to make more.” I don’t care what she says, that is not honey mustard!
“If you say so, but if you change your mind, just let me know. Okay, now this one,” She moves on to the last stand with muffins that hold a slight pinkish-red color. “This one is my favorite.”
I pick it out of her hand and make a silent prayer before I bite into it. Oh God! I was wrong, there is so much worse than the coconut-pickle cupcakes! My gag reflex activates, and I try my hardest to keep a straight face as I chew, and chew, and chew. I don’t think I can swallow this.
“What… what is this one?” I finally manage to send that dirt down my throat. God, my stomach is going to hate me for this later.
“Beets and grape with cream cheese filling. It’s good right!
? All the flavors blend so well together, I can’t believe I never thought about it before.
” She bounces on the spot, rubbing her belly and taking another muffin from the stand, biting into it with a moan like it’s the most delicious thing she’s ever had.
I have no idea how to react, what to say. These are all horrible and now I’m stuck with batches of them from what I can see. How do I get rid of them without her noticing? “Why did you make so many?”
“Oh, I thought we could bring them over to Morgan’s later. We’re going to be a lot, so I made extra.” She smiles, finishing her muffin. Jesus, now I’m going to have to let everyone know without telling Aubrey. This is going to be a disaster.
I pull her to me, kissing her temple. “How about you go shower and get dressed, and I’ll pack these all up for you?” And throw a few away in the trash. Jesus, I’m such an ass…
“Thank you.” She pecks my lips and graciously walks away toward our room.
I quickly put as many as possible into storage containers to bring with us when we head over to Burkley’s place.
The whole gang is meeting up for a pool day at Clay and Morgan’s.
It will be the first time we’re all together since Emma’s poorly ended birthday.
We’ve seen them a few times separately, but never everyone at once.
Except for Greyson, we’ve seen him once since the air has been cleared, and it was awkward. You could tell he was still uncomfortable about the whole thing, but he at least made an effort, and I appreciate that.
Although I know he’s been calling her daily.
No matter the time of day, he’ll make sure to talk to his sister for a minimum of thirty minutes.
The first time it happened, Aubrey just stared at me the entire time, confused with what was happening.
There was no reason behind his call; all he did was ask how she was feeling, how the pregnancy was going, what she was most excited about, and if she needed anything.
Aubrey kept trying to end the call, sensing it was odd, but every time he’d come up with a new topic of conversation before she could. Finally, she understood what he was doing. He was trying to earn her love back.
Once I’m done storing everything, I look over what’s left.
There’s at least a dozen of each kind, and that’s still too much.
I take three from each and bring them over to the big garbage bins in the garage.
My Angel never looks through these, so there’s no way she’ll find out I threw some out.
I’ll just need to keep disposing two or three a day without her noticing until there’s no more.
It’s a quarter past ten by the time we pull up outside of Burkley’s residence in my R8.
I tell Aubrey to wait as I round the car and head over to the passenger door, pulling it open and giving her my hand.
I wanted to take a more practical car for her since this one is low and she’s pregnant, but she insisted it was fine.
I help her out of the car and walk her to the front door.
I ring the doorbell seconds before Clay opens it and greets us. “Hey, Aubrey. You look great.” He hugs her and lets her in.
“Mind helping me with the bags?” I nod my head toward the car. To be honest, I could get them alone, but this gives me the opportunity to spread the word.
He frowns, looking at my car but shrugs and follows me. “Sure.”
Once the door is closed behind him and we’ve reached my car, I pop my hood and begin to pull out two bags. One filled with snacks for Aubrey and anyone else who might want, and the other contains the atrocious treats she made.
Clay chuckles. “You needed help for this?”
“Actually, no. But I needed to warn you and I’m hoping you can spread the word discreetly to the others.
” I lift the bag that should be at the bottom of a bin right now.
“Aubrey baked this morning for you guys. I don’t know if it’s the hormones that are messing with her tastebuds, but do not eat them. ”
“Come on, they can’t be that bad.” He frowns again.
“They are, you’ve been warned. I didn’t have the heart to tell her, but I almost threw up eating them.” I shiver, the taste resurfacing on my tongue.
He snorts at my visible tremble. “All right, I’ll pass the word.”
“Thanks.” I sigh with relief and pat him on the back as I close my hood and we head inside.
But my relief is short-lived, because the second we enter the kitchen, Aubrey has already told everyone about her baked goods, and they all want to try them. Fuck!
Clay chuckles with a head shake as he places the bag on top of the kitchen island. He then passes by me and pats my back like I did to him, whispering, “Good luck.”
Aubrey moves to the bag right away and begins popping out the containers, opening them up and showing them off to everyone. I stand behind her, trying to make eye contact with everyone as I repeatedly shake my head and give them big warning eyes.
“DO NOT EAT THEM!” I mouth over and over and make a cutting gesture at my neck with my hand.
I watch as Clay hugs his wife from behind, mumbling something into her hair. She frowns at first, but comprehension takes over quickly and she smiles. She then steps out of Clay’s hold and turns her back to us as she grabs Gabriel’s arm, pulling him toward the counter behind them.
He looks over his shoulder at the desserts with a disgusted look and nods. He then returns to his spot beside his fiancée who’s leaning into Noah who holds her in his arms. He whispers the message over to Noah, keeping his eyes on Aubrey to make sure she doesn’t notice.
During this time, my girl continues to transfer the treats onto large trays, making them look all fancy, but we won’t be fooled by the devil’s food.
Well, except for Silas and Cecilia, they’ve been eyeing the goods with excitement and hunger in their eyes, despite my best attempt at getting their attention.
I’ve already ruled them out as a lost cause. Sometimes in life, we must make sacrifices. Today, they are my sacrifice.
Emma is in the living room feeding her twins, so I’m not really worried about her.
That leaves only Veronica and Greyson. Ronnie watches me with a quizzical look like she’s unsure of what I’m trying to say.
That is until Noah lowers his head to her shoulder, kissing the skin and murmuring against it.
Her eyes widen as she folds in her lips, refraining herself from laughing.
Next is Greyson, and given the look on his face, he got the message all right.
Except, he’s glaring at me, which means he probably thinks I’m being an asshole to his sister and not supporting her talent.
Trust me, I’m more than supportive when it comes to Aubrey. But these? There’s no hope for them.
“There! You guys are welcome to try them right away.” She looks up smiling at everyone until her eyes fall on her brother, who’s still glaring at me.
She looks behind her, directly at me as I quickly drop my hands and smile down at her, placing my hands on her hips and pulling her into me as I kiss the top of her head.
She turns her gaze back to her brother with a sad expression and his face falls. “No, Aubrey… It—”
“Oh my God! What is this!?” Silas shouts with his mouth full, interrupting Greyson’s excuse.
“That one is coconut and pickle,” Aubrey tells him with a frown at his disgusted expression. This is really not going to end well.
“Oh, okay well that explains it. Not a huge fan of coconut. Sorry,” he says, putting it in the trash and going for the pastry that appears yummy, yet is not.
He shoves the whole thing in his mouth. Wrong move, buddy. And I see the instant he regrets his decision. He opens his mouth wide, making a gagging noise and spits it all out into the trash. “Oh, fudge, this is atrocious!”
“Silas!” Cecilia rebukes him. “Stop being dramatic, it’s not because you don’t like something that it means it’s not good.”
Silas, still not having learned his lesson, goes over to the muffins next. He picks it up, turns it around in his hand, smells it, then shrugs and bites into it. He gags again, flapping a hand at his open mouth.