Chapter 6 #2
I snorted and reached for another cupcake. The kitchen smelled like vanilla and sugar mixed with Cade’s faint scent of warm cedar and clean soap. It was perfect somehow.
It felt… easy. Safer than I’d felt when I’d been with Levi.
After several minutes of companionable silence, Cade lifted another cupcake, squinting at it like it had personally offended him.
“Remember when we were eleven,” he said, “and our parents decided to take us to London for Christmas?”
I groaned. “Don’t remind me. I still have nightmares of that icy wind. And that awful wool coat my mom made me wear.”
“You looked like a tiny Victorian chimney sweep.” He smiled over the table at me.
“I did not.” I felt even more embarrassed now. The thing had been thick wool, an odd brown color that reminded me of the M&M color they no longer used.
“You did,” he said, grinning. “And you refused to take off that black knit hat.”
“It was cold!” I hid my face from the embarrassment of my mother’s clothing choices.
“It was London,” he corrected. “It’s always cold.”
I laughed again, feeling lighter with every memory he pulled out.
“Do you remember getting lost in Harrods?” I asked.
His grin widened. “You got lost. I knew exactly where I was.”
“You were the one who panicked! You screamed like someone stole your candy cane.”
“I was eleven!”
“So was I!”
We both burst out laughing, and the sound filled every corner of the bakery, washing away the remnants of Levi’s shadow.
What I remembered from that trip were all the sweets that had kick-started my desire to become a pastry chef. London had awoken something in me that no one could break. I smiled and felt my heart warm.
Now, frosting cupcakes with him… I realized how easy it was with him. Natural. Familiar in a way no relationship I’d ever had could compete with.
He reached for another cupcake, bumping my hip with his. “We should go back someday.”
“To London?” I asked.
“Sure.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Or wherever you want.”
Something warm fluttered low in my stomach, unexpected and full of warning signs.
Cade cleared his throat, shifting his weight from one boot to the other like he was bracing for a strong wind. “Which reminds me, this weekend…” He hesitated, eyes darting toward the back door as if searching for an escape route.
My stomach tightened. God, why did that sound like the start of a bad news announcement?
“Yeah?” I prompted, wiping nonexistent crumbs off the counter when he didn’t continue.
He scratched the back of his neck—nervous Cade, the rarest of creatures. “I, uh… have to head out to the resort on Friday. They had an electrical panel short out in one of the wings.”
“East Haven Resort?” I asked. I’d stayed there once, back when my brother had come to town before officially moving here. Cora had arranged for our stay in hopes that I’d pick Silver Cove to move to. The resort was amazing.
“That’s the one.” He tried for casual but failed spectacularly.
His voice cracked. “Sarah said that she’s blocked out a suite for me for the night since it might take a few hours to do everything I need to.
And she, uh, she gave me a big one too. It’s got two bedrooms and a living room and a balcony.
Plus, probably more square footage than your whole bakery. ”
I arched a brow. “Are you bragging or stalling?”
He flushed. Actually flushed. “Neither. Both. Look…” He exhaled, then finally met my eyes. “I thought… maybe you’d want to come with me.”
My brain hiccupped.
Come with him? To a luxury resort? Overnight? With Cade?
Dangerous, ridiculous butterflies took flight in my stomach.
He rushed on before I could find words. “You haven’t taken a day off since you started working on this place months ago.
You’re exhausted. Anyone can see it. And Sarah said she’d give you the full royal treatment if you came.
Massage, spa, food, whatever you wanted.
You could read a book in peace, or sleep for twelve hours straight, or… I don’t know… do nothing.”
His voice had softened on that last part, almost reverent, like he was offering me something sacred.
I stared at him, at the hopeful uncertainty in his eyes, at the way he was trying so hard to appear nonchalant when his fingers were tapping an anxious rhythm against his thigh.
Cade, nervous? Over me? No. I was imagining things. Completely hallucinating.
Still, warmth curled through my chest.
“I’d like that,” I said softly. “I just have to check with the staff to make sure someone can cover while I’m gone.”
His shoulders loosened, like I’d lifted a weight he’d been silently carrying. “Yeah. Of course. No pressure. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”
But there was something vulnerable in his voice that made me feel like it would matter.
More than it should.
He cleared his throat again, then glanced toward the back door, almost like he was making sure Levi wasn’t lurking nearby. “Plus, with him in town, you may want to disappear for a day anyway.”
“Right,” I agreed as my pulse kicked up. Great. I’d almost forgotten about Levi saying he’d be in town for a while. I hated knowing that there might be more drama waiting around any corner I took.
I quickly looked down at the cupcakes. “We should finish these.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “We should.”
But when I glanced up, his eyes were still on me, soft, knowing… and something else I wasn’t ready to name.
Not yet.