my reaction stoic as I folded my arms across my chest. I definitely was not on Shelly’s side if that was what she was asking me to do.
“Oh, I have the greatest idea. Tomorrow, we are having a bake-off here. You should come. I’d love to taste some of your baked goods.” Her eyebrows were so high, they almost disappeared into her hairline. I wasn’t sure if she thought the expression would convince Beatrice, but it was scaring me.
“I, um…” Beatrice glanced around, and then a determined look crossed her face. “I’ll be there.”
Shelly clapped her hands. “Perfect.” Then she turned to me. “I forgot to tell you, but your mom signed you up to be a judge.” She patted my arm.
“She what?” I started, but someone called Shelly’s name and she nodded and headed in their direction.
Now alone with Beatrice, I blinked a few times. How had this turned from something between Shelly and Beatrice, to a commitment between Shelly and me? My lips were parted as I focused my attention back on Beatrice, who looked as perturbed as I felt.
“Idiot,” she whispered under her breath as she turned back to the display cases and started shoving doughnuts into the bag.
“Me?” I asked as I moved to stand next to her.
Her cheeks flushed as she hurriedly glanced up at me. “Oh, no. Not you.” She waved toward herself with the tongs. “Yours truly.”
“Why are you an idiot? You aren’t stuck with judging a bake-off.”
She snorted. “That’s the easy part. I”—she took in a deep breath—“can’t bake.” She lowered her voice as she glanced around as if to make sure no one was listening. “Like, I set off fire alarms when I try.”
A chuckle escaped as I took in her alarmed expression. She looked terrified.
I leaned forward. I couldn’t help it. Beatrice was adorable. “I’m sure you’re not that bad,” I whispered.
When I pulled back, I suddenly realized that I’d been only inches from her face. Out of pure ridiculous instinct, my gaze flicked down to her lips. Heat pricked my skin as I straightened and cleared my throat. There was something wrong with me. I wasn’t the kind of guy who flirted. And I certainly wasn’t the kind of guy who entertained relationships with anyone who voluntarily came to Christmasland.
Beatrice’s cheeks had flushed a deeper pink, and I wondered if it was because she enjoyed how close I got or hated it. Her gaze didn’t help answer that question either. She looked just as confused as I felt.
Wanting to move the conversation away from the deep waters we’d just waded into, I moved toward the cash register and took out my wallet. “Four doughnuts,” I told Shelly’s sister who was standing behind the counter.
She rang me up despite Beatrice’s insistence that she could pay for it.
The truth was, I didn’t want to wait around while Beatrice fished out her money. I was ready to get out of this bakery and out into the open air. I didn’t like the desire that was brewing inside of my stomach or the fact that, for a moment, I’d forgotten about Scarlet and what she’d done to me.
For a moment, the happiness I felt had overshadowed the pain that I’d been convinced was a permanent feature in my soul.
And that thought scared me. If I wasn’t hurting, who was I? If I wasn’t hurting, I was going to have the face the reality of why Scarlet treated me the way she did.
I was going to have to come to terms with the fact that I was just unlovable.
And that wasn’t a realization that I wanted to have here, in Sugarplum Bakery, surrounded by Christmas music and holiday-themed baked goods.
This was not where I wanted to reach my lowest of lows.
If that happened, I was fairly certain I wasn’t going to come back from it.
Ever.
8
Beatrice
Ethan was quiet as we walked out of the bakery and back out onto the sidewalk. I held tightly to the bag of doughnuts as I quickened my pace behind him. I wasn’t sure what had happened in there, but whatever it was had taken us from laughing to silent in an instant.
And I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d done something to spur this change.
Sure it had been stupid to agree to the baking contest. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking, but as soon as I saw the smug smile on Shelly, I lost all ability to think rationally. It was as if she were laughing at me,