Bridget nodded, really hoping the peanut butter wasn’t pot butter if that was even a thing.
“We did.”
“We?” her sister questioned.
“Yeah, me and Soren.”
Tom’s eyes went wide. “You got Scooter to dance?”
Her gaze bounced between Lori and her fiancé. The last thing she wanted was for them to think anything was going on between her and the worst best man.
“Yes, we danced. And that’s all we did. Just dancing. Nothing else. No hanky-panky. Nothing even remotely close to hanky-panky.”
Why was she saying hanky-panky so many times? She pressed her lips together, vowing to never repeat the words again.
“Why would there be any hanky-panky? And who says that?” Lori replied, sharing a puzzled look with Tom.
She needed to do some damage control…and fast.
“Not me, and certainly, not him. Soren, Scooter…whatever you want to call this cantankerous man. He doesn’t use the word or participate in hanky-panky either,” she answered, unable to stop the rush of verbal vomit.
Soren stared down at her. “Are you okay? Did you get into the gummy bears again?”
“Birdie, are you feeling better today?” Tom asked, blessedly changing the conversation’s trajectory.
She plastered on a grin. “I feel much better today. Thanks for asking.”
“We looked in on you last night, but you were fast asleep,” Lori added, then turned to Soren. “And thank you for keeping an eye on my sister. Did you get the cookies? We left a few for you on a plate.”
Soren glanced away. “Yeah, I got them.”
That’s what that plate was doing on the bedside table!
“You ate my cookies?” she asked Mr. You-Don’t-Get-Abs-Like-These-Eating-Baked-Goods.
“There wasn’t much else to do,” he mumbled.
“Scooter pulled up a chair next to the bed and fell asleep watching over you,” Tom said with the hint of a grin.
She pinned her Grinch with her gaze. “You did?”
“Don’t you need to frost a cake?” he replied, keeping his features infuriatingly neutral.
This indifferent jackass business wasn’t working on her anymore. She’d seen his passionate side. He was capable of so much more. Why did he fall into this cavalier asshat groove?
“The cakes are ready to go, Birdie. And I want to record as you frost them. You’re like a magician with that spatula,” Lori said, cutting short her little staring contest with Soren.
Bridget frowned. “Why would you want to do that?”
“I follow these baking blogs, and, Birdie, you’re better than all of them.”
Bridget waved her off. “You may be biased, little sister.”
“I’m not! Tom and I watch those baking shows and—”
“And Lori is constantly saying that you can do it better,” Tom replied, finishing Lori’s sentence.
Soren stared at his BFF like the guy had ten heads. “You watch baking shows?”
“It’s crazy relaxing, man. You should try it,” Tom replied, wrapping his arm around Lori.
Lori leaned into her fiancé. “I still can’t believe you haven’t opened up your own shop. Birdie, you’d be amazing.”
Bridget went over to the sink, washed her hands, then plucked an apron from a hook on the wall, ignoring the comment.
Amazing?
No, she didn’t have what it took to be amazing. Amazing meant taking risks and putting it all on the line. And that…that wasn’t who she was. She’d been tasked with Lori’s welfare since she was a teenager, and that’s when her dreams had moved to the back burner.
Dreams wouldn’t pay the rent.
No, she played it safe.
“Hypothetically, what would you do if you had your own bakery?”
Soren had posed the question—surprisingly enough.
She mulled it over as she put on the apron, then opened the large refrigerator. It was stocked with butter, eggs, and heavy whipping cream. Dan and Delores had delivered on making sure she had everything she needed, plus a whole lot more.
“The butter’s out and softened,” her sister said, taking out her phone.
Bridget nodded as she gathered the rest of the ingredients to make the buttercream frosting, and suddenly, she wasn’t worried about the brooding Soren or pulling off the perfect wedding. No, here, with her ingredients and the scent of cake in the air, the answer to Soren’s question came together in her mind.
She glanced around the cozy shop. It was a shame Cupid Bakery was going out of business. Anyone could tell the equipment and space were in good shape. The bakery chain wasn’t going under due to lack of care or cutting corners, and the couple who started the business were legends in the baking world.
But what did they do wrong?
Combining sugar and water, she prepared a simple syrup on the stove as she chewed on this question. Her best ideas came when she