hit.”
Cade stares at my phone for a long moment and then looks up at me and gives me a smile. “You really are talented, Hailey. I couldn’t do that if I had someone standing beside me giving me step-by-step directions, much less from only seeing a picture online. I bet they tasted incredible too, just like that cookie I had the other day.”
I sheepishly admit the truth of how many I sampled before putting the rest out for customers. “Although I shouldn’t have, I ate two of them, and although I’m completely biased, they were delicious. I made them as vanilla cupcakes this time and used a special ingredient. Sour cream. People sometimes get turned off when they hear that’s part of my vanilla cupcakes, but it makes them taste so good! I’m thinking next time I want to try to make different flavors for each rose color, so peach cupcakes for the peach roses and vanilla for the white ones.”
God, I meant to just say I ate two damn cupcakes, and there I go again giving him every last tedious detail on cupcakes. Dr. Thorpe is right. Without practice around people my age, I’ve started to forget how to behave. I’m turning into a middle-aged woman before I reach twenty-five!
Looking away, I try to hide my embarrassment. “I’m sorry. This must be so boring for you walking around and talking about cupcakes.”
“Not at all. I’m enjoying this a lot. You’re passionate about what you do. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Cade says.
When I don’t look over at him because I just feel so awkward still, he takes my hand in his and stops me from walking. Surprised and unsure what to say or do, I don’t have a choice but to face him. I haven’t been this close with a man since Malcolm, and my brain seems to shut off as I look at Cade now.
“Don’t be ashamed for who you are. I’m having a great time listening to you talk about all of it—the cupcakes, the ingredients, even the color peach. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent years listening to my best friend talk about food like it’s something to be worshipped. I don’t know. But if you’re worried you’re boring me, let me tell you, you’re not.”
“Maybe you could tell me something about you. I feel like I’ve been monopolizing the whole conversation, so you tell me about who you are for a while.”
With a nod and one of his sexy smiles, he agrees to talk about himself, which will keep me from blabbering on about cupcakes and clue me into who Cade March really is. I know he’s good-looking and very tolerant of my food obsession, but is there more to him?
As we begin down the pathway again, he keeps his gentle hold on my hand. At first, I wonder if I should pull away, but I push away that instinct that comes from fear.
“What do you want to know? I went to school up north and graduated with a degree in business. It’s the last thing I want to do in life, though, so I haven’t used it much since I came back to town.”
“But you own a club, so that must be useful for you to know all you learned in college,” I say, instantly wishing I could brag about going to school without having to explain what happened.
His hand tightens around mine slightly for a moment before he eases his hold. “I guess, but real life is never the same as what you learn in school. I went to school because I had to. I graduated because I had to. I work because I have to.”
Turning to look over at me, he smiles. “See, that’s why listening to you talk about what you do is so interesting. You want to do that. You love what you do, and it shows when you talk about it. I don’t love what I do, and I know how I sound when I talk about it.”
I want to hear more about his club, but since he clearly doesn’t enjoy his work like I do, I quickly change the subject. “Well, what do you do when you’re not working?”
With a chuckle, he answers, “I’ve just now decided I’m the most boring person in the world. I don’t do much when I’m not working. Alex and I hang out on his days off, and sometimes our other cousins join us and we go jet skiing. Alex’s father has a boat,