Page 52 of My Prince

“There’s my Prince Charming,” she laughed.

I’d be whatever the hell she wanted as long as she was mine.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Adalee

“I need more,” Fallon whined, eyes fixed on the batter-covered spoon in my hand.

I laughed as I handed it to her and put the dirty bowl in the sink. “You’re going to have to wait until it comes out of the oven.”

Fallon sighed heavily. “Fine, but there’s just something about cake batter that makes me feral. You should figure out how to make cake batter shots or something.”

“Um, I think technically you shouldn’t eat too much raw cake batter,” I laughed. “I don’t think raw eggs are the best.”

Fallon waved her hand at me and licked the spoon clean. “Girl, I have licked the beaters since I was a kid, and I’ve never gotten sick. Figure out how to do a shot of cake batter, and I will bring in the masses.”

I leaned against the counter and wiped my hands on the dish towel. “That is exactly what I need. I’m more than good at doing all the baking and decorating. When it comes to dealing with customers and getting people in the door, I’d rather be in the kitchen.”

Fallon tipped her head to the side. “I don’t know if you realized this, but I, too, am unemployed thanks to a dickhead man.” She motioned between us. “Common ground.”

I looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “You think we should team up?”

“Why not?” Fallon shrugged. “I can handle the people; you handle the cakes. We could open a bakery together.”

The idea sounded appealing but also daunting because I had tried this before. “It’s a lot to think about,” I said slowly. “There’s so much that goes into starting a business. And it wouldn’t really be a bakery. I want to only do cakes. Maybe cupcakes because, honestly, those are just little cakes.”

“The Cakery!” Fallon exclaimed. “Put what you are right in the name. If we said Adalee’s Bakery or something like that, people would expect donuts, breads, pastries.”

I wrinkled my nose. I loved to bake but wasn’t looking to bake fifty different things. I wanted to make a cake and be the best around it. “I like the sound of that.”

“Like the sound of what?” Fade asked as he walked into the kitchen, glancing between me and Fallon.

My eyes went wide, and I froze. It was one thing to daydream about with Fallon, but talking to Fade about actually doing it felt like a whole different level of seriousness.

Fallon, ever the enthusiastic one, jumped in before I could gather my thoughts. “Adalee and I are going to open The Cakery. We’re only going to have cakes and cupcakes. She’s going to do all of the baking and decorating, and I’m going to handle everything else.”

Fade looked back and forth between us, his expression unreadable. I braced myself for the inevitable criticism, half-expecting him to tell us we were out of our minds. Hell, I sometimes thought we were crazy, too.

Instead, his eyes softened, and he nodded thoughtfully. “I know a place on Main Street. The rent is decent and in a good location with easy parking.”

Fallon’s eyes lit up. “What’s the address? I can have Compass Google Street View it since he still won’t let me have my phone.”

Fade chuckled. “That’s because he smashed the damn thing, and then Dice burned it. That guy has a thing for fire.”

Fallon rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed. “I told him not to, but you know how it goes.”

“You can use my phone,” I offered, trying to be helpful.

Fade shook his head. “No, you won’t let Fallon use your phone.”

“I can open a bakery with her, but I can’t let her use my phone?” I asked. That didn’t make sense.

Fallon folded her arms over her chest. “I like her even more now.”

“Just until we find Russ,” Fade said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Fallon tipped her head to the side, a hint of frustration in her voice. “What happens if you never find Russ?”

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