Page 10 of Forbidden Daddy Mate

“It should be ready soon,” she said. She paused, then reconsidered. “Well, it’ll be out of the oven at least. It’ll take a while for the cake to cool.”

“You’re going to make me wait?” I teased.

“It’ll be worth it,” she said. “Trust me.”

“That’s not fair.”

She shrugged. “Too bad.”

I raised an eyebrow, and she smiled sweetly at me, a glint of mischief in her eyes. The playfulness wasn’t something I was used to coming from her, but something about it was appealing.

I gave a slow grin. “If you’re going to make me suffer, I suppose I’ll endure.”

It was several hours before we actually got to the cake, and the time in between was spent playing board games and watching Christmas movies. It was strange how much of a rhythm we seemed to settle into after only a day. It was surprisingly pleasant, the type of companionship I hadn’t had in years.

Knock it off, I told myself. She’s Jenn’s best friend.

But those words sounded feeble while Freya and I actually spent time together.

Finally, Freya cut the cake and handed me a slice. I let out a genuine groan after the first bite.

“Fuck,” I said. “I haven’t had cake this good in ages. I don’t think anything in my repertoire comes even close.”

“It’s even better with red wine,” she said, holding up an unopened bottle. “Are you interested?”

I shrugged. “Why not? It isn’t like we’re going anywhere. And it’s a shame to let all that alcohol go to waste.”

She nodded, her own eyes sparkling. “My sentiments exactly. We should at least put some of it out of its misery.”

She poured us both a glass of wine, and we moved over to the couch.

“What’s your favorite Christmas movie?” she asked, flipping through the ones on the streaming services we hadn’t seen yet.

I chuckled. “I doubt you’ve seen it.”

“Try me.” She folded her arms and turned to look at me.

I took a sip of wine. “The Haunting at the North Pole,” I said.

She wrinkled her nose. “Seriously?”

“I told you that you wouldn’t know it.”

“Oh, no, I’ve heard of it.” She speared a piece of cake and ate it before saying. “I just can’t believe that’s your favorite when the second one is so much better. And neither of them holds a candle to Slay Bells.”

My mouth dropped open, and it took me a minute to speak. “You like bad movies?” I asked, unable to hide my surprise.

She nodded, color rising up her face. “I like the escapism. And just laughing at them in general. They’re so stupid.”

I grinned. “In that case, have you seen Lone Wolf Cop? Humans made it, and oh my god, do they not understand shifters. It’s hilarious, and the CGI is some of the worst I’ve seen.”

“I haven’t, actually,” she said.

“In that case, I think we can find it on some streaming site or another.” I plucked the remote from her hands, our fingers brushing for the briefest second. “It’s not a Christmas movie, but I think we can make the exception this once.”

It took a bit of searching, but I managed to find it and put it on. We gave commentary as we watched, laughing at the bad acting and godawful dialogue. When it was finished, I pulled up the second one.

“Oh my god, that was so bad!” Freya groaned, covering her face in exasperation as the credits rolled. “You weren’t kidding about the CGI.”

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