Page 25 of Ivory's Ruin Romance

Behind her, Adrian cleared his throat. “I was lured here under the premise of cake, was I not?”

TWELVE

Nia stopped mid-whisper and blushed, tucking herself closer to Caspian, who turned to look at them with raised eyebrows and a gleam in his eyes. “I offered cake before we knew your hand was broken. Can you manage to lift the fork?” Caspian teased.

Adrian’s face returned to its perpetual indifference. “You wish. What kind of friend would I be if I let you get fat before the big day?”

“I think I’d manage to work it off somehow,” Caspian replied, turning to Nia with a wink.

“Shut up,” she hissed and smacked him on the arm.

The tension from earlier washed away, and Ivory laughed along with the others. Maybe she could do this after all. Despite how Adrian innately affected her, they could make it through one evening in the same place. He hadn’t been as irritated at her as she expected and even handled her awkward conversation like a pro.

“I’ll go bring it out with some plates,” she offered, both relieved and disappointed that the trip to the kitchen took her farther away from Adrian.

Tiny rosettes lined the circular cake, with a cluster of three larger flowers in the center and Nia & Caspian written in her best cursive writing. It didn’t look like a professional cake, but she was proud of her work. All the other times she’d baked had been for birthday parties, and she wasn’t used to adding a romantic element. Hopefully, her design would be enough. As long as it tasted as good as it looked.

“All right,” she said, excited all over again as she placed the cake on their small coffee table and handed Nia a kitchen knife. “You have to be the one to cut it.”

“I thought that was only for the wedding?” Nia asked, looking equally adorable and dangerous as she precariously gripped the large knife.

“Then consider this practice,” she replied, taking a seat next to Nia.

“Here, I got you.” Caspian placed his hand over Nia’s, and Ivory’s heart all but burst. People deserved this kind of happiness. They deserved love, and watching these two come full circle was a privilege she cherished.

Maybe one day, she’d get to see Adrian fall in love, too. A sharp stab of emotion shot through her chest as the couple sliced through the cake. Ignoring it, she clapped her hands. “Hooray! Congrats!”

Adrian chimed in, and Nia brushed off the attention, cutting the rest of the slices and serving them on small paper plates. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this with more people. Maybe I did need a trial run.” She handed a plate to Ivory, the cake’s scarlet color bright and rich. “Thanks for making this. The cake looks so good.”

“You’re welcome!” A genuine smile stretched across Ivory’s face. “It was super fun, and I couldn’t have done it without your kitchen. I should be thanking you.”

“Let’s dig in,” Caspian said, already lifting a forkful into his mouth.

Ivory sectioned off a piece of the cake and took a tentative bite of the creation, hoping the compliments hadn’t been premature. She’d been extra careful to follow the recipe, but that didn’t mean she was accident-proof. Her mother never let her live down the one time she forgot to add sugar or when she mixed up tablespoons for teaspoons of baking soda.

“Mm, wow,” Nia exclaimed.

Ivory hummed as a spongy texture graced her tongue. The cake turned out decent. The cream cheese frosting tasted light enough to balance the heavy chocolate flavor and not too sweet, either. Could’ve added another egg, though.

Caspian quickly served himself another piece. “This is one hundred percent worth every extra ounce. Feel free to use our kitchen whenever you want, Ivory.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled.

“It’s delicious, Iv,” Adrian said, lifting his eyes to meet hers.

That nickname again. She looked down and busied herself with another bite of cake, ignoring the heat creeping back into her face. Then she remembered. “Oh shoot, I did forget something!”

“What?” Nia asked.

“I wanted to bring a bottle of champagne, too.” It would have been perfect, but she hadn’t gotten around to asking someone old enough to buy it for her.

“I think we have juice in the fridge,” Caspian offered.

Nia rolled her eyes. “It’s all right, Ivory. You already did so much.”

“Not champagne, but my sister dropped off some mixed cocktails the other day. Said she didn’t want them anymore. Would those work?” Adrian asked.

Hope shot through her. That would be perfect! “You wouldn’t mind?”

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