Page 91 of House of Desire

“Yeah?” I say, looking up from the cupcake I was icing, the piping bag clutched in my hands.

“There’s someone here who would like to discuss booking some custom items with you. Lorelei is with her.”

“I’ll be right there,” I say, finishing off the cupcake, the last one for the order.

Not wanting to get icing on anyone, I move to the sink to wash my hands quickly. If Lorelei is bringing the person in, then I know there is going to be a good budget involved. And a fair amount of artistic freedom. Excited to see what the job could be, I pat my hair into place and take off my apron, dropping it on the worktable.

“Hi, Lorelei,” I say, walking through the swinging door, but as I catch sight of her companion, I almost stop in my tracks.

“Oh my God,” I whisper, walking up to the woman, holding my hand out for her to shake. “You’re Ryan Jade,” I tell her, like she doesn’t know. “You’re even more beautiful in person.”

Her laugh is perfect, just like everything about her. Every strand of her blonde hair is perfectly styled. Her black t-shirt is tucked into a mini plaid skirt with thigh-high leather boots. Draped over her shoulders is an emerald trench coat that probably costs as much as one of my paychecks.

Striking turquoise eyes hold me captive.

“You’re so sweet and absolutely stunning yourself,” she says, her southern accent mesmerizing.

I must have died and gone to heaven because Ryan Jade just said I am stunning.

“This is amazing. I’m sorry, I’m a little star struck. I never thought I’d have the most famous singer in the entire world in my shop.” I turn toward Lore.

“Why don’t we go to the back and take a seat?” Lorelei says, noticing we have started to garner the attention of some of the customers. Phones are starting to point in our direction.

“Yes, please, follow me,” I say, leading the way, my cheeks heating with embarrassment. “Be careful. There’s icing everywhere,” I tell them, not wanting Ryan to mess up her outfit.

“Oh my goodness, this is so cute!” she exclaims, pointing to the cupcake sitting on my prep table with a bubbling cauldron on it.

“Thanks. That’s for a three-year-old’s birthday. The little girl, Elli Mae, is obsessed with Halloween so she’s getting a Halloween themed birthday party.”

Ryan giggles at that, looking at the other cupcakes in the group. “My niece is in love with mail trucks, so my sister arranged for all these mail carriers to do a parade. She was so excited. It was a lot of fun for us adults, too.”

“How cute,” I say, showing her over to the table and chairs Lorelei convinced me to squeeze into the back for meetings just like this. Our knees are all going to touch, but having a space to talk to customers has been very helpful. “What can I do for you, Miss Jade?”

“Ryan, please. Lorelei has been posting all of your creations on her socials and she shared some goodies she had and I just knew I had to have you do my event.”

I pull the notebook I keep on the table toward me, flipping to a new page.

“You know that Earl Gray cake you made for Alec? Ryan loved that,” Lorelei adds.

“Yes!” she says, clasping her hands together. “That was the most delicious cake I have ever tried.”

“I’ve tweaked that recipe a bit, and it’s even more delicious now. Is that the flavor profile you’re looking for?” I make note of her enjoyment of the cake for reference.

“Not this time. This is for my parent’s thirtieth wedding anniversary next month and my mother doesn’t really drink tea. The event is five weeks from Friday.” I flip through my calendar and look at the red circles around that date.

“When do you need delivery that day?”

“By lunch time? Are you already booked?”

Lore leans over and looks at my calendar. “I forgot it was the wrap party.”

“Wrap party?” Ryan asks, looking between us.

“I was on House of Desire. That is the day the finale will air and production is throwing a party. But that’s not a problem. There will be time to do both.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to crowd you. I’d offer to change the date, but my schedule is a little unwieldy at this time.”

The genuine regret on her face surprises me. Others would know exactly what this would do for my shop and demand accommodation, at the bare minimum. But here she sits, sad her schedule is too busy to rearrange. For me.

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