Page 92 of House of Desire

“I’m sure. Now, we’d be happy to use any of our flavors and combinations of fillings. How many people?”

“There’s going to be five hundred.”

I look up at her, my eyes wide, before I look at Lorelei who nods, a small smile on her mouth.

“That’s quite a few guests and a short turnaround time,” I say, making the note.

“I’ll pay you double, if I have to. They never got the wedding they always deserved. They have traveled around the world trying to make it better and helping with my career. I want them to be surrounded by all the friends and loved ones they’ve made enjoying your amazing creations.”

I take a deep breath, telling myself I can do this.

“Then that’s what they’ll have,” I tell her, touched she’d choose to trust me with such an important event, and we get to work.

After an hour of going through various options, I say goodbye to Lorelei and Ryan Jade. Holding my notebook to my chest, I give myself a second to let the excitement sink in. With this order, and the amount of profit I’ll be making, I now have the budget to hire another baker.

“Is everything okay, honey?” Dad asks. Now the last customer has been served, I answer him.

“Ryan Jade wants me to bake for her parents’ anniversary party. It’s for five hundred people.”

“That is amazing!” he says, sweeping me into a hug.

The bell above the door rings, and I turn to find Parker standing in my bakery once more. I’m not sure my nervous system can take any more surprises for the day, but he looks like he could be heading to a GQ cover shoot.

“Are you okay?” he asks, seeing me in father’s arms.

“I just booked a life changing job,” I tell him, a huge smile on my face.

“I knew it was only a matter of time,” he says, giving me a hug before turning to Dad and Liam. “Carl, it’s great to see you again. Liam, how are you doing?”

“Parker, would you like a cookie? There are a few left. My treat.” My dad grabs one of the chocolate chunk with sea salt from the display case, putting it in a bag and offering it to him.

“I’ll never turn down one of Anastasia’s cookies. Thank you, sir.” He takes the bag, immediately reaching in and breaking off a piece of the cookie.

“Are you just here to try to get free treats?” I joke.

“Yes. I’ll see you later,” he says, heading toward the door, but I grab onto his shirt, stopping him. He turns to me, smiling before coming back to me and placing a kiss on my forehead. “Can we talk? Do you have a minute?”

“She has a minute,” Dad says, shooting me a wink.

Rolling my eyes, I grab Parker’s hand from my shoulder and pull him behind me to the back table where I just had Lorelei and Ryan.

“What do you want to talk about?” I ask, my stomach sinking.

His leg shakes under the table as his fingers twist one of the bracelets tied around his wrist.

“I, um, well.” He chuckles, fiddling with the bracelet around his wrist. “Sorry, I’m a little nervous. I know I said I would be fine being friends and I want to respect your feelings. I also thought if we were just friends, you wouldn’t be able to hurt me, but at the end of the day, I care and you can hurt me. Watching you go out with other guys hurts me. I want us to be together, exclusively, so that we can figure out what this is. Would you like to go out on a date with me? As my girlfriend?”

I blink up at him, his rugged face full of earnest hope, and any regret I have felt since riding away from him in the limo disappears.

“I’ve been thinking about the whole friends thing, too.” I smile at him. “I don’t want to be friends, either.”

He presses a hard kiss against my lips. “I think my heart stopped,” he laughs.

“So…when are we going on this date?” I slip my arms around his neck.

“Is tonight too early?” he asks, running his hands from my hips to my lower back before settling there.

“My mom wants me to come over and spend some mother daughter time with her. What about Friday?”

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