Page 8 of Sweet Bred

“Hey, Shaw. Thought I heard you come in.” Reid sets down some sodas on the coffee table and then relaxes into the armchair next to the couch. He checks his watch before throwing me a curious look. “Long day at the bakery?”

“I had a wedding cake taste test.”

“Ah. That explains it. Not another bridezilla, I hope?”

I think about the bride I recently worked with who requested an endless number of changes to her order, then complained that the final result was ‘too cake-like,’ whatever that meant.

“Nope,” I say, thoughts of Juliet once again flooding my mind. “Definitely not a bridezilla this time.”

I watch as my brothers exchange a glance.

“What?” I ask.

“It’s just…the way you smiled when you said that,” says Reid. “And now you have this…look…on your face.”

“Yeah, exactly,” says Jake, smirking. “What are you not telling us, Shaw?”

I’m caught off guard by their confrontation. I open my mouth, but for several painfully long seconds, all words fail me.

“It’s nothing,” I finally spit out.

“Nothing, huh?” Reid says skeptically.

“Sure doesn’t seem like nothing,” Jake says.

“We had a connection. That’s all. I enjoyed talking to her, okay?”

My brothers both stare at me.

“I’m not going to do anything about it,” I sigh. “You guys know me better than that.”

“Hold up,” says Reid, leaning forward as he frowns at me. “An engaged couple came into your shop to taste test wedding cake flavors, and you had a ‘connection’ with the bride-to-be?”

“They weren’t both there. It was just her.”

“That doesn’t make it any better, Shaw.”

“You think I don’t realize that?” I throw back. “You think I wanted to feel attracted to a woman I can’t pursue?”

Both of my brothers fall quiet. The only sounds are Ari’s little grunts and gurgles.

Then Jake narrows his eyes at me and says, “You think she’s the one you’ve been waiting for, don’t you?”

And suddenly I’m wishing I never told my brothers about that stupid belief. I should have kept it to myself.

I exhale. “When I saw her for the first time…yes. It felt like it was finally happening. But then I noticed the ring on her finger, and that changed everything. Obviously.”

“Did it?” Reid challenges me. “Because it sure sounds like you let yourself have a moment with her. Or several.”

I look down at my hands in guilt. “You’re right. I should have had more self-control than that.”

“I’m not trying to make you feel bad, Shaw. I just want you to know how this situation looks from the outside. The look you got in your eyes when you talked about her…I don’t know, man. I’m worried you’re setting yourself up for some serious heartache.”

“Same,” says Jake, his gaze still scrutinizing.

“You guys don’t need to worry. I’ll be fine. I’ll get over it.”

The way my brothers look at each other, I can tell they aren’t convinced. But I don’t know if there’s anything I could say to convince them. And, frankly, maybe the truth is that I’m not convinced, either.

---