Page 10 of Turning Up the Heat

“Thanks.” I gratefully accepted the coffee.

“You look tired.”

“Gee, just what every girl wants to hear. But, yeah, I hardly slept last night.”

“Sexy thoughts about the fire inspector keeping you awake?” Mars raised his brows.

“No!” I slugged him in the arm. “I’m stressed about the opening, I guess. We have so much to do! We still have pastries to bake, I have to iron the linens, we have to assemble and ice the cake,” I waved my arms at the row of cakes laid out on the counter, waiting to be stacked and decorated.

“Oh, that little thing! I wouldn’t have wasted a second of worry on that. I’m here to work my magic.” He rolled up his sleeves, threw his apron on, and got down to business.

Together we piped all the macarons, iced the six-tiered cake we’d constructed, and cranked out three more types of cookies. By noon, we were finished with the food prep and only had decorations to worry about.

“Okay, we’re looking good here,” Mars said. “You run out and get the flowers and balloons, and I’ll take care of the linens, lights, and garland. And if you want to stop and grab me a sandwich while you’re out, that’d be great. I’m wasting away to nothing with all this work you’re having me do.”

I giggled, poking him in his admittedly thin stomach. “Fine, I can do that. The iron is upstairs, make sure there aren’t any wrinkles in those tablecloths!”

“Got it. Now go!” He shooed me out the door, waving as I got into the van. My first stop would be the florist, then I’d grab lunch on the way home.

Buzz, buzz.

I glanced down at my cell, fully expecting a text from Mars about his lunch order.

Hey beautiful. I have a proposition for you. Call me. Holden.

What the fuck? I hadn’t seen or heard from Holden in at least a year. Maybe longer. Why was he texting me now?

Curiosity got the best of me, and I tapped a quick text back.

Hey Holden. What’s up?

Not even three seconds later, I got a return text.

H:I’m in a meeting right now, can’t talk. Call me in an hour.

Typical. When we’d been together, everything revolved around Holden. Good to see some things never changed. He was seriously annoying. Hot, talented, charming, but annoying.

Shoving him out of my mind for now, I drove the one block to the florist and parked the van in the reserved fifteen-minute pick-up spot. Parking on Main Street was tricky; I was happy we had a small lot adjacent to the bakery and were still on the same block as all the other major shops. I couldn’t have asked for a better location. It was perfect and I had my mom to thank for that.

“Hey, Lanie.” My friend Lindsey waved to me from the counter as I hustled intoBlooms.We’d gone to school together, kindergarten through grade twelve. Her parents owned the only flower shop in town, and she was poised to take over when they decided to retire.

“Hey,” I said, hugging her. “How’re things? Sorry we haven’t hung out lately. I’ve been super busy getting the bakery up and running.”

“I know, it’s okay. Heard you almost didn’t pass the fire inspection.”

My cheeks flamed and I remembered why I left Peachtree Grove the first time. Too much gossip, not enough people.

“Not exactly,” I said. “We had to make a change or two, that’s all. No biggie.”

“Heard Quinn McCauliffe gave you a real hard time.” She narrowed her eyes at me, mining for details.

I bit my lip hard, embarrassment swirling in my stomach. I could not believe people were already talking about this when there was really nothing to say.

“He was fine. A bit of a hardass, but I suspect he’s like that with everyone.” I forced a cheerful tone into my voice, even though inside I was burning.

“Not really. He does have a reputation for being a player, though, as most of the girls here can tell you.” She leaned on the counter, her chin resting on her hands.

“Really? Girls go for that whole ‘cooler-than-everyone-else’ thing he has going on?” I asked.

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