Page 29 of Baking it Merry

This time he was the one to laugh softly.“If we’re going to pretend to be dating, I’m going to have to touch you without you looking freaked out and appalled.”Gently clasping her hand in his, he asked, “Ready?”

“No, but…I guess.”She let out a long breath and then braced herself for whatever awaited them on the other side of the door.

Be confident.Be cool.Be believable.

That played in a continuous loop in Tristan’s head as he and Daphne walked out of his bedroom and faced the smiling and curious faces of his family.Doing his best to smile and look relaxed, he said, “Sorry to keep you all waiting!Daphne was nervous about meeting everyone, so I was doing my best to assure her we’re all harmless!”Luckily, everyone laughed and it made the introductions go smoothly.By the time he had introduced her to all his guests, it seemed like they were more interested in her than the party.

“You’re a baker?How exciting!”

“You made all the desserts here tonight?They look delicious!”

“I already tried the red velvet cupcakes!Can I order two dozen of them for next week?”

“Can you ship cookies?”

“What’s your favorite treat to make?”

And the last one he heard…

“Why on earth are you dating Tristan?”The amusement in his sister-in-law’s tone should have been enough to tell him she was teasing, but he still took offense to it.

“Because I’m charming,” he replied before Daphne could.“I appreciated her business sense and she was impressed with mine.”Shrugging, he added, “Working together planning the parties proved that we were compatible.”

You could have heard a pin drop.

“Dude, that’s the most boring reason I’ve ever heard anyone say about dating a person,” his brother Alan said.“No offense, Daphne, but seriously, what do you see in my brother?He’s a bit of an uptight, control freak!”He laughed.“Surely you’ve noticed that.”

Tristan almost cringed at the way everyone seemed to be laughing at him—definitely not with him, because he wasn’t laughing at all.“I’m not a control freak,” he countered and was about to say more when…

“Oh, he wore me down,” Daphne sweetly interrupted with a hint of a giggle.She was standing beside him and looped her arm through his.“Every day—from the moment he spotted my little gingerbread shop in the lobby—he just couldn’t stop complimenting me and my creativity!”Turning her head, she smiled adoringly at him.“There was just something about him that made it impossible to ignore him.The things he’d say, the look on his face, it was just…magic.Right, Schmoopie?”

Schmoopie?Seriously?

For a moment he was too stunned to speak, but he knew all eyes were on them so, he looked at his guests and grinned.“She was impossible to ignore.I mean…just look at her.She’s beautiful and talented, and after one bite of a blueberry muffin, I was hooked.”

“I love this so much!”his mother gushed.“This is the best news we’ve had in weeks!”She came over and hugged them both.“Thank you for making me smile.”When she pulled back, Tristan saw tears in her eyes.“Daphne, I realize you don’t know me, but I’m sure my son has shared with you what’s going on in our family.These last few weeks have been emotionally exhausting, so being here tonight and seeing the two of you is just wonderful.”

Tristan had no idea how to respond, but luckily Daphne did.

“It’s nice to see you smiling,” she said.“Tell me, do you prefer chocolate with peppermint or caramel and apples?”

“Ooh…this time of year I tend to enjoy anything with peppermint!”

“Then let’s go over to the table and try the peppermint brownies,” Daphne said as she led his mother away.“The crushed candy canes really give them a little something extra!”

After that, he walked around and mingled with his siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles.Everyone raved about the food while taking turns adding ornaments to his tree.

It wasn’t nearly as painful as he thought it would be.

At some point, he and Daphne ended up beside each other answering more questions about their relationship from a few of his aunts.

“Tristan, I hope you realize what a treasure you have in Daphne,” his aunt Joan was saying.“For years, I never made desserts because baking cakes intimidated me.But after looking around at all the wonderful things here tonight, I realized these small treats are the perfect solution!”

“Oh, um…”

“And Daphne was sweet enough to give me some of the recipes so I can try it myself!You’re a lucky man!”

Wrapping his arm around Daphne’s waist, he nodded.“Thanks, I think so too.”

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