Page 15 of Finding Her Leading Man

“No. The BeetlesHelp.”Dewey held up his hands, excitement in his eyes. “Wait, wait.I Will Survive.”

Samantha laughed harder than she had in a long time. Cameron seemed to ignore them both and focus on the tray of cake samples set out. He reached out.

Becky popped his hand. “Stop. I have to tell you what you’re tasting.” She passed out a fork to everyone, including Samantha. “You’ve had some great food up in New York, I’m sure. I’d like your honest opinion.”

Samantha took the fork and waved it toward the cake. “How honest?”

“You can’t hurt my feelings.”

Cameron chuckled. “There’s only a handful of people in the world that can cut through that ice.”

“And to think, I left out the laxative I bought to put in your cake samples.” Becky passed out plates containing four different slices of cake. “I want your honest opinion. No joke.”

“Got it.” Samantha understood the process. She’d had plenty of nasty criticism over the years, but she didn’t take it personally. She figured out what part of the feedback was constructive and threw out the rest.

“Start on the right. The first cake is caramel cake.”

Dewey moaned and closed his eyes, chewing slowly. “Don’t you dare tell Ms. Peggy, but this is better than hers.”

“Who’s Ms. Peggy?” Samantha took a small taste. The flavor exploded in her mouth. Rich. Sweet. She took another bite, mostly frosting and delicious.

“Ms. Peggy is Nash’s mom. The ultimate caramel cake baker,” Cameron said. “Until Becky. This is excellent. You’ve made caramel cakes before, but I don’t think they’ve tasted this way.”

“I changed it up a little. Well?” She looked at Samantha. “Thoughts?”

“It’s really,reallygood. I’m not just saying that. There’s a diner near the theater that is world-famous for their cakes, and you blow them out of the water.” The smooth caramel slid off the fork as she pulled it from her lips. She refrained from licking the spot on the plate.

Becky clapped her hands together. “Good. Now, try the chocolate cake.”

Samantha shook her head and picked up a forkful of the dark, moist cake. “I would gain a thousand pounds living here much longer. I already inhale one of your chocolate chip muffins every morning. And that’s after I eat breakfast.” She moaned the way Dewey had. “Oh. My. God. Why aren’t you world-famous by now? Did you go to culinary school?”

“Nope.” The door to the diner opened. Becky grinned. “Yay. Someone else to try my cake.”

Trevor. His posture stayed relaxed, but his gaze intensified when it landed on Samantha. Dark and sexy. She swallowed the cake, wishing for a glass of water to cool her throat. She’d been close to throwing herself at him after Addie’s four margaritas. She was a cheap drunk and apparently a lustful one, too. If he’d tried a little harder, that kiss wouldn’t have continued to linger over their heads.

But he’d practically jumped from the car, and even after making it a point to touch him one more time, he didn’t act on it.

Now, in the daylight, that’d been a good thing. No dating. No men. She’d keep with those rules until the pain from Jasper disappeared altogether.

“I think you just like getting compliments, Becky.” Cameron scraped the last of the chocolate cake off the plate. He looked at Dewey’s plate, but Dewey shoveled his last bite in his mouth. “You should learn to share.”

“Trevor, I want your opinion, too. I want Addie to like the cake.” Becky motioned to Samantha’s cake plate. “Do you want to try the next one? It’s red velvet.”

Trevor’s smirk made him look more like a little boy, flirting for a second helping, than a full-grown man. “Can I get a full slice, or do I have to share this little thing with Samantha?”

Becky eyed Samantha. “Share.”

Trevor moved closer to Samantha than the societal norm of four feet. Real close. More like twelve inches. He leaned partway over her shoulder to look at the cake. If she didn’t have attraction buzzing through her body with the closeness, she’d have moved away.

But she liked it. The thrill of having someone seem interested in her, even if she wasn’t open to dating, gave her back a little bit of the confidence that Jasper annihilated with their break-up.

This man found her attractive.

This man wanted to take her out.

She just wasn’t ready.

Becky described the cake. Her voice turned into background noise as Trevor reached past Samantha to pick up her fork and scoop off half of the small slice of cake. His chest brushed her shoulder, bringing with it his body heat and the same, fresh scent she’d noticed in his car. Jasper had used a $400 bottle of cologne for the past six years. Trevor’s soap was better.

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