Page 52 of Finding Chloe

We all laughed, and I nudged his shoulder. Jessie grabbed Hunter and Kyle by the shirts and put them to work in the kitchen prepping easy lunch tasks before she joined us at the table. She came back with multiple plates, and we unloaded three of each flavor onto them before bringing everything to the table.

“Here is the card describing each type of cake and the flavors.” I handed Jessie the notecard. “Your job is to voice any and all opinions on the cakes as you try them. Jessie will tell you about the cake, and then you taste it. I’ll take notes, and we can see which one you all like.”

They nodded eagerly.

Jessie read the first description and pointed at the vanilla cupcakes. There was a round of, “Mmms.”

Alex responded first. “It’s delicious. Light and fluffy. Even though it’s vanilla, the flavor isn’t boring, but I’m not sold on the raspberry filling. It tastes good, but it doesn’t make me want more.”

Declan agreed with Alex. Thomas was the only one who loved it but was willing to wait and see how everything tasted before forming a decision. I asked a few follow up questions and jotted down everything as quickly as I could.

The next one—a brown sugar cake with a caramel filling—smelled delicious. Part of me hoped there would be some left, because I’d love to try it. This one got higher praise than the first, but I could tell that they weren’t completely sold. Alex’s eyes didn’t light up like they had when she’d tried on her rehearsal dress. The third and fourth flavors didn’t receive high marks, but the next one seemed to be in the lead—a pistachio cake with buttercream and caramelized pistachios. Although, when they tried the apple spice cake with salted caramel frosting, they couldn’t agree which one was better.

“It reminds me of when we got together,” Alex sighed as she took another bite. “The wintertime with hot apple cider. Us snuggling by the fire.”

Thomas took his last bite and savored it, chewing slowly. He turned to Declan, who had nearly eaten his in one go. “It does give me the feeling of the season, but the wedding is in spring.”

“Don’t think about it as being seasonal. Think of what it reminds you of and how you feel,” I prodded. Jessie was too busy watching and suppressing her laugh as Kyle and Hunter tried their hardest to bring supplies for lunch.

The bride and grooms each took another bite of all the cupcakes and picked their favorite.

“I don’t care that this one’s seasonal. I love us, and I love that the taste reminds me of when we met.” Alex gave a happy little sigh. “I want this one. It feels right to me. Like it honors our beginning.”

“Then that’s the flavor you will have, sweetness.” Thomas picked up her hand and kissed along her knuckles.

“But do you guys like it? We all should agree. It’s not just my wedding.” Alex must have noticed the silent exchange Thomas and Declan seemed to share. “And if you saywe want whatever you want,I swear I’m going to smack you both.”

Declan chuckled and whispered something in her ear that clearly wasn’t meant for anyone else based on the shade of red spreading through her cheeks. Alex cleared her throat. “Okay, Chloe… you have the final decision.” She tapped her two fingers on the table next to their chosen cupcake.

Light flooded the side of the room as the door opened. My heart leapt in my chest when I noticed Matt enter the dining hall. Hope floated through me. He stopped short when he saw me sitting at the table he was headed for.

“Sorry I’m late, Dec. The horses are a little rowdier today than usual.” He made his way to the table and stood behind Declan.

“No worries. We were just finishing, but you can help with cleanup. All these cupcakes need to be eaten.” Declan lightly patted Matt’s stomach, who proceeded to swat his hand away.

The remaining cupcakes were laid out on the island with some of the lunch preparations. It was the obvious way to get rid of them quickly. My heart stuttered in disappointment when Matt went to the opposite side of the counter from Hunter and Kyle.

I remembered when we had dinner together, how turned on Matt got from watching the guys feed me. I couldn’t lose Matt; I needed to remind him how much he liked it.

“Who wants to try one first?” I joined them, leaving Alex, Thomas, and Declan to themselves.

“I think you should be the first, kitten. You deserve a treat after all the work you’ve been doing.” Hunter came around the kitchen island, grabbing a mini cupcake and resting his hip against the counter.

He held it out for me, but when I reached for it, he drew back, swiping his finger through the frosting. I grabbed his hand as he lifted it to my lips and drew the frosting covered finger into my mouth. His eyes grew wide as I sucked the sugary cream from him.

I moaned. The salted caramel frosting was divine, and I knew the guys liked it when I expressed my opinion with nothing but sounds.

Kyle and Matt choked on the other side of the island. Hunter’s eyes were locked on mine as he drew his hand back and extended the cupcake once more. This time, I opened my mouth and let him feed the mini treat to me. I bit the dessert in half, the remaining frosting smearing along my lip. Before I could lick it off, I felt a warm presence behind me.

A hand grabbed my cheek and turned my face just enough for Kyle to kiss me, licking the frosting from my mouth. I let out another moan, and a hand slapped the counter. Matt was one hundred percent affected by this.

“How come you didn’t do that to me?” Declan pouted at Alex.

“Because we still have work to do, and I know what would have happened if I’d done that. I promise to make it up to you.” Alex bopped him on the nose.

“I’ll make sure to steal an extra can of squirty cream from Jessie’s kitchen tonight.” Thomas kissed along Alex’s neck.

“I heard that,” Jessie called from the other side of the room where she was setting out the last of the food.

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