Page 13 of Frosting and Flames

“Why?”

She pauses at the door. “Because you’ve always been weird about him.”

I focus on measuring out the dry ingredients for the next batch instead of responding. Is that true?

Actually… I don’t want to think about that. Don’t want to think about Nick at all.

He’ll come in once in a while to get a danish, maybe we’ll make polite conversation the same way we did today, and that’ll be it. There won’t be this… unsettled feeling anymore.

Works for me.

“Is this working now?”Jae peers in to the oven that had malfunctioned last week, as if she knows what she’s looking for. “It won’t blow up in my face, will it?”

I sigh. “No. I got a technician to come out and fix it.” It was a hefty bill, but worth it for the peace of mind rather than going the DIY route.

She makes ahmmsound, as if she’s skeptical, but I ignore it.

I’ve never actually invited Jae into the back area of the bakery, she just invited herself in one day and that was that, but I’m glad for the company.

I take the croissant dough for tomorrow out of the chiller and unwrap it from its cling film, rolling it out on the floured workstation to form a long rectangle.

“Didn’t you do that already?” she asks, peering at the dough over my shoulder.

“That was the second turn,” I tell her. “This is the third one.”

“Turn to what?”

“To laminate it. It’s what makes the layers.”

“If you say so.” She leans against a free counter, crossing her arms over her chest. “So, I have some news.”

“Okay.” I fold the dough in thirds and wrap it again, labeling it so it’s ready to go tomorrow morning for shaping and proofing.

“I signed us up for a fundraiser.” She says it with too much gusto, her smile both overbright and devious.

“Why do I get the sense this is a bad thing?” I grab the dough and bring it to the cooler, then check my list for what I need to do next. “And why would you sign me up for something without asking?”

“Because I knew you’d say no,” she replies, with no trace of shame. “And like I’ve been saying, you need to get out of the house more. Go do something. Meet people. Live your life.”

“My life is fine. Seriously,” I add when she clearly doesn’t believe me. “You happened to move here at a… rough time.” As in, directly after my life imploded and Kyle moved out. “But things are back to normal now. It’s not like I led an exciting life even before… you know.”

“And that’s why you have me now. To make it more exciting.”

Okay, but Jae’s version of exciting and mine are vastly different.

I sigh, knowing she could give even Sydney a run for her money in the stubbornness department. Resistance is futile. “Okay, fine. What’s this fundraiser we’re doing?”

She hops on the counter, wiggling in her excitement. “We’re making pancakes.”

My brows narrow. “What?”

“At a pancake breakfast. People buy a ticket for it.”

I glance around, unsure what she’s talking about. “At the bakery?”

“No.” Her eyes twinkle with delight. “The fire station. And maybe you’ll run into Nick.”

I nearly laugh, until I realize she’s serious. “That’s not funny. You didn’t really…” Oh my God, she’s not laughing. “You didn’t,” I repeat.

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