Page 44 of Frosting and Flames

She waves me off. “First of all, you’re not a rando. Second of all, it’s different for guys. You were complimenting his manhood. Not that he needs it. The whole hot firefighter thing is working for him.”

I’m tempted to clutch my non-existent pearls. “You’re married. You shouldn’t call other guys hot.”

She rolls her eyes. “I still have eyes. And I’m not saying I’m lusting after him. It’s an objective observation. Don’t you think he’s hot?”

I really do put my hand to my throat. I’m not answering that. Can’t answer it. I’m not even thinking about it. “Jae…”

She squints at me. “How do we feel about him again? Are we past the whole burning down the bakery thing?”

“Yeah, I’m past that.” Her first question is a little tougher, though. How do I feel about him? “He’s… a nice guy.”

She seems unimpressed with my answer. “Nice like he’s so far in the friend zone there’s no chance of him escaping? Or nice like you’re still considering your options?”

I throw a couch pillow at her for the second time tonight. “I’m not considering anything because I’m not dating anyone.” Not after what happened with Kyle. How could I ever trust someone again?

“Okay, okay.” She holds her hands up in adon’t shootgesture. “But you guys are, what? Friendly with each other now?”

“Yeah, I guess. Why?”

Her evil smile unfurls across her lips. “Because I have a phase two to my plan.”

Oh, God. What is it now? “How many phases are there?”

“Well, I just thought of it, so only two. But I’ll leave it open-ended in case I think of more.”

“And it involves Nick?” She wouldn’t have asked if we were friendly, otherwise.

She nods, getting excited again. “We’ll do another doorbell prank, but this time with him.”

“You’ll be there?”

“No, only you and him.”

My hands go sweaty.

“You said you’re teaching him to make chili, right?” she continues. “You’ll meet up with him beforehand and both come back to your house, like you’re coming home from a date. Nick will stand with his back close to the camera, so he blocks what you’re doing, but it still picks up what you’re saying.”

“Okay…” It doesn’t seem so bad so far.

“And you’ll be all likeNick, stop, the neighbors are going to see.” She puts on a high-pitched coquettish voice, as if that’s what I sound like.

My mouth drops open. “What, like he’s groping me?”

“Not groping. Just handsy. And he’s not actually touching you. But Kyle won’t be able to tell that from the way Nick’s blocking the camera. And you’re giggling like you like it.”

Oh my God, she’s serious about this. “I don’t giggle.”

Her lips twist. “You’re right, you don’t. Axe the giggling. But he’ll say something likeI can’t keep my hands off you. And you’re allwe have all night for that.”

I cover my face, dying from secondhand embarrassment. “I’m not doing any of that.”

“Oh, come on.” She pulls my hands away from my face. “It’ll drive Kyle crazy.”

I point toward the front door. “We already pulled off the prank. We’re done. We did it. Congratulations to us.”

“But phase two is even better. You’re a catch and Kyle deserves to see what he’s missing.”

“I’m not trying to exact revenge here. I’m not spiteful.”

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