Page 30 of Fire and Icing

She lowers her arsenal and cocks her head just the slightest.

“What are you doing here?” I deflect.

“I asked you first,” she says. “But I heard the door open and shut and then some shuffling around. So I came down to check if someone had broken in.”

“Broken in? To do what? Steal the sourdough starter?”

Syd laughs. “I wouldn’t put it past Vanessa.”

“True.”

“So,” she says. “What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to go to your gran’s and ask her about staying there while your home is in pure chaos?”

“I will. After this.”

“This what?”

“I’m meeting Dustin.”

“Here?”

“To go over the rules and tell him about the contest.”

“Interesting.”

“We’ll need parameters. You know? Boundaries … for our … partnership—or whatever it is.”

“A partnership.” Syd beams.

“For the contest.”

“Would it be so bad if it were for more?”

“Yes.”

I’m still not sure why I agreed to Dustin helping me, or even how the whole agreement came to pass. It’s all a bit of a blur. All I remember is Syd suggesting Dustin be my partner and us considering Patrick. The next thing I knew, Dustin and I were talking about when we could meet to go over all the details of the contest and, most importantly, the guidelines for how we’re going to act since the judges will have to believe we’re in an actual relationship.

“I don’t think …” Syd’s thought is interrupted by a firm rap on the front door glass.

“He’s here. Shoo.” I swish my hands like I’m swatting a fly out through the kitchen.

“What if I want to stick around and watch?”

I give her a look that I must have given her a thousand times over the years we’ve been best friends.

She takes the hint. “Okay. Okay. But I want details.”

“Of course. Now shoo. Please.”

Syd heads back out the rear entrance while I approach the front door to unlock it.

Dustin’s standing on the other side, in civilian clothes. His simple outfit of jeans, a white T-shirt and cowboy boots shouldn’t grab any attention. It’s nothing special, except I find myself wondering where a man like him finds pants to fit over those thighs. Two words fill my brain, clouding out everything else:tree trunks. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a man so solid.And those arms are nearly the size of my legs. Maybe bigger. His T-shirt looks like it’s stretched to capacity.

My eyes lift to meet his, my gaze passing over his smirking lips.

I was not checking him out. I was wondering about his shopping habits. I’ll just straighten that out so things don’t get awkward.

I unlock the door and swing it open. “Thanks for coming. I wasn’t checking you out, just in case … uh …” Wow, that sounded much better in my head. “Anyway, thanks.”

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