Page 52 of How Sweet It Is

Her cheeks turn red. “Turns out it was a game. He made a bet with his friends to see how many girls he could hook up with before graduation. I was the one that won him the bet.”

“Oh, Kiera…”

“He dumped me the next day. Word got around fast. Small town and all. My mom found out. She cried. Told me I was just like my sister. My dad didn’t say a word. Just told me to pack my things and leave.”

Her voice cracks at the end, just a little, but I hear it.

“Anyway. I ended up here. Kiki and the Barrett brothers took me in. They’re good people. And Levi gave me this job. He’s the first person who didn’t look at me like I was ruined.”

My throat tightens. For a second, I forget all about Levi and the disaster of a kiss. All I see is this strong, snarky, brilliant girl who’s carried something heavy for way too long.

“You didn’t deserve what happened to you. None of it.”

“Maybe not. But it happened anyway.” She shrugs like she’s fine. Like it’s old news. But I see the way her hands twist in her apron, knuckles white.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re kind of amazing.”

Kiera rolls her eyes but doesn’t argue, which is basically a thank-you in Kiera-speak.

Kiki comes running into the bakery, her eyes wide. “Where’s Levi? I think I need to change my cake order!”

CHAPTER 26

LEVI BARRETT — SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

I’m halfway through finishing the last batch of Bananageddon, my popular chocolate-espresso-banana cupcakes, when the swinging door slams open so hard it rattles the spice rack.

I flinch, the piping bag jerking in my hand, and end up giving this poor cupcake a banana-frosting mohawk. “Well, hey there, hurricane Kiki.”

She storms in, all messy bun and frantic eyes, clutching her phone like it personally offended her. “Don’t make fun of me. I’m having a crisis.”

I set down the piping bag. “What’s up? Are you having a baking emergency?”

“It’s the cake,” she blurts out. “The wedding cake.”

My brows shoot up. “You’re changing the flavor again?”

She groans and throws herself onto the stool by the prep counter like a soap opera star swooning onto a fainting couch. “Yes. No. Maybe. I don’t know. What if the three-tier is too much? What if it’s not enough? What if everyone hates carrot cake? What ifIhate carrot cake?”

I lean my hip against the counter and cross my arms. “You picked carrot cake because Tobias likes it.”

“Well, I changed my mind. I think. Carrot is too… carrot-y.” She slaps her hands to her cheeks like she’s trying to physically hold her head together. “Ugh, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Pre-wedding panic?” I offer.

She huffs. “It’s not the wedding. It’s—” She cuts herself off and frowns at her phone. “Okay, it’s partly the wedding. But also Skyler.”

Ah. I walk over to the sink, rinse yellow frosting off my fingers, and give her a moment.

“I haven’t told her yet,” she admits, her voice softer now. “About me. About… being her mom.”

I glance over. Her shoulders are curled in like she’s trying to disappear into herself. “You still have time.”

“Six days.”

“Plenty of time,” I say. “She’s five. She doesn’t even know how long that is.”

Kiki lets out a small, miserable laugh. “She’s smarter than you think.”

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