Page 56 of 40 and (Tired of) Faking It
“Then why do you look like a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs?”
He jerked to a stop, his head tilting as if in confusion. “How does a cat in that situation look?”
The laugh couldn’t be held back any longer. “Pretty much just like you do right now.”
JD grinned, the expression somewhat sheepish. The crater in his left cheek made an appearance, and Claire had to grab hold of the counter in front of her. She had no romantic interest in her best friend’s boyfriend whatsoever, but damn if that dimple wasn’t enough to make any woman’s knees go weak.
“I guess I am nervous.”
With good reason, but she knew for a fact that he needn’t be. Lily was head over heels for the man, had been for months. “It’s gonna be fine, I promise.”
“Right.” He cleared his throat. “The cake?”
Claire excused herself to walk back to the cooler. The four-layer Earl Grey and vanilla bean cake was stacked in two tiers, topped with Earl Grey buttercream, and filled with vanilla-bean ganache and homemade blackberry curd between each layer. She’d hand piped antique roses all over the cake, knowing Lily would love the look. She and JD had come up with the design and flavors together, and she’d baked the cake with every ounce of love she had for Lily and her soon-to-be partner. Now she placed the cake into a specialty box, and before closing it, Claire added the peach bow that matched the roses, into which was tied an antique diamond ring.
A sigh escaped her. Lily was lucky. Not many women their age were able to start anew. Most of them were battered, scarred, and fucked over. Lily hadn’t been through a bad or abusive marriage, but she had scars just like everyone else. Her sweet friend deserved a man as good to her as JD was. She just prayed it lasted as long as she thought it would.
Balancing the box carefully in her hands, she carried it out to the front of her shop. JD had regained some of his color, and when he saw the cake, his eyes lit with excitement. “How did it turn out?”
“You tell me.” She set the box on the counter, then carefully lifted the lid.
JD whistled. “Beautiful, Claire. We’re so lucky to have you for a friend.”
“Of course you are.” She gave JD an impish smile. “And don’t you forget it.”
JD laughed. “Oh, I won’t. Lincoln will be arriving in just a few days, and I have every intention of getting you two together. I want your food in our lodge and the restaurant. No one could do it better.”
The name sent a tingle of warning through her, stiffening her spine. Lincoln Young, chef extraordinaire and bad boy of the New York restaurant scene, was coming here to Black Wolf’s Bluff. Damn it. The man was a grade-A asshole, had likely been born too big for his britches and definitely never outgrew it. How he managed to have a friend as nice as JD was beyond her.
She didn’t want him in her town, much less her shop. She certainly didn’t want to remember the last time she’d been in Chef Lincoln Young’s presence.
She tried to murmur something appropriate. Whatever nonsense she managed to get out of her mouth, JD seemed to accept it. Or maybe he was just eager to get the cake paid for and get it over to Lily’s. He was about to propose, after all. What man didn’t want to get on with that? Especially if he thought there would be sex afterward.
She remembered sex fondly. Too bad she wasn’t getting any anytime soon. There weren’t that many opportunities in a town as small as theirs to jump new bones. JD was the latest addition to their minimal dating pool, and he’d been all about Lily from the minute he’d laid eyes on her.
Of course, there’s about to be another addition, arriving in just a few days.
Oh hell no. Lincoln Young might be the sexiest man to walk the earth—and she could testify to that—but no way would she let herself fall into the trap of being interested in him ever again. Wanting him. Hoping that maybe, at some point, he’d finally, truly see her in the sea of available females and want her too.
The man had finally seen her, all right. And fucked her over good. He’d nearly ruined her career before it started. Hehadsent her running back to Black Wolf’s Bluff with her tail between her legs, dreams of an illustrious career in one of New York City’s prestigious restaurants up in smoke. If she had to see him again—and it didn’t look like she was going to get a choice—all she really wanted was revenge.
And who knew? Maybe that would be even better than sex.
∞
JD pulled up outside Lily’s house and turned the car off. The faint ticking of the engine filled the silence, keeping time with the pounding of his heart. If someone had asked him six months ago if he planned to ever get married again, his answer would have been a resoundinghell no.And yet, here he was.
He wanted to take his relationship with Lily to the next level. Hell, if she’d agree to a wedding tomorrow, he wouldn’t blink. He wanted total commitment with her, nothing held back, no reservations. He wanted everyone around them to know that Lily was his, that they belonged together. Hence the cake Claire had so lovingly made for her friend.
A proposal.
Damn, he was nervous.
Linc had laughed at him earlier when he’d admitted it. Maybe every man was nervous when it came to proposals, no matter how sure he was of his girlfriend, but he didn’t remember being nervous with his first marriage. Of course, he didn’t remember feeling this way about his ex-wife, either. He and Lily were both older, wiser; what he felt for her was unlike any love he’d experienced before, ever. He’d heard people say before that a particular woman was “it” for them, and hadn’t understood it.
Now he did. Lily was his “it.”
From the corner of his eye he saw her front door open. Time to go. He stepped from the car, retrieved the cake, and moved up the steps, his body heating at the sight of her. “Evening, sweetheart.”
