Page 13 of Sugarlips
4
Chloe
It only took me ten minutes to walk into downtown Maple Grove where Beefcakes was situated. Even though its location was once at the epicenter, the bakery was now right on the outside edge of what was considered downtown. Regardless of that little fact, ever since Neil’s and Elaina’s photo from my bachelorette party went viral months ago, it was constantly slammed with customers. I entered and slid my sunglasses to the top of my head, scooping my hair back like a headband.
Finn saw me first over the sea of bachelorettes in line waiting to pick up their erotic cupcakes. The grin he gave me told me two things: 1) Liam must have mentioned that we’d been together last night, and 2) The stories Liam told must not have been altogether unpleasant. Otherwise, wouldn’t he be scowling at me?
Chloe: 1. Tasmanian devil: 0.
“Well, well, well.” Finn called out to me as I nudged my way to the front of the line. “After what Liam told me, I didn’t think you’d be joining the land of the living today.”
My nose scrunched. “What? What did he tell you?”
I ignored the dirty looks some of the other women were giving me. Whether they were for pushing to the front of the line, or talking to the hot beefcake behind the counter, I didn’t know or care.
“That you and Jose Cuervo had quite the little run-in last night.”
Feigning shock, I pressed my palm to my sternum. “I’m insulted. It wasHerradura Silver.” I snorted. “Jose Cuervo is for amateurs and college kids.”
“Touché.” Finn smirked, then jerked his head to the kitchen. “He’s in the back if you want to say hi.”
Ididwant to say hi. It was the whole reason for stopping in. Just friends. A friendly hi.Ugh, keep telling yourself that, Chloe. “Is that allowed?”
Finn shrugged. “Just don’t tell your sister or she’ll slap us with more health code violations.”
If I had a nickel for every time someone has said that to me in the last few years, I’d likely have enough to cover the loss of the rest of my wedding deposits. Hiking my Kate Spade purse higher on my shoulder, I nudged my way through the crowd and behind the counter, pushing the door and waltzing in.
The sight before me sucked all the air from my lungs. Not just because Liam was quite possibly the most handsome man I’d ever seen—and that included the time I saw Mark Consuelos shopping in Boston—but because surrounding him were dozens of immaculate looking cupcakes. Unicorn cupcakes. My absolute favorite.
“Wow,” I gushed.
He startled—well, for Liam, he did. Which basically meant he glanced up and his eyes widened upon noticing me standing there. That’s it.That’sLiam startled. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing at the sight.
“What are you doing here? And what’s so funny?” he asked.
Huh. Guess I should have bit my cheek a little harder.
I shook my head and tossed my purse onto a table beside the door. “Just you. Being allLiam.”
He gave me a weird look and set down the piping bag. “Okay… you didn’t answer my first question. What are you doing here?”
“Friends pop in on friends.”
His tongue ran across his bottom lip briefly as though he was tasting our kiss from this morning. “Thought we agreed that with Elaina and Neil, the ‘friends’ thing was sort of out of the picture.”
“Right. Well, I gave it a little more thought—”
“Oh, boy,” Liam rolled his eyes.
“No, hear me out. Look, I don’t know why they broke up, but whatever the reason, it’s got to be stupid. I can’t see Neil pulling something like what Dan did—”
“There isno wayNeil cheated on her,” Liam interjected, defending his brother.
“Exactly!” I confirmed. “So, this breakup is probably a misunderstanding. I’ll know more tonight. But Neil and Elaina are really good for each other.Seriously. For years, I said that she should dump Brad’s ass and go find Neil.” Not that Elaina ever listened to me. Like,ever.If I was the Tasmanian devil, she was my polar opposite. What’s the opposite of a Tasmanian devil? A sloth?
Liam worried his bottom lip and stared at the half-decorated unicorn cupcake in front of him. “They are pretty perfect together.”
“Perfect doesn’t exist. But they’regreattogether. Maybe, just maybe, if you and I become best friends as originally planned, they will have no choice but to make up?”
