Page 19 of Seaside Cowboy's Second Chance

In a desperate attempt to forget Skylar after their breakup, he’d dated Patty. But soon he’d realized his feelings toward her would never be anything close to his feelings for Skylar. It wouldn’t be fair to her to continue their relationship. He’d broken it off as kindly as he could. Probably with the finesse of a horse let loose near Mrs. Rafferty’s teapot collection.

According to his brothers, Patty harbored hopes she and Dallas might still get together one day. Argh.

Patty had her long sandy-hued hair in a French braid, and her face lit up when she spotted him. “Hello, Dallas and Mrs. Rafferty! How may I help you?” But her smile flattened when Skylar stepped into the store behind them. “Hi, Skylar. I heard you’re back in town. Did you and Dallas reconcile?”

Why did everyone assume that? He cringed but did his best to smile. It must look like Breeze did when she growled. “No. I’m just here to help Mrs. Rafferty shop for her wedding cake.”

“Oh.” Patty blinked, but at least she didn’t ask why. He was about as much of a cake expert as the cattle his family raised, and yet here he was.

“I could use a male opinion on cakes, and my fiancé had to go on an emergency trip.” Mrs. Rafferty patted his hand. “Wasn’t it nice of Dallas to volunteer?”

Patty’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “Very.” She recovered fast enough and foisted off a smile. “We don’t have any wedding cakes on display, sorry. But we do have a catalog with photos depicting what my sister can make. And we have some samples of the cakes that can be used as a base for frosting and other decorations to be added.”

Mrs. Rafferty nodded. “Sounds like a great idea.”

“This way, then.” Patty hugged a glossy catalog with laminated pages to her chest and led them to a tiny café area with two round, white wrought iron tables.

He pulled out a chair for Mrs. Rafferty. Skylar didn’t wait for him to do the same for her but took a seat.

The bell announced more customers coming in, all tourists from what Dallas could tell, and Patty slipped back behind the counter after touching Mrs. Rafferty’s shoulder. “Let me know what you decide.”

His fingers fisted as he sat. He drew a deep breath of air scented with pastries, vanilla, and cinnamon. Skylar planned to shop here for their wedding cake. He’d offered to drive to Charleston for a fancy cake order, but she’d wanted a small wedding and nothing too pretentious. She’d already known then what kind of cake she’d wanted. But now her gaze was distracted, and she appeared... lost?

At fifteen, he’d found his place in life and the person he’d wanted to share it with. He’d thought she’d done the same. Instead, she must still be searching for both.

Apparently, far away from him. The thought was so bitter even the yummy samples Patty brought didn’t sweeten it.

Skylar reached for one sample with artistic fingers that looked beautiful whether she’d been holding a paintbrush at the beach or a grooming brush in their barn. But he loved them the most when she’d worn his engagement ring. And best of all, those delicate fingers had been so soft when they’d touched his face. Warmth pooled in the pit of his stomach.

No thinking like that!

“What do you think, Grandma? Peach or chocolate? Or both together?” Skylar must be oblivious to his struggle.

“Of all your silly suggestions. They donotgo together. I tell you, Little Miss, sometimes you remind me too much of your mother.” Mrs. Rafferty wagged a finger at Skylar, using the childhood nickname Skylar had earned for the way she’d tried to imitate her mother even as a toddler. Her face set in grim lines, Mrs. Rafferty helped herself to a chocolate sample.

Indeed, in the past, Skylar had managed to mix many things that usually didn’t go together, be it clothes, colors, or food, and somehow, she made them work. He didn’t think a silent, steady guy like him would fit with a mercurial chatterbox like her, but she’d made it work.

Turned out his first instinct had been right. They didn’t fit together, or she wouldn’t have broken the engagement. They’d grown up building castles in the sand, and in her stories and early drawings, she was a princess and he was her knight in shining armor. He smiled at her wild imagination. But it turned out, he’d been the one who built sandcastles in his mind, and she’d stomped on them.

A mischievous thought teased him, and he acted on it before he could change his mind. He forked up a sample of the white sheet cake with peach filling and brought it to her mouth. “Would you like to try this one?”

Her eyes widened.

Mrs. Rafferty sent her granddaughter an innocent glance. “I’d love your opinion.”

Once again, this was so not a good idea. But his gaze lingered on Skylar, and he didn’t back off. “Peach flavor used to be your favorite.” Whenever he bought her ice cream, she always picked peach. He remembered the creamy, cold taste of it on her lips.

The room temperature seemed to kick up.

“It still is,” she whispered before she accepted the bite.

A memory surfaced. They’d walked on the beach, the sunset painting the sky in a peach hue. She’d run barefoot, splashing the water around, and laughing. Back then, she’d said he wouldn’t have to feed her cake delicately at their wedding becauseshewas going to smash it in his face. He believed she would.

Now he fed her a substitute for a future wedding cake delicately, but it wasn’t their wedding. The empty fork clattered as he put it back on the porcelain plate.

Mrs. Rafferty looked from her granddaughter to him and back. “What did you decide, Little Miss?”

A few heartbeats passed before Skylar spoke. “It was great, but I’ll let you choose. It’s your wedding, not mine. And I still like the same things, but sometimes, it can be the wrong choice in different circumstances.”

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