“What the hell?” Duke exclaims from the foyer.
I get to her first, gripping her elbow to help her stand. Her cheeks are bright red. Cake is mushed into her dress and coating the front of her cleavage.
Now it looks ten times more delicious.
Do notget another erection.
“What happened? How did you not see that wall?” Duke scolds her, tilting her head back to inspect her face. “You might have a bruise. Why aren’t you wearing your glasses?”
She sighs, jerking her chin from his fingers. “I’m fine. I couldn’t find them this morning, and I wanted to bring the cake over while it was still warm.”
Duke chuckles. “You could’ve just given it to me to bring.”
“You would have eaten it.”
He shrugs. “Sam prefers bourbon anyway. He doesn’t eat much sugar.”
She whips her head to face me, eyes narrowed.
I shrug, lifting the bottle up to my lips. “Thanks anyway, sis.”
I turn back around, a practiced act of indifference.
“You have a broom somewhere? Shit, you need a full-time maid service, not just Lolita once a week. I thought Keely was gonna come clean up over here,” Duke says. “Just go home, Dolls. I’ll take it from here.” His voice drops lower as he continues speaking to her at a volume I can’t hear.
I collapse into my chair, wishing I could take back the cake-feeding incident already. Now I have to be the dickhead who ignores her again after sending mixed signals about how I really feel. I’ve spent over ten years as Duke’s best friend, effectively ignoring Dolly Redford. Now, she’s going to go get ideas in her head about what the hell just happened here.
She’s just gonna have to accept that it was a stupid onetime fuckup that will never be repeated.
3
DOLLY
The farmers market of our hometown La Pradera has been mine and my sister-in-law, Rosie’s, thing for the past six months. We look forward to it every week because we get out of the house to socialize, gossip, and promote our little start-up business, selling Rosie’s homemade salsa and herbs from her garden at Redford Ranch and my jams, jellies, honey butter, and baked goods.
This week, I brought freshly baked scones and sourdough chocolate chip cookies. Sun Butter Bakery is a blooming, albeit still tiny, success.
Rosie has been my best friend since we were kids. She loves being a mom to her twin girls, but she also enjoys getting out of the house and interacting with other adults for a few hours a week.
She and my oldest brother Holden had Bonnie and Birdie a year and a half ago. Duke and Rosie dated in high school, but they both moved on before she and Holden fell in love.
“My dear, these are simply incredible. Who’s the baker?”
Rosie turns to me, smiling at the elderly customer. “That would be Dolly. It’s her original recipe.”
The woman’s wrinkled face beams with approval. “You are quite the baker, young lady. I’ll take two dozen of these cookies.”
“Coming right up.” Rosie starts wrapping the product while I ring up the total on our laptop that we use as a register.
As soon as the woman pays and walks away, Rosie turns to me. “Okay, what’s with you? That was the third compliment on your cookies today, which are almost sold out, and you’ve barely cracked a smile.”
I sigh. “I’m just feeling blah. I’m thankful for the sale, of course. I just—” My voice falters when I see Keely Wright walking through the tents with a basket on her arm.
She’s dressed in a low-cut floral sundress, blond hair curled around her face. A smile cuts across her lips when she spots our tent. My stomach muscles tense.
“Girls! Great to see you. It’s been forever. How are the twins?” Keely looks at my best friend.
“They’re growing so fast. Almost walking, but not quite.”
