"Yeah," I admit. "It is."
She picks up her camera again, but doesn't lift it. "Would you be willing to talk about that on camera? Not the details, just the idea that the cake represents collective and personal renewal. I think people would connect with that."
I consider it. The idea of being that vulnerable in front of a lens makes my skin itch. But something about the way Piper asks, like she will respect whatever answer I give, makes it easier.
"Maybe," I say. "Let me think about it."
"That's fair." She lifts the camera and films a few more minutes of me working before Maddie bounds into the kitchen, with her backpack bouncing.
"Daddy, Grandma is here to pick me up for school!"
I glance at the clock. How is it already eight thirty?
My mom appears in the doorway, waving at me. She is a small woman with silver hair and the kind of energy that makes people half her age feel lazy. "Morning, Dylan. Oh, hello! You must be Piper."
Piper sets the camera down and offers her hand. "Yes, ma'am, it’s nice to meet you."
"Linda," my mom says warmly, shaking her hand. "No need for ma'am. I hear you are doing wonderful work for the festival."
"I’m trying," Piper says with a smile.
"Well, you picked the right baker to feature. This one is special." My mom pats my cheek like I’m twelve. "Even if he doesn’t always believe it."
"Mom," I say in a warning tone.
She ignores me completely. "Piper, you should come to dinner this week. I make a pot roast that will change your life."
"Mom," I repeat, louder this time.
Piper is trying not to laugh. "That sounds wonderful. Thank you."
"Perfect. Dylan will bring you. Now, come on, Maddie-bug. We have to get you to school."
Maddie hugs me around the waist, then surprises me by hugging Piper too. "Bye, cupcake fairy!"
"Bye, sweetheart," Piper says, crouching down to hug her properly.
And just like that, they’re gone, leaving me alone with Piper in a kitchen that suddenly feels far too intimate.
"Your mom is lovely," Piper says.
"She is also incapable of minding her own business," I reply, though there is no heat in it.
"She loves you. That’s not a bad thing."
"She’s also trying to set us up."
Piper tilts her head, a small smile playing at her lips. "Is she wrong to try?"
The question hangs in the air between us, heavy and loaded.
I set the spatula down and turn to face her fully. "Piper, I need to be honest with you about something."
"Okay," she says carefully.
"I’m attracted to you. Very attracted to you. However, I haven’t done this in a long time, and I've got Maddie to think about. I can’t afford to be careless."
Her expression softens. "I would never ask you to be careless, and I would never do anything to hurt Maddie."
