“Sorry.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t mean to draw attention away from the bakery.”
I smiled up at him. “I’m not complaining. Each time you’re spotted here, the chatter online picks up again, and I get more customers.”
“Maybe I should come in more often then,” he drawled, his green eyes twinkling.
My phone rang before I could agree. The ringtone was the one I’d set for celebrity clients. Pulling it out of my apron pocket, I glanced at the screen and saw an actress friend of Serena’s was calling. “Hey, Marisol. Everything okay?”
“Tessa, I’m so sorry. The jet is grounded due to a mechanical issue. They’re saying it won’t be cleared until tomorrow morning, but my cousin’s engagement party is tonight.”
Marisol had placed the order a month ago, as a surprise for her cousin. The cake was four tiers of pale blush buttercream, with hand-piped roses cascading down one side and delicate sugar pearls. It was gorgeous, delicious, and had taken hours to decorate.
“I’m sorry to hear about the issue with your plane, but better safe than sorry.” I pinched the bridge of my nose while I tried to come up with a solution to the problem. “I’m sure we can figure out a way to get the cake down to Miami before the party. Maybe I can send one of my employees on a commercial flight down there. Let me do some checking, and I’ll call you back in ten minutes.”
“I’ll pay for the ticket, their overtime, and a hotel if that’s what it takes,” she offered.
As soon as I ended the call, Gage asked, “What’s wrong?”
“My client’s private jet is grounded. The cake needs to be in Miami tonight for her cousin’s engagement party,” I explained.
“Take mine.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Langford Tech has a jet. I might not be CEO anymore, but I still have access. Perks of family ownership. Let me fly it out for you.”
I stared at him. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know.” He stepped closer. “But you need the cake delivered. I have the means. It’s not complicated unless you make it that way.”
I briefly considered arguing, but he’d offered the easiest solution to a problem with a ticking clock. It seemed silly not to accept. “Okay. Yes. Thank you.”
He pulled out his phone. “I’ll call the pilot. How soon can you get the cake to the airport?”
“I can send someone right now.”
“Perfect.”
He made the call, and I gave him the private airfield details Marisol had texted earlier. He repeated them to the pilot while I asked Jenny to help me load the cake into her car so she could drive it over. I knew I could trust her to get it there safely.
When he hung up, he grinned at me. “They can take off in thirty minutes. The flight is only a little more than three hours, so the cake will be there with plenty of time to spare.”
I nodded, still processing how quickly he stepped in. “I wish everything else were that easy. My delivery driver had a family emergency and will be out all week. I was planning to do the deliveries myself since nobody else has driven the van before.”
Gage glanced at the keys hanging on the hook behind the counter before studying me for a moment. “I’ll take his place this week.”
I laughed because I thought he was joking, but he didn’t join in. “You can’t be serious.”
“Why not?”
“You were the CEO of a billion-dollar company. You have a private jet.”
“Technically, I just own shares in a company that has a private jet.” He gave a small shrug. “And I don’t have a job right now.”
I choked on a laugh. “You actually mean it.”
“Let me do this, Tessa.” He stepped closer. “Please.”
I exhaled. “Okay. But if you damage the van, you’re paying for it.”
