“Ah, Connor,” he greets warmly. “My wife said you’re coming in to taste cakes for young Halle today.”
“Arthur, good to see you.” Connor leans in, shaking his hand.
Arthur gestures for us to follow, leading us toward the back of the bakery. We pass the glass displays and step into the kitchen. Long stainless steel tables stretch down the center of the room, flanked by ovens and deep sinks stacked with cooling racks. At the far end of a clean prep table sits a plate lined with small squares of cake. Connor’s eyes go cartoon wide. He rubs his hands together dramatically and shoots me a grin. I shake my head at him. He’s far too excited for this.
“My wife has prepared vanilla bean with butterscotch frosting, red velvet, classic chocolate, and a lemon blueberry to taste,” Arthur says, placing his hands on his hips. “Take your time. When you’re ready to pick, come find me up front.”
“Thank you so much,” I say, sliding onto the metal stool beside the table.
I reach for the lemon blueberry as Connor goes straight for the chocolate. We pop the squares into our mouths atthe same time. The tangy lemon hits first, bright and sharp, followed by the burst of blueberry. It melts on my tongue, and my eyes roll back. When I look over, Connor’s got his head tipped back, eyes closed, licking chocolate icing from his fingers. Our eyes meet, and we burst out laughing, mouths full.
“Okay,” I say, taking a breath to calm down. “As much as that tasted like heaven in my mouth, there’s no way Halle would like that.”
“You’re right. I don’t think anyone loves lemon blueberry like you and Momma Claire do.” Conner chuckles.
“What about the chocolate?”
“Everyone loves chocolate, but let’s taste these two first.”
He grabs one of the tiny forks sitting next to the plate and takes a slice of red velvet. The second it hits his tongue, his eyes half close.
“Oh God, yes. Madi, Queen, you gotta try that,” he mumbles around the mouthful, pointing at the cake.
Since he’s already taken half of the square, I pick up what’s left. The sweetness hits instantly, velvety and rich, the cream cheese frosting lingering on my tongue.
“Oh, yum!” I say around the bite, my eyes going wide. “That’s the one.”
“Maybe, but I’m not sure if Remi would like the cream cheese,” he says.
My eyes dart to him. There’s a tiny pinch between his brows. His mouth pulls to the side like he’s weighing his options, thinking about Remi and what he would like. I rest my elbow on the table, chin propped in my hand as a smile tugs at my lips.
“Since when did you care so much about the little man and what he might like?”
Connor flicks a crumb off his jeans. “The kid’s cool, and he likes hanging out with me.”
“Uh-huh.” I drag out the sound. “Could it have anything to do with his momma being an absolute knockout?”
His mouth twitches, but he won’t meet my eyes.
“Oh my god,” I gasp, nudging his shoulder. “You like Sarah.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mutters, shoving a slice of the vanilla cake into his mouth.
I wiggle my eyebrows at him, grinning like a total idiot. I’ve seen Connor have flings before, but they fizzle out too quickly. The girls he falls for, they want to chase that big, flashy life, and all he wants is something quiet, something real.
“We’re not here to gossip, we’re here for cake,” he says, pointing to the last slice. “Try that one.”
Leaning in, I scoop up the butterscotch frosted slice. The rich sweetness melts over my tongue.Dear God.Every single one of these tastes so good.
“That one,” I say, tapping the plate.
“Or the chocolate?”
“Well, I didn’t get to taste the chocolate.” I narrow my eyes at him.
“Ya snooze, ya lose,” he says around a smug grin. “It was good. A classic.”
“Let’s go the chocolate then. It’s a safe bet. Everyone loves chocolate.”
