Chapter 12
Camilla
“Ihope you brought more of that burnt cheesecake,” Raven says as I hand over the large aluminum pan covered with foil. “Our customers loved it!”
“It’s all gone?”
Raven nods with a mischievous smile.
“I can bring a few tomorrow. Let me show you what’s in this batch. ” I lift the cover to show her my newest selection of goodies. I point to each section, explaining what they are. “Flan, chocolate lasagna.”
“Ohh, those look delicious!”
“They are.” I love that Raven seems almost as excited about my treats as I am. “I used different textures of chocolate. There’s a fudge base, then a rich chocolate cake. They’re offset with layers of cream cheese in between.” I can go on and on, but I don’t want to bore my new friend. “And I have these,” I say, pointing to another area in the pan. “Mini carrot cakes.”
“They’re so cute! I can’t wait to try them! I love everything I’ve sampled so far. And I’m not the only one.” She says the last part in a sing-song manner. I don’t take the bait.
“Thank you, that means a lot.” I don’t know if she’s waiting for me to ask who else loves them. I’m sure she means Cayden and not Stone. He would’ve said something to me, wouldn’t he?
“The churros are another huge hit. I swear, Cami, you’re going to sell out on a daily basis.” Raven smiles, and I notice that her canine teeth are significantly longer and sharper than mine. With my lips closed, I run my tongue over the point of my own teeth. My imagination is running wild. Leave it to my mother to bring out the cynical side of me.
“You know, if you keep complimenting me, I might push past you into the kitchen and whip up a few cakes right now.”
“Please do. Cayden’s been hoping to hire more people so we can have more freedom to arrange fun events, like the dance-off. And some extra time to ourselves wouldn’t be a bad thing. I feel like I get in the way. I’m not much help in the kitchen.” She shrugs. “That’s not my thing. But I’d love to hang out with you, and we’re glad that we can help you.”
“Seriously, if you need extra help, I’m happy to do what I can until the bakery opens. You guys are doing me a solid by introducing people to my cakes and pastries.”
“I’ll let Cayden know. He just might take you up on that. At least we’d see more of Stone.”
“Why’s that?”
“Duh, he’d want to be here because you’re here.”
“I doubt that. I think at this point we’ve agreed to tolerate each other.”
“Ooh.” Raven makes a face like she stubbed her toe. “Are you not attracted to him?”
“Attracted to him?” I feel heat rush to my cheeks that I bet are beet red. “Way to put me on the spot.”
“I’m sorry,” she waves it off. “You don’t have to answer that. When he was here earlier, I got the impression that you knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That he likes you. Likes you a lot.”
