Page 13

“How’s everyone doing?” Holly asked as she walked around the room, peering into people’s bowls.

She paused by the Koob’s bowl. “That looks perfect. Give it another couple of mixes and you’re ready to put your cupcakes in the paper cases.”

Avel gritted his teeth as she approached his bowl. His mixture looked nothing like that smart-assed Koob’s.

“Oh, what’s been going on here?” Holly took the wooden spoon from Avel and stirred his mixture. “How much flour have you got in here?”

“Half a bag?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Did you mix the dry ingredients thoroughly first? There are a few clumps in here.”

Avel scratched the end of his nose. “I must have missed that instruction.”

A smile fluttered across Holly’s face. “It looks like that’s not the only instruction you missed. I can smell the vanilla from here. These could be a little potent to the taste buds. Maybe you should start again.”

Avel frowned as he looked at his gloppy, lumpy disaster. Baking was harder than it appeared. “No, this is good. I can do something with this.”

Holly chewed on her bottom lip. “Add a little more sugar to even out the ratios, then see how it goes.” She patted his arm before moving to the next participant and making encouraging noises.

Avel stabbed the spoon at the lumps in his mixture. He wanted to impress Holly with his creations and couldn’t believe how tricky getting a good mix for a cupcake was. He glanced at the Koob’s bowl and was tempted to swap with him, but Holly would know if he’d done that.

He lined his tray with cases and dumped the mixture in, squashing the lumps as best he could. With a bit of luck, they’d settle at the bottom and no one would notice.

Holly clapped her hands together. “Is everyone ready to put their cupcakes in the oven? They’re preheated, so you just need to place your creations on a shelf. We’ll soon have delicious cupcakes ready for frosting.”

Avel stalked over to an oven and shoved his cupcakes in. He wasn’t happy when the smug Koob with the perfect cake mix walked over and placed his in the same oven.

“Best of luck,” the Koob said. “I can’t wait to try these. I love cupcakes.”

“Me too,” Avel grumbled. He peered through the glass into the oven. They’d be fine after they were cooked. Everything would melt together, and his cakes would be as good, if not better, than this Koob’s.

Eighteen minutes later, the group stood around the table, their finished creations in front of them, fresh out of the oven.

Avel couldn’t keep the scowl off his face as he looked at the weird brown blobs in his tray. What the hell was wrong with the oven? The temperature must have been wrong.

He glanced at the Koob standing next to him. His cupcakes looked like perfection. They were golden brown and perfectly risen. Avel resisted the urge to smash the cakes with a fist.

Holly stood in front of them, her gaze moving from tray to tray. She nodded and smiled and congratulated each of them. She got to Avel’s and paused before tilting her head. “That’s a great first try. When we get the frosting on them, they’ll look even better.”

“It’ll need more than frosting to save those.” The Draxdan at the end of the table nudged his friend.

“Are yours any better?” Avel snapped.

The Draxdan nodded. “Mine are a hell of a lot better than those things you cremated. They’re not even edible.”

Avel snarled, and his hands clenched into fists. Only Holly’s restraining hand on his arm stopped him from stomping over and squashing the Draxdan’s cupcakes into his smirking face.

“Everyone did their best.” She squeezed Avel’s arm. “No one gets it right the first time, but top marks for trying.”

Avel let out a sigh, his angry gaze still on the Draxdan. “You were right. It’s not so easy making cakes.”

She smiled at him. “Everyone gets better with practice.”

He grinned down at her. That sweet smile made his humiliation worthwhile.

Holly turned away from him. “Put your cakes on the cooling shelves. Then I’ll give you a demonstration of how to decorate your cupcakes. This is where you get to have fun. You can ice anything you like on your cakes. And don’t forget the toppings. You can have sprinkles, tiny love hearts, and mini marshmallows. And there are chocolate drops in all flavors. Go crazy. Let your imagination take over.”

“You should ice a turd on top of yours,” the Draxdan muttered to Avel. “It will make them look better.”