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Kevin smiled. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“Jessica, not sure if you realize this, but you willingly offered to share something with me,” he teased. “We’re one step closer to ‘what’s mine is yours’ and all that.”
She rolled her eyes. “And there you go, making it weird. In record time, I might add.”
He laughed, then ran around the car to open the door for her. “I appreciate the generosity, and may have to take you up on it soon, if that’s okay.”
She nodded. “Okay, yeah, just let me know.”
They followed the rest of the rowdy group to the bonfire, taking seats on towels and blankets. Everyone silenced when Jess placed the cake down in front of Calvin, handing him the knife.
“Calvin, in honor of you working the Haverfest shift five years in a row, I would like you to cut and reveal the cake,” she said.
Calvin frowned. “I couldn’t take the spotlight from you. You’ve worked just as hard the past five years.”
She sat down next to him, Kevin on her other side. “And this is why you need to do it. You care for all of us before yourself. So please, for the love of god, be selfish and cut the damn cake.”
Melanie placed a hand on his shoulder. “Do it, babe. It’s okay to be appreciated. We all love you.”
“Not all of us,” Jay squawked at the other end of the fire, sitting next to a girl donning a headband with velvet cat ears atop her short curly hair. She kept a respectable distance from him, Rory on her other side.
Calvin’s eyes were lined with silver as he sliced into the cake. He placed the first piece on a plate, his eyes wide at what was at the center of her death-like creation. Then he tipped back and laughed so hard, it startled the rest of the group.
“Fuck I’m nervous,” Tyler whined. He shifted toward Rory and buried his face in her neck, curling his arms around her waist.
“Aw, is big boy Tyler scared?” Rory teased.
“Menace,” he growled.
“Come on, Cal, spill the tea…or in this case, the cake,” Kevin said.
Calvin sat up, wiping tears from his eyes. “This year’s cake is certainly savory.”
Brows furrowed as they all looked at Jess.
She smirked. “The top layer of the cake is vanilla, mixed with ketchup,” she explained. “The bottom layer is the same, but with Worcestershire sauce. And in the center is—”
“Meatloaf,” Calvin answered for her, holding up a slice.
The group screamed and gagged. Kevin laughed along with Calvin. He took the slice from Calvin and a cotton-candy-colored spoon from Melanie. Everyone watched in horror as Kevin dug into the slice and took a bite.
He coughed, swallowing slowly, then grinned at Jess. “Tastes just like Gram’s.”
The group lost it, and Jess loved every second. She kept her eyes on Kevin, his gaze playful as he took another bite, then winced. She chuckled and passed slices out to the rest of the group before taking her seat next to him again.
He shimmied closer to her. “Hey, Jess?”
She took a bite of the meatloaf, surprisingly not hating the taste of it. The caramelized shallots were actually a nice touch. “Yeah?”
His eyes darted back and forth as he scanned her face. “You make me smile, too.”
Chapter Thirteen
The sun peeked through the bakery’s back window, the deep purple sky getting lighter and lighter as Jess rolled croissants for the morning. Honey snored on the dog bed by the door, belly up, paws in the air. She made a mental list of what she needed to do while they proofed—spoon the muffin batter into the tins, brush the tops of the scones with cream, and fill the danish pastry with jam. Customers had been coming into Port Wheels asking for the strawberry danishes and raspberry pastries from Haverfest, only to leave empty handed and disappointed. So Jess had Rory come in and add both treats to the colorful menu.
She slid the croissants into the proofer when the door swung open.
