Page 24 of Suddenly Yours

“It’s a little lopsided.”

He turned it and held it up to the light and laughed. “It has character.”

I snorted and reached for another cupcake. The kitchen smelled like vanilla and sugar mixed with Cade’s faint scent of warm cedar and clean soap. It was perfect somehow.

It felt… easy. Safer than I’d felt when I’d been with Levi.

After several minutes of companionable silence, Cade lifted another cupcake, squinting at it like it had personally offended him.

“Remember when we were eleven,” he said, “and our parents decided to take us to London for Christmas?”

I groaned. “Don’t remind me. I still have nightmares of that icy wind. And that awful wool coat my mom made me wear.”

“You looked like a tiny Victorian chimney sweep.” He smiled over the table at me.

“I did not.” I felt even more embarrassed now. The thing had been thick wool, an odd brown color that reminded me of the M&M color they no longer used.

“You did,” he said, grinning. “And you refused to take off that black knit hat.”

“It was cold!” I hid my face from the embarrassment of my mother’s clothing choices.

“It was London,” he corrected. “It’s always cold.”

I laughed again, feeling lighter with every memory he pulled out.

“Do you remember getting lost in Harrods?” I asked.

His grin widened. “You got lost. I knew exactly where I was.”

“You were the one who panicked! You screamed like someone stole your candy cane.”

“I was eleven!”

“So was I!”

We both burst out laughing, and the sound filled every corner of the bakery, washing away the remnants of Levi’s shadow.

What I remembered from that trip were all the sweets that had kick-started my desire to become a pastry chef. London had awoken something in me that no one could break. I smiled and felt my heart warm.

Now, frosting cupcakes with him… I realized how easy it was with him. Natural. Familiar in a way no relationship I’d ever had could compete with.

He reached for another cupcake, bumping my hip with his. “We should go back someday.”

“To London?” I asked.

“Sure.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Or wherever you want.”

Something warm fluttered low in my stomach, unexpected and full of warning signs.

Cade cleared his throat, shifting his weight from one boot to the other like he was bracing for a strong wind. “Which reminds me, this weekend…” He hesitated, eyes darting toward the back door as if searching for an escape route.

My stomach tightened. God, why did that sound like the start of a bad news announcement?

“Yeah?” I prompted, wiping nonexistent crumbs off the counter when he didn’t continue.

He scratched the back of his neck—nervous Cade, the rarest of creatures. “I, uh… have to head out to the resort on Friday. They had an electrical panel short out in one of the wings.”

“East Haven Resort?” I asked. I’d stayed there once, back when my brother had come to town before officially moving here. Cora had arranged for our stay in hopes that I’d pick Silver Cove to move to. The resort was amazing.