“Good job, Donovan. You might be able to make a living at this someday.” Jada winked. “Now it’s time for the special ingredient.” She looked left, then right, then leaned forward and mock whispered, “Yogurt.”
Donovan laughed. She was a natural. He could see why viewers had been drawn to her on that show. At her direction, he poured the mixture into the cupcake baking dish. It was a six-hole dish, unlike the two-dozen pan they used in the shop. He smiled. It brought back memories of baking with his mother during the less tumultuous times of his childhood, or the times when they’d both needed a distraction from said tumultuous times.
Kayla looked into the camera. “Through the miracle of television, our cupcakes are ready.” She pulled the pan out of the oven and gasped. “These look amazing, Donovan.”
“They are,” Jada said. “And let me tell you, the icing really is the icing on the cake.”
“Then let’s get to it.” He and Kayla grabbed their icing utensils. “You too, Jada. The hard part’s over now.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, while Kayla laughed. Jada picked up the icing bag. “What flavors are inside, Donovan?”
He winked. “It’s a surprise. Squeeze gently.” He waited while the two women squeezed softly, letting out a small spurt of frosting. He would not think about how cute Jada looked, her brow furrowed in deep concentration, her tongue peeking out between her slightly parted red lips. That was the lipstick she’d worn when they kissed. He’d bet everything he owned on that fact.
He still remembered the taste of her lips. He’d watched the clip of their first kiss too many times to count. If Nicholas and August knew how high the number went—hell, if Jada knew—he’d never hear the end of it. He told himself that and then he pressed play again anyway. And those photos? Donovan shook his head. No, he needed to stop.
They’d agreed to be friends less than an hour ago, so that’s what they’d be, no matter what his libido or his heart wanted.
“I got strawberry,” Jada said, her joy clear. Her delight delighted him. The shop had become a business for him, money and spreadsheets and expenditures. He’d lost sight of the reason he’d said yes to the shop in the first place—those memories from his childhood, the simple pleasure of baking with his mom. Jada was bringing back all those good feelings.
“I got chocolate,” Kayla said. “Which is great, but I feel like I’m going to screw up.”
“It’s all about the wrist action,” he said. “Press gently on the bag and move your wrist in a circle to spread the icing evenly.”
Just as he finished, a large plop of frosting fell out of Jada’s bag. The cupcake looked like a bag of blood had exploded all over it.
“Crap,” she muttered, her head dropping.
“Hey, hey, none of that,” he said. “We all started off as beginners. Some of us stay in that phase longer than others.”
Her eyes widened, her sadness clearly forgotten. “Hey!”
He shrugged, his lips twitching. “I call ’em like I see ’em.”
“Why don’t you show me how to do it, Mr. Smarty Pants?”
Before he could think it through, he stepped behind her and grasped her wrist. He recognized his mistake immediately. She fit against him perfectly. Her skin was soft and supple. He’d be a fool not to notice the way her pulse sped up under his seeking fingers. He bent to whisper in her ear. “You’ve got to have patience. Slowly.” He guided her hand as she spread the frosting over a different cupcake. He released her as soon as it made sense to save himself from turning her in his arms and kissing her like he longed to do, though he was having the damnedest time remembering why that was a bad idea. “See, that’s just average, not horrible. I knew you could do it.”
“What?” She whirled. Before he could blink or think about taking cover, she swiped the red frosting off the cake and dabbed it on his nose. Her head cocked to the side. “How you doing, Rudolph?”
His eyes narrowed as he struggled to contain his laughter. “You’re going to pay for that.”
Her eyes danced with mockery. “Yeah, how? I’m not scared of you.”
“You two are adorable,” Kayla said, jolting Donovan back to the present. They were in a TV studio, not a private world of their own making. Unfortunately.
“Thank you for being here today.” Kayla turned to address the camera. “If you’d like to try these terrific cupcakes for yourself, visit Sugar Blitz. Donovan and Jada will be waiting. We’ll be right back.”