by Beth Ciotta
“Apology accepted,” Monica said.
Chloe nodded. “Absolutely.”
“As you know, I filled Dev in, and as far as he’s concerned, the past is in the past. I don’t care if people, including my parents, find out that Jayce and I had an ancient fling, but I would like to keep the exact when private. Especially in light of the book deal.”
“Not that we ever intended to gossip about your ‘first time,’” Chloe said. “But how does Highlife figure in?”
“They’re not only putting a rush on the production of our book; they’re planning a media blitz over the next several months. Tasha said this video shoot is just the start.”
“Wow,” Monica said.
“What’s that got to do with you and Jayce?” Chloe asked.
“This project is important to the members of the club and, as Tasha keeps preaching, if it takes off in a huge way, it will benefit our charitable causes and potentially Sugar Creek itself. As president of the club,” Rocky said, “I can’t afford a hint of scandal. Cupcake Lovers is supposed to represent small-town, all-American, old-fashioned values. Family. Tradition.”
“I’m not sure your teenage seduction—an incident that took place thirteen years ago, mind you—constitutes a scandal,” Chloe said.
“I disagree,” Monica said. She glanced at her friend. “I’ve lived here longer than you. The jailbait issue. That qualifies. And the fact that it was Jayce … talk about grist for the gossip mill.”
Rocky stood and paced as new thoughts took hold. “If Tasha found out, I could see her twisting this to get me to quit the club or to at least resign the presidency. Maybe I should beat her to the punch and step down on my own. For the good of the club.”
“You’re overreacting,” Monica said. “Calm down.”
“Tasha won’t find out,” Chloe said. “Seriously, Rocky. Put the past out of your mind and focus on the now with Jayce. It’s all good.”
Monica raised a brow. “There’s a ‘now’ with Jayce?”
Chloe cringed. “Oops.”
Rocky smiled. “That’s okay. It’s not a secret. Or at least it won’t be. Jayce is going to break it to Dev this evening.”
“Break what to Dev?” Monica asked, perched on the edge of her seat and primed for juicy gossip.
Rocky plopped back down on her chair. “It started in New York,” she said, trying to contain her girlish excitement. “In fact … We kind of hit it off.”
Monica raised a brow. “Meaning you slept with him again?”
“It just sort of happened and it was amazing and, well, there’s more.”
Monica glanced at Chloe, and Chloe waggled her brows.
Rocky stifled a giddy squeal. “Jayce wants to see me. On a steady basis. As in dating. Exclusively.”
“Wow. Zero to ninety in the blink of an eye.”
“I have no idea where this, Jayce and I, is going.”
“Who cares?” Monica said. “Enjoy the ride. That man is a hunk with a capital H.”
“Do you think my moving in with Dev constitutes scandalous?” Chloe asked out of the blue.
“Only to someone with extremely conservative views,” Monica said.
“Still it might be best to hold off until that film crew leaves town,” Chloe said.
“What about Daisy moving in with Vince?” Monica asked. “When’s that happening?”
Rocky and Chloe traded a look, shrugged. “They didn’t say.”
“Just so you know, we’re all going to get the riot act from Tasha,” Rocky said. “According to her, once that video crew shows up every Cupcake Lover needs to exemplify a wholesome image.”
“That’s rich,” Chloe said. “Coming from a woman who flirts with her own stepson.”
“I’ll tell you one thing,” Monica said. “I don’t want the world to know my problems. No way am I risking some camera dude catching me on film boo-hooing about my inability to conceive or my husband’s discontent. For the next week call me Miss Suzy Sunshine.”
“Vince drove Daisy to the hospital a few hours ago for a checkup regarding her ankle and cast,” Chloe said. “Devlin went along so they could all talk after. He’s hoping to smooth things over and sort out this bit about Vince and Daisy moving in together. Said he’d fill me in tonight. A few minutes ago I got a text from Daisy saying her cast was off and her grandson wasn’t a total stick-in-the-mud, just a pain in the patooty.”
“So Dev made some sort of peace with Gram,” Rocky said. “That’s good. One less drama.”
“I just want everyone to be happy,” Chloe said with a quick glance at Monica.
Rocky quirked a pleading smile. “I’d be ecstatic if I could breeze through this week sans scandal.”
“As long as you don’t jump Jayce’s bones in public,” Monica teased, “you should be okay.”
“I’ve never been one for public displays of affection, let alone flat-out exhibitionism. But I have to admit,” Rocky said with a shy smile, “Jayce is awfully adventurous. Yesterday, when I was baking, he—”
“No details,” Chloe said with an eye roll.
Monica gaped. “Are you kidding? Leo hasn’t touched me in over two weeks. I can at least live vicariously through Rocky. Spill, hon.”
Rocky glanced at her watch. If she hustled she could at least cover some highlights before the other members showed. Heart fluttering, she spilled like a smitten teen. “It all started when he asked me to dance on top of the Empire State Building.…”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Jayce breached the doors of J. T. Monroe’s Department Store riding high on an afternoon spent with Rocky. Instead of dreading this scheduled meeting with Dev, Jayce looked forward to it. He needed to broach a couple of topics, but his relationship with Rocky topped the list.
Navigating the first floor and fondly remembering the various jobs he’d held at J.T.’s as a teen, Jayce smiled and returned the waves of a few familiar faces. He wasn’t sure why Bert Hawkins, owner of a local sports store, gave him two thumbs-up, but Jayce nodded all the same. Just as he reached the stairway that led to Dev’s second-floor office, the store’s assistant manager stepped in his path. “How you doin’, Chris?”
“Oh, you know. Same ol’.” The man clapped his palm to Jayce’s for a firm shake. “Heard you’re back for good. Welcome home.”
“Thanks.”
“Also heard you’re running for town sheriff.”
Jayce frowned. “Where’d—”
An overhead speaker crackled, then screeched. “Manager needed in the shoe department,” a young man’s voice snapped. “Shoe-polish crisis.”
“Sorry,” Chris said. “A new hire. Gotta go.” He rapped Jayce on the shoulder. “Just want you to know you’ve got my vote, Bello.”
“But I’m not—” Jayce cursed as the man raced off. Distracted, Jayce hurried up the stairs and pushed inside Dev’s office.
“Doesn’t anyone knock anymore?” Dev asked, looking up from his desk.
“The door was cracked and you were expecting me.” Jayce shoved a hand through his hair. “Just ran into Chris Bane.”
“Not surprising since he works here.”
“You tell him I was throwing my hat in the ring for sheriff?”
Dev shook his head.
“Well, someone did.” He thought about the dinner conversation the night before. “Must’ve been Nash or Luke.”
“Or Gram. Wouldn’t put it past her to make it her personal mission to see you elected.” Dev grinned. “She’s keen on having one of our own on the force and you’re qualified, my friend.”
“Qualified, but not interested.”
“For what it’s worth, Stone’s running unopposed.”
“Still not interested.”
Dev held up his hands in mock surrender, then waved Jayce into a seat.
Jayce felt the man’s confusion. Why so adamant? He didn’t want to get into it, but he felt he owed Dev an explanation, especially since Jayce wanted to pursue a long-term relations
hip with Rocky and, as Daisy had pointed out, as Sugar Creek’s sheriff he’d have stability and a certain amount of power.
“When I first enrolled in that IT class,” Jayce said, “it was simply to broaden my horizons. I’d grown bored with my job. Cynical. Thought about specializing in corporate investigations, advanced surveillance. Then a few months ago I had a visit from a teacher who claimed one of her students was being bullied at school. She suspected cyberbullying as well. Thirteen-year-old boy. Teased about being gay, although she wasn’t sure that was even true. Came from a broken home. Alcoholic mother who cared more about her booze than her kid.”
Dev shifted, making the connection.
“According to the teacher, the boy was severely depressed and she was worried. She’d heard rumors that a compromising photo was being distributed of the boy in a lewd sexual act. A doctored photo. Could I find out where it had originated from?” Jayce repressed a stab of remorse. “I never got to meet Calvin. He hanged himself the next day.”
Dev dragged both hands down his face.
“I still did some investigating. Other than that teacher, Dev, Calvin pretty much fended for himself. Except he wasn’t very good at it. Made me wonder. What if I hadn’t been influenced by you and your family? What if I’d been less likable, less popular? What if, as a kid, I’d only had my parents to rely on?” His stomach clenched at the thought. “I could’ve ended up like Calvin. Or ended up a two-bit thug. Or a useless piece of shit.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t.” He looked his friend in the eye. “It’s important to me to help kids like Calvin and anyone else who’s being bullied or persecuted in some way. No matter the family structure or support system. And that’s just one facet of cyberinvestigations that I intend to explore. I’m good at it, Dev, and I can help a lot of people in a specialized way.”
“If I can help you to get the business up and running in any way—”
“I’ll let you know.” Jayce relaxed against the chair, knowing that was Dev’s way of saying he approved and trusting he wouldn’t pry further. Jayce smiled a little, hoping to lighten the heavy tone. “That was damned exhausting.”
Dev smiled a little, too. “Especially for someone who never shares his feelings. Anything else you want to get off your chest?”
“As a matter of fact … I need to talk to you about Rocky.”
“Okay.”
“About me and Rocky.”
Holding Jayce’s gaze, Dev dummed his fingers on his desk. “Wanna drink?”
“Couldn’t hurt.”
“Think I’ll join you.”
Jayce’s mind raced as Dev moved to an old sidebar installed by Jessup Monroe more than fifty years before. Owned and operated by the Monroes for six generations, J. T. Monroe’s Department Store brimmed with history, trivia, and assorted tales. Growing up alongside Dev, Jayce knew a good many of those tales by heart. He also knew that Dev was running this place more out of duty than passion. Jayce hoped he wasn’t about to add to his friend’s headaches.
Dev passed him a glass of scotch straight up. Then instead of settling back behind his desk, he pulled up a chair across from Jayce. “Shoot.”
“I’m in love with your sister.”
Dev stared.
“Shit.” Nothing like easing into the discussion. Jayce downed the scotch in one swallow.
Dev followed suit.
“Yeah. Okay. That came out of left field.”
“Does she know?” Dev asked.
“No. At least, it’s not something I’ve verbalized.”
Dev took their empty glasses, stood for a refill, and returned. “I knew there was something between you two—an attraction, chemistry—but this is serious.”
“Not to revisit a taboo subject, but it was serious from the get-go.”
“You’re going to have to give me a minute.”
“Take your time.” Jayce sipped more scotch, reveling in the slow burn down his tight throat. He’d been living with this for thirteen years. He’d fallen in love with Rocky the moment she’d crawled into his bed. Yeah, he’d been young and randy and she’d been beautiful and naked, but the unexpected connection when he’d breached her cherry had gone beyond lust. She’d stirred his senses and soul. She’d ruined him for other women, and then she’d sent him packing. A seventeen-year-old smart-ass tomboy. His heart and pride had taken a lifelong hit. In hindsight he cursed himself for running instead of fighting. He cursed the young man who thought he didn’t deserve Rocky Monroe. And all because of his parents.
Dev drank deeply, then blew out a breath. “Okay. So what’s the deal?”
Jayce shook off the past, focused on now. On Rocky the twenty-nine-year-old smart-ass tomboy. “She agreed to see me exclusively.”
“Forgive me for being blunt, but Rocky had a similar arrangement with Adam Brody not too long ago.”
“I know about Brody. This is different.”
“Because you love her.” Dev rubbed the back of his neck. “She feel the same about you?”
“I think so, but it’s not something we’ve discussed.”
“Huh. So … what?”
“We date, officially, publicly, and take it from there.”
Dev nodded, finished off his drink. “Okay.”
“That’s it? No reservations? No lectures? No threats?”
“What? Like hurt her and I hurt you? I assumed that was understood.”
Jayce smiled at that. “My intentions are long-term, Dev.”
“As in marriage?”
Jayce nodded.
“Jesus. Okay.” Dev shook his head, smiled. “Good to know.”
Jayce set aside the glass. “I didn’t expect you to take it this well.”
“Don’t get me wrong; I’m still processing. And there are certain aspects of your relationship I don’t care to dwell on.”
“Smart.”
“On the other hand, selfishly, I’m relieved. I worry about Rocky. She’s had it tough with the Red Clover, and even with the renovations I’m not sure it will be a big moneymaker. She’s too independent for her own good and, swear to God, I can’t think of many men in the area suited to her strong personality.”
“Good to know.”
“You’re right,” Dev said. “This was out of left field, but I think it’s a good play. Easier to let go and move on with my own life knowing my sister’s in the hands of the man I trust most. I’ll try not to interfere and hope for long-term.”
“You always interfere and I’ll do my best.”
Dev smiled. “At least you didn’t call me a tight-assed buttinski like Gram.”
“Speaking of your grandmother.” Jayce finished off his scotch.
“I spent all afternoon mending that bridge.”
“This mean you’re okay with Daisy moving in with Vince?”
“Let’s just say I have fewer reservations.”
“Rocky asked me to speak with you regarding those two. She thinks you’re being unreasonable.”
“So does Chloe.” Dev angled his head. “And you?”
Jayce shrugged. “Vince Redding’s a good man.”
“I know. And he’s good to Gram. Good with her. Somehow he manages to keep her out of trouble. Since Gram’s against hiring a new companion, someone has to monitor her reckless inclinations. Chloe’s going to be moving in with me, so, hell, I guess Vince is a godsend.”
“You asked Chloe to move in?”
“I’d marry her tomorrow if I thought she’d agree, but she’s touchy about proving she can stand on her own two feet. Between that and the fact that we’ve known each other less than two months, the timing seems off.”
“How do you pinpoint the right time?” Jayce asked. “To propose, I mean.”
“No clue.” Dev raised a brow. “If you figure it out before me, let me know.”
* * *
“So that’s the deal.” Tasha, who’d been sitting rigid in one of the most comfy-looking chairs in the café, bolted
to her designer heels and cinched the coat she’d never taken off.
Gram glared at the glossy woman through her blingy cat-eye glasses. “That’s it? I interrupted my celebratory date with Vincent for a ten-minute lecture on decorum?”
Rocky, too, was surprised at their former president’s brevity. She’d expected Tasha to relay the events of Friday’s meeting with Highlife in nauseating detail, to brag about how she’d wowed the publicist, and to rub everyone’s noses, especially Rocky’s, in her private dinner with their editor as well as the personal tour of Manhattan’s most popular cupcake bakeries. Instead, Tasha had skated over the entire weekend, focusing on the arrival of the video crew and the importance of everyone being on their best behavior. During her fervent but short lecture, Tasha must’ve gotten five texts. Not that she replied, but she did glance at each incoming message, growing more agitated with every ping. Was it her husband checking up on her? A persistent Sugar Creek citizen vying for her attention? Tasha didn’t have a lot of true friends, if any, but as she was the wife of the mayor her influence was often in high demand: Could you speak at this function or support this cause?
Another loud ping set off Ethel. “At the risk of sounding like a fuddy-duddy,” the elder woman said, “from now on I think we should agree to silence all phone calls and whatchamhoozits—anything that dings, pings, sings, or rings—from all Cupcake Lover events. These constant interruptions are irritating.”
“So is the fact that less than half of the members showed for an emergency meeting,” Tasha snapped with an anxious glance at the door.
Rocky was in a hurry to leave, too. The sooner she got out of here, the sooner she could check in with Jayce regarding his meeting with Dev. Still, she felt obligated to fulfill her job as club president, which included defending the absent members. “Casey had an important business appointment,” she told Tasha. “Sam—an after-school function for the kids. Judy’s away visiting relatives, Helen’s laid up with the flu, and Rachel bailed for personal reasons.” She gestured to Chloe, Monica, Ethel, and Gram. “Not a bad turnout for last-minute, if you ask me.”