by Piper Rayne
Is she fucking kidding me? There’s kids around and she has on an apron inviting any Tom, Dick and Harry to pet her rabbit?
“Miss Ava!” Toby pushes me into the counter to get to her.
She opens her arms and wraps them around his body into a tight hug. Since summer camp, they’ve had a bond. He might have been a hellion, but after I distanced myself from her and stopped trying to get her back into my bed, it got better for Toby. His needs come before I do. See what I did there?
“You bake all this?” he asks, and she nods, her gaze finding mine across the room.
“Congratulations,” I say, trying to act as though I don’t want to smash my fist into the glass case like The Incredible Hulk and crumble them all in my mouth like Cookie Monster.
“Thank you.” She looks to Cat, whose eyes are bouncing between us with a fucking smirk on her lips. She’s so wrong with her assumption, but then again, she probably doesn’t even know that I’ve had Ava already. A few hundred times if you count all the showers I’ve beat off to using my memories of her.
“Cat, give them anything they want.” Her gaze flicks to mine for a microsecond. “On the house.”
“What’s ‘on the house’ mean?” Toby asks, as Ava tucks the longer strands of his hair behind his ear.
“Free. You pick whatever you want and it’s free.” She smiles down at him and his eyes light up.
“Thanks, Miss Ava!”
He runs over to the case, and Cat opens up a box ready for his order.
“So, you’re the one.”
“Excuse me?” She walks over to her display shelf, straightening some teacups.
“Charlie used to bring your cupcakes into the bar. They’re amazing.”
She nods, her attention staying on the ceramic teapots for sale. “Good to know you enjoyed them. I love seeing people’s expressions when they’re eating my goodies.” She turns around, shoving her hands in the pockets of her apron.
I avoid the obvious joke she’s led me into since I’m not sure she’d appreciate it. Still, there’s about a million different ways our re-acquaintance could play out here.
“You cut me off.” I don’t ask because it’s clear she did.
She nods once to confirm my suspicions. After our two times together, and stealing my car, we’ve had a love-hate relationship that teetered more on the hate side. Especially after I found out her dad was the camp owner, Vic Pearson, my half-Brazilian buddy I know could sure hurt me if he wanted to.
“You act like I’m a dealer.”
“Those cupcakes might as well have been crack.”
I won’t tell her, but I went through withdrawal, sampling cupcakes at every store only to find nothing comparable. I even ordered them online and had them delivered. Nothing was the same as those gooey, moist cupcakes Charlie had brought in. Which now I find out were made by my secret fling, if you can even call it that.
She smiles, obviously flattered by my cupcake crack addiction.
“So, why’d you do it?”
She shrugs. “I really need to get back to work.” She turns, but I take her elbow and swing her back around.
“I thought those nights together were mutual?” I whisper, so we won’t be the town gossip. Marcus and Cat’s affair is down to embers now and the gossip queens of Climax Cove are looking for new material to fill their text boxes.
“They were. Don’t worry, you didn’t break my heart or anything.” She shrugs.
I stare at her, and those gold flecks that seem to spark with any type of strong emotion she’s feeling are void.
“Well, good. I like to make it clear that nothing more will happen.” I shift my weight on my feet.
She smiles, one that doesn’t reach her eyes. “You were crystal clear, Dane. Especially when you blamed me for not telling you that I was Vic’s daughter. If I recall, you weren’t too worried about my name that first night.” She disappears into the kitchen, and a feeling of guilt and shame slips into me from my subconscious. The argument a few weeks into camp after I found out she was Toby’s camp counselor floating back to my conscious. Yeah, I was a dick, but she wasn’t exactly a sweetheart like the real Alice in Wonderland either.
“Here you go,” Cat hands me a box. “I did an assortment, but make sure you try the Neapolitan one. I think you’ll like it.”
I take the box from her hands, my gaze still on the kitchen where clanking and pounding echoes out of.
“Do me a favor?” My eyes flick to hers, and she straightens her back. “Tell the Mad Batter I’d like to order two dozen chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream frosting and chocolate shavings.”
“Oh, I’m not sure she’s doing special orders,” Cat insists, already shaking her head.
“I’ll be here tomorrow to pick them up.”
“Dane...”
I turn around and spot Toby chomping down on a chocolate and white cookie near the door. “I’ll pay double for the inconvenience.”
Not bothering to see Cat’s reaction, I tap Lily on the head on our way out.
“Keep pushing.”
She smiles, and the door chime sounds as we push open the glass doors.
4
Ava
The door chime rings and I send a small prayer up that it was Dane leaving.
I glimpse out the cut-out into the storefront and catch him and Toby crossing the street.
“What’s going on with you two?” Cat asks, popping up in front of me and blocking my line of vision.
“Nothing.” I circle back around to hide in the kitchen.
I asked for Cat’s help because come on, she’s like sugar on a stick. Sweet and sophisticated, she could talk anyone into buying my goodies. Baked goods, get your mind out of the gutter.
The door between the kitchen and the storefront swings open and Cat pushes through to join me. “I think you’re lying. You’re always so angry around him. Why?” She saddles up on a stool in front of the frosting station.
“He’s a condescending asshole who always gets what he wants.”
She nods. “That about sums up Dane Murray, but why do you care?”
She’s fishing, and I don’t blame her especially since she’s all in love and stuff with his best friend Marcus now. The fact we’ll be thrown together is inevitable. She probably doesn’t want it awkward for everyone.
“The way he acted during camp this summer. I mean he propositions me at the lake with the other campers there, including his son. Constantly undermined my authority with the kids, coming in and stealing the show when he picked Toby up. I mean, I feel bad for Toby having a father who feels the need to be the center of attention all the time.” I pick up the pink icing bag to finish the cotton candy cupcakes I had a special order for.
“Okkkaaayyy,” Cat purposely draws out the word, and I know she doesn’t get it because she doesn’t know the crux of the situation. I slept with him and I felt weird about it since the second I woke up the next morning.
“Obviously not weird enough not to go back for seconds.
My subconscious sneers at me. Whatever.
It was my first one-night stand. I’m not upset that I did it. Dane Murray is clearly an expert on pleasing a woman which is the only reason I went back for round two.
It was the week after when he made me really regret my decision.
I had worked that entire week on my cabin to make it fun and educational. I needed to prove to not only my dad but also my peers, that I could do this. My dad, Vic, owns the camp and started it years ago for children of single parents to spend the summer doing fun activities so their parents could work. Then one weekend out of the month the parents are welcome to spend the night with their camper and fish, swim or hike in the mountains.
Since it was my first year, I got a day group, the eight-year-olds. Thankful I wouldn’t be spending the night in the cabins and could have my own apartment. I was excited for what the summer would bring. Then my mom lobbed the grenade, telling me that after the summer, I’d have n
o home to return to. That it was time I grew up and decided what I wanted to do with my life. She was marrying her boyfriend—whom I hated—and moving to the other side of the world.
Which landed me on the stool of Happy Daze Tavern with Dane serving me drinks. He thinks he got one over on me, making my last couple drinks virgins, but I knew. That was one of the only reasons I went home with him—because instead of plying me with drinks to make me an easy lay, he did the opposite.
That night could very well be the best sex I’ll ever have in my life. Not that I’ll ever boost his ego even more by confessing that.
A couple of weeks later there was Dane, dropping his son off to my cabin for his day at camp. Something fueled inside me and I’m not even sure what. The fact he took me home when he had a son? When I replay the conversation, I do recall him implying he had something big he was responsible for, but he wasn’t specific.
I greeted Toby, told him to join the other campers and then politely asked to speak to Dane alone outside the cabin.
“Do you steal the car of everyone you bang or should I feel special?” He had his cocky grin splashed across his face, and his hands tucked into the pockets of his black track pants.
I swallowed hard when I thought of the groin cleavage hidden under the white t-shirt. The memory of my fingers exploring the curves and crevices of that perfect V were front and center in my mind.
“I borrowed it and I did it so I wouldn’t disturb you.”
He chuckled, rolling back on his flip-flops. “I appreciate it, but next time call Al’s Taxi.”
I might have been new to town, but everyone knew Al only does pick-ups and drop-offs between seven and seven. Most of his clientele are residents of Forest Hill Retirement Home.
“There won’t be a next time.”
That grin grew wider and cockier. My hand itched to slap him. His eyes flowed up and down my body, igniting my skin like an uncontrolled wildfire.
“I have to say this whole you being Toby’s counselor puts a damper on it, sure, but I think we could hide it. Though, from what I remember you’re quite the screamer.” He licked his lips.
My hands clenched at my sides for a second. “Not going to happen.” I placed my hands on my hips.
“Hey, sweetheart. Dane.” My dad walked by the cabin with his group of teenage survivalists.
“Hey.”
“So, that’s it then.” The grin left his lips and he huffed a sarcastic laugh.
“What?” I ask.
“You’re already taken.” He raised his hands up in the air. “Listen, I don’t take another guy’s chick and sure as shit don’t take Vic’s.”
He started backing up and I should have left well enough alone. Let him believe what he wanted, but I spoke up, which twisted things more.
“He’s my dad, asshole.”
His eyes widened, and he stumbled to the side as though I just shot him with a tranquilizer. “You’re Vic Pearson’s daughter?
“Yes,” I answered, and he stepped back farther than he did when he thought I was my dad’s girlfriend.
He looked at me long and hard. “I see it now. The resemblance. Fuck me. Listen, I’ll keep quiet if you do, but why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
“Excuse me, I don’t recall you telling me you were a father.” I crossed my arms over my chest, and his eyes dipped to my breasts. I didn’t change my stance because he could look, but he was never touching again.
“Fuck, let’s just make sure we keep our distance from now on, okay?” He was practically half way up the hill by then.
“Fine with me! You weren’t that memorable anyway.”
Why did I have to stir the pot?
He barreled back down the hill and leaned in really close to me.
“Don’t undermine what we shared. You and I both know what happened in that room. We just need to keep it in the beat off reel now, got it?”
A shiver ran up my spine with him so close to me.
“Got it.”
He nodded and then all but jogged away where I spied him meeting up with another dad at the top of the hill as they disappeared into the woods toward the parking lot.
Stupid me sought him out at the bar a few days later because I couldn’t get him off my mind. What happened in his office is still burned into my memory as is my discovery the next day. Then we had our rip-roaring fight after Toby got in trouble at camp one day and that sealed the deal. Dane Murray could go to hell for all I cared.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Cat interrupts me.
I place the final pink cupcake in the box.
“Dane wants two dozen cupcakes for tomorrow.”
“I’m not taking special orders.”
Cat’s gaze flicks to the box I’m covering and taping.
“From him,” I finish, and she places an order sheet down on the table in front of me.
I read the order. Chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. What the hell is he up to?
“Do you have his phone number?” I ask Cat, and her eyes widen.
“Um, let me see.” She pulls her phone out, but we both know she has it. “Yeah.” She scribbles it down on the order form and slides it back over to me.
I wipe my hands on my apron and pull my own phone out, texting.
Me: For a special order, I need a full day’s notice and half the deposit.
The three dots appear instantly. Does this man have nothing better to do in his life?
Dane: Okay, I’ll pick them up in two days. I’ll send Toby over with the deposit. Unless you’d rather me hand deliver it? I’m good with my hands…as you know.
I tighten my grip on my phone and ignore his innuendo.
Me: Toby can drop off the deposit and pick up the cupcakes.
Dane: Toby’s running it over right now, but sorry, you’ll have to see my smiling face for pick-up.
Me: You need help.
Dane: Just need the cupcakes, but thanks for the advice. Want me to offer you some?
Me: I’m perfectly fine.
Dane: Ever consider anger management?
My thumbs press hard on the N and O and I add a zillion exclamation points.
Dane: See what I mean? Don’t take life so seriously, Mad Batter.
Me: Wednesday afternoon you can pick up your cupcakes.
Dane: Looking forward to it. We could close for lunch and have some fun with frosting.
Me: You’re seriously demented. I’m stopping this texting now.
Dane: Or we could sext! Let me visualize you in only the apron for a moment.
Dane: Okay, I’m ready now.
I can just imagine him over at his bar, smiling away like he’s got one over on me. Not likely.
Me: I stripped off my apron and I’m standing in the kitchen wearing a chocolate peanut butter bikini made of frosting.
There, that should do it.
Dane: Damn you don’t play fair. Someone must’ve told you my favorite cupcake. It warms my heart that you remembered.
Me: Bye.
Dane: See you tonight…in my imagination while I’m fisting my dick.
My stomach flips and I place my free hand over it to reprimand myself for reacting to his dirty talk.
I toss my phone on the table and clench my fists.
“Fondant, I need fondant.” Anything to beat and knead to get that man out of my head.
“You’re so red,” Cat comments. “You’re flushed.” The door chime rings and Cat peeks around the corner then turns and points at me. “One day, you’re going to fess up.”
She disappears out front and I collapse to the stool, inhaling a deep breath. Hours of kneading and stirring and frosting go by and the only thing on my mind is Dane.
Why am I finding myself attracted to him again? Because you opened a bakery across from his bar, dipshit. How did I think I could continue to dodge him? I knew I’d see him eventually, but I honestly didn’t think he’d want anything to do with me. After all, he was the one who was so appalled that I
was Vic’s daughter.
Speak of the devil, my dad walks through the swinging door into the kitchen area.
“What a success, huh?” He takes a seat on the stool Cat just got up from. “You look hot, sweetheart. Maybe you could open the back door? I could install a screen so no bugs would get in.” He stands up and makes his way to the back to check out the door.
“I’m okay, Dad. Thanks.”
“You don’t look okay.” He swings the back door open. “I was at the Single Dads Club get-together across the street and Dane brought a box of your cupcakes in, but he refused to share. That’s a great sign, huh? I think you made the right choice by buying Norma out.”
My dad, my forever cheerleader.
His silver hair shines under the florescent lights.
“Yeah, time will tell.”
“Sweetheart, I don’t think you need time, this place is going to make it. I feel it.”
I cross my fingers and hold them up in the air. “I hope so.”
He kisses my cheek. “Don’t worry, you’re living your dream. And the best part is we can see each other everyday now.”
I nod. “Thanks, Dad.” I pat his hand that’s resting on my upper arm.
If only I believed in myself as much as my dad does.
5
Dane
“Why are you trying to start something up?” Marcus asks the next day during a lunch at Double D’s Diner.
I chomp down on my double cheeseburger, trying to hide my smile. As I chew, it takes a lot more effort to hide my amusement at the fact that I’m pissing Ava off. I’m not even sure why I’m doing it. Something to do in this small-ass town maybe.
Once I swallow and wash it down with a sip of my Coke, I lean back in the booth. Garrett and Marcus both stare directly at me from the other side.