Fake It Till You Bake It(16)
He’d been more than a little surprised to get the email from Mrs. T’s assistant last night letting him know Jada couldn’t wait to start at Sugar Blitz.
No message from Jada herself, of course. Not that he’d anticipated one. But today was a new day, and she’d be walking through the door any second now. In any case, he needed to pay attention to the most important person in this shop. “What’s your daughter’s favorite flavor?”
He was working the front counter by himself this morning. Nicholas was in the kitchen working on a new cupcake flavor, August wasn’t scheduled until the afternoon, and Ella was running late.
The proud dad smiled. “Chocolate with sprinkles.”
“Sounds good. Why don’t we go with a mixture of chocolate and vanilla?”
The guy’s face relaxed with relief. “Perfect. I’ll need a dozen.”
After grabbing a to-go box, Donovan opened the display case and extracted the agreed-upon goodies. As always, his stomach rumbled as soon as the intoxicating scents of chocolate, cream, and sugar hit his nose. He knew from extensive taste-testing that the cupcakes were spectacular. Nicholas had perfected the simple but incredibly important recipes during his first year with the Knights, when he’d been a nervous rookie looking to blow off some steam.
The customer handed over his credit card. “Thanks, again. You’re a lifesaver. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m not talking about what you do on the football field. I am a huge fan, but this tops that by a mile. I’m going to be the coolest dad in first-grade history thanks to these cupcakes.”
Donovan smiled. “Glad I could be of service. Be sure to come back.”
“I absolutely will.” The dad headed to the door while Donovan reached under the register and grabbed more to-go boxes to restock the counter.
“Oh, hey, sorry,” the dad said. “I was in such a rush I didn’t see you there.”
“It’s okay,” a soft, bougie voice answered. “No harm, no foul.”
Donovan’s head snapped up. Jada stood just inside the front entrance. She was smiling at the dad. Donovan sucked in a breath. A perfect face had, somehow inexplicably, become even more perfect with the simple action. That he wasn’t the recipient of said action meant nothing. Hell, he hadn’t even known she knew how to smile.
The dad held up the box. “I’m in a rush. Got to get these to my daughter’s school before snack time.” Yet he didn’t move, obviously mesmerized by the stunning woman in front of him.
Delight spread across her face. “Oh, that’s so nice. I would have loved if my dad had brought cupcakes to my class. Your daughter’s so lucky.”
The dad, who clearly wasn’t in that damn big of a hurry, fucking preened. “Oh, it’s nothing. You’re too kind.”
Okay, yeah, that was enough of the mutual admiration society. Donovan cleared his throat. Jada’s gaze swung his way. The smile instantly faded away from her expressive face. He would not feel some type of way about how she’d gone from joy to annoyance in a nanosecond thanks to him.
The dad looked his way, his giddy grin sliding away once his gaze landed on Donovan’s face. He nodded at Jada one more time and finally departed. Leaving Donovan alone with his newest employee. His boss’s granddaughter. Who’d stood in this very shop two days ago and called his cupcakes decent and the ambience stale.
A tension headache pulsed behind his right eye.
FML.
“Nice to see you’re still rolling out the red carpet for customers,” Jada said, strolling into the shop like she owned the place.
“You’re an employee, not a customer,” he said, even as he inwardly winced. Damn, he needed to get it together. He was never like this. He sounded like a curmudgeon. And he sounded even more like a curmudgeon for using the word “curmudgeon.” Damn all those crossword puzzles his grandfather liked to rope his grandson into helping him solve.
Her perfect eyebrows arched. “Indeed I am. Thanks for the reminder.”
“I wasn’t sure you would show up.” Donovan walked around the counter to stand by her.
She mock gasped. “But then I wouldn’t be able to see that grumpy puss look on your face, especially those scrunched-up eyebrows.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my face.” Donovan immediately worked to smooth his features, balling his hands into fists at his sides to keep from checking his eyebrows. He would not give her the satisfaction. Make that more satisfaction, since she was already smirking at him.
“I’m sorry. Can we start over?” He held out his hand. She stared at it like it was an alien tentacle and if she deigned to touch it, he would swoop her up and take her back to his lair on some faraway planet. “Never mind.”
She grasped his hand as he was retreating. Their palms met. A dizzying electric charge shot up his arm, shocking him literally and figuratively. His gaze locked on to Jada’s. The shock, the awareness was easy to identify in her gorgeous brown eyes.
He needed to say something. Do something. Their hands remained clasped. Her skin was soft, and he had no inclination to let go.
“No, you’re right,” she said, sliding her hand away and stepping back, leaving him feeling oddly bereft. He’d forgotten what she was agreeing to.
“Let’s start over,” she added when he didn’t speak.