Page 7 of Rival Hearts
“What? You've got to love a good rhyme.”
“Obviously, I named my bakery Buttercream Dreams.” Her head rolls against the cabinet behind us until her nose nearly brushes mine. Surprise lights within her features at our sudden proximity. We're sitting close, our faces inches apart. Flour clings to the wisps of hair that escaped her braid, and my stupid self immediately finds it endearing and sexy as hell.
“The timer should go off soon,” she whispers, confusion shining in her eyes as they flick from mine down to my mouth. Or maybe that's wishful thinking.
Leaning closer, I wonder what she’d do if I kissed her right now. Maybe the animosity she's held against me all these years will transform into passion. Desire. “Sierra…” I feel the softest caress of her lips on mine, before the timer dings, and she jerks back.
“Oh, we better get that. We don't want them to burn.” Hopping to her feet, Sierra grabs mittens to pull out the hot trays, and I bang my head back against the cabinet in frustration.
Thwarted by the damn Pastry Palooza.
CHAPTER FIVE
SIERRA
“Stupid, stupid, stupid… What were you thinking?”
“Are you talking to yourself again?” Mandy's amused question breaks into my litany of insults. It's not unusual for me to get lost in my own little world while working and start talking aloud.
Repeating a task I don't want to forget.
Mumbling encouragement to croissants to be extra fluffy.
Odd stuff like that.
When I'm caught, mostly by Mandy since she's my right hand woman, we laugh it off before returning to work. This time, however, I can't bring myself to find the humor in the subject that's prompted my latest musings.
Caleb and that almost kiss.
What the hell were you thinking?
“Hey, is everything alright?” Mandy peers around my shoulder as if the answer to my silence lies within the cupcakes I'm currently frosting for a PTA meeting tonight.
“Yes. No. I don't know.” Is it alright that I almost kissed my archnemesis last night? Is it alright if I forgot we’re supposed to be mortal enemies because he’s so damn hot and hilarious? The answers to those questions continue to elude me, thus my muttering to these poor cupcakes.
“What's going on?” Mandy may work for me, but she's also my friend. And she knows better than anyone, except for Shannon, my feelings about him.
Still, I bite my lip, debating whether I should tell her about my lapse in judgment or not. What the hell? Maybe she can set me back on the straight and narrow. “Caleb and I almost kissed.”
“Whoa.” The stack of clean bowls she was about to put away clatters on the table. “Are you serious? When? Last night when you were baking together?”
“Yep.” The SCHS I’m attempting to pipe on top of the cupcakes looks like a red blob instead of the school’s initials. Huffing in annoyance, I scrape the shoddy lettering off and try again.
“Interesting.” Mandy’s elbows rest on the tabletop as her brows furrow in contemplation. Since I knew this large school order was due today, I had one of our part-timers come in to man the front of the bakery, which means the two of us are free to chat. Or shake some sense into me. Whichever works.
“What does that mean? Interesting. Sounds like a scientist observing the mating habits of ants for the first time.”
“The mating habits of—” She slashes her hand through the air. “You know what? That’s not the point. The point is that it kind of makes sense to me. This thing between you and Caleb. For years, you’ve had this rivalry going, but now that you're working together, it’s not too much of a leap for the tension to be attraction rather than dislike.”
“Okay, Dr. Phil.” I roll my eyes at the psychoanalysis, but the unhinged part is that I'm not sure she's wrong. I've always found Caleb attractive. But his other attributes—AKA being my neighboring competitor for the breakfast crowd—have always overshadowed those feelings.
Until now.
Because Caleb is exciting.
Spontaneous.
The little food fight we had last night was the most fun I've had in forever, even if it was a pain to clean. I'm not some uptight hermit, but the weight of knowing my business could eventually be in trouble due to the arrival of chain restaurants has put a damper on my mood lately.