When Elena giggled happily and took Cade’s outstretched hand, I realized he hadn’t been asking me, he’d been asking Lena, and my heart swelled.
I watched them walk hand in hand on to the dance floor, mentally taking a snapshot of the moment to store in my memory bank, then I nudged Elin and asked, “What do ya say?”
Elin looked at the dance floor, then back at me, momentarily unsure, before grinning and saying, “Let’s do this.”
I laughed as Elin spun me, bending low so I could make it under his arm.
We hip bumped, spun in circles, and even did the hands on each other’s hips slow dance. When the song changed, we switched partners, so Elin was with Elena and I was with Cade, who gathered me in his arms and held me close.
As we swayed to the music, his heart keeping the beat beneath my cheek, I murmured, “Thanks for coming with me.”
“I’m your man,” Cade responded, his voice a rumble in his chest. “That makes me your plus one.”
I leaned back to smile up at him.
“I’m happy you’re my plus one.”
“Me, too, darlin’,” he replied, his grin lazy as he bent to brush his lips softly against mine.
“You two are so damn cute!”
I turned my head to see Amy May smiling broadly at us as she and Jason two-stepped past us.
“This isn’t a country song,” I called out, but Amy May just shrugged and kept on two-stepping.
Over the next hour, I danced with Jason, Bea, Cade, Elin, and Elena, and drank my fair share of margaritas. I was standing off to the side, sipping said margarita with Carmen and chatting somewhat drunkenly about nothing and everything, when Amy May sidled up with a handful of fresh margaritas.
“Drink up, ladies,” Amy May said, her words just a tiny bit slurred.
“Thanks,” Carmen said, downing the drink in her hand, before taking the new one.
“Hey,” Amy May said too loudly, her head swiveling as she looked around. “Where’s Bran?”
“I didn’t ask him,” Carmen replied with a shake of her head. “I couldn’t ask him to a wedding. It’s too soon.”
“Have you talked to him at all since Carlton’s?” I asked, remembering how cute they’d looked together.
“We’ve talked on the phone,” Carmen admitted, her cheeks reddening, then she said shyly, “He asked me out.”
“He did?” Amy May asked at the same time I yelled, “Yes!”
Carmen giggled and took a long, healthy sip of her drink.
“We’re going to dinner on Friday night.”
“Yay, I’m so happy for you,” Amy May cried as she leaned in to give Carmen a half hug.
“What am I missing?” Bea asked, coming up to stand beside us. Her pink bow tie was undone and hanging around her neck, and she was holding a glass of champagne.
“Bran asked Carmen out; they’re going to dinner,” I answered, doing a little jig throughout my friends.
“Nice,” Bea told Carmen. “You deserve a real, adult man, who’ll know how to treat you right.”
“Thanks,” Carmen replied, then leaned out to kiss Bea on the cheek. “And, congratulations. It’s been a beautiful reception.”
“It’s not over yet,” Amy May put in, then held up her hands and yelled, “Time for cake!”
“Time to ease up on the margaritas,” I countered with a laugh as I took another sip of delicious green liquid.
“Come help me.”
Amy May grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me through the throng of people and into the kitchen, where the staff was cleaning up the dishes from the buffet we’d eaten earlier. Amy May pushed a rolling cart with a white table cloth draped over it in front of a large refrigerator, then opened the door and pulled out the most beautiful cake I’d ever seen.
The bottom layer was covered in pink roses, the middle layer looked like it was wrapped in ribbon, and the top layer was decorated in delicate pink pearls. The pretty, pink creation was topped with a wire heart that had Bea & Shannon written in script in the middle.
It was gorgeous, and, since I knew the inside was half tiramisu and half java, it was going to taste amazing too.
“Oh, Amy May, you’ve really outdone yourself with this one,” I praised.
“You really think so?” Amy May asked, looking lovingly at her masterpiece.
“I really do,” I replied, leaning my head on Amy May’s shoulder as we looked at the cake together. “Bea and Shannon are going to adore it.”
And from the looks on their faces when we wheeled the cake out, I was right.
After numerous pictures of the cake, the brides, and the brides smashing the cake into each other’s faces, I finally had a plate in my hand with one piece of tiramisu and one piece of java.
I was sitting down at the table, about to dig in, when Cade sat beside me and slid the plate away from me and in front of him.
“You got me a piece? Thanks, darlin’,” he said, and I swear, he was seconds away from getting a fork in the hand.
“You know you’ve lost your mind,” I replied, bringing the plate firmly back in front of me. “I love you, Cade, but you gotta get your own damn cake.”
Cade burst out laughing just as I brought the first, moist, delicious bite to my mouth and wrapped my lips around the fork.
Heaven.
My heart was in my throat and my hands were sweating as we left our bags at check-in and took our boarding passes to pass through the TSA checkpoint of the airport.
Elin and Elena were cool as could be, each with their carry-on items in the backpacks securely on their backs. They were excited about the flight and eager to get to Hawaii.
I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. I was an okay flyer, but I’d rather be safe and secure on the ground. Although, that wasn’t the reason for my nerves. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong in Hawaii.
Either his family was going to hate me, or one of the kids were going to get hurt. Maybe I was going to be a victim of a shark attack … I didn’t know. All I knew, was that my gut was telling me that bad shit was coming.
I tried to talk to Cade about it, but I didn’t want him to think I was trying to back out of meeting his family, so I bit my tongue and said, “Never mind,” when he asked me what was up. I decided to just chalk it up to nerves and hope the pit in my stomach dissipated on its own.
“Are you sure Rufus and CB are going to be okay?” I asked, worried that a puppy was too much to lay on Bea and Shannon. She was a handful and needed constant attention. She was still peeing and pooping constantly. We never seemed to have enough puppy pads.
“They’ll be fine.”
“What about Carmen? Do you think she’ll can handle watching my firm, in addition to working at the paper and blogging?”
“Lila, she’s a capable woman,” Cade assured me.
I knew he was right, I just couldn’t stop thinking of everything that could possibly go wrong.
Cade kissed me soundly on the lips, probably to shut me up, then moved forward to hand our boarding passes and identification to the TSA agent. When we were cleared, we got into the next line in order to pass our bags through security.
“Take off your jackets, belts, and shoes, and place them in the bins. Take everything out of your pockets, and place them in the bins. Laptops need to be out and in their own bins. No liquids over 3.4 ounces.”
I listened to the TSA rules with one ear open as I took off my shoes and put my carry-on bag on the conveyer belt.
Because I was with the kids, we were ushered through a metal detector, rather than going through the large body scanning device. We were on the other side, getting our stuff off of the belt and I was getting my shoes on, when an TSA agent pointed at Cade’s faded leather bag and asked whose it was.
“Mine,” Cade called as he put his belt and chains back on.
“Come over here, please,” the agent called, and I watched as Cade walked over to the back table.
Hoping he
wasn’t carrying a knife or something, I told the kids to take a seat on the bench and went over to where Cade and the TSA agent were standing over his bag.
“This is over 3.4 ounces, sir, so you’ll have to throw it away.”
I turned my attention to the TSA agent and what he was holding in his hands, then absolutely died when I saw a giant bottle of lube in his hand.
“What the hell is that?” I asked Cade under my breath.
“Lube,” Cade replied, totally unaffected by my tone.
“Who needs that much lube?” I asked, hoping like hell my cheeks weren’t as red as they felt, because they felt like they were on fire.
“I got it at Costco,” Cade answered, and I kid you not, it looked like he was fighting a grin.
“What did you think we’d be doing on this trip? We’re staying with your family … We have my kids, for God’s sake.”
I was trying to keep my voice low, but it was hard when all I wanted to do was yell.
“Mom? What is that?” Elin asked from behind me, and I moved to try and block him.
“Hand sanitizer,” I lied.
“Can I use some?” Elena asked as she walked up next to her brother. “My hand’s kind of sticky from that donut.”
“No!” I shouted. I had to take a deep, soothing breath when I heard Cade chuckle. “Go sit down like I said. We’ll be right there and then we can stop at the bathroom on our way to our gate.”
“But…” Elena started.
“Go,” I said, then turned, took the lube out of the TSA agents’ hand, and threw it toward the trashcan. It landed inside with a satisfying thump.
I shook my head at Cade, ignoring the agent’s stare, then turned to go and wait with the kids.
Once Cade was cleared and had his bag, we went to our gate to wait for our flight to board. I sat down and leaned over in the chair, my head resting on Cade’s arm, which was laid over the back, and tried to calm myself down and clear my head.
A lot had happened over the last few weeks. I deserved this vacation. It would be great not just for Elin and Elena, but also for Cade and me. It meant our relationship was moving forward. I just needed to shake off the feeling of impending doom and enjoy the next couple of weeks.
“You ready?” Cade asked, his breath warm on my ear right before I felt his lips kiss me there lightly.
I opened my eyes and looked up at him with a smile.
“Absolutely.”
Aloha!
If you haven't read book 1 in the Cupcakes Series, check it out now!
Always Room for Cupcakes
One day I was be-bopping along jamming to the music in my head while wondering if my thighs could handle grabbing a cupcake on the way home. The next thing I knew, my entire world crashed and burned.
I used to wake up at night in a sweat, crying because I’d dreamt that my husband was cheating on me, or that he hated me, and resented my kids. He’d always hold me close and tell me it was all just a dream, that he loved me and our family and that he’d never let me go.
He was a fucking liar.
Now I spend my days taking photos of scum just like him, trying to be a champion for other's being taken advantage of by the losers in our town, and my nights being a single mom to my beautiful twins.
I've got great friends who have my back, and a sexy, mysterious motorcycle man who keeps showing up when I need him. Maybe things are starting to look up, and one thing's for sure... There's always room for cupcakes.
WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE, SEX, SOME VIOLENCE, AND SHENANIGANS. IF NONE OF THAT BOTHERS YOU, GRAB A CUPCAKE AND READ ON!
Buy now!
Thanks to Lori and Ann for reading Cupcake Overload in spurts while I moved around the world. Your input and enthusiasm was wonderful.
To Jessica, of Inkslinger PR, for helping me keep promotions going and helping me stay organized.
To Jennifer, Lyn, Laurie, and Lisa, for Beta reading and helping me make sure the voice and flow were in line with the series.
Kristina, at Redroad Editing, for not only editing, but always giving me wonderful feedback.
KMS Freelance Editing for proofreading and always being flexible.
Karen, at White hot eBook Formatting, for not only for formatting, but for helping to keep me on schedule.
Stacey, at Champagne Formats, for the wonderful chapter headings and title page for both books in the Cupcakes Series.
Allie, of Makeready Designs, for always being there, and for allowing me to feel like I’m providing input, even though you’re the mastermind behind my covers.
To Jaime, for always believing in me and encouraging me to keep at it. And to our kids, for yelling at me during our move around the world to take time to write. Thanks for helping me meet my deadlines.
Award-Winning Author Bethany Lopez began self-publishing in June 2011. She's a lover of all things romance: books, movies, music, and life, and she incorporates that into the books she writes. When she isn't reading or writing, she loves spending time with her husband and children, traveling whenever possible. Some of her favorite things are: Kristen Ashley Books, coffee in the morning, and In N Out burgers.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Other Titles
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Cupcake Overload Page 13
