by Lara Swann
Her eyes light up, and she forgets all about her camera as she comes to ogle the cakes on display.
“You have ice cream, too?”
“You really haven’t spent any time in the cafe part of this store, huh? Ice cream is pretty much standard.”
“Okay…I really have to come back here.”
“What do you want?” I ask, walking around toward the freezer as she picks out a selection of cakes and asks for salted caramel ice cream.
Good choice.
“You’re not allowed to judge me, okay?” Kelsey says as I come back. “You’re the one that offered me free cake.”
I look at what’s on her plate and just grin, surprised that I’m actually starting to enjoy this.
Then again, I’ve always liked giving people awesome food.
“This is a no judgment zone.” I promise her, handing her the tub and letting her take however much she wants.
“Okay, Amanda was right.”
I raise an eyebrow in question, as we take the plates of cupcakes and ice cream over to one of the tables, and I bring the coffee too.
“This interview was definitely worth taking.”
“You didn’t want to?” I ask, slightly amused as I think about my own reluctance and just how strongly she’d argued the case for doing this the other day.
“Well, no offense, but it is a bit of a fluff piece, don’t you think?” She shrugs. “I’d rather write about something with a bit more…substance, you know?”
“Like the sewage?” I ask, my amusement growing.
“Exactly!” She says, then laughs around a forkful of cake. “Though I definitely wasn’t going to tell you that.”
“I’ll try not to take it too personally that I’ve been unfavorably compared to sewage, then.”
“No judgment zone, remember?” She says, then grins with what’s starting to become a familiar self-deprecation. “Besides, this is admittedly better than a lot of the gigs we get. At least the opening of your store is actually news - we don’t always get that much, not around here. Often, it’s resorting to simple little stories that just make people feel good, or publishing old family recipes, or the school’s recent activities…things like that.”
“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.” I muse, looking across at her. “What’s wrong with those kinds of stories?”
“Well, nothing, I guess. But just for once I’d like to feel like I’ve got something big - like there’s something real to talk about. Something that actually matters.” She shakes her head, eyes looking off into the distance somewhere behind me as she considers it. “I’ve lived here all my life - and don’t get me wrong, I love it - but let’s be honest…nothing ever happens around here, not really. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be part of something bigger - a real news story.”
I watch her as she thinks about it, unable to deny my fascination with the woman opposite me, but when her eyes focus back on me I’m already shaking my head.
“I don’t know, Kelsey. Maybe it’s a good thing you don’t get that kind of news around here. All those big headlines ever seem to be is bad news - tragedy and caution and a record of all the bad things that go on in the world.” I shrug. “I think I like the idea of your little small-town stories more than any of that. There’s nothing wrong with giving people a few things they can feel good about.”
She pauses as she looks at me and I know she’s really thinking about it, even as I wonder where all that came from. I wasn’t going to say any of that, but somehow it just came out…and I know I mean it, too.
The last thing I want to encounter in Ashton is a real news story. Nothing good ever comes out of something like that.
“I…I guess I’ve never thought about it like that.” She says, and the way her gaze seems to pierce all the way through me makes me suddenly uncomfortable.
I shrug again, offering her one of my go-to smiles and trying to lighten the atmosphere again.
“So, maybe we should give the people what they want, hm?” I suggest, moving us onto what we’re actually here for. “Did you want me to call Maya so you can ask her questions too? She’s coloring in the other room at the moment - I said we’d want to talk as grown-ups for a little bit first, but I think she’d love to be part of this if you’re happy with that.”
A lot more than me, that’s for certain.
“Right, yes.” She blinks, seemingly still distracted as she glances behind me to the back room I indicated. “Yes, do call Maya in. It would be wonderful to have her answers in the article, too - I think Ashton is as taken with her as it is with you - and besides, this is a joint venture, right?”
I laugh. “Very joint. Totally equal split of work and effort here - not at all one person making the cupcakes and the other eating them.”
“Hey, from what I hear, taste testing is very important - and actually, if you want any help with that…”
“You’ll be the first to know.” I promise, smirking at her as I walk to the back room and call out to Maya.
She must have been waiting for exactly that, because she runs out towards me before I even get halfway across the room. Maybe the coloring wasn’t quite as exciting as whatever she thought was going on out here…which, if I’m honest, she’d be right about. Kelsey is a lot of fun. I can see why my daughter likes her so much.
“Hey, what have I told you about running in the store, little miss?” I say, scooping her up as she runs into my arms and making her squeal a little as I throw her into the air. She’s getting a bit old for it, but I guess that’s one reason to be grateful for the fitness regime I’ve never quite managed to shake. I shake that thought off before it can really penetrate, distracting myself with my little girl, which is the only thing that’s ever worked. “It’s not that big a place - you’ll knock everything over.”
“I never knock anything over.” She objects, despite the endless evidence to the contrary.
“Uhuh.” I give her an unconvinced look and rest her on my hip, carrying her back over to where Kelsey is sitting. “Do you want to come and help Daddy answer questions about the store, huh?”
“Yes!” She nods enthusiastically and the warmth I feel when I look at her helps ease some of the tension in my gut.
She’s always had that effect on me and I couldn’t be more grateful for it. I’m not sure what I would have done all these years without Maya to keep my head on straight.
“Hi Kelsey!” Maya grins at her, wriggling in my arms to be put down - but I take the seat opposite again and rest her on my lap, bouncing her slightly until she giggles. I’m not quite ready to let her go.
“Hi Maya. Thank you for helping out with this.” Kelsey says warmly, smiling at my daughter.
“S’okay!” Maya says, bouncing on her own now.
The way they look at each other…
I shake the thought off before I can think about it too much, trying to pay attention as Kelsey reaches into her bag and sets something on the table between us.
“Is it okay if I record the interview? It’s an awful lot easier than trying to make notes throughout it.”
I hesitate, but really, what was I expecting? And why do I even have a problem with this?
“Yeah, sure, that’s fine.”
“I’ll delete it after I’ve written up the article and you’re happy with it.” She says, and I can’t tell whether that’s something she says as standard procedure, or she’s trying to reassure me.
I just nod, and then she turns it on. I half expect her to state the time and date or something officious, but she just looks back at us and smiles.
“So, do you want to tell me a little bit about the store? You’ve said before that you opened it with Maya and you run it together…” She prompts and I nod, settling back as I repeat the same thing I told her the first time I met her - and that I’ve probably said to most of the town already.
Opening the store with my daughter is just too cute and fairytale-esque not to play on it for the attentio
n.
I embellish it a little, pre-empting her question of why I set it up in the first place - to bond with my daughter and give us something to share together - and Maya pipes up with a comment about it being our adventure, which I can tell Kelsey just loves. Yeah, my daughter is clearly better at this than I am.
Kelsey turns to her after that, asking her what her favorite parts of running the store are - eating the cupcakes, of course - and which cupcakes she likes best, and it seems Maya could talk for hours about all the things Kelsey asks her. Kelsey doesn’t interrupt her, though, giving Maya her full attention throughout and making my little girl feel like everything she says is totally captivating. I have to admit I’m impressed - I’m not sure I have that kind of patience sometimes, although I try.
The rapport between them is lovely to watch, though, and that’s all it seems to take for Kelsey to swing this whole thing to what is obviously going to be a very cute article. When she turns to me occasionally, it’s not to ask any of the deep, penetrating questions I was somehow expecting and the more we talk, the more I relax about this whole thing and actually start wanting to be involved.
I guess I really was getting worked up over nothing. Either that, or Kelsey is just very good at this. Maybe both, if I’m honest.
“Do you have any secret recipes?” She asks, her eyes sparkling the same way Maya’s are.
“Of course.” I fire back immediately, grinning at her.
“Mm…of course…and what would it take for you to give one of them up?”
A dozen totally inappropriate thoughts immediately pop into my head…pressing Kelsey up against one of the counters here, my hands trailing down that beautifully soft skin and asking what she’d do…
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
It comes out before I can stop it, in a deep, sultry tone that I definitely didn’t intend, and the way she’s looking at me…
Shit. No. Don’t be stupid. That’s definitely in your head.
I blink to try to clear my obviously too dirty mind, and by the time I look up again whatever I thought I saw in Kelsey’s eyes has been replaced by the amusement dancing across her face.
“So I take it we won’t be publishing an exclusive Fairytale Cupcakes’ special recipe to go along with this article then, hm? No matter how desperate the people of Ashton are to have your…unique expertise…in their kitchen?”
Fuck me. Why does everything this woman says sound dirty to me?
She almost bats her lashes at me, obviously playing up the appeal for her own amusement and making me laugh in the process. I can’t help it - her attitude really is contagious.
“Well…” I relent, giving her a small smile. “Maybe I could be convinced to part with a not-so-secret recipe…one of our more standard cupcakes, perhaps.”
She grins, looking like she’s just won a battle - and I’m torn between wanting to be the one to put that look on her face more often…and turning the tables to wipe it off.
“I will take that as a promise.” She announces, then gestures to the recording device. “And I have it on record too, so there’s no going back now.”
“I thought that was just here to help you out - not to be used against me.” I object.
“Using it against you does help me out.” She points out, laughing, and I shake my head.
I’m not sure engaging in a battle of wits with Kelsey is really a good idea. I’ve got the unfortunate feeling that she might outclass me.
She turns to Maya and has the gall to ask my daughter which recipe she can have, instead of me, and even as I’m silently appreciative of her bringing Maya back into the conversation, I’m a little outraged too.
After that, she asks a few more questions about the store, how we’ve found the reception to it so far and what we think of Ashton, but it becomes more and more obvious that this is going to be exactly what she originally said - a fluff piece, she called it. Which I’m totally okay with. It’s not the deep dive into who we are, where we came from and why we’re here that I was concerned about, and that’s all I need to know.
She pauses as we come to the end, glancing down at her notes and hesitating as she looks back up at me, chewing on her lip.
“I had a couple of questions about whether you’ve done anything like this before or if it’s a new venture for you - your qualifications, experience, that kind of thing - but I couldn’t decide whether that falls under store questions or personal.” She gives me a little smile, the question in her eyes.
My stomach churns as my mind touches upon the mess that those questions poke at - but at the same time, the rush of warmth and reassurance I get from the way she’s openly looking out for my concerns prevents it from being a totally unpleasant sensation.
I glance down at Maya, knowing that this really is my choice, before slowly shaking my head.
“I’d rather not. We came here for a new start.” I say, shrugging. “So I’d prefer to leave the past in the past, if that’s alright with you.”
That doesn’t even feel hard for me to say, despite the need to say it usually leaving me defensive and a little unpleasant. With Kelsey, though, I don’t mind telling her that much.
“I can understand that.” She says, her eyes softening for a moment before she nods and flips the notebook closed, looking every bit the professional. “Okay then, I think we’re all done.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Just like that?”
She glances at the clock over the display counter, the corners of her mouth tilting up. “We’ve been here a couple of hours, Liam.”
I follow her gaze.
“Oh.” I scratch the back of my neck, shrugging with a slight laugh. “I guess we have.”
Maya nods. “I’m hungry, Daddy.”
I made us dinner here in the store before Kelsey came around - but from the way she’s looking at the mostly empty plates of cake in front of us, I doubt she’s talking about the real kind of hunger.
“Uhuh. I’m sure you are, sweetie.” I bounce her on my lap again, before helping her off. “You’ve been very good and helpful though, princess, soo…do you want to pick out a cupcake?”
“Yay!” She darts over to the display counter as I exchange a smile with Kelsey. “Can I have ice cream as well?”
“Sure.” I say, getting up myself before glancing back at Kelsey. “Do you want any more?”
She shakes her head. “I couldn’t…as tempting as it is. That ice cream was amazing.”
I scowl. “The one thing I didn’t make?”
She tilts back her head, and the laugh that ripples through her manages to warm me all the way through.
“Whoops.” She says, in an innocent tone I don’t entirely believe, and I ‘hmph’ as I make my way over to the counter, aware that I’m probably doing a great impression of Maya’s sulks.
As I get Maya’s cupcake and ice cream ready for her, Kelsey leaves with a promise to send me a copy of the article within the next week - and this time, I genuinely believe what she said about letting me approve it - and a few minutes later, I’m sitting back at the table with Maya, sneaking bites of her cake.
“That was fun.” She says, grinning at me and not even objecting to my blatant theft for once. “I like Kelsey.”
My eyes are still lingering on the door she walked through, and I can’t stop myself from replaying the gentle sway of her hips, or the musical sound of her laugh…the easy banter we’d exchanged running through my mind again. It’s surprising, and not at all what I was looking for…but that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad thing.
“Me too.” I say softly. “I like her, too.”
Chapter Eight
Kelsey
After the interview, I back off a little bit.
I write up the article and send it over for his approval, but after that I don’t have any more reasons to stop by Fairytale Cupcakes - and although I see him playing with Maya in their backyard often enough, we don’t do much more than wave and exchange a few easy greetings.
I meant what I said to Amanda - I don’t want him thinking I’m trying to find excuses to talk to him - and more than that…I think I needed a bit of space, too. That interview…I mean, damn.
If I don’t want to confuse Liam about being interested in anything more than friendly, neighborly banter…well, I probably shouldn’t confuse myself either. Which seems harder than I thought when I’m around him.
I mean, the man is temptation personified. And the way he looked at me during that interview…maybe it was just my mind getting carried away, but I swear he looked like he wanted to devour me instead of the cupcakes we were eating.
The things he said…
They were downright dangerous. Impossible, panty-melting, heartbeat-quickening things.
If you took them that way, that is. If you went on the tone in his voice…
That’s the worst part. I don’t even know if it was deliberate, or if it was just Liam - just part of his heated, charming nature with a huge side helping of sensuality.
It was so hard to stop myself from jumping way past casual banter and into outright flirting. I’m not even sure if I succeeded, either. It’s a damn blurry line, okay?
So yeah, after that, I needed to take a step back. Let some of the intensity of that evening fade so I didn’t get confused myself.
I won’t deny I’m still intrigued by him - it would be impossible not to be. There are too many questions there, too much lurking underneath that far-too-gorgeous face and adorable job…
But that’s the other reason I’ve given him some space. I understood what he said about wanting to leave the past where it belongs - in the past - and I want to make it clear that I’m not going to pry. I’m sure my curiosity is obvious - it’s never been something I’ve been able to hide - but if anyone can respect that desire, it would be me.
Isn’t that exactly why I went away? To create a solid line between then and now. To focus on the future.
Yes, I understand that need. I can give him that.
So I go back to smiling and waving and exchanging casual comments here and there, and it works. My momentarily crazy libido calms down again, until I can appreciate Liam and his adorable little girl the way I fully intended to - as awesome next door neighbors.
