Delicious (Cooking Up A Storm)

by Walker, Annie

  “Oh my God. This is terrible.”

  “Terrible? This is great. You can’t buy publicity this good. Just ask your boyfriend,” Shelby added with a grin.

  “He’s not my boyfriend. Are you serious? People are actually interested in this dribble?”

  “This is going to be big for us. I don’t even mind playing second fiddle to you.” She added with a smile before rolling her eyes as the phone rang again. “Here we go again. Hang on. And don’t think this lets you off the hook. I want to talk about last night.” She threw her best intimidating a look back over her shoulder.

  “Where did they get this picture of me?” Cara squinted at the grainy photo that framed her from the waist up in some filmy blouse that showed a little too much of her. Her hair looked liked she’d just climbed out of bed.

  “I know isn’t it great?” Shelby came back and took the paper from her. “I’m so glad they didn’t use the old one that the Statesman ran a few months back. This one’s much sexier. Mine looks great as well”

  Cara closed her eyes. “I think that was kind of the point. Now we’re going to have all sorts of perverts stopping by.”

  “Like it or not babe, sex sells. This is a good thing. Oh, before I forget, Aiden called for you earlier. Said to tell you to stop dodging his calls.”

  “He did? When?” Cara forgot all about the article. Aiden would be in Arkansas by now.

  “Yes, about five minutes before you came in. He said he’d call you later.” Shelby mocked in that same breathless voice that Cara couldn’t disguise. She knew she was blushing like a girl in front of her friend’s careful scrutiny. “From the looks of it I’d say someone had a very good night last night.”

  Cara knew it was pointless to deny it any longer. She was wearing her shirt on backwards after all.

  “Yes. It was…amazing.”

  She heard Shelby’s knowing laugh. “Careful, someone looks like they’re in love and someone else is ready to tell them ‘I told you so.’”

  Cara’s smile froze in place. She wasn’t in love with Aiden—was she? She couldn’t be? She couldn’t be that foolish.

  “Don’t be silly, it’s just…a fling. We both know it won’t last. But I am moving in with him,” she added and turned away before Shelby could see what a liar she was.

  “You’re what? He asked you to move in with him. Aiden’s never asked one of the bimbos to move in with him. This is a sign.”

  “More like he needs someone to watch the place while he’s gone and I need somewhere cheap to live. It’s a convenience. That’s all. So don’t start reading things into it that aren’t there.”

  “Oh.” Shelby sounded at a loss for words for a moment. She’d held out such hope for Cara. “Well, I still want to hear all about last night. If he can make you late for work as well as make you forget which way your top goes on, then he has to be one amazing lover.”

  * * * *

  “Hey Aiden—you’re from Dallas, right?” Eric Reynolds asked from the doorway of Aiden’s office, ignoring the fact that Aiden was in the middle of scheduling his week with Lois.

  “Yeah, what about it Eric? We’re kind of busy here,” he stated without looking up.

  “You ever heard of Cara Bennett or a little place called ?” Aiden’s glance collided with Lois.

  “Why?” he asked, his voice catching slightly as memories from the night before came back to haunt him at this most inappropriate time.

  “Because she’s on the cover of the Little Rock Post?” Eric held up the paper for him to see. Aiden’s body froze in reaction to the picture of the woman he’d spent the weekend with. Was he losing his mind? Was this conversation even happening? Images of her were starting to appear everywhere. But in the Little Rock Post?

  “I was just wondering if she’s as hot as this guy thinks?” Eric seemed oblivious to the tension that filled his boss. Aiden untangled his eyes from the photo of Cara and glanced at Lois. She knew the name from the flowers. As well as the shop. Lois knew he was involved with Cara.

  “What are you talking about, Eric?” Aiden said in a voice that sounded angry. He was. Angry at being caught off guard. Cara never mentioned anything about an article being done about the shop.

  “Some New York food critic did a piece about the shop and it got picked up by AP. It’s in every paper around the country. Apparently they're selling more than cookies at this place.”

  Eric tossed the paper on his desk. Aiden ignored his second in command’s smirk and started to read, while Lois stepped beside him and read over his shoulder.

  “Oh, God,” he said under his breath.

  “So, is it true?” Eric asked again. Aiden glanced at Lois who took that as her cue to get rid of Eric. She shooed him out of the office and closed the door in his face.

  “Well, sorry. I was only curious,” Eric muttered through the closed door.

  “This is your girlfriend?” Lois said gently, looking down at the photo of Cara. “The one that we sent the flowers to?”

  “Well, she doesn’t like being called my girlfriend, but yes.” Aiden folded the paper and shoved it into his desk drawer. He’d finish reading it later. Right now, he couldn’t look at the photo and not remember things that weren’t appropriate.

  “She’s beautiful, Aiden.”

  “Yes,” he said with a smile. The photo didn’t do her justice. It was made to look sexy and tempting. Cara was those things and more, but she was intelligent. And she was sweet as sin not to mention sensitive. She cried when he made love to her. And he was crazy about her. But the writer had gotten on thing right. She was two very different women all wrapped up in one.

  “You want me to get her on the phone for you? You didn’t know about the article I take it.”

  “No, this isn’t Cara. She would never approve something like this. I have a feeling she didn’t know about it either. Can you give me a minute, Lois?”

  “Sure, I’ll get started on the schedule for the week. Call me when you’re ready to hit it again.”

  Aiden smiled as she closed the door behind herself. Lois was a great assistant. She hadn’t minded one little bit that he’d stolen her from Eric. She was also a good person.

  Aiden called the shop and listened to the rings while taking the paper out again.

  “Delicious,” Shelby all but yelled into the phone.

  “That bad?” Aiden asked with a little laugh.

  “You have no idea. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing all morning. She’s here. Hang on.” Shelby didn’t give him the chance to answer. She punched the hold button and he waited, scanning through the article.

  “Hi.” Cara’s voice came on the line sounding hesitant as always with him. She didn’t know what to say after last night.

  “Hey there. You’re quite the celebrity,” he told her quietly, shoving the paper back into the drawer. He couldn’t look at it—at her and hear her voice and not want to fly back to Dallas this very minute.

  “Oh no. I guess you’ve seen it then?” Aiden laughed at her embarrassment.

  “Oh yeah. One of my employees pointed it out to me. It was quite a shock. Seeing my girl on the cover of the paper. Especially looking so sexy.”

  “I can imagine it was a shock. Apparently, it’s in every paper in every city. The phone’s going crazy. And there’s a line outside around the block. Everyone wants the cookie. We’re sold out. In fact, we’re almost sold out of everything. I think we’re going to close up early and try to regroup. Everyone keeps asking us when we’re going online. I don’t know a thing about setting up a website but it looks like I’m going to have to learn fast. Shelby says that I owe this all to you. If you hadn’t recommended our catering firm for the job at your company, none of this would have come about. I guess I owe you a lot.”

  “Hum, I kind of like that. And I’m sure we can find some way for you to repay me.” He heard her soft laugh and closed his eyes. This long distance thing was going to be harder than he’d imagined. A year right now seemed like a
n eternity and had him wondering if he really cared anymore about the experience. Aiden tried not to think about that now.

  “Sounds like this is going to be great for business though. And it just so happens, I’m a whiz at designing websites. I could get one started for you tonight?” he asked her, trying to sound supportive. As an advertising person Aiden knew this was the best type of publicity to get a business like hers going, but the thought of every red-blooded male within a hundred miles seeing her as a sex object didn’t exactly leave him feeling very supportive.

  “Oh Aiden, I couldn’t ask you to do that. I know you’ve very busy with the new position. That wouldn’t be fair.”

  “Baby, you didn’t ask. I volunteered. Give me a run down of what you’d like it to feature and I’ll put something together tonight and get it to you. It will give me something to do to keep my mind off all those other guys looking at that very sexy picture of you in the paper and imagining what I’ll be imagining.”

  “Aiden…” He could almost picture her face blushing in that pretty pink shade that he’d seen the night. In the background, he heard a loud sound like something banging.

  “What was that?”

  “That was me shutting the door on Shelby who is hanging on your every word. Hang up the phone, Shelby,” she yelled in his ear and Aiden chuckled, holding the receiver away.

  “Okay, you’re clearly going crazy there, so give me the highlights of what you want on the site and I’ll put something together for you to look at tonight. We can talk about changes once you’ve looked it over.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked in that sweet little voice of hers that did terrible things to him.

  “I’m positive.” Cara in her usual to the point manner hit the major points for him to focus on. Aiden jotted notes while she talked; his creative mind going into action.

  “Please, no more pictures like what’s on the cover.” Aiden chuckled.

  “Oh, I agree. Why don’t you email me something with you and Shelby that’s PG, okay?”

  “Aiden, I feel like I’m taking advantage of your talents. I can’t pay your exorbitant fee,” she teased.

  “Baby, stop worrying. We’ll figure out a payment plan that works for both of us.” He knew he should hang up. Let her go. He needed to get started on his own crazy day, but he didn’t want to for some reason. He enjoyed listening to the sound of her voice. “Did you find the key okay?”

  She hesitated. She was uncertain again. She had no idea how sexy her uncertainty was to him. “Yes.”

  “I meant what I said about the help. If you need him, Sam will be more than happy to help. He’ll probably tease you to hell and back but that’s just Sam. You know he’s crazy about you.”

  “Thank you, Aiden. But I really don’t have all that much to move. And I have time. I’ll do it a little at a time.”

  “I meant what I said about leaving you as well, you know,” he added quietly.

  “I know.”

  “We should talk.”

  “I know. But not yet.”

  Aiden expected that answer. It was typical Cara. “Okay, baby. I know you’re busy so I’ll let you go for now. I’ll call you when I’ve put the site together and we’ll go over it tonight. Will you be at the apartment or the house tonight?”

  “The house. I like your house,” she said quietly and he smiled.

  “Good. Because I like having you at my house.”

  * * * *

  Cara stared at the message Shelby had left on her desk. Miranda was back in town to pick up the last of her things and turn in the keys to the apartment as Cara had done last week. She wanted to meet for dinner. Cara was torn.

  She hadn’t seen Miranda since, well since before she had slept with Aiden the first time. The first time? Every time she thought about her relationship in terms of how it had begun, Cara felt like the girl on the cover of the American Statesman.

  But Miranda was a friend. And she’d been avoiding her for weeks now.

  Cara called Miranda’s cell phone.

  “I was beginning to think you were embarrassed to see me again.”

  Just like Miranda to cut through to the heart of the matter. “Hi Miranda. How’ve you been?”

  “Good. And you?”

  “Good.” Cara tried to suppress a smile. They sounded like strangers. Not two girls who’d crammed rolls into their purses at a ritzy party together.

  “Okay, so now that we’ve got that awkward stuff out of the way, tell me what you’ve really been up to?” When Cara hesitated, wondering what she knew, Miranda added, “All I ever hear about is your little store. You are really doing well apparently.”

  “Yeah, we’re going crazy. I’ve had to hire a couple of girls to help with the catering and to help fill orders from the website. That frees me and Shelby up to be creative. Not to mention do PR work.”

  “I’m thrilled for you, honey. You’ve worked your tail off for it. Enjoy. So, tell me about the new place?”

  What did she know? From the few messages, they’d exchanged in coordinating their separate moves, Cara had never mentioned where she was moving to. Did Miranda know?

  “Honey, he told me a long time ago,” Miranda supplied for her.

  “Oh, I see. I didn’t know you two were still keeping in touch.” Aiden had told her that he’d spoken to Miranda. So why did it feel as if she’d just been betrayed.

  Because she still wasn’t sure what her relationship with Aiden truly was. They were more than friends. They’d slept together after all. But she couldn’t accept that she was his girlfriend. She didn’t like the sound of it.

  She was almost dreading Aiden’s visit this coming weekend. It would be the first since she moved in.

  “It’s nice. Aiden needed someone to watch the house while he’s away.”

  “Oh honey, this is me you’re talking to. Don’t worry, I’m not judging. I’d have done the same. Look, that’s my other line. It’s Jean Claude. I’d love to get together though?”

  Cara believed she really meant that. “Me too. What about tonight?”

  “Perfect. How about our favorite place at nine?”

  Cara smiled. Texas Traditions was where the elite in Dallas’s young and upcoming went to party. The place was strictly A-list. In the beginning, she and Miranda couldn’t even get in the door without sneaking in. They’d gotten found out and thrown out on several occasions before finally making the list thanks to Miranda’s lingerie ads. “Sounds good. Maybe the waiter that threw us out is still there.”

  “Wouldn’t that be a hoot? Can you imagine the look on his face when he realizes he almost threw out the hottest thing in sweets around? Sounds great, doll. I’ll see you there.”

  Texas Traditions was part restaurant and part club. But on this particular Friday night, it was overflowing with people. Cara was grateful that Miranda had thought ahead and reserved a table for them, otherwise the wait could be hours. Located in the downtown district, just off Rio Grande, Texas Traditions had in a past life been an old cotton gin. The original restorer had kept many of the old fixtures, which gave the place a nostalgic feel.

  Cara spotted Miranda’s blond head talking to a group of young boys that barely looked like they were out of high school.

  “That’s jail bait,” Cara whispered into Miranda’s ear and was rewarded with one of Miranda’s seductive grins. “She’d eat you alive, boys,” she said with a wink to the three kids that were hanging on Miranda’s every word.

  “Yes, but what fun, huh? Run along boys. My date is here.” The young men in question exchanged uncertain looks, smiled and walked away laughing and whispering to themselves.

  “Well, that will keep them in fantasies for a while. You’re going to be responsible for corrupting three innocent lives, you know?”

  “Please, did you see those hard bodies? There’s nothing innocent about those boys and if I weren’t smitten with Jean Claude, I’d take them all on,” she said matter-of-factly. This was Miranda plain and simple. S
he wasn’t bragging just being honest. At times, Miranda liked her men young and her sex wild. Cara hoped poor old Jean Claude knew what he was getting himself into. Then Cara remembered Aiden had been one of her men and suddenly it wasn’t quite so funny.

  A thousand questions flitted through Cara’s thoughts, none of which she could bring herself to ask.

  “Sit down, my dear. Otherwise those boys won’t stop looking at your cute little butt.” Cara whirled around and found three sets of eyes looking at her very closely. The three boys Miranda had been flirting with were coming her way. She slid into the booth across from Miranda to the sound of her friend’s laughter.

  “Aren’t you the every desire girl?” the bravest of the three asked and Cara wished for the walls to fall down on her. That was the hundredth time in the past two weeks that she’d been called that. Lately, she couldn’t even go to the grocery store anymore without someone recognizing her from that photo. It was great for business but it seemed that there was a certain perception attached to the name that led people, mostly men, to believe she was ready for any proposition they tossed her way.

  “Yes. Does your mother know you’re here?” She smiled sweetly and was rewarded with a smile as his eyes slid over her, all thoughts of Miranda gone. The other two were snickering and slapping the buddy’s back.

  “My mother doesn’t know half of what I do. You’re even sexier in person, you know,” he added at his friends’ encouragement and Cara rolled her eyes.

  “Oh brother. Beat it kid. My girlfriend here gets jealous.” Cara fell back on her and Miranda’s favorite way to get rid of unwanted male attention.

  For a second the boy looked stricken and Cara almost felt guilty. Then he turned and walked away resisting the need to run while his buddies laughed and teased him all the way to the men’s room.

  “You know, you just scarred that kid for life, don’t you.”

  “I know and I feel bad. But I’m so sick of getting that reaction from guys.”