Making Whoopie

by Erin Nicholas

  Aiden laughed. “Yeah?”

  “Women are going to love this,” she said confidently.

  “You only want women interested in this?” Grant asked.

  “I want everyone interested,” Whitney said. “But if the women get interested, the men will be too. They’ll want to see what the girls are into. Maybe they’ll want to try a recipe to impress their girls.” Whitney grinned.

  “Oh, we should encourage that,” Dax said. “Have them send in stories and videos of it.”

  “Yes,” Whitney agreed enthusiastically.

  “Okay, so Ollie’s in. Aiden and I are out,” Dax said. He gave Grant a look.

  “What?”

  “You should do this,” Dax said.

  “No way.”

  Whitney turned in her seat to face Grant fully. “You should.”

  “Not my kind of thing.” And he was kind of seeing someone. Except that he wasn’t. He was… obsessing about someone. That was not the same thing.

  “But we’ve got the hot nerd,” Whitney said, gesturing at Ollie. “We could definitely use a bossy CEO type.”

  Grant crossed his arms. “Aiden’s the CEO.”

  “Aiden’s off the market,” Whitney lobbed back. “Ollie can do the smart, hot, adorably awkward thing.”

  “Hey,” Ollie protested.

  “And you can do the broody, sexy suit-and-tie thing,” Whitney went on.

  Grant lifted a brow. “Broody?”

  “You’re totally broody!” Piper called from her desk.

  Grant rolled his eyes. “These guys all wear suits and ties.”

  Whitney nodded. “For this, we’ll have you each play up your type. Ollie will wear his glasses and a button-down with jeans. You’ll wear the tie.”

  “What will I wear?”

  Whitney pivoted at Cam’s question. Her eyes were side, and the tension that had melted out of her was instantly back. “What?”

  “What will I wear for my type?” Cam asked.

  “Leather jacket and jeans!” Piper called.

  “Just get in here so you don’t have to keep yelling!” Ollie yelled.

  Piper appeared in the doorway a moment later. “Cam’s the hot bad boy.”

  Grant looked at Whitney. Her eyes were on Cam. She swallowed hard. “You’re going to do this too?”

  “Damn right,” he said.

  “The adorable nerd, the broody suit, and the hot bad boy,” Piper said with a nod. “The perfect trio.”

  “You think I’m adorable?” Ollie asked her.

  “I think other women will think you’re adorable,” Piper told him. “Since none of them have to work for you.”

  “And Cam’s a fantastic baker,” Aiden said.

  “Really?” Grant asked. He did not know that about his friend.

  Cam shrugged. “Yeah.” He said it as if it was no big deal at all.

  “He’s been baking all his life with his mom and grandma,” Aiden added. “I can see it now. Ollie will just throw things together and probably forget at least two ingredients. Grant will measure every damned thing to the exact line on the measuring cup. And Cam will be over there whipping things up without even using a recipe.”

  Whitney actually laughed, seeming a little more relaxed. “This could be really fun.”

  “So leather jacket and jeans, huh?” Cam directed the question to Whitney rather than to Piper. He seemed to be wanting something from his ex.

  Attention? Acknowledgment that he’d look hot in leather? Grant rolled his eyes.

  Whitney’s smile faded a little, and she took a deep breath. “Can you bake in leather?”

  “I can do anything—”

  “Tight t-shirt,” Piper interjected before Cam finished his answer. “One that will show off your muscles and tattoos. You can arrive on stage with your jacket but then take it off.” She nodded. “Yeah, for sure.”

  Whitney just wet her lips.

  “I’m not wearing a suit to bake in,” Grant said.

  Whitney was the one to look him over. “Jeans are fine but with a button-down shirt and tie. That you take off before you start baking.”

  “Oh yes on the taking-off-the-tie thing,” Piper said to Whitney, her eyes on Grant. “And he unbuttons the cuffs and rolls up the sleeves.” She nodded. “Yes, definitely.”

  Whitney nodded her agreement.

  Grant felt like a piece of meat. Or one of Jocelyn’s cupcakes being perused by a customer. A hungry customer.

  He wondered briefly what Jocelyn would think of him being in a bachelor auction that included baked goods. Specifically Hot Cakes snack cakes. Hers were far superior to the mass-produced and prepackaged snack cakes.

  “And I suppose I’m going to wear a sweater vest or some fucking thing?” Ollie asked, frowning at Piper.

  But for just a second, Grant thought maybe he was frowning over Piper’s attention to, and appreciation for, the attributes of other the men.

  “No. You need to wear one of your nerd t-shirts,” Piper said. “And your glasses.”

  “My nerd t-shirts?” Ollie glanced at Cam. “He’ll already be in a t-shirt. That’s not overkill?”

  Piper chuckled. “Cam isn’t going to wear his t-shirt quite the way you will.”

  “What’s that mean?” Ollie planted his hands on his hips.

  “Cam’s t-shirt will be tight and plain. Probably black,” Piper said thoughtfully.

  “And mine?”

  “I think you should wear the one that says I Paused My Game to Be Here.”

  Ollie frowned. But then said, “I love that shirt.”

  “It’s a great shirt,” Piper agreed. “It’s very you.”

  He gave her a look that said he really didn’t know how to take that, but Aiden jumped in before Ollie could respond.

  “Okay, so we can deal with the details later. But we’ve got three judges, a general plan, I think we can go ahead.”

  Everyone nodded.

  “And I think we need to pull Piper in,” Aiden said.

  “Obviously,” Whitney said.

  “I suppose I could squeeze it into my schedule,” Piper said.

  They wrapped the meeting up in the next few minutes, and Grant kept an eye on Cam and Whitney as the brunette rose from her chair and smoothed her pencil skirt. But Cam did nothing more than watch her leave the office.

  Grant waited to see if his friend would say anything about his ex, but Cam just blew out a breath as Whitney disappeared through the door.

  It seemed maybe Cam was as tense about Whitney as she was about him.

  “This is going to be great,” Dax said, rising and clapping his hands together.

  “The bachelor-cake auction?” Aiden asked. He shook his head. “It might be over the top.”

  “It’s definitely over the top,” Dax agreed. “That’s what makes it great.”

  Of course Dax would think so.

  “You think people will really care about three guys making cake and blind dates?” Grant asked.

  “I do,” Dax said. “It’s fun.” He shrugged. “You guys underestimate the power of doing things just because they make people smile. It will call attention to Hot Cakes and our new product. That’s the main goal. This will definitely accomplish that, but it will also give the whole thing a fun air. There is nothing wrong with the new Hot Cakes management being associated with fun and laughs and good times.” He pinned Grant, Ollie, and Cam with a serious look. That alone was unusual for Dax, but then he said, “You guys better pull this off.”

  A warning about stepping up from the goofball of the group? Really? Grant lifted a brow. “You think we won’t?”

  “I think you need to not take it too seriously,” Dax said to Grant. Then he looked at Cam. “And you’d better not make this all about making Whitney jealous. This is about Hot Cakes, not some little vendetta you’ve got tripping through your head now.”

  Cam narrowed his eyes. “You think she’ll be jealous?”

  Dax sighed but didn’t respond. He
looked at Ollie. “And you have to stay focused. Like you have to actually show up.”

  “I’ll show up,” Ollie said. “Jesus, you guys—and girls”—he frowned toward the office doorway—“make it sound like I’m a fucking flake.”

  Dax shrugged. “You’re a damned genius. But you also don’t have a lot of time or patience for things that you aren’t a hundred percent into. You have to at least fake it for this.”

  “I’m one hundred percent into the launch of a new product,” Ollie said. “I’m just not thrilled about playing the part of nerdy, hot guy.”

  Grant snorted at that. “Well, I don’t know how much playing you’ll be doing.”

  “And it’s creepy to hear you call yourself hot,” Cam said. “So knock it off.”

  “You didn’t protest when Piper called you hot,” Ollie said with a frown.

  Cam lifted a shoulder. “Because Piper called me hot.” He gave Ollie a little grin. “I didn’t say it myself.”

  “Bad boy,” Ollie muttered. “Whatever. Just because you have tattoos.”

  “You wanna go get a tattoo?” Cam asked him, flexing the arm that had the full sleeve, on purpose. “I’ll take you and even hold your hand.”

  “I don’t need a tattoo to feel confident,” Ollie said.

  Cam grinned and nodded. “Okay.”

  “Once you’re up on stage making cookies you won’t seem so badass,” Ollie told him.

  “I’m not worried,” Cam said.

  “Women love a man who knows what to do with a tube of frosting,” Dax said. He looked at Aiden. “Right?”

  “Well…”

  “No,” Cam said, holding up a hand. “No. I’m cool with you being with my sister, but frosting talk is my hardline. We’re not going there.”

  “Want to hear about strawberry pie filling?” Dax asked.

  “Fuck, no,” Cam told him.

  Dax just laughed.

  Grant shifted, his body remembering every single thing about chocolate cake batter from the night before. He was grateful, not for the first time, that he was the quiet one of the group. When Dax was around, no one else really needed to talk, and when Dax, Ollie, and Cam got going, no one would notice that Grant wasn’t contributing much to the conversation. Or was lost in thought. Or more specifically, distracted.

  Which meant they wouldn’t ask what he was distracted by.

  Or who.

  Grant ran a hand through his hair.

  Following her home last night had absolutely been the worst idea he’d had in a long time.

  He should probably regret it.

  But he didn’t. Not a bit.

  7

  “Hey, Jos?”

  Josie looked over from where she was pulling a pan of cupcakes from the huge oven in the bakery’s kitchen. “Yeah?” she asked Zoe.

  Her friend, and boss, had been out front, as usual, tending to the counter and frosting cookies in between customers, while Josie worked in the kitchen, baking and doing the bigger decorating jobs.

  “I was just wondering… are we going to make any cupcakes today that aren’t chocolate?” Zoe held up a cupcake. “This is our last vanilla, and I noticed everything you’re bringing out today is chocolate.”

  Josie looked down at the pan of cupcakes in her hand at the moment. They were also chocolate. “Oh.”

  Zoe grinned. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m just… craving chocolate today, I guess,” Josie answered, her cheeks feeling hot. But she couldn’t help her smile.

  She definitely had chocolate on the brain. Well, she had Grant on the brain. And last night. Which also meant chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.

  “Are you?” Zoe gave her a quizzical look. “You seem to be feeling a lot better than you were when you left Mom’s last night.”

  Josie set the pan of cupcakes down on the worktable in the middle of the kitchen and pulled off the oven mitts. She was surprised Zoe had waited until now to ask about that. She’d texted both Zoe and Jane that she was fine, feeling a lot better, and heading to bed last night after Grant had left. Well, after she’d made him his special cupcakes.

  All of which was true. She’d been feeling a lot better after Grant left, and she had been heading to bed when she’d texted them.

  But Zoe, Jane, and Josie told each other everything. She’d expected to be questioned first thing this morning. She and Zoe opened the bakery at 6 a.m., and Jane was always first through the door, needing her sugar fix for the day.

  They’d been busy this morning, though, and Jane had been running a little late—something that had been happening more regularly since she’d gotten together with Dax. Josie and Zoe suspected it had to do with Jane being more reluctant to leave her bed now that there was a hot, funny millionaire in it.

  Josie had known she wouldn’t get off completely free of sharing what had been going on with her last night though.

  “I’m much better,” Josie told her friend.

  “And to what do we owe this miraculous recovery?” Zoe asked, seemingly innocently. But there was a twinkle in her eye that told Josie Zoe knew something.

  Josie put a hand on her hip. “What do you mean?”

  Zoe laughed. “Aiden texted me that you gave Grant pussy cupcakes this morning.”

  Josie felt her face flush, but she grinned too. Those cupcakes had been inspired, dammit. Dirty, but inspired. She was surprised Grant had showed them to the guys though. “Only one was a pussy,” she said, her grin growing.

  Zoe laughed harder. “Jocelyn Elaine Asher! You made him a pussy cupcake?”

  “And boobs and a butt and a cock,” she said. She knew she probably looked proud. Because she was.

  “Wow. You and Grant.” Zoe looked thoughtful.

  “Yeah.” Josie smiled. “You’re surprised?”

  “I am. He doesn’t seem like… your type.”

  “Hot? Romantic?”

  “He’s romantic?” Zoe did seem surprised by that.

  “He’s…” Josie thought about that. He’d seemed romantic, yes. The night had. Their connection had. Something had.

  “I think of your dad and your grandpa as being romantics,” Zoe said.

  “Or Dax,” Josie added.

  Zoe added. “Definitely. Grant seems too gruff for that or something. But if you’re happy, I’m happy. He’s a good guy. Just not someone I would have put you with.”

  “He’s…” Josie frowned. “He’s been trying to stay away from me actually.”

  Zoe’s eyebrows went up. “What?”

  Josie nodded. “He felt drawn to me but was trying to fight it. He followed me out last night because he was worried. But he doesn’t really want to be worried.” She hadn’t thought much beyond the sex and the cake batter, but now that she was talking it out, Grant really didn’t seem like her type. Again. She’d thought it before. His mouth and hands and other body parts had distracted her from it. But it was true.

  “But he felt drawn to you,” Zoe pointed out.

  “But he was trying to fight it,” Josie repeated. She frowned again. “I don’t want a guy who fights his feelings for me.”

  “Well…” Zoe said slowly. “What if he’s not winning that fight? That’s kind of romantic—or something—right?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Aiden said he would not share his cupcakes once he saw what they were,” Zoe said.

  Josie had to admit she liked that.

  “And he’s out front now. So he’s not doing a very good job of staying away from you.”

  Josie’s eyes flew to the swinging door that led to the front of the bakery. “He’s here now?”

  “Yep. He’s talking with George and Phil.”

  George and Phil were bakery regulars. They were two older men, seemingly complete opposites, who came in every day after the morning rush and sat and read the newspaper and had coffee and muffins. Not together. They sat at separate tables and barely spoke to one another. But they came in at the same time every day, did
the same thing, and stayed the same amount of time. It had been their routine since their wives had passed away.

  “What’s he talking to them about?”

  “Something about them going into business together?” Zoe asked with a shrug. “I’m not sure. But he definitely glanced around as if looking for someone else when he first came in.”

  Josie’s heart kicked against her ribs at that. Wow. She needed to get over this crush, if this crush was so intent on getting over her.

  Then again, he was here.

  Maybe to talk to George and Phil.

  But maybe not.

  “Did he look around as if trying to be sure I wasn’t around? So he could avoid me?” she asked. “Or did it seem as if he was hoping to see me?”

  Zoe smiled. “Well, Josie, he was very adamant about not sharing your pussy cupcake. I’m guessing he was hoping to see you.”

  Josie couldn’t help her smile. “I guess that does make sense.”

  But nothing else about her and Grant really made sense. It was all kind of crazy really. How attracted she was. How hot they’d been together. How she’d made and decorated X-rated cupcakes for him without even hesitating to wonder if she should. How happy she’d been to see him this morning. How much she wanted to see him now.

  As she stepped out from the kitchen, Grant looked up from where he was sitting at one of the little round bakery tables with George and Phil. They were at the same table for a change. They had their heads bent over some papers. That alone was strange. But seeing Grant there with them was even more so. Josie hadn’t been aware that Grant even knew the two older men. He was sitting back, one ankle propped on his opposite knee, a cup of coffee cradled in his hand, almost as if he was observing the meeting between the other men, but he was clearly welcomed there.

  His gaze met hers across the bakery counter, and she stopped and took a deep breath.

  It was really too bad that he was from Chicago and not into dating a small-town baker, who wanted to get married and have a dog and a couple of kids. Because her heart had never thumped like it did when she looked at him. Even now. No need for nakedness and cake batter. Just him sitting there doing normal things in a normal way looking very normal made her stupid stomach flip, like she’d gone over the top of a roller coaster.