The Icing on the Cake by Janice Thompson

Author:Janice Thompson [Thompson, Janice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Contemporary
ISBN: 9781441242907
Google: 7QQGoeES99YC
Amazon: B00B85MQUI
Barnesnoble: B00B85MQUI
Goodreads: 18265089
Publisher: Revell
Published: 2013-08-15T07:00:00+00:00

15

A Sweet Tooth

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.

Jim Davis

When the competition came to an end and the celebration drew to a close, I found myself alone on the soundstage, clearing up our space. Though exhaustion overwhelmed me, I still had a lot to do before I could pack it in for the day and head back to the hotel.

After a couple of minutes of alone time, Armando joined me, beaming ear to ear. “Our families are now best friends, FYI.”

“Oh?” I looked up from my work into his smiling face. “What do you mean?”

He began to dry my largest mixing bowl. “They’ve all gone out to dinner at some steakhouse a couple of blocks from here. We’re supposed to meet them there when we’re done cleaning up. Bella says it’s within walking distance. She also said one of the judges told her it’s the best place in town for cheesecake.”

I gestured to the mess and sighed. “As much as I’d love a great steak—and don’t even get me started on the cheesecake—it’s going to take me hours to get my stuff packed up.” I yawned.

“Nah, this won’t take long. I’ll help.” He went to work alongside me, chattering merrily about the competition, which served to revive me once again. Strange how Armando always seemed to have that effect on me.

As he talked, I found myself completely invigorated. And relaxed. Gone were all anxieties. Now, with the twenty-five-thousand-dollar check in hand, I felt like a victor. With my partner’s help, I’d brought honor to two families at once—my own and the Rossis’. If potential viewers could overlook that one little faux pas where I fainted dead away on the floor.

Maybe the producers will edit that part out.

If they didn’t, maybe I could use the incident to publicize my business. Yes, people would definitely want to stop by Let Them Eat Cake to see me standing on both feet. Or, better yet, maybe I could stage a faint-in. People could come to watch me lie around on the floor like a goober. For some reason—probably exhaustion—that idea got me tickled. A faint-in. What would that look like? Dozens of people strung out across my bakery floor?

Now I couldn’t stop the giggles. They bubbled up like carbonation in a diet soda. Skip that—make it a real soda, one loaded with sugar.

“You okay?” Armando looked up from another mixing bowl.

“Yeah.” I bit back a laugh. “Just thinking.”

“Obviously thinking about something funny.” He wiped the bowl dry with a dish towel, smiling all the while. “By the way, I love your laugh.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, it’s priceless. Almost as great as your singing voice.”

That got a groan out of me. Why oh why had I sung in front of the boy? I’d never live it down.

The lights went down on the far side of the stage as the Alvarez family left. They waved their goodbyes, leaving Armando and me alone to finish up.

A couple of minutes later he stepped into the spot in front of me.

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