If the Cake Don't Rise by Lissa Matthews

Author:Lissa Matthews
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lissa Matthews

8

Shelley sipped at the straight black cold brew, held the hand of the most unlikely man to enter her life, and walked through a neighborhood that she wouldn’t have ever fit into were it not for Bryce at her side. She wouldn’t have wanted to fit in, though. She’d have rebelled against the lack of character, the lack of color, the lack of personality. But Bryce lived there, so maybe it wasn’t so bad.

“You’re thinking kinda hard.”

“I am.”

“You shouldn’t do that so early in the day. At least let the caffeine work first.”

“I think the main component of my blood is caffeine.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I guess I should ask some questions.”

“Like what?”

“Oh, you know, the usual. You know where I live. Where do you live? How did you find out where I live, anyway?”

“I had your credit card information and your phone number.”

“Way to make a guy feel unsafe, but fair.”

“I live downtown not far from the cakery. I rent a carriage house.”

“Wow. Those are nice.”

“Some are. Some aren’t kept up and are used primarily as storage space, but I did some work for the owners a few years ago and somehow we started talking about me looking for a new place and they offered the carriage house.”

“What kind of work? I mean, you said you paint and of course, I noticed your shirt was streaked with what I assumed was paint and that your fingertips were stained too, but I thought that was more from working at the bakery.” He realized his mistake immediately. “Cakery. Sorry.”

“Most call it a bakery and it’s fine. Cakery isn’t as widely used. And yes, I paint.” She’d love to paint the pond they were currently walking around and the surrounding trees. They’d be bold instead of simple green and reflective blue. She’d paint the houses and townhouses, too, but they’d be bright instead of gray and white. She’d bring it all to life in a way that it…wasn’t. “The work I did for the owners was a painting of their home. They saw a sketch of mine somewhere and got in contact. I do some landscapes. A lot of abstract work. Painting keeps me sane.”

“I’d love to see your work.”

“I’d love to show you.”

“How long have you been a partner with…Shane? Is that right?”

She squeezed his hand. “It is. We opened Construct about a year and a half ago.”

“What do you do there? Other than snoop for information on clients?”

“Ha-ha. And you’re the only one I did that with. I… I help brides decide on their cakes. I sketch what they say they want so they can actually see it and it often happens that what they see in their head is not what they want. I also hand paint designs on fondant if the design calls for it. No one else in the shop does it.”

“Did you design the space itself?”

“Yes. I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of my art degree.”

“Did you go to SCAD?”

“Yep.”

“So, what made you decide to

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