Page 41 of Screwed
Cash watched her take a couple of steps back and hold up her phone. She was so damn adorable, dressed in a bright-pink sundress that hugged her slender torso and flared out around her knees, eyes focused intently on her phone screen. Her flash flared a couple of times, and she swiped the screen to peer at the image. “There.” She hesitated. “I almost hate to leave it here. But I guess it’ll be okay.”
“You sound like you’re abandoning a baby,” he teased.
She laughed, and some of the tension in her face eased. “It feels kind of like that.” She dropped her phone into her purse.
“The cake will be fine,” Heather assured her. “It’s my job to make sure everything is looked after and perfect for the happy couple. I’ll get someone to take this cart back down.”
“Thank you.” Callie smiled at the wedding planner, and she and Cash turned toward the door.
He set his hand lightly on the small of her back. “How did you end up making a wedding cake?”
“Melanie saw pictures of Mama’s birthday cake on Facebook and contacted me. The person who was supposed to make their cake couldn’t do it, and they needed someone at the last minute.”
“I think she’ll be happy. It’s a shame to cut into it and wreck it, though.”
“Well, it would be a shamenotto, because it tastes amazing.”
He laughed.
“So what areyoudoing here?”
“Just had lunch with a client.”
“On a Saturday?”
“Sure.”
She sighed. “You and Beau work such long hours.”
He shrugged. “We wouldn’t be as successful as we have been if we didn’t.”
“I suppose.”
They paused in front of the elevators, and he poked a button. “Anyway, I love my job. So it doesn’t feel like work sometimes.”
She nodded, looking thoughtful. “Yeah. I get that.” She paused. “I need to get business cards.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Business cards?”
“She asked for a business card. If I want to get more jobs, I need to have them to hand out.”
“You want more jobs?”
“Of course.”
The elevator arrived, and they stepped inside.
Callie eyed him and nibbled her bottom lip briefly as if she had something to say but wasn’t sure if she should. “I want to start my own cake business.”
“Seriously?” He’d thrown out the idea casually that afternoon at her place. He hadn’t realized she was really thinking of doing it.
“Yes. I’ve been doing a bunch of research,” she continued as they descended. “I’d love to have my own little bakery, like the one I worked in, in Paris, but I can get started baking out of my kitchen while I find a place and get it ready.” Her eyes darted toward him. “That woman is a wedding planner, and if she likes my cake…that could lead to more business.”
“Yeah, I guess it could.” His forehead tightened a little, contemplating Callie slaving away in her kitchen for hours on end. “You really love doing it that much?”
She met his eyes. “I really do. And I think I’m good at it.”
“Youaregood at it. You think you can make a living?” Then he rolled his eyes. “Forget I said that. I’m talking to a Sutherland. You don’tneedto earn a living.”
