Page 111 of Cakes for the Grump

“I’ll let you know when you are about to be dumped.”

He slips on the ring and stands. “Some notice would be nice.”

Pop!I glance over at my shoulder and see my friends opening up champagne in Mumbai.

“Good idea!” Theo grabs a bottle. Flutes are passed around.

My shoulder presses into Luke’s arm. “So this is how you would do it? I’m glad I don’t have to make a story up. I can tell it honestly at the conference,” I pause and add, “when pretending to be engaged.” Because that seems like a fruitful reminder to keep bringing up.

“This isn’t how I would do it,” Luke says, his voice low. “If it was real.”

I chew on the edge of my lip. “Go on, what would you do? Hypothetically.”

“It would be private. Intimate. And I would…bake.”

“Bake? You’ve never baked once before, I don’t think.”

“I haven’t.”

“So, why?”

If anyone looks upon me, I know they’ll see the blush spreading across my cheeks. A side effect of whispering with Luke with oursides touching.

Fuck.

I’m falling again.

“Rita,” says Luke solemnly, almost not looking at me. “I would bake to prove that whatever it is you know, I can learn.”

“That’s not nice,” I say in a strangled voice.

“Not in competition,” he promptly clarifies. “To gain your trust. To give you evidence that you can rely on me. That I will take on whatever tasks you need me to, even ones I’ve never done, I’ll learn. So you don’t have to be alone in anything. I’d want to prove you can give any burden to me for me to carry on my back. Even if it’s something I don’t want or like myself. Like cakes. I would bake every cake for you. Any recipe you want. And it wouldn’t stop at that. I’ll learn how to cook, to be your assistant chef, to learn Punjabi if you want to speak it instead of English.”

The way he describes us being together?—

Double-fuck.

An angry barb attaches itself to my heart.Why can’t this be real? Or obviously fake?With our friends and family around us, it’s like details are being filled in that I didn’t care to experience. How can I ever bring another into my life and not compare it with the sheer and delicious plummet of being with Luke?

Theo distributes takeout containers from the kitchen. He’s ordered Punjabi food for dinner. At the same time, on Noor and Kiren’s side of the world, their doorbell rings. They appear surprised but become quickly delighted after realizing Theo has ordered them takeout to be delivered at the same time.

“He doesn’t miss a beat,” muses Luke.

Everyone settles in on the couches and drinks and eats more.

“Is this okay?” I ask Luke, handing him a samosa. “Don’t you have work to do?”

He pours some chutney onto my plate. “I do. But I don’t mind this. I don’t mind being here.”

“Two worlds coming together,” I quip, looking around. Sistine is eating by the projector screen, talking it up with Noor and Kiren. Theo is interrogating Adam about his workout routine.

“It seems to fit,” says Luke.

“Against the odds. For now.”

Luke clinks his glass with mine before taking a sip. “Always thinking ofdumping me, aren’t you?” He quirks an eyebrow at Theo, who has eaten his meal the fastest and is thumbing through a playlist of bhangra music. “Considering my associations, I don’t blame you.”

I smile. “He has his charm.”