Page 3 of Cupcake of the Month (Just Add Peaches #2)

“Not yet. I’m at a charity event.”

He continued on as if she hadn’t spoken, spouting legal terms and five syllable Latin words until he finally revealed the nitty gritty.

“Mediation fell apart, and they’re moving forward with the suit.

It will be hard for them to prove a breach of contract or that you purposefully revealed confidential information, but I wouldn’t relax yet.

There are some nasty litigators out there who would be happy to take down someone with your roots and resume. ”

That was what she’d been afraid of. Her parents were prominent in West Hartford society, her twin brothers had designed and sold popular apps and were millionaires before they were thirty.

She owned a successful business, but everything she had from her trust fund had gone into establishing Shoenover Strategic Management as a top-notch consulting agency.

While she’d had an advantage at the start, she had nothing more to give, and closing her doors for the summer to focus on her case hadn’t helped.

Though the familial connections had been beneficial.

As soon as she told her family she was being sued, her brothers took to the Internet to research who was representing the plaintiffs and her parents contacted their lawyer friends to find her representation.

Though they had offered to help her with the fees, she was determined to do it herself.

She wouldn’t be surprised if Larry was giving her the friends and family discount, but she wasn’t too proud to not take it.

“Bippen and Howe offered a settlement.” Larry stated a number that would destroy any chance Jordan had of maintaining her livelihood.

Shadows approached the door, so she dashed around the corner of the building. With Weinschenk’s continued questions, she needed privacy. “Well, that’s not happening. I did nothing wrong.”

Lana’s low, seductive chuckle drifted over from the patio, a marked difference from her light, social party laugh. A lower murmur followed, but Jordan couldn’t make out the words.

“You’re going to tell me I should continue to stay away from home, aren’t you?” she asked her lawyer.

“I wish I could give you better news.”

She leaned against the brick building as he laid out options for her next steps. All she wanted to do was take off her heels and get out of her dress, put on a pair of comfy pajamas and eat ice cream. Plus, if Lana’s laugh meant what Jordan thought it did, her friend wouldn’t mind if she left.

She peeked around the corner and saw Lana sitting on a bench next to a mustard-yellow Josh. Lana trailed her fingers down his arm. He clasped her hand and brought it to his lips, his eyes firmly set on hers.

“Jordan?” Her lawyer’s voice held a note of concern.

She closed her eyes and slunk back around the corner. “Thanks, Larry. I appreciate your help.”

“We’ll talk soon.”

Jordan hung up, then checked her messages. Her mom and dad had texted as well, giving her an update on the news situation. She appreciated their involvement and support, but they seemed to forget she was a grown woman with the ability to read a web page.

She slipped the phone back in her purse as Lana purred at Josh. “You look so incredible in anything you wear.”

Jordan missed Josh’s response, but that didn’t matter. Lana wasn’t lying. She leaned against the wall, hoping they would leave soon so she could escape.

“Let me take you home tonight,” Lana said.

“What about your friend?”

Jordan stiffened at his casual blow-off of her being only Lana’s friend. Though it was only fair, since Jordan wasn’t about to tell Lana of their history.

“I’ll call a cab for her. Unless you want me to see if she’ll come along?”

Oy gevalt . Jordan most definitely did not want to come along, and she could call a damn cab herself. She secured a car on a ride-sharing app, then texted Lana that she had a headache and was leaving. That way, Lana could eat her cupcake without any guilt.

And Jordan would return to the lonely room that she was currently calling home.

Alone.

***

Josh berated himself for letting Lana tag along when he needed fresh air. That’s what happened when his mind reeled from All Things Jordan. He would have recognized her even if she’d dyed her hair blonde and wore large sunglasses.

“Got plans for later?” Lana trailed a finger down the arm of his jacket.

He should have stayed away from Jordan, but he needed to see her. Up close. Needed to hear her speak and feel her unmistakable pull. Needed to see if she’d welcome the sight of him or dump her wine over his head.

Damn, even outside, the air still held Jordan’s citrusy scent.

“I haven’t decided yet,” he said to Lana.

He had caught a flash of heat in Jordan’s dark eyes before she had doused it and regarded him with a frosty glare.

Lana’s phone rang, and he tugged at the tuxedo snug against the back of his neck.

“Give me a minute, handsome.” She dug into her evening bag.

“I have to get back to work.” Not that his boss minded when he took a breather. He gave her a solemn dip of his head.

She blew him a kiss and winked. He had no doubt she’d find him when she was ready to go home, even after he deserted her. She loved a challenge.

Lana’s car was sweet – a new Porsche Turbo. If he was a good boy, maybe she’d let him drive. He could use a fast car to take him away from all this.

There were several trays waiting for circulation when he returned to the kitchen. Barb gave him a cool glance from where she stood whisking a dipping sauce. The tang of balsamic vinegar filled the space between them.

“Did you have a nice break?” Barb asked in a smooth, even tone.

The underlying censure rang through loud and clear. “No.”

She shook her head, her chef hat almost falling off the tight braids in her black hair. “Then stop playing the stupid game, Josh.”

He snagged a tray with salmon even as he told his hormones to cool it. Jordan wasn’t seeking him out, so he didn’t need to bring her anything special.

She held herself with a quiet kind of regal grace.

Never flamboyant or flashy, she could command a room or stay invisible, depending on her mood.

Time hadn’t changed her. She was still the same confident, beautiful woman he had known.

And she had treated him with stiff formality.

He didn’t blame her, not after the way he had abandoned her after that one incredible night.

His dick stirred at the memory. No shock it was reliving that night along with him. Jordan’s hot, seeking mouth and warm, willing body, her hands scoring his back and her cries of passion. Not to mention her generous nature, her incredible brain, her ability to bring out the best in people.

And he had thrown it all away.

She was nowhere to be found, so he approached the closest knot of people.

Fingers reached for the food but no one acknowledged him except a woman who smiled at him for a little too long, a faint blush staining her cheeks. A new baker entering the game.

He kept a smile plastered on his face while he answered her inane questions about how the salmon was fried, but his eyes searched the room. Still no Jordan.

Lana might know where she was. Not that he could ask the other woman directly, but maybe he’d overhear something.

She stood by the drink fountain with an older gentleman who was dipping his glass into the stream.

Josh presented the tray, keeping his face impassive as Lana took one of the small fish cakes.

She popped it into her mouth, her eyes never leaving Josh’s. “Good news. My friend left early. Which means I’ll be able to give you that ride tonight.”

The man she was with couldn’t manage to keep the crestfallen expression off his face, giving Josh a pang of guilt. Likely Lana didn’t realize her companion wished she’d bake with him instead. A sour taste filled Josh’s mouth. With Jordan gone, he’d rather help Barb prepare the food. “Can’t wait.”

As soon as his tray was empty, he hightailed it to the kitchen and shrugged out of the tight confines of the tuxedo and washed his hands. Who had picked such an ugly color, anyway? A cucumber and a bowl of shrimp sat next to a cutting board. Josh picked up the knife and sliced the vegetable.

“Who is it tonight?” Barb asked. Her white chef jacket had a splotch of pink toward the bottom. Cranberry juice, maybe?

Josh shot her a look but didn’t answer.

“You hate dealing with seafood.” Barb grabbed a hot mitt and opened the oven. “You say the smell follows you for days and all the cats in your neighborhood yowl under your window at night.”

She was right on all those counts but going back out there was worse. “You needed help.”

“You could see that through the walls?”

Josh didn’t answer.

“What’s her name?”

He almost answered before he caught himself. “There’s no her.”

“What’s his name?”

That earned her a smile. “No him, either.”

Barb took a handful of the cucumber slices and smeared cream cheese on them. “You’re either lying or telling the truth.”

“One of those two, yeah.” Thank goodness Barb let him play with the food when being around people became too much.

He only wished he could start in the kitchen each time, but having the food in immediate circulation was important.

Barb had always treated him right, even knowing about his past. He never wanted to let her down.

“When are you going to stop working for me and start your own catering company?”

When he stopped receiving mail with glossy and artistic logos on the envelopes containing letters that thanked him for the interview for the chef position but they hired someone else.

When Zach turned eighteen in five years and no longer needed a guardian.

When his mom and stepdad were apprehended and put in prison to serve out their sentences and the guilt stopped.

“Being parted from you would devastate me. All my soufflés would fall. My crème brulèe would burn. My fruit tarts would rot from the inside out.”