Page 5 of Sweet Temptation (Love & Legacy #1)

LEXIE

She’s meant for a love that lasts forever.

And that’s the cruelest part... She doesn’t have forever to give.

—Lexie’s Secret Thoughts

T here’s nothing quite like the smell of Sweet Temptations. Long before my first shift here, it was my favorite shop on Main Street, not that I ever told Mom that.

Amelia Beneventi’s cupcakes are a work of art, and as a little girl, I used to think they were too pretty to eat.

Brightly colored, with beautiful toppings that make your mouth water, or pretty pastels that look as delicate as cotton candy, it didn’t matter which, they were all gorgeous, and I could never pick one.

Not that I didn’t pick something. I was a kid with a sweet tooth.

I typically went with a chocolate chip cookie and called it a day while my brothers fought over what cupcakes were going to fill the box Mom was ordering.

As I got older, this place became a safe haven for me.

My mom and Brea’s mom own the couture lingerie line, Le Désir, and their flagship store is next to Sweet Temptations.

This meant plenty of time doing homework in Mom’s shop while the boys were at whatever sports practice they had that week.

You name it, they played it. Eventually, I’d slip out of Le Désir and into my favorite dark purple velvet booth next door, my book bag slung over my shoulder, and my MacBook tucked under my arm as I perused the bakery case.

Eventually, Amelia started letting me taste test whatever recipe she was playing with that week. By the time high school rolled around, taste testing had transitioned into working a few hours a week in my own little slice of heaven, and so my love of baking was born.

Cooking is done on instinct.

You don’t need to measure your ingredients as much as you need to feel them and give it a try. That doesn’t work for me. I’m more of a black and white girl.

I like chemistry, and baking is pure chemistry combined with beautiful artistry.

I like knowing there is a tried-and-true equation behind your favorite cake recipe.

A very specific amount of baking soda added to a measured or weighed amount of flour, and you’ve got yourself the basis of a cake.

Well... that and a handful of other ingredients.

But the point is, once you know what you’re doing.

.. Once you know that two cups plus two teaspoons mixed with a dash of this and a pinch of that, sifted, mixed and baked for a set time will equal something mouthwatering, you know the basics and can play with the rest.

And playing is when it gets fun.

Creating a new recipe lets me feel like a mad scientist for a few hours.

Not something I enjoy doing often, but when the mood strikes, it can be a lot of fun.

My favorite thing, though, is to make something beautiful.

Growing up with a mother who likes to make beautiful lingerie gave me a different spin on art.

And while the idea of designing clothes or lingerie never did it for me— I’ll stick to wearing them instead of making them —there’s something to be said about making a beautiful dessert and watching someone’s eyes light up when they see it and their taste buds light up when they taste it.

I like to think it’s pretty special, and so is this place.

This place that gave me my love of baking.

A love that led to my first taste of freedom, and this thing that I’m pretty damn good at.

Today, Amelia’s cupcakes line her shelves in bright colors.

Purples and pinks and minty greens with a few shades and flavors of chocolate and the vanilla bean she always has for the cupcake purists who just don’t know what they’re missing out on.

And as usual, I peruse the case, unable to decide what I want while I wait for her to come out of the back office.

“I guess I’ll take a chocolate chip cookie,” I finally tell the young girl behind the counter. She’s new. At least she wasn’t here when I left a year ago.

“Do you want coffee too?” She looks up as she places the cookie in a pink paper bag. “Our blueberry coffee goes out of season next week.”

“Lexie doesn’t drink coffee, Mae,” Amelia announces as she walks through the swinging double doors that lead to the kitchen and office. “But she’ll take an Earl Grey tea with lemon.” Her brow shoots up, daring me to tell her she got my order wrong, but of course, she didn’t.

Some things never change, and apparently, I’m one of them.

“Thank you,” I add as I’m enveloped in Amelia’s arms.

“It’s so good to see you, sweetheart. You look good.” She hands me my tea, grabs her own coffee, and crosses the small bakery, stopping at my favorite booth. “How are you feeling?”

And there it is.

The question everyone always asks.

“I feel good.” It’s my standard answer, even on days when it’s not the honest answer. Luckily today, it is the truth. “But I’ll feel better once I’m back on the schedule.”

“You just got home.” Her pretty eyes narrow on me just like her son’s do.

“And I have nothing to do. Please tell me you’ve got some hours for me this week,” I plead, glancing over her shoulder at Mae, hoping I’m not begging to steal her shift. “I thought we agreed I’d start right away.”

“We did. But the shop is closed for the next two weeks while it’s being painted and new tile flooring is laid.

I wasn’t planning on you starting until the following week.

” She sips her coffee and watches me over the top of the mug, daring me to argue.

Amelia may be a sweetheart, but she’s far from a pushover.

“You’re welcome to use the kitchen in the meantime, if you’d like to work on any recipes or just reacquaint yourself with it. ”

“Amelia...” I can’t help but feel like I’ve been duped. “Is there any reason you’re just now telling me this?”

My boss smiles at me. “Enjoy the next few weeks off, Lexie. Go to the beach. Get some sun. Spend time with your friends. The bakery will be here when you get back, and I was thinking we could talk about updating the menu a little then too. Maybe we could put your classical training to use.”

I may have been duped, but now I’m definitely being bribed.

“But...” I leave it hanging because there’s definitely a but hiding somewhere in here.

“No buts. You’re going to be a big part of the Sweet Temptations team, Lexie.

I might even slow down a little, if everything works out the way I hope it does.

I just want you to ease into it.” She reaches across the table and cups my cheek in her hand.

“You’re young, sweetheart. Enjoy yourself a little first.”

“What if baking is what I enjoy?” I push back, a familiar frustration building in my chest. One that I fight often when I know I’m being handled.

“Oh, honey... loving what you do is what makes life easier, but there is so much more than that in life. Don’t get so caught up in work that you forget to live.”

Aurora

Anyone in the mood for a pool day?

Brea

Please say yes. I just got a new bikini I wouldn’t mind breaking in.

Saylor

Is the bikini supposed to break the man, B.?

Lexie

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

Brea

Swallow, Lex. It’s just a bikini.

Dillan

Bet we all know what you want to swallow...

Lexie

OMG.

Aurora

You finally laying claim to Lincoln, B?

Brea

Nope. Get your minds out of the gutter.

Lexie

Change of subject. Pool day sounds good. Let’s BBQ. I’ll stop at the grocery store right now.

Saylor

I’ve got the seltzers.

Aurora

I’ve got the tequila.

Brea

I’ll meet you at the store.

Lexie

I’m in town now. Don’t worry about it. Just text me anything you want me to grab.

Elodie

Sorry. Catching up now. Going to have to skip this one, ladies. I’ve got plans.

Dillan

I should be able to stop by, but I’ll be late.

Aurora

So is this a girls’ thing?

Lexie

Probably. Linc and Lucky were both gone when I left earlier.

Aurora

Damn.

Saylor

Umm . . . hellooo . . . You’re related to Lucky, and Linc is obviously not fair game.

Lexie

They’re men. Not Swedish fish at the movie theater you’re calling dibs on.

Aurora

Keep telling yourself your brother hasn’t been called, Lex. And I was bummed because Lucky has some hot friends. I was hoping one or two would happen to stop by.

Lexie

Do you want me to text them?

Aurora

Please . . .

Saylor

No.

Brea

Nope. Girls’ day, sleeping beauty.

Aurora

Fine. But you’re no fun.

Lexie

Okay, I’m walking into the grocery store. See you guys later.

Lucky

“ I fucking hate golf. I don’t know why I let you talk me into this shit.” I grab Rome’s clubs from the back of Linc’s Jeep and toss them to my dickhead brother, then shoulder my own bag.

“Don’t be a bitch just because you suck,” he laughs and fist-bumps Linc.

Assholes. Both of them.

“Dude. You’ve got to relax. It’s supposed to be fun.” Linc throws me his golf bag and shrugs. “Help me get the top on the Jeep. It’s supposed to storm tonight.”

“Fuck you, man,” I grumble, knowing full well I sound like a sore loser. I’m not. I just fucking hate golf. But as the clouds roll in, we make quick work of getting the top back on the damn Jeep so Linc doesn’t cry about his baby getting wet. Sinclairs and their babies.

I never knew I’d be jealous of a kitchen appliance, but the way Lexie ran her hand over the pink mixer yesterday made me want to switch fucking places with it, and that’s a problem.

“You got any food?” Rome asks as he ignores Linc and me locking the soft top in place. “I smell BBQ.”

“Probably Lex.” Pretty sure Linc regrets his words immediately.

“Sexy Lexie does more than bake?” the shithead asks, and Linc’s knuckles turn white. “Fuck yes.”

Rome rounds the side of the house and lets himself through the gate as we finish up in the driveway. “I’m gonna kill him.”

We drop the clubs inside the garage and follow Rome into the backyard where he’s got Dillan Ryan already over his shoulder as he jumps in the pool.

The rest of the girls watch, laughing, with hard seltzers in their hands and a spread of food laid out on the table like they thought they were feeding an army.

“Damn,” Linc mutters as he scans our backyard before he walks inside, followed pretty damn closely behind by Brea.

“Those two are never going to really be over, are they?” Lexie asks softly as she stops next to me.

At least that’s what I think she said. But swear to God, gun to my head, I couldn’t be sure because my brain just exploded like a bad fucking cartoon.

Little Lexie isn’t so little anymore.

She’s always been pretty.

Too damn pretty and too damn sweet and too damn tempting.

So fucking tempting. And that was fully clothed.

Little Lexie in a pale-pink string bikini is just— fuck .

She tilts her head to the side and smiles. “Lucky?”

Shit .

“Sorry, what?” I ask because I seriously don’t have a clue what she just said.

“Are you hungry?” She licks her lips, and my dick goes from a semi to hard as rock because I’m famished... for her. “We made ribs and chicken and grilled veggies and corn salad.”

No clue what makes me reach out and tuck the hair sticking to her cheek behind her ear, but I do it all the same, and it’s a bad move. Epically bad. Because the one rule I’ve lived by for years is not touching Lexie.

Her eyes fly to mine. Long black lashes flutter, framing vibrant green irises, fresher and brighter than any football field or golf course I’ve played on, as we stand here, locked in something close to hell.

“Rome, you asshole,” Dillan yells as she storms out of the pool, thankfully breaking the spell.

“Put a shirt on, Lex,” I grumble and ignore the hurt in her eyes. The one I’ve gotten really good at placing there. “You’re gonna burn.”

I don’t wait for a response.

I don’t deserve one.

Instead, I make a plate, grab a beer, and go inside.

Fuck this shit.