Carter?” This from Drake. “I’m trying to help Lorraine with her order.”
“What’s the occasion?” Carter asked. “Birthday?”
“Wedding shower,” Drake answered.
Disappointment shot through him. Well, that was fun while it lasted.
“My sister’s wedding shower,” Lorraine interjected.
Carter’s radar immediately went on high alert. She had been pretty quick to clarify that bit of information, and wasn’t that interesting as hell?
Deciding to temporarily dismiss the fact that Lorraine wasn’t his usual type, Carter retrieved the sample brochure from his cousin’s hand, earning an annoyed look from Drake.
“Nothing you’ll find at this place will be good enough,” he continued as he examined the brochure. He glanced at Drake, whose stare was downright murderous. As if Carter cared. His morning had suddenly taken an interesting twist. He needed to know whether there was something more lurking underneath Miss Prim and Proper’s stuffy outfit.
Although Carter still wasn’t sure why. She wasn’t his type. Was she? No, she definitely wasn’t his type.
Yet he felt the smile he normally invoked only when he was going in for the kill draw across his face.
“Your sister’s wedding shower deserves something more than a generic cake,” he continued. “Although even the generic cakes at Lillian’s are much better than anything else you’ll find in this city.”
“Carter, don’t you have somewhere else to be?” Drake bit out.
“As a matter of fact, I do. In my office with Lorraine here. I think we need to put our heads together and come up with something extra special for your sister’s wedding shower.” He tossed the brochure in the trash behind the counter and motioned to Lorraine. “Follow me.”
She looked from him to Drake and then back at him.
“Come on.” Carter gestured. “It’ll be painless, I promise.”
Two well-arched eyebrows peaked over her expressive brown eyes. She directed her question to Drake. “Is it safe to follow him back there?”
“Depends on who you ask” was his cousin’s answer before turning his attention to another customer who had just walked through the door.
Carter led her down the hallway and into one of the two offices used for customer consultations. He offered her a seat before retrieving an order form from the cherry filing cabinet.
“So, what’s the theme of the shower?” he started.
“I’m not sure we’ve established a theme, per se. It will be your typical bridal shower.”
“What can you tell me about your sister? What are some of her hobbies?”
Lorraine’s shoulders stiffened defensively. “Why do you need to know about Trina’s hobbies?”
“So we’ll know what kind of cake would work best for her wedding shower.”
“I don’t understand. It is just a cake,” she said.
“Lorraine, Lorraine, Lorraine.” Carter shook his head. “There is no such thing as just a cake. Not here at Lillian’s.”
The smooth skin on her forehead creased in a dubious frown.
Damn, she was cute. Still not his type, but cute.
“Where is the shower being held?” he asked.
“The tearoom at the Drake Hotel.”
“Nice,” Carter said. “Sophisticated.”
She choked out a laugh; it transformed her entire expression.
“What, is your sister not nice?” he asked.
“My sister is one of the nicest people I know. But she is definitely not stuffy and sophisticated. If I were to ask Trina’s opinion, I suspect she would choose a nice Irish pub or even a sports bar to hold her bridal shower. However, stronger forces prevail.”
“So she’s into sports?”
Lorraine nodded. “Sports, and the outdoors. She has always been the athletic twin.”
“You’re twins?” Another tidbit revealed.
“I didn’t mention that? Yes, Trina is my twin sister. We are fraternal, but the fact that we are twins is unmistakable.”
“So she’s beautiful and she’s into outdoor activities,” Carter commented.
An instant blush blossomed on Lorraine’s cheeks. “Thank you,” she said. “That is very sweet of you.”
“I bake cakes for a living. I can’t help being sweet,” he said, adding a deliberate dose of flirtation to his grin.
Lorraine’s eyes lit with amusement. “Do you practice these lines, or do they come naturally?”
Carter’s grin widened. “It’s natural.” He was having way more fun than he usually did during a cake consultation.
“I can tell,” she said. “You are a natural-born flirt.” She crossed her ankles in that proper way his aunt Daisy sat, and folded her hands on her knee. “So, what do you need to know about Trina?”
Carter glanced down at the form on the desk. He was supposed to be working, wasn’t he? “You said she’s into outdoor activities. What’s her favorite?”
“Scuba diving. Much to my parents’ chagrin. They are both afraid she will eventually drown, or be bitten by a shark, or some other such nonsense.”
Carter snapped his fingers. “What about a deep-sea-themed bridal shower?”
Her frown returned, her expression becoming even more uncertain than before. “You don’t know my mother,” she said. “I doubt she would go for Little Mermaid party hats.”
“Think seashells sprinkled with diamond dust and live coral centerpieces.” Carter spun away from his desk and went over to one of the bookcases lining the wall. He pulled down a binder from two years ago, and flipped to June, finding pictures of a cake he’d made for a birthday party that had rivaled most wedding cakes. Ironically, the party did have Disney’s The Little Mermaid as the overriding theme, but the “Under the Sea” cake he’d made had been much more refined.
He took the chair opposite Lorraine’s and spread the binder out across his lap, turning it so it faced her.
“Goodness,” she breathed. “That is gorgeous.”
“It’s one of my favorite cakes,” Carter said, feeling the surge of pride that always surfaced when talking about his creations. This one had put him into another stratosphere in the cake-making world. It had taken a full twelve hours to decorate, and that was after he had spent several days crafting
