Copyright 2016 Lydia.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-6924-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-6925-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-6923-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016901265

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Contents

Prologue   An Angel

Chapter 1   Hot cross buns

Chapter 2   Sunshine Buttercream

Chapter 3   Fraisier, Beach, and Cupcakes

Chapter 4   Secrets, Shepherd’s pie, and Fire

Chapter 5   Jealousy, A girl, and a Makeover

Chapter 6   Makeovers, Surprises, and Giselle

Chapter 7   Arguments, Apologies, and Chocolate Chip

Chapter 8   Beer, Strawberry-flavour, and Photo frames

Chapter 9   A Picture, Lunchbox, and another Fraisier

Chapter 10   That B*tch

Chapter 11   Hugs, taking the bullet, and… Metal poles

Special Chapter 1

Chapter 12   Balls, Shower Gel, and Perhaps a little Happiness

Chapter 13   Smiles, Popsicles, and Something unexpected

Chapter 14   Troubles, Rumors, and Detention

Chapter 15   Strange Circumstances

Chapter 16   Giselle, Terms & Conditions, and Baths

Chapter 17   Love is Strange

Chapter 18   Cold, Hot, and Kisses

Chapter 19   Abstinence, Another match, and Awkward coincidences

Chapter 20   Smiles, Pranks, and Fouls

Chapter 21   What matters, and Something awaited

Chapter 22   Warm and Fuzzy

Chapter 23   Dreams, Doubts, and Acceptance

Chapter 24   Bitter, Sweet, and Bitter-sweet

Chapter 25   Beauty, Fear, and Hopes

Chapter 26   This is for those who do not believe in love, or have given up on it

Special Chapter 2   Not Alone

Bonus Chapter   Icky Vicky

Chapter 27   Underwear, Heart-shaped rice balls, and a Candle

Chapter 28   Can you feel the Love tonight

Chapter 29   Rose, Chocolate Bananas, and Fluffy Unicorns

Chapter 30   Definitely Treated

Chapter 31   Remembering, Giving, and Taking

Chapter 32   Hansel is back

Chapter 33   Giselle

Chapter 34   Ducks, Suits, and Snow

Chapter 35   I love ___

Epilogue   Baked Love

Why I write?

For everyone in the community who made this book possible and walked with me through the entire journey, all I can ever muster is - Thank You.

Prologue

An Angel

A gentle hush cloaked the land. The faint bells of Christmas could be heard in the distance.

Warm lights from every house lit up the small town, as the pale moon hung alone in the sky. A small boy, around the age of five stared out of his frost-laced window into the cold night. That was when the first flakes of snow began to fall.

Ever so gently.

Chip! Dinner’s ready!

The boy hurried down the stairs to meet his family of nine, who were setting up the table for their Christmas dinner at the pantry of their family bakery. They said their prayers, and then dined in comfortable silence. They were content.

The family began to make small conversations among themselves, none of them including the boy, and so he looked into the distance, behind the counter, his gaze passing the translucent glass doors of the bakery.

Although business was closed for the night, a stack of left over bread sat neatly in the oven, warm and heated. The orange lights of his home gave the boy a warm and fuzzy feeling in his heart. He didn’t know the word for it at that time, but he was sure it was something good.

That was when something caught his eye. A movement just beside the doors of the entrance.

It was a boy, not more than seven years old, wrapped in a checkered scarf and clothes that definitely could not keep him warm in such freezing weather. The boy in the bakery thought about how it would feel to be wandering on the streets on a cold Christmas night. He thought it felt horrible.

So he slipped from his chair silently, made his way to the oven, and placed two hot-crossed buns into a paper bag. Then he opened the door of the bakery, the bells above jingling, and hurried after the boy. The boy in the black scarf was holding a girl’s hand. She looked only two, clad in the thinnest of cloth.

He tapped the boy on the shoulder, and handed him the bag with hot buns.

Happy Christmas! The bakery boy beamed.

The other boy looked stunned, unable to catch his words; his mouth hung agape, as he clutched the bag of warm bread.

Chip! What are you doing? Come back here! A motherly voice called out, beckoning the boy to return.

Waving goodbye and still smiling, the boy retreated into the warmth of the bakery, cheeks slightly flushed from the cold.

As the flakes of white snow fell and collected on his clothes, the boy in the cold found himself thinking about the angel he saw.

Maybe.

Just maybe—

Angels do exist after all.

Chapter 1

Hot cross buns

The scent of freshly baked waffles and toasted loaves of pumpkin bread wafted into my bedroom at early six in the morning—

Such a daily occurrence wasn’t something that I had taken into much consideration, since it was due to the fact that my family owned a bakery downstairs. Simply put; I didn’t get to eat the tasty waffles that they brought out on trays.

Muffins! Rose called through the door, rapping her knuckles sharply on the weak wood. I jerked awake.

With the thought of muffins for breakfast at the back of my head, I managed to drag myself away from soft pillows—proceeding to the only bathroom in my house.

It was, obviously, occupied.

"Gretel!" Coco, the second oldest, had her hands banging on door of the bathroom; calling impatiently as she tapped her foot.

"What? The girl in the bathroom shouted back, I’m busy!"

"And that’s what you say all the time!" Coco crossed her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes— then, without another word, she stormed away. I heard the vague sound of her complaining to Rosemary, snapping about Gretel’s makeup routine. It so happens that we tended to go to Rose for backup, since she was the eldest sister.

It was only after a good fifteen minutes when Gretel finally decided that she was looking good enough to come out of the bathroom, all prepped for school.

Took you long enough, I grinned, slipping past her in the narrow entrance. She stuck her tongue out in reply.

The face wash is running out. I bet Hansel’s the one squeezing a handful each time, My sister wriggled her nose in disgust at her twin.

I poked the side of her cheek. Hypocrite. I’ll run by the convenience store and get it.

Great! Gretel’s eyes lit up, as if she was waiting for that answer all along. "While you’re there, why don’t you grab two bottles instead? With seven people using it—it’s bound to deplete rapidly so…"

Yeap, four sisters and two brothers. Well, including me, that’s three.

I nodded vaguely, shutting the door quickly so that my sister would stop with the requests as soon as possible.

After jumping into the shower for a minute or two, I dried myself and slipped on some dark jeans and a white long-sleeved shirt. I took a quick check in the mirror; tidying up my blonde hair, then slipping on my overly-huge glasses.

Well… they weren’t exactly mine. They were Coco’s; before she started wearing contacts.

And coincidentally, I started getting nearsighted.

Chip! The muffins are getting cold! Rose called from downstairs.

Coming, I hurried down the creaky wooden stairs to the bakery, grabbing my book bag along the way.

We live in a tiny shop house above our family business, which Rose handles most of at the present time, since Mom’s away. I help out every day after school; and it’s kind of how I developed a love for sweet things—and my passion for baking.

A-Admittedly, I am a male who loves to bake. Especially cookies; and pies; and muffins; and cupcakes… Oh cupcakes. Yes, cupcakes.

Snap out of it Chip! You had three just yesterday—

Entering the back kitchen of the bakery, I grabbed two blueberry muffins as I walked past, giving one to Gretel on the way out.

Hey, Mom’s sent a postcard, Coco piped up from the doorframe. Er… it says… Egypt? What?

Rose placed a tray of coffee buns on the cooling rack, removing her mittens and sweeping over to a perplexed Coco. What does it say?

"Having fun here. Remember to pay the rent and… good luck? Good luck? What does that even mean? Coco frowned, turning to us. My oldest brother, Loki, was at the breakfast table, enjoying his morning coffee while reading the papers like the… the old man he was. Nothing for a month and she says that—oh well. That’s Mom."

I’m going! I called after checking the time, proceeding to open the door of the bakery. The bells above made loud jingling sounds, indicating the entrance or exit of every customer.

Have a nice day at school! Rose stood outside the front steps of the shop in her apron, waving.

"Oi, Hansel! Hurry up, my friends are waiting," Gretel snapped, adjusting her ponytail.

Oh, is the hot one there? My brother raised a brow. You know, the one with green eyes—

Shut up.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So… if you were wondering why our names are Rosemary, Gretel, Hansel, Coco, Loki and Chip, you might want to ask my parents. They probably have a thing for sweet stuff.

Not to mention, our last names didn’t help the situation by any bit.

Honeycutt…? What sort of name is that?

Since Elementary school, it had become a regular routine to dread self-introduction and deem it as a particular ritual to be laughed at. And it’s really just because of my name—Chip. Not to mention the common association to ‘Chip & Dale’, the Disney characters.

Well… I wasn’t exactly small like a chipmunk, though I do admit, 5'2 is kinda… n-never mind.

I walked through the halls of the school, shrinking involuntarily as I walked up to my small group of friends. Just Kim and Jack.

Just in time, Jack yawned. Nothing better than a boring Tuesday in high school—

Incoming! Kim squealed, He’s hot.

Incoming? What does that even mean?

Jack and I craned our necks to get a better look over the crowd of girls gathered in a tight pack at the center of the hall, completely blocking off the route to the classrooms.

It was no use. I was too short.

Class starts in five. Better hurry. Jack said, checking his watch and turning to Kim and I.

But Kim wasn’t listening. She drifted, as if drawn to the crowd by a strange magnetic force. Sighing, I tried to pry through the impermeable wall of squealing girls. U-um… ’scuse me… sorry…

Before I knew it, I was thrown off balance by something hard, and I landed on the ground.

Chip! Jack doubled back, You okay? Can you stand?

I nodded quietly, rubbing my lower back as I tried to stand up.

Oh—didn’t see you there… A smoky voice sounded from above; but I was too disorientated from the impact that I couldn’t really catch what he said.

Straightening my glasses, I glanced up. The first thing I noticed was the crazy amount of students gathered around him.

The next was that he was clad in frayed denim jeans and a simple V-neck sweater that stretched across his broad shoulders. His raven black hair was styled in an appealingly-messy manner. But it was his face that made me look like a complete idiot. It took me awhile to notice that he was getting miffed by the fact that I wasn’t even moving.

So… Can you move a bit? You’re in my way. He stated simply. And when I did not respond—simply stared at his perfect face, he stepped over my legs and crossed the hall in a few strides.

I felt my face heat up as I realized my predicament.

I had been staring at him! Ah, I must have looked so stupid.

Jack lifted me up effortlessly, muttering something like what the hell that cocky bastard. I shook my head, brushing off the matter, and hurried to class with Kim and Jack.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The new guy’s name was Xander.

I found out from Kim. She was crazy about it during lunch, spilling out every single detail about him she had heard from her girlfriends.

He’s a senior, and he moved into the area recently. Guess what? He’s in the school team for Beach Volleyball! Oh those abs… She sighed dreamily. Funny thing is that no one knows where he’s from… I was about to say something but Kim seemed to have the ability to go on and on—so, well… I didn’t want to interrupt her.

Did you see his eyes? Gosh I can just melt into them, Kim fanned herself and Jack choked on his pizza.

Come on Kim, we’re eating.

The girl rolled her eyes. "You wouldn’t understand. Right, Chip?" She winked at me.

Kim and Jack were the only ones who knew about my sexuality, not even my family does. Jack was a bit hesitant in accepting it, but Kim was spontaneous and positive about it; in fact, she was the first one I told.

Um… I guess… I smiled sheepishly.

"You have no idea how lucky you are. Heard you’re going to have Home Economics with the seniors this afternoon," Kim nudged me playfully.

My face was blank. H-Huh? Um… I don’t know…

How could you not? She gasped, placing her utensils down in false agitation. Your class is paired with Xander’s!

So…? I tried to act indifferent. Truth was, I felt my heart skip a beat.

Just a little.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Worst of luck, or best of luck—I did not know.

It was Home Economics the period after lunch, and I dragged my poor self to my usual station, waiting for the teacher’s instructions.

Okay everyone! I’m sure you’re all excited about your seniors coming over— Mrs. Harry began lightly, while the girls interrupted her with excited squeals and giggles, "but I need to remind all of you that this is a graded project. Every single course that you make will be tested by myself and the headmaster."

And therefore, none of you should poison us with your horrible cooking. Mrs. Harry said jokingly, and the class laughed.

Now let’s give your partners a few minutes to come down, while each of you heat up the ovens at your stations. Today’s theme is baked goodies. You have some time to think about it before your partner comes.

Soon, a crowd of students gathered outside the Home Economics room while Mrs. Harry begin ushering them in—assigning them to their partners. When she arrived at Xander, she smiled encouragingly, and then whispered a few words.

Then she pointed at me.

Startled, I dropped my pen; while Xander approached me. He crossed the room in confident strides easily and I quickly bent down to pick up the blue pen.

Before I could reach it, another hand grabbed it out of my reach, and I raised my gaze. My partner didn’t say anything—just handed the pen to me. Our fingers brushed lightly when I retrieved the material from him, and again, I felt my face heat up.

T-thanks.

You’re the guy from this morning, He noticed, leaning forward on the counter.

Um… yeah. So-uh today’s theme is baked goodies. You have any ideas?

I wondered why I had to be so nervous when talking to Xander. I think it’s because the air around him was rather intimidating. Sure, his tone wasn’t harsh—it could even be passed as gentle—but he had a sort of authoritative aspect to him that made me feel small and… unimportant.

Nah. I’m not good at these kind of stuff, He gestured to the baking set.

I began to scribble on my notepad. How about some cupcakes?

I don’t really like those. Xander sighed, as if bored.

I felt my temper rise a little.

This guy… he’s so mean! Hey—it’s not as if I wanted to be partners with you! I mentally cursed him in my mind.

Well then, what do you—

Hot cross buns.

I blinked.

Um—

Yeah. I kinda like those, He held my gaze with steely eyes.

I’m not good with these kind of people.

I looked away.

U-Um okay… I began to jot down the ingredients and retrieve them from the cupboard. When I was back, Xander had placed two aprons on the tabletop and was rinsing the mixing bowls. I arranged the ingredients in order and put on my apron, Xander doing the same but with slight difficulty. Pouring the milk into the saucepan, I turned on the heat to a simmer. Xander was reading the steps I wrote on paper.

"You memorize the recipe?"

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. W-Well my sister makes it a lot so…

Xander nodded, and began adding the rest of the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl. Once I let my eyes wander, he began to add the sugar. And then he added more. And more.

Wait! That’s too much! I lunged towards him and stopped the next spoonful of sugar in time. The dumb boy looked at me with a puzzled expression.

It says 3 spoons… Xander pointed at the paper.

"It says 3 teaspoons, not tablespoons!" I huffed, and moved in closer to take over the ingredients.

Okay all you have to do is mix them. I said, focusing on adding the exact amount to the bowl, and not realizing how close we were.

Xander was silent. Wondering why, I turned around and looked up at him, and saw that his face was inches away from mine. Startled, I jumped back, and moved away, pushing the mixing bowl into his arms.

U-Uh you can mix this now, I turned to the saucepan of milk and added the yeast, trying to hide my flushed face.

You smell weird, Xander’s gaze was fixed on my back. It was so strong I could practically feel it. Like… freshly baked bread.

My eyes widened.

The family bakery was something I’ve kept a secret from school—even Kim and Jack.

W-Well, maybe that’s because everyone’s… baking? I reasoned quickly. Xander shrugged, and continued to mix the dry ingredients.

Once it was well combined, I added the milk into the bowl, and showed him how to stir it properly. For once, I felt contented that I was better at something than others. I mean, it accounts for the fact that I wasn’t good in anything besides baking.

You seem like an expert at this. Xander suggested, raising his eyebrow in an amused manner. I decided to ignore him and concentrate on looking after his mixture instead. His grip on the wooden spoon was so hard I thought it was going to break.

I was only relieved once the bread mixture was inside the oven. My partner was very entertained by the rising of the flour. It was as if he had never seen such a thing before.

Smells good, Xander said, bending down to check the buns through the light in the oven.

Students! 30 minutes left! Mrs. Harry announced.

I began to wash the mixing bowl to prepare the white glaze topping.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

This is wonderful! Mrs. Harry exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with delight, As expected of Chip I see. She winked at me and bit into another mouthful of hot cross bun.

I want to try it!

Me too!

Mind if I have one, Xander?

Hey, I asked first!

The crowd of girls behind us scrambled for the batch of twelve buns, shoving me aside in the process. Ah well, guess they can’t see me.

Xander smiled, squaring his shoulders. Sure, go ahead. The girls squealed and grabbed at the tray.

"Oh god it’s so good!" One of them moaned, and I winced.

My partner only smirked, and handed another to them. Before I knew it, there was only one left. I cleared my throat. Aren’t you gonna eat? I asked Xander.

However, fate didn’t allow me to hear his reply—

For the bell rang sharply, and class was dismissed. I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to help out at the bakery since peak hour was approaching. Grabbing my bags, I hastily rushed out of the Home Economics room—leaving Xander behind.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Xander picked the last bun off the tray and bit into it.

It was the same.

The exact same taste of an angel.

Chapter 2

Sunshine Buttercream

I managed to rush home just in time for peak hour. Rose and Coco were bustling around—Coco at the cash register while Rose and Gretel were in the kitchen producing batch after batch of fresh bread and pastries. We were terribly shorthanded and I was already late so I hastily slipped on my apron and got to work.

Chip could you help with the piping of the cupcakes? I’m pretty occupied with this pre-ordered cake here, Rose called, pointing to the rack of cooling Red Velvets.

I nodded; filling two piping bags with cream cheese and finished the batch in a minute. I was good at it but not as good as Rose was. My specialty was bread actually—bread and cakes.

Gretel is the oven pre-heated? I called across the kitchen.

No not yet! Gretel could not look away from her pies, she was too busy with the crust.

Sorry could you do it now?

Coco burst through the door of the kitchen, "WE NEED THE CUPCAKES LIKE, NOW."

Everyone was mixing and pouring and decorating as fast as possible; but we were still short-handed. This was just a typical day at the bakery—not to mention, I spent most of the time after school doing this (hence my lack of friends and school activities… oh and um, half-assed homework).

Where the hell is Hansel?! Gretel shouted up the stairs to the shop house above.

Not here! Came a reply from her twin. Gretel could only roll her eyes and curse under her breath. I’ll kill him later.

I’m done! I exclaimed in relief after placing a small marzipan heart on the last cupcake, quickly handing the tray of perfectly-piped Red Velvets to Coco.

Great job! Scurrying back to the cash register, I heard her apologize. I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting— I moved on swiftly to the loaves of pumpkin bread—our best seller, but not until six in the evening when the aunties come in.

Chip I need your help with the cake fondant here! Rose pleaded.

I sighed. This was going to be another long day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I flopped onto my bed; completely exhausted. Resting the back of my hand across my eyes to shield the light from the ceiling, I began to think about… Xander. No no no no I didn’t mean that—I was thinking about homework. Yes I was just thinking about the Home Economics project that’s all! Ha-ha-ha…

Oh dear. I-I should really get a grip on myself.

I mean, why would I even think about him?

Laughing quietly to myself, I was convinced that a tiny crush wouldn’t matter anyway. I simply had to be careful—ensure that it wouldn’t be a repeat of horrible middle school.

Chip, the bath’s free! Coco said through the door. Thanks! I grabbed my boxers and an oversized sweater (it’s Hansel’s) and headed for the bathroom.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I found myself looking forward to Home Economics lesson. You see… it’s only twice a week. Wait did I just say ‘only’? I-I meant twice a week. Yeap.

Chip! Wanna join me and the girls at the beach this Saturday? Kim asked during lunch. She had a strange smile on her face—as if she had sort of an idea. A crazy one.

Hey! You didn’t invite me— Jack began to protest.

So, so? You up for it? Kim waved him off as she sipped on her diet coke. Jack rolled his eyes.

U-Um okay… but what are we doing at the beach?

There’s a beach volleyball tournament there—which of course, includes an after-party because Xander will probably crush them all, Kim wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. I sighed. Then… I guess I won’t be going after all…

Kim’s eyes widened. Why not? Come on it’ll be fun! She slapped me on the back.

I’m bad at parties…?

"But after all that happened during Home Econs period?" Kim protested, pointing out my previous—ahem—close encounter with Xander.

It’s just a project! No big deal… and nothing happened anyway, Which was the sad truth.

Kim huffed. Fine. But it’s okay for you to change your mind, She winked cheekily at me.

Poor Jack picked at his fries mumbling something like ‘girl’s talk’.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

School was long and protracted that day. To top it off, it was even raining by the time the last bell rang. I grabbed an umbrella from my locker and hurried down the hall—the bakery the first thing on my mind. As I approached the car porch, my gaze rested on a familiar lean figure standing among cheerleaders and jocks.

Xander?

My pace began to unconsciously slow down as I watched the group’s interaction.

Xan, wanna catch a movie with us? Courtney says that she’ll go if you do. I couldn’t see the expression on Xander’s face (his back was facing me), but his tone was rather amused. Movie? Are you serious? That’s pretty anticlimactic don’t you think? He joked.

The males in the group laughed. Come on dude, if you’re not going, half of the girls will lose interest. Xander gave a light shrug. Deal with it then. The rest of them laughed it off.

I stood at the side of the porch, waiting for the school bus to arrive. The group began to make their way out of the campus, leaving Xander leaning against a pillar. His gaze raised to the sky, as if looking at the rain, and then lowered back to his mobile. I stared intently at my feet, trying not to gain any unnecessary attention.

Where do you live? His sudden question shocked me—I assumed he had not noticed my presence.

I practically jumped out of my skin, and flushed when the taller frame stared at me as if I was an alien.

Somewhere… near… there— I pointed to a bunch of trees. Xander raised his eyebrows.

O-kay…got to go, He raised the hood of his jacket and stuffed his hands in his pockets, as if getting ready to dive into the rain. Later, He said simply, and then stepped out of the shelter without a hitch.

I stared wide-eyed as he walked in the rain.

Hey! Wait! Opening my umbrella, I managed to catch up with Xander—who looked slightly annoyed by the sudden interruption.

What? He wasn’t even looking at me. His eyes were fixed in a distance, as if he was in a hurry.

Um… I-I’m going this way too.

Xander raised his eyebrows again. So?

Want to… share? I suggested meekly, indicating the large umbrella in my small hands.

Surprisingly, that caught Xander’s attention. He lowered his gaze for a moment, studying me, and then a smirk formed on his flawless face.

What if I say no?

I felt my shoulders droop. Okay, I probably expected that—but oh… well… at least I tried, I told myself.

O-Oh alright then… I… I guess I’ll just— I began to move across Xander’s shoulder, but his hand suddenly gripped my arm.

"Dude I was just kidding! Did you take me that seriously?" He laughed, obviously entertained by my stupid reactions.

His hand moved to take over the umbrella. Thanks. I felt my cheeks burn when his fingers brushed mine. Oh gosh I’m turning into a complete idiot.

Xander held the red umbrella at a good height, making sure to shelter us both while he led the way. Um… so I heard you just moved into town…? I tried to speak louder, considering the pitter-pattering of raindrops on the umbrella.

Yeah. Living with my aunt, He stated shortly.

I see… I’ve also heard you play beach volley… I think I was beginning to sound like a stalker—what with all the ‘I’ve heard’s and private information.

Yeap I do. But it’s raining a lot recently, Xander placed his free hand out into the rain as if to prove his point.

So… I searched my mind urgently for a question. What’s the difference between indoor and beach volleyball?

Well… we’ve got a couple. Beach is probably harder because of the energy required to sprint on soft ground—which is sand, but the court sizes… Xander’s shoulders began to loosen up, and so did his facial expressions.

He looked almost (almost) as if he was enjoying the conversation. I gradually began to warm up to the flow of the conversation too as I realized I wasn’t stammering too much anymore.

After a while, Xander stopped in his tracks, leading us to the gate of a rather simple bungalow.

Thanks for the walk, he smiled playfully and I found myself mesmerized. One last thing uh—would you like to come see my tournament on Saturday? Xander scratched the back of his head, since we were on the topic just now…

What?

What was that?

I’ll try I guess, smiling awkwardly, I waved him goodbye as I walked the longer way home.

I think I felt my heart skip a beat.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was a nice, quiet Friday afternoon.

The bakery was quite empty, except for Rose at the counter and me washing trays and racks at the back kitchen. I heard the same old jingling of the bells when a customer entered the shop and Rose greeted her usual lively ‘Welcome to Honeycutt’s, how may I help you?’

Until I heard his voice.

Um hey, I was wondering if you guys do pre-ordered cakes…?

It was Xander’s voice.

Chapter 3

Fraisier, Beach, and Cupcakes

[Chip]

It was a nice, quiet Friday afternoon.

The bakery was quite empty, except for Rose at the counter and me washing trays and racks at the back kitchen. I heard the same old jingling of the bells when a customer entered the shop and Rose greeted her usual lively ‘Welcome to Honeycutt’s, how may I help you?’

Until I heard his voice.

Um hey, I was wondering if you guys do pre-ordered cakes…?

It was Xander’s voice.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I dropped the metal tray I was holding onto and it fell to the floor with a loud and noticeable ‘clang’. That caught some unnecessary attention.

Hun? Everything alright? Rose called into the back kitchen, but fortunately, she didn’t leave the counter.

I-I’m fine! I said, trying to make my voice sound as high as possible while gathering the tray and sponges. I began to hear muttering from the bakery, which probably meant I was safe. For the moment.

I left the trays and racks under running water and tip-toed over to the door of the kitchen.

Sorry about that— the pre-ordered cakes… I could faintly hear Rose’s voice.

The bakery and kitchen was separated by a wooden door with a small crossed window on the upper half, which allowed those in the bakery to peek in and those in the kitchen to check the situation in the bakery.

I decided to risk it. I popped my head just over the edge of the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of the customer.

Nuu it really is Xander!

I would like the cake to have strawberries? I heard him say, as if unsure. Something that girls would like.

My heart dropped instantly.

A cake for a girl… Could it be for his girlfriend?

I sighed internally.

Well of course it is! Look at him! Who wouldn’t dig that? A voice in my