The Sweetest Kiss. Candace Shaw
the cake cuttings. She already knew it was because she’d checked just before she had met Broderick, but she needed a moment alone. Being reminded of her marriage from hell was always a sore subject.
Later on that night, the conversation with Megan still lingered in Tiffani’s mind when she kissed her son’s forehead as he slept. Tiffani knew she meant well, but Megan wasn’t the one who had been married to a controlling as well as verbally and mentally abusive man. The thought of having to live through that again wasn’t a life she desired. She was at peace and happier than she’d been in a long time. Plus, the fact that a handsome man had flirted with her that evening reminded her that men still found her attractive. Although she never wanted to remarry, she wasn’t closed off from dating.
Retreating to her bedroom, she grabbed her laptop from under the bed and posted a few pictures she’d taken at the wedding and some selfies with KJ to her blog “My New Life.” She’d started it a year after her husband had passed. At first, the majority of her posts centered around fun yet inexpensive activities to do with children, hands-on lesson plans for elementary school teachers, how to save on grocery shopping and healthy recipes for the single mother. Once she’d stopped teaching third grade and opened her bakery five months ago, Tiffani began to discuss her transition into the small business world while still maintaining a structured balance for her son.
She smiled with pride at the huge grin on KJ’s face that matched hers before pressing Send. Shutting off the laptop, Tiffani set it on the nightstand next to the purple and white roses she’d carried in the wedding. Broderick Hollingsworth’s handsome face appeared in her mind. She shook her head with a smirk as she reached out to turn off the bedside lamp and slid under her down comforter. Laughing, she realized how ridiculous she was behaving over a man who probably hadn’t given her a second thought.
Broderick tossed his jacket and tie on the chaise lounge in front of his bed before he strode through to the adjoining cherrywood-paneled study. Leaning over his desk, he flicked on the lamp and turned on his laptop. Pulling out his wallet, he flipped through all of the cards he’d received that night both at the wedding and the business mixer until he found the only one he cared about. The rest of them would go to Josh or his secretary for possible meetings.
Retreating to the wet bar, Broderick poured a scotch while his computer started. Once settled in his black leather swivel chair, he typed in the website on the pink card and sipped his drink as the Sweet Treats website loaded. Like Tiffani’s personality, it was whimsical and girly with bright colors. A smooth jazz tune played in the background and a variety of cupcakes scrolled on the banner. He glanced at the tabs on the search bar, but the one titled “About the Baker” caught his eye. Considering he already knew what he was going to order, he figured he could look at desserts later. Right now, he wanted to know more about the sexy baker he’d found utterly intriguing. Clicking on the tab, he was elated to see an adorable picture of Tiffani wearing a pink chef’s jacket with a matching chef’s hat while holding a tray of cupcakes. He skimmed over her biography. It discussed her baking experience and expertise but didn’t mention anything personal about her. At the end of the short paragraph, a link titled “My New Life” grabbed his attention and he hoped it would lead to more information about Tiffani.
“Bingo,” he said, sipping his scotch as he scrolled through the posts that had begun more than two years ago.
She seemed to post about once or twice a month. Most of them were centered on her son, gardening, recipes and her transition from teaching to opening her bakery five months ago.
Broderick was impressed with her passion for her business but always making sure to put her son first. On one of the blog posts, she’d discussed her daily routine of dropping KJ off to school at seven, heading to the bakery by eight, then baking and preparing nonstop until the shop opened at ten. Her assistant would arrive at nine and stayed until they closed at five. Tiffani or one of her parents, who were retired, would pick up KJ from school and bring him to the bakery, where he would do homework. They would leave around six and head home unless he had karate or swim lessons. Any time after work was spent with him until his bedtime, after which she’d stay up to bake special orders for the next day.
Broderick’s thoughts blasted him back to his childhood. Although his mother had loved him, she’d loved drugs and men as well. After she died of an overdose at a crack house when he was eight years old, he found himself bouncing around between different relatives or foster homes until he was eighteen. Glancing at a picture on his desk of his mother and himself during one of her good days, he sighed and shook his head to brush away the hurtful memories. He clicked back to the first page of Tiffani’s blog and was pleasantly surprised to see a new post had uploaded moments before. It was a short write-up about the wedding and a couple of selfies of her and KJ making goofy faces in a mirror. Clicking on the picture, Broderick zoomed in until he only saw Tiffani. Even making fish lips and crossing her eyes, she was still breathtakingly beautiful.
He perused over her website quickly, taking note of the different desserts Sweet Treats offered. Even though the only sweet treat he desired wasn’t on the menu, he was determined to savor it.
* * *
The ringing of Tiffani’s cell phone in her apron pocket disrupted her concentration in icing the tops of the German chocolate cupcakes for an order later on that day. Placing the icing bag on the prep station counter, she hurriedly answered the phone before it went to voice mail.
“Hello, Sweet Treats. This is Tiffani. How may I assist you?” she asked in a fake chipper voice. It was eight o’clock on a Monday morning and she really needed coffee. A pot was brewing and she’d been waiting impatiently for the beep to signify it was ready.
“Good morning, Tiffani. This is Broderick Hollingsworth. How are you?”
The sexy, baritone voice in her ear rippled a warm shiver through her veins. Breath escaped her windpipes and floated out into the kitchen of her bakery. He was the last person she was expecting a call from.
She cleared her throat and hoped when she opened her mouth, her words didn’t sound like gibberish.
“Hi, Mr. Hollingsworth. I’m well. What can I do for you?” she asked calmly even though butterflies swirled in her stomach.
“I wanted to place an order for a few dozen cupcakes. Is this a good time?”
Didn’t Megan say that isn’t his type of thing to do?
“Of course. Just give me a moment to grab my laptop.” And to grab some ice water. No matter what he said, his deep seductive tone was present. She knew it wasn’t on purpose. That was just how he spoke. Nonetheless, a scorching current rushed through every cell of her body every time he uttered a word. She didn’t know how she was going to concentrate on placing his order with his voice so close, as if he were really present in her shop.
“Is it okay if I stop by instead?”
Stop by? Her face flushed with heat at the notion of him striding in wearing a custom-made suit similar to the one he’d worn to the wedding—one that enhanced his manly physique. Her heart hammered rapidly against her chest and her skin crawled with anticipation. She wasn’t sure if she could handle being graced with his overbearing presence in her cozy bakery. Alone.
“Um...sure you can stop by.” She picked up the icing bag once more to finish the last cupcake from that batch. There were two dozen more cooling on an adjacent prep station that needed to be done by noon.
“I’ll be there soon.”
“Okay...” She stopped abruptly as the chime of the doorbell sounded and her pulse raced. “Um...oh you meant really soon.”
“I just rang the bell,” he stated matter-of-factly in a low, deep tone that was becoming nerve-racking in her ear.
“I’ll be out front in a moment.” She pressed the end button on her phone just as the coffeemaker beeped.