LITMIR.BIZ

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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 seashells, sea horses, starfish and other ocean creatures out of gum paste.

      “I could make the colors softer, and add edible glitter to make it more elegant,” Carter continued.

      She studied the pictures for several minutes, flipping through the pages to view the pictures he’d taken from every angle. “It is beautiful,” she mused. “But everyone will be expecting a traditional cake.”

      “So, why not defy expectations? Pardon the pun, but can you imagine the splash something like this would make? In my opinion, this is much more worthy of the Drake than your run-of-the-mill tiered cake.”

      Carter could see the indecision flickering across her features, and was afraid he’d gone too far with the hard sell. A smidgen of self-reproach attacked his conscience, because he suddenly realized that he wasn’t thinking as much about selling a cake as he was thinking about selling himself. To her. He wanted to wow her with his skills.

      “You don’t have to make the decision right now,” Carter said, backing off a bit. “Why don’t you take a day to think it over? You can call tomorrow and let me know what you decide.”

      Still studying the pictures, she shook her head and said, “I don’t need any more time. I’ve already made my decision.” She sat upright and gave him a firm nod. “I want this cake.”

      “You sure?” Carter asked. “Really, you can take your time.”

      “No. I want it just as you described it, with the softer colors and the shimmering glitter. I want it to look like an enchanted underwater fantasy.”

      “Well, if you’re sure, we can put the order in now. You’ll just have to put twenty percent down.”

      She opened the snap on the designer clutch she held in her lap and pulled out several hundred-dollar bills. “How much is the deposit?”

      “That will depend on the size of the cake, and on the extent of the work that will need to be done. Let me get a bit more information from you, and then we’ll work up a price.”

      Her eagerness was laced with something else, a certain resolve that shouldn’t come from simply ordering a cake. He worked up her order and gave her the invoice. Instead of putting down a deposit, she paid for the eighteen-hundred-dollar cake in full. In cash. That was something he didn’t see every day.

      After they’d concluded their meeting, Carter walked her out of the office and back to the showroom.

      Lorraine held out her hand to him. “Thank you so much for your help,” she said. “I cannot believe it took a stranger to help me come up with the perfect theme for my own twin’s wedding shower, but I am very grateful you did. Trina is going to love this.”

      “Happy I could help,” Carter said, still holding on to her soft hand. He had no desire to let it go anytime soon. He slipped his hand into his left pocket and pulled out one of his business cards, handing it to her. “If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to call me. Anytime.”

      She smiled. Damn, her smile was nice.

      “Thank you, Carter.”

      And with that, she was gone.

      For a few moments Carter contemplated following her, but after coming in over an hour late this morning, he knew better than to leave the bakery.

      His thoughts stretched back to the conversation he’d had with his dad earlier, and Carter acknowledged what he had to do. His cousins already had an unfair advantage over him when it came to Lillian’s. It was time he proved to this family once and for all just what he was worth to them...even if he might not be working here for much longer.

      Chapter 2

      As she exited the bakery, Lorraine slipped on her Roberto Cavalli sunglasses and headed up Michigan Avenue. She couldn’t risk walking any faster than a casual stroll; her heart was already beating triple time.

      She had not been prepared for the likes of Carter Drayson.

      Her hand still tingled from their parting handshake. His fingers were long, the skin slightly rough, with a couple of darker spots, as if he’d been burned by a hot cake pan a time or two.

      And he was gorgeous. Seriously, unquestionably gorgeous.

      From the moment

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