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An empire made of cakes, bread, and donuts.
It could be worse.
***
“If you’re here to lecture me about dating, you’re going to have to turn around and leave,” I warned my brother.
He smiled sheepishly. “I’m actually here to apologize. I brought pizza.” He held up two boxes.
“Awfully presumptuous of you.” I opened the door further so he could come inside.
“And correct, evidently.”
“Well, it’s not my fault if after baking all day for other people I want pizza, okay?” I closed the door behind him. “Now, this apology?”
Josh put the pizza down on the dining table and turned to me with a grimace. “I’m sorry I sent Kinsley to bug you about dating. It’s just that you’re the only one in the group that’s single and—”
“And I’m okay with that,” I said, telling him the same thing I’d told her this morning. “Truly, Josh, I’m happy. I’m happy that you’re all in relationships and I’m just as happy that I’m not. Can we leave it at that?”
“Yes, absolutely.” He pulled me into a hug. “But just a warning, I don’t think Holley and Tori have given up.”
I groaned, sagging against him. “They’re sending me on a blind date, aren’t they?”
“I think so. They were talking about it today when I went to get Kinsley for lunch from the store.”
Pulling away from him, I grabbed the top pizza box and opened it. Ugh. Vegetables. Who put vegetables on pizza? If I wanted to eat vegetables, I’d have a salad or something.
Or I’d be vegetarian.
And, quite frankly, I liked bacon far too much for that.
I took the other box. It better have pepperoni and bacon on it. If it wasn’t, my brother could shove his apology up his butt and into next week.
Luckily for him, it was, and I sat down at the table to eat. “Why can’t anyone accept that I’m happy alone?”
“You want me to get them to stop?”
“Nobody can get Holley to stop. Especially when she teams up with Tori. I’ll just have to go on their stupid blind date and suffer through it.” I sighed, breaking a bit of stringy cheese when it looked like pepperoni was going to slide off. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not.”
“I know it’s not, and it’s all your fault, no matter how well-meaning your actions were.”
He held up his hands. “I get it. I’ll stay out of it. Until you meet someone, then I’ll scare them off.”
I stared at him. “You’re marrying my friend. You have no say.”
“Oh, come on. It’s been well over a year. Are we still discussing that?”
“Yes, because you’re marrying her.”
“Would you prefer I broke her heart instead?”
I snorted. “You’ve been in love with Kinsley for, like, ten years. You couldn’t break her heart if you tried.”
“All right, no need to remind me of all the years I pined after her.”
I grinned and bit into my slice of pizza.
Shame.
That was my favorite hobby.
It was practically a requisite, being his little sister.
Despite what everyone thought, I really wasn’t lonely. And it wasn’t like I wasn’t seeing anyone—I was. They just happened to be different people that I saw once and hopefully didn’t see again the next morning.
The occasional one-night stand was about all I had the time to commit to.
But that wasn’t the case now. Wedding season was here, and that meant I had orders coming out the wazoo. Cake tastings were happening every other day it felt like, and even though Josh and Kinsley weren’t getting married until next spring, they were with me next week for theirs.
So yes.
I was grateful for the concern of my friends, but it was decidedly misplaced.
“How are the plans coming along? For the wedding,” I added, almost unnecessarily.
Josh walked to my fridge and pulled out a beer, then held up an open bottle of wine in question. When I nodded, he said, “Not a clue. I gave my input for the venue which was surprisingly accepted. Offered it for the color scheme, which was wholeheartedly rejected, and now I just smile and nod as Kinsley throws out ideas. It’s book-themed, which I should have known from the start, but I’m wondering if I need to draw the line at Harry Potter wedding favors.”
“Saylor?”
“Who else?” He handed me my glass and sat down. “It’s just a lot of organizing for something so far away.”
“Well, she’s dreamed about this her entire life. All she wants to do is be a princess for a day. Is that so much?”
“It is when you see the prices these places charge.”
I smirked. “Just as well you don’t have to pay for a cake, isn’t it?”
Josh blinked at me. “What do you mean?”
“You’re coming to a taste test with me next week. Kinsley already told me I’m doing it.” I shrugged. “You think I’m going to charge my brother for his wedding cake?”
More blinking. “You’re—you’re doing it for free?”
