Kirsty chewed on her words. “My ex cheated on me. She lied to me. Which is why you lying to me about Echo touched a nerve. I don’t appreciate being lied to.”
Saffron nodded and turned to face Kirsty. “I get it. I’m sorry. What went on with us was short-lived, just like my feelings for her. I was stupid to get into it. Which is probably why I lied, because I should have known better. Not an excuse, but that’s why.” She reached out a hand to Kirsty’s arm and drew it back just as quickly. “I’m sorry I touched a nerve. I know how raw they can be.”
Kirsty sucked in her bottom lip, her heart beating fast. They were straying back into dangerous territory here, weren’t they? She jumped up, brushing down her jeans.
“Shall we get going?” Best to break this up now before it went too far. “I’ve got a cake tasting to get to.”
* * *
“Kirsty,have you tried my new cakes? They’re cream cheese frosted, like the ones they did onThe Great British Bake Offlast series. Pimped-up madeleines, as one of my customers called them earlier.” Betty grinned from ear to ear as she pointed at the display cabinet. “Can I tempt you? Your mum and dad would love them. Your dad’s in here most days buying something.”
Was he really? That was news. “No thanks, Betty. We’re just in here to order a cake for Ginger’s divorce party.” They all looked and smelled divine. Kirsty had always said bakery staff must be the most content workers on the planet, inhaling the aroma of cake all day long. The sweetness hung in the air like a warm blanket of love.
Betty frowned. “A divorce party? Is that a thing now? I’m not sure a celebratory cake is what’s needed for that, is it?”
“You didn’t know my ex-husband,” Ginger replied, making Kirsty snort. “Can we try the poppy seed and lemon, salted caramel, and the coffee and walnut, please?” Ginger paused. “And you’re invited to the party. Can you make August 17th?”
“Smashing! I do love a party.” Betty clapped her hands together. “Take a seat, I’ll bring the cakes over. On the house, of course.”
“The perfect business arrangement.”
“Not the rainbow cake?” Kirsty pointed at the seven-layered cake done in all the colours of the rainbow.
Ginger gave her a look. “We’ve been through this. You’re gay. Saffron is gay. I, unfortunately, am uncontrollably attracted to men.”
They walked over to a table at the back of the shop and sat.
“Women aren’t any better, believe me.”
“So I’ve heard.” Ginger settled in her seat before she spoke. “I know this is none of my business, and you can tell me to shut up, but has something happened with Saffron? She’s being evasive, even though she’s spent the past ten years of her life telling me she’d love to live near me. Now we live a ten-minute walk apart, and she’s hiding. I was wondering if you knew why.”
Betty brought over the cakes, along with two teas.
Kirsty waited until she’d gone to speak. “I know she’s had a lot of publicity stuff to do with Echo forGirl Racer.” Even saying her name made Kirsty’s brain hurt. “What kind of a name is Echo anyway?” She’d thought that even when she was just Saffron’s co-star. However, now she was impacting her life, Echo’s name seemed totally ridiculous.
A little like Kirsty developing feelings for a movie star.
“An LA name, sweetheart.” Ginger put on her best Californian accent to deliver that line.
Kirsty couldn’t help but smile. “Is it real?”
“As real as anything in Hollywood.” Ginger sighed. “You know what? I don’t know. I don’t know Hollywood. I’ve lived a very different life to Saffron. But I believe what she tells me. She thought things might be different when Echo moved here temporarily. But it turned out, they weren’t.”
Kirsty nodded. She wanted to know more. But she didn’t want to make it look like she was desperate to know all the details.
Even though she was.
Ginger took a bite of the salted caramel cake and tilted her head back, savouring the taste. “This is good.” She picked up some stray crumbs with the tip of her finger. “If she could do this as the base layer, and maybe a different flavour for layer two, we might have a winner. I want something funny iced on top. MaybeStraight Outta Marriage? Or I have seen people having bride and groom cake-toppers like at a wedding. Only this time, the bride is dumping the groom into a toy version of a bin lorry. That would work, too.”
Kirsty was glad she didn’t have a mouthful of tea, as she might have spat it out. “How do you think your friends who know both of you are going to take that?”
“If they don’t see the funny side, it’s their issue. This party is about me and my rebirth, right?”
“Totally.”
Ginger put a hand on Kirsty’s arm. “Thank you for all your help with it, too. I couldn’t have done this without you.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “It’s funny, isn’t it? So much emphasis is put on romantic relationships. But here we are, having only known each other for a few weeks, but we’re bonded. Possibly because I’m a wreck and have been drinking your wine and spewing my guts to you.” She laughed. “But still, I really do appreciate having you as a friend. It’s rare to click with someone like we do.” She held up her tea mug. “Here’s to many more years of friendship.”
Kirsty clinked her mug. “I’ll drink to friendship.” She was happy to have Ginger in the friend zone, where she belonged. Saffron, on the other hand… Kirsty filled her mouth with cake to stop herself from going down another dead end. “The lemon and poppy seed is great, too. Betty makes a mean cake.”
