Page 60 of Some Kinda Romance

All the while, fury heated my veins. In my head, I hurled insults at the bastards who’d thought they could pull a fast one on me. Lure me in under false pretenses and then convince the pretty little blonde to shack up with some guys on a beach somewhere, hoping to catch her in the act with a few of them to fuel the fire that was already threatening to burn up her reputation.

How stupid do they think I am?

Professionally, there would be no going back for me after something like that. My events coordination skills would be forgotten and I’d forever be remembered as that wannabe actress who worked her way through however many guys before she finally settled on that one no one liked. Or something like that.

Plus, not only did it diminish my actual career, but I’d also just slept with Dash. We weren’t official or anything, but I’d never do something like that to him.

When I got back to my own office, I decided I’d been right to turn down all the reality show gigs that had come my way these last few months since the divorce. My time on the silver screen was over and I was just fine with that, ready to make the best of this next chapter of my life which just so happened to be doing something I was actually passionate about.

And damn good at.

Still fuming when Julie strode into my office not a second later, I turned to cut her off before she could even ask how it went. “They lied to me. Got me there with false promises about it being a show about me, but it’s not. They wanted me to do a dating show. Just me and some guys in a remote location somewhere.”

Her eyebrows twitched up. “And you said no?”

“Of course, I said no.” I scoffed, but then I saw the laughter in her eyes and I finally managed to see a flicker of humor in the situation. “At least they were willing to offer me a lot of money for it because of all the drama in my life. That’s what Janet said yesterday, anyway. So that’s something.”

She held my gaze before she couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore. “You could always recommend me for it instead. I’d love to go live in a fancy house someplace remote with a bunch of hot guys. Call them. Tell them you want a finder’s fee and then give them my number.”

Finally unable to help myself, I started laughing too. “Everybody’s a comedian today. Okay, let’s just get to work, shall we? God, what a waste of time. Where are we on the flower arrangements?”

Her laughter subsided as she thought it over. Then she snapped her fingers. “Right. Okay. My brain is back from the remote locations with all those shirtless hunks lounging around everywhere.” She winked at me, then strode to the conference table and sat down. “We need to choose a floral designer first. I’ve got a few options here, as well as some examples of their previous work. We⁠—”

The ringing of my office line interrupted her and I flashed an apologetic smile in her direction before I picked up. “This is Serenity.”

“Serenity? Hi, love. This is Fiona.”

I smiled. “Hey, you. How are you doing? How’s the cake for Diana’s wedding coming along?”

“Can I take you out to lunch?” she asked, and when I looked at the time, I realized it was almost noon.

“Sure. Okay. Can Julie come?”

“Of course,” she said. “It’ll be great to see you guys again.”

She fired off the name of a restaurant and I agreed that we’d meet her there. She hung up and I turned to Julie. “You and I have got a date with a baker.”

“Fiona?” she guessed, smiling as she got up. “Awesome. She never fails to make you smile, so it’ll be good for you to see her today.”

I nodded, grabbing my purse once more before we headed out. Fiona was an old friend of ours, about ten years older but a real bundle of laughs and fun. She was also a baker I worked with often these days, the best in the business when it came to wedding cakes.

When we got to the restaurant though, my eyebrows jumped up when I saw Fiona, already there and waiting, but with casts up to her elbows on both arms. Julie and I exchanged a look before we rushed over to her.

“What on earth happened?” I asked when I reached her, looking her over to check for any other injuries.

She flushed and gave us awkward hugs before sitting back down. “If anyone else asks, tell them I fell off a ladder painting and broke my arms, but since we’re all friends, I’ll tell you the truth.”

Julie leaned forward. “The truth? What the fuck, Fi? Did Davi⁠—”

“No,” she interjected immediately, her head shaking back and forth. “No, it’s nothing like that. Not at all. Well, he was involved. He is my husband after all, but he didn’t mean to hurt me. We were trying something new. Nothing crazy, but I fell weird and broke both arms. I was naked when the paramedics came in. It was just mortifying!”

I stared at her for a long beat before I burst out laughing and Julie joined in. Unfortunately, the next words out of Fiona’s mouth weren’t nearly as funny. “So, uh, the thing is that I won’t be able to bake for the wedding. These casts are staying on for at least six weeks and uh, well, I’m sorry, Serenity.”

My laughter ceased, my heart pounding as the realization sank in that this was yet another potential disaster, but I couldn’t be mad at her for wanting to spice things up with her husband. “Gosh, I couldn’t make this up if I tried, but it’s okay, Fi. I’m not quite sure what we’re going to do, but we’ll figure it out.”

As Julie launched into questions about exactly what they had been trying, I leaned back in my chair and tried not to let my worry show. All the good bakers were fully booked months in advance, and I’d sold Fiona to Diana pretty hard. Now Fiona was out of the running, and we had only a couple weeks until the wedding.

Are these issues ever going to stop?!

I didn’t know, but I was starting to feel like maybe I’d made a mistake turning down that dating show possibility so damn fast. If this wedding fell apart, I sure could’ve used the money Janet had mentioned to try to keep the company afloat while I rebuilt my reputation.

Closing my eyes, I dug deep to find my center of calmness and peace. This was just another hurdle. I’d gotten over so many of them recently and I’d get over this one as well. I just needed to take it all one step at a time—and pray that when the big day arrived, all the issues would be behind us.