Page 14 of Kylie’s Kakes

Cleaning up was quick, so I sent a text to Magda to let her know I was leaving food for her to grab before she went home and then wandered over to Kylie’s station.

She was finishing a cake that made me stop in my tracks.

It was a mint-green ombre cake that was several layers tall. The color eventually faded into cream, and it was gorgeous. Something that could have been straight out of a magazine. I employed some of the top pastry chefs in the world in my restaurants and she could’ve held her own with any one of them. She was definitely wasting her talent pouring lattes every day.

"That's amazing." I stood just outside her space so I wouldn't get in her way. "At least as good as pastry chefs I’ve worked with in Paris and Tokyo. You’re extremely talented, Kylie."

A soft gasp caught my attention, but she quickly schooled her features before turning her back as she wiped her hands. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome.” I was tempted to pull the security footage later to see what her face looked like, but I quickly moved past that and was overwhelmed with pride when she turned back to me.

She tapped the corners of her eyes with her towel and pursed her lips. “If you say things like that, I’m gonna believe you. You know your stuff, Jordan, so…please always be honest with me about my work. I never want you to compliment me just to be polite.”

I stepped closer and gently gripped her bent elbows, holding her close but not inappropriately so. “I promise to never blow smoke up your ass when it comes to work.” I thought about it for a second and corrected myself. “Or anything else. When I say your work is in the elite category in the world, I mean it, Kylie. I promise.”

Her breath hitched, but she nodded quickly. “Okay, then…thank you, again, and I really appreciate it.”

She eyed the cake with a new energy. "Now I just have to figure out how to get it to the client's house without it collapsing into a puddle of frosting on my back seat."

It was tall. And transportation was likely to be one of the more difficult parts of a solo cake business. "We have a van that some clients use for catering. You’re welcome to it.”

Her jaw dropped. “Really? Is that part of the rental fee?”

Not usually. “For you, it is.” I winked and tested the weight of the cake on the stand. “If you want to drive the van, I can hold this in place."

She cocked her head like I'd offered her a million dollars. "You'd do that? I mean, you’re busy and have much better things to do."

"I've got stuff to do but none of it is more important than helping you deliver this masterpiece without incident." A week ago, I wouldn’t have believed anything was more important than finishing my cookbook or figuring out my next project, but I meant what I said to Kylie. Keeping that smile and look of happy pride on her face was miles above my next most important priority. “Let’s get this onto a cart and then we can load it up.”

And that was how we spent our second date. Technically, it wasn’t a date, but we definitely got to know each other well. Not to mention the myriad emotions we’d both experienced in just a few hours. It was like a month of regular dates rolled into one.

It was also one of the most stressful dates I’d been on.

As a restaurateur, I never had to worry about delivering delicate commissions, but Kylie drove the van with the precision of a bomb disposal expert. And every time she bounced through a pothole, we both gasped like that would be the one to take us down and then chuckled nervously when everything was fine.

Despite a few new grays that were likely sprouting from my temples, the delivery was successful, and the client actually cried when she saw it.

I stood back and watched Kylie glow from the praise as she added the final decorative touches to the cake and then humbly accepted an extra cash tip. She genuinely seemed surprised that someone was willing to pay her for her work.

On the drive back, I was behind the wheel so Kylie could bask in the joy of her accomplishment. When she seemed a bit antsy, I reached over and placed my hand on her knee to keep it from bouncing. “I’m so proud of you, cupcake. Your business is off to a great start.”

She placed her hand over mine and held it. "I'm buying you dinner." She shifted her weight so she was almost facing me while still held in place by the seatbelt. "There’s no way I could have made that delivery without you, so I owe you."

"You don't owe me anything, but I’d love to buy you dinner tonight."

"No way." She raised an eyebrow when I stopped at a light and could really look at her. "I'm not letting you spend any more money on me today. But I’d be willing to compromise and go with…takeout at my place. I'll pick up food and you can pick a movie…"

I didn’t like the idea of her spending her first paycheck on me, but I was intrigued by getting to spend time with her in her space, so I relented. "I guess I can allow it this time."

Kylie rolled her eyes but squeezed my hand. “I can’t believe this is real. That I’m actually selling my cakes.”

“It’s real, Kylie. And it’s just the beginning.”

7

KYLIE

We picked up Thai food after dropping off the van and then drove our own cars back to my place. That gave me just a few minutes alone with my thoughts about everything that had happened. Between the cake all coming together better than I hoped, the client being thrilled, the $300 tip I absolutely didn’t expect, and Jordan being there with me every step of the way…I was beginning to spiral.