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“No, but I’m a fast learner.” I frowned at the recipe I’d printed out.
Cream together butter and sugars.What the hell did that mean? Was I supposed to stir the ingredients so they were mixed? If so, why didn’t the writer saystirinstead of the maddeningly vaguecream?
“Are you?” Xavier sounded skeptical, which I didn’t appreciate.
“Yes.”Fuck it.I was stirring. You couldn’t go wrong with a good stir.
“Not that I don’t believe you, darling, but your cupcakes are burning.”
The wail of the smoke alarm drowned out the last piece of his sentence, and an acrid smell filled my nostrils.
“Shit!” I spun in time to see smoke billowing from the oven. I opened the door and coughed as a cloud of pale gray fumes enveloped me.
One burned hand, one opened window, and several fans of a magazine later, the alarm cut off, plunging us into silence.
We stared at the tray of blackened cupcakes on the table.
Xavier dropped the magazine he’d used to fan the smoke into the recycling bin. “Crumble & Bake delivers,” he said carefully. “Perhaps we should order in.”
My shoulders slumped. “I guess we should.”
Half an hour later, we curled up on my couch with a Nate Reynolds movie and a box of Crumble & Bake’s cupcakes. I’d abandoned my cookie batter in the kitchen, which was for the best, though I wasn’t happy about it.
“I wanted to try something new,” I grumbled. “Baking is an essential life skill.”
I was too embarrassed to admit I’d been trying to impress him. It was so stupid and backward, the notion that a woman had to be good in the kitchen. Hello, wasn’t that what food delivery was for? But I liked Xavier so much, and baking had seemed like a nice, domestic activity to add some life into the apartment.
I tried not to look at the side table where The Fish used to reside. I’d tossed the aquarium days ago, but I still felt its absence. “You know what else is an essential life skill? Living,” Xavier teased. “I’m concerned any future baking attempts will result in your kitchen burning down.”
“Very funny.” I tossed a balled-up napkin at him. “Next time,youtry to bake.”
“I’m good. I know where my talents lie, and it’s not in the kitchen.” His arm rested on the back of the couch, his fingertips grazing my shoulder. “But you don’t need to cook for me, Luna. I’m happy ordering in.”
“Because restaurants do it better?”
“Well, yeah.” He laughed when I knocked my knee against his in reproach, but a smile broke through my disgruntlement.
If I put enough time and effort in, I waspositiveI’d kick baking’s ass. There was no way a little sugar and flour could beat me, but I didn’t like baking, and I didn’t have to be good at everything (even though I could be if I wanted).
“In better news, Perry’s social media accounts got banned,” I said as Nate Reynolds engaged in a shoot-out with a group of mercenaries onscreen. Xavier always watched rom-coms with me, so I suffered through the action thriller for him. It wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. It was actually pretty good, and Nate was delicious eye candy.
Xavier’s eyebrows shot up again, this time in surprise. “When did that happen? They were working last night.”
“Less than an hour ago, right before the smoke alarm went off,” I said. “I saw Isa’s text on my lock screen.”
I’d eagerly googled the story while Xavier paid the delivery guy. After Soraya posted her denial video earlier this week, her fans had swarmed Perry’s accounts with vicious determination and successfully gottenallof his social media banned. Apparently, the platforms had denied his appeals, and he’d already uploaded a new blog post begging for help reinstating his accounts.
It wouldn’t make my father rehire Rhea or help me see Pen, but it was deeply satisfying.
“So revenge has been served,” Xavier said.
“Not yet. There’s still the matter of his blog.” I tapped my phone. “A little birdie told me Bryce is suing him for libel and the emotional distress it caused in his marriage.”
“Plenty of people have sued him for libel before. It’s never stuck.”
“This time is different. There’s proof Perry acted with reckless disregard and published that post without verifying any of the ‘facts.’”
“Perry Wilson in court. That would be a sight to see,” Xavier drawled. “I’m surprised he was foolish enough to do that. Say what you will about the man, but he’s usually more careful about these things.”
