Cupcakes and Cowboys (Sunset Plains Romance Book 1) (10 page)

Cassidy’s face froze. Then she blinked, and Jase saw the open hostility shine through. She glanced back and forth between him and Drew. “So it’s true? He’s in the movie, too?”

“Yes.” Jase gulped. He should’ve known she’d find out. “Just a minor role. I didn’t know he was coming here.”

“Well, then. See ya. I hope your stay here was satisfactory.” Cassidy turned on her heel and strode across the wide expanse of grass.

Jase raced after her, heart pounding. He grabbed her arm, but she shook him off. “I didn’t know he was coming.”

“Seems like the two of you are pretty chummy.”

“Cassidy, let me explain.”

She turned, and the disappointment in her eyes made him catch his breath. “You
know
how much he hurt me. And you brought him here, without any warning. Were you even going to say goodbye before you left?”

“Of course.” He clutched at her hand, hoping to make her understand. “This doesn’t have to be it.”

She pulled from his grasp. “We both knew we couldn’t last. It was nice knowing you, Jase.”

The words were a slap in the face. “Cassidy!”

“Don’t follow me.”

He stood frozen. With suddenly clarity, it hit him—this was what he wanted.
She
was what he wanted. He didn’t care about the production or Drew or Hollywood or what his mother wanted.

The only thing in life that really mattered to him was walking away.

Cassidy walked back to the homestead, praying her legs wouldn’t give out until she was safely locked inside. The tears burned for release, but she wouldn’t let them—not this time. She was done crying over men who didn’t care for her.

Jase had lied to her. He’d brought Drew right to her home, even knowing how much he’d hurt her. She was sure Drew was partly to blame, but in the end, all that mattered was Jase hadn’t cared.

Cassidy closed the kitchen door and sank to the floor, glad that neither of her parents were home. Her entire body shook with adrenaline. Drew had looked at her so coldly, like she was a fly he couldn’t wait to squash. How had she almost married him?

A few minutes later she heard the purr of a car engine. A sob ripped from her chest. Jase was really leaving.

Cassidy didn’t sleep well that night, and was at the bakery even earlier than normal the next morning. She baked cupcakes and cookies to refill the display cases, then counted the money in the cash till and straightened the front room. She wondered if Jase had boarded the plane yet—if he was even now flying away from her and back to his old life.

She was so tired of being left behind.

She glanced around the bakery.
Maybe I’m being stubborn. Maybe I should’ve offered to go with him.

But no. She hadn’t been happy forgetting herself for Drew. She wouldn’t be happy doing the same for Jase, either. She folded her arms, trying to hold herself together. This pain would pass. She’d made the right decision.

A knock sounded rapidly on the glass door. Cassidy looked up, surprised to see Anabeth. She quickly unlocked the door and let her inside. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s awful.” Anabeth’s hair was pulled back in a loose braid, her eyes swollen and red.

A pit formed in Cassidy’s stomach. “What’s awful?”

But she already knew the answer. There was only one reason Anabeth would be here now.

“The cake.” Anabeth pulled out her phone and showed Cassidy a picture. “I refused to even take it home from the bakery. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Cassidy took the phone, zooming in to see the details. Cracked sugar flowers that looked cartoonish instead of realistic tumbled down wrinkled and sagging fondant. The cake layers tilted visibly, collapsing under its own weight, probably due to a lack of support dowels.

“Oh, Anabeth.”

“The wedding’s tomorrow.”

“Who made this cake?”

“I was angry and didn’t take any of your suggestions.” Anabeth wiped at her eyes. “I found a random bakery in Tulsa. Please, Cassidy. If you can’t help me, I won’t have anything for tomorrow.”

Cassidy’s hands trembled, and she clasped them together to stop the movement. She closed her eyes and pictured Drew’s cruel smile while insulting her. Felt his words crush her. Raged that the stress of his leaving resulted in losing their child. She remembered years of pain and hurt as she ignored all her own wants and needs in favor of what was best for him.

She blinked, staring at Anabeth. Her face was free of makeup, her creamy skin pale and splotchy. Dark circles rimmed bloodshot eyes. Her clasped hands silently pleaded for help. If Cassidy didn’t make the cake, there would not be one. Anabeth wouldn’t get to laugh as her new husband smeared frosting over her face. There would be no pictures of the cake cutting ceremony for the wedding scrapbook.

Cassidy forced the bad memories behind a door and locked them up, throwing away the key. Anabeth shouldn’t suffer for Drew’s poor behavior. Cassidy’s wedding had ended in a shamble of broken dreams. But Anabeth’s didn’t need to end the same.

“I’ll do it.” Cassidy forced the words from her lungs, and they echoed around the empty bakery.

Anabeth let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders sagging as tears filled her eyes. “Thank you.”

“What flavors of cake did you want?”

“As long as it doesn’t look like that” —Anabeth pointed at her phone— “I don’t care what it tastes like. You could serve Styrofoam and I’d be okay with it. We’re having a sundae bar as dessert for the guests, so we can get by without serving the cake as refreshment.”

“There’s no need for Styrofoam—I can bake when things are slow.” Cassidy handed the phone back. “Can you text me the sample picture so I can reference it?”

“I’ll send it right now.” Anabeth’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “Name your price—I don’t care how much at this point. We’ll need to pick it up by ten tomorrow morning. Is that okay?”

Cassidy nodded, glad that tomorrow was Sunday so she could spend the day sleeping. She thought fleetingly of her bed. Between the rush cake order this week and not sleeping well the last few nights, she was exhausted.

But she couldn’t let Anabeth go cakeless tomorrow. She just couldn’t.

Cassidy worked all night, treating each detail with meticulous care. Memories overwhelmed her. Despite working with vanilla bean and chocolate fudge, she could almost smell the spice cake that had made her so ill. As she created the roses out of gum paste and coated them with pink luster dust, she saw the dark red and yellow roses on her own cake.

When the cake was finished, with barely thirty minutes to spare, Cassidy stood back and admired it with a critical eye. Roses cascaded elegantly down five tiers. She’d piped even and steady on two of the layers in a shimmery pearl color, adding an elegance to the overall feel. The fondant was smooth, the roses realistic and uncracked. The tiers were evenly placed and with enough support to not sink like the disastrous first cake. It was beautiful, and would be the perfect centerpiece at Anabeth’s wedding.

All vestiges of sorrow disappeared as Cassidy looked at the cake, proud of her work. It no longer represented a painful time in her life, but the ability to bring happiness to someone else. It was just a cake. What had she been so afraid of?

A quiet knock sounded at the front door. Cassidy blinked, the moment broken, and let Anabeth and Mrs. Collins in.

“Sorry we’re early,” Anabeth said. “We’re on our way to the church, but I wanted to see the cake first.”

“I just finished it,” Cassidy said. They followed her to the back room and she stood aside, giving them a clear view.

Anabeth gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Then she threw her arms around Cassidy. “It’s perfect. Thank you so much.”

“You have no idea what a load this takes off of us,” Mrs. Collins said.

Anabeth lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry about what I said when you told me no. I’ve been a bridezilla the past few months.”

Cassidy gave her a warm smile. “It’s okay. I’m actually glad you needed me. Decorating a wedding cake wasn’t as hard or as scary as I thought it would be.”

They wrote Cassidy a check with a substantial bonus. Cassidy tried to refuse, but they insisted. So she thanked them, gratitude filling her with the knowledge that the bakery was safe for another month. She could definitely stay open until the holiday rush, and then that would take her through to February or March, at least. Slowly, bit by bit, she’d reach her goals. She thought fleetingly of Jase, and the life she’d almost had. But she knew she’d made the right decision. She could never be happy watching someone else chase their dreams.

Cassidy boxed up the cake, then helped Anabeth and Mrs. Collins load it into the back of the SUV. As the SUV disappeared around a corner, Cassidy let go of the hurt Drew had caused her. For the first time in a year, she felt ready to heal.

Back inside, she got to work cleaning up the disastrous kitchen. She thought about leaving it for later, but knew her exhaustion wouldn’t improve. After an hour of cleaning, she turned off the lights and locked up the door, struggling to keep her eyes open. Blasting the radio while the breeze whipped her hair helped fight her exhaustion on the drive home.

The sun shone bright in the sky as she parked outside her house and got out of the car. She froze and blinked.

Jase sat on the front step, his too-white cowboy hat on his head, a dimple in one cheek.

Her stomach swarmed with butterflies. Had she fallen asleep and started dreaming? Her heart thundered in her chest like a galloping horse and she placed a trembling hand over her mouth. Jase rose and strode toward her, his steps uncertain.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi.” Her shaking hand found her braid, and she curled the end around her finger. Jase. Here. What did this mean? “I thought you’d be back in Los Angeles by now.”

“I couldn’t get on the plane.”

Her eyes slowly met his.

He hadn’t boarded the plane.

“Why?” she whispered.

“Because I don’t want that life. I want
you
. I want this life.” He gestured to the ranch. “I told my mother to recast my part, and I’m meeting with a realtor tomorrow to look at properties nearby. After glimpsing what life could be like with you, I couldn’t go back to what it used to be. I’m finally ready to make my choice.”

A strangled sob tore from her. Slowly, Jase pulled her into his arms.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“I’ve never been more certain. I haven’t been happy with my career for a while. When I came to Oklahoma, it was like breathing for the first time in years.”

She placed a soft hand on his chest. “I don’t want you to resent me.”

“This is the choice I’d make regardless of whether you were in the equation. You’re just the icing on the cupcake.”

She laughed, burying her face in his chest. Slowly he tipped her chin up, his eyes searching hers for permission. She gave a slight nod. His lips caressed hers, light as a feather. She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and drank him in as he pressed her closer. She let herself melt, breathing in the smell of his cologne.

Eventually he broke away, leaning his forehead against hers, his breathing ragged. “I can’t believe I almost lost you.”

“I thought you were choosing Hollywood over me. I thought I was just a fling.”

“Not even close. I’ve spent my entire existence pretending. I’ve lied to myself about who I am and lived in a world that’s artificial. You showed me life can hold meaning. With you, I feel alive. I finally feel whole. You give me the courage to stop pretending and be myself.” His fingers brushed against her cheek and she shivered, leaning into him. “I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving to you how real this is.”

And then he kissed her again.

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