Page 28 of Icing on Top

“Yeah. That works.”

Charlie threw her arms around Zoe in a tight hug. “You’re the best!”

Zoe hugged her back and then ruffled her already messy hair. “I could never say no to baking with my Charlie girl.”

I was just grateful to see Charlie smiling again. I doubted Zoe realized how much this meant to Charlie. To both of us, honestly. She was saving my little girl from a lot of heartbreak.

“Thank you,” I said sincerely, finally allowing myself to look at Zoe.

She gave me a soft smile. “Of course.”

Chapter 12

Zoe

“You’re going to his house?” Jada gasped, her jaw practically on the floor. “You have to sneak pictures. I want to see how big it is. He probably has floor to ceiling windows with a mountain view.”

I dodged one of Bash’s grubby fists clutching a plastic block as he waved it above his head while screaming toddler nonsense. Well, I’m sure he knew exactly what he was saying, but it was indecipherable to me. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t receive a black eye from a toy.

“You understand how creepy that is, right?”

Jada huffed and gave me a look, all the more intimidating given she was looking down at me from the dining table while I sat on the floor, “building” with Bash. He only ever allowed me to get five blocks together before he knocked it over.

“Okay, yes. But how often do you get to be in the home of a former pro athlete?”

I almost lived in one. Mine, that bitter voice reminded me.

I tried my best to shove it back into the dark corner it resided in, not needing to go down that rabbit hole right now. My life was good.

It could’ve been great.

I physically shook my head this time.

“I’m not taking pictures of his house, Jada.”

“Party pooper. Bash, tell Auntie Zoe that she’s a party pooper.”

He babbled once more and then laughed. For all I knew, he could’ve been calling me something far worse.

“The only pooper around here is Mr. Bash.” I leaned forward so I could kiss his chubby cheek while tickling his sides. That just made him cackle even more.

“I can’t deny that. I’ll be so happy once he’s potty trained, and we’re done with diapers.”

“You’ll still have to wipe his butt,” I reminded her.

That earned me another look, but I just grinned at her, hugging Bash close. “Good thing he’s cute!”

Jada turned back to her laptop. Despite having the evening off, she was using it to go through the online order requests we’d received. With the holidays just around the corner, we encouraged customers to get their requests in as soon as possible so we could get them confirmed on our calendar. November and December always booked up quickly between family gatherings and work events. While it would be hard work, I definitely wasn’t complaining about the extra income.

“What kind of cupcakes are you going to make?”

I pursed my lips. “I guess that’s something I should have asked.”

Clearly I hadn’t been thinking straight. That seemed to be a recurring issue around Jeremiah. Although, he’d acted odd at the game, barely looking at me.

I scoffed at myself. Charlie had been unwell, and Jeremiah’s focus had been—rightfully—on her.

“You could always text him and ask,” Jada said matter-of-factly, eyes still on her screen. “You have his number, don’t you?”