Page 39 of Frosted Fakes

Julia laughed. "She's not that bad."

"She told Mrs. Smythe that her hat looked like a dead rat."

"To be fair, it did look like a dead rat." Julia took another bite. "But she's not always prickly. Sometimes she's almost nice. Last night she made me tea without me asking. And this morning she showed me how to tell when dough is properly kneaded."

Jamie was looking at her with an expression that Julia couldn't quite read. "That's nice."

"It was. I mean, I still can't knead properly. But she was patient about it. Didn't even roll her eyes." Julia realized she was smiling. "She's a good teacher, actually. When she's not being sarcastic."

"Mmm," said Jamie. "You know that you've mentioned her five times in the last ten minutes, right?"

Julia's face went warm. "Have I?"

"Mmhmm. Elliott's talented. Elliott's patient. Elliott made you tea." His smile turned knowing. "Sounds like someone's got it bad."

"I don't have anything." Julia stabbed at her risotto. "We're business partners. And flatmates. That's all."

"Right. And the fake dating thing?"

"Is fake. Obviously." Julia took a drink of water. "Speaking of which, how are things going with my mother? She hasn't been hassling you, has she?"

Jamie's expression turned pained. "She texted me yesterday. Asking about wine pairings. And then about whether I was single."

"Oh God. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. I told her I was seeing someone." He colored. "I don’t think she believed me."

"That sounds like Mum," Julia sighed. "She's relentless when she wants something. I should probably warn you that she doesn't take no for an answer."

"I'm getting that impression." Jamie leaned back. "You know, you could just tell her to back off. Set some boundaries."

"That's easier said than done."

"Is it, though? She's your mother, not your boss. Well, not anymore, anyway."

Before Julia could respond, the door opened and Candice walked in. She was wearing a bright pink coat and an expression that suggested she'd just won the lottery. Her eyes found Julia immediately, and her smile sharpened.

"Oh wonderful," Julia muttered.

Candice made a beeline for their booth. "Julia! How lovely to see you." The words were warm, but the tone was anything but. "And Jamie. Having a little business dinner, are we?"

"Just helping Julia with some social media," Jamie said evenly. "You?"

"Meeting a friend." Candice's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Though I must say, Julia, your little bakery is doing remarkably well. Quite the turnaround from those first few disastrous days."

"We've been working hard," Julia said carefully.

"Mmm. And it's such a coincidence, isn't it? That the bakery suddenly becomes successful right when you start dating Elliott."

Julia's stomach dropped. "I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Candice waved her hand. "Just an observation."

Jamie's expression hardened. "Candice. Behave yourself."

Candice beamed at him and turned on her heel, waving at someone at a table by the window. Julia sighed. This was one thing she didn’t need.

Idly, she wondered what Elliott was doing right now. Probably holed up baking something amazing. Or taking pictures of something amazing. Or eating something amazing. Actually, now that she thought about it, every thought she had about Elliott involved baking. Did Elliott do anything else?