“Hello?” a man’s voice—a stranger’s voice—yelled over the booming music.
She screamed. The spatula slipped from her grip. What was a man doing in her kitchen? A man she’d never seen before. Her brain scrambled and her body refused to move. She could only gape at him in wide-eyed horror.
Oh, no. What if he was the backdoor burglar? The thief that had been breaking into the back doors of restaurants and assaulting and stealing? What if this dude was him?
It would be smart to call 9-1-1, but she had no idea where her cell was. There was no business phone installed yet. Even if she did have her cell or a working landline, it wouldn’t matter since she was paralyzed in place.
“Uh…uh…” That was the best speech she could manage? Get it together, Ava. You’re about to be robbed. “I’ve seen your face, so I can identify you in a lineup.”
The burglar stared at her. Wow, he was really handsome. And he looked startled. His strong, chiseled jaw was clenched tight in, perhaps, fury and his striking dark eyes glittered with viciousness…or maybe that was humor. The left corner of his mouth quirked up as if he were holding back a grin.
Great, she had to get an easily amused thief.
“I’ve got two bucks in my purse. That’s it, buddy. There’s not another cent on the premises. You’ve picked the wrong place to rob. So t-t-turn around r-right now and go away. Go on. Shoo.”
There, that ought to scare him off or confuse him. She really didn’t care which. Adrenaline—or maybe it was terror—started to spill like ice into her veins.
“Go ahead, call the cops.” He called her bluff, crossing his arms over his wide chest. He had the audacity to lean one big shoulder against the door frame, as if he had all the time in the world. He looked more like a movie star than a criminal. “Explain to the police how you left the front door unlocked.”
“No, I—” Wait, she did forget to lock stuff. And if he’d come in the front door, then he wasn’t the backdoor thief. Maybe. Unless he’d changed his M.O. and was that very likely? She didn’t think so. “I did leave the door unlocked, didn’t I?”
“Anyone could walk right in. Even the backdoor burglar. That’s who you thought I was, right?”
Okay, her mind was starting to unscramble. He didn’t look like any criminal she’d seen on TV. To make matters worse, he looked better than any man she’d seen on TV. He was handsome to a fault. His thick black hair fell with disregard for convention over his collar. He wore a short-sleeve polo shirt—black—with the little expensive insignia. His clothes—including his baggy khaki shorts and exclusive manly leather sandals—were top-of-the-line. Expensive.
It was likely that the backdoor thief didn’t dress like that or have such a perfect smile. She hit Pause on the boom box. “Okay, I feel dumb now. What were you doing surprising me like that? You just can’t go walking into any place you want.”
“I’m looking for you, Ava McKaslin.” His grin broadened enough to show off a double set of dimples.
Oops. This must be about business, and mistaking a potential customer for a burglar was so not professional. “You’ve come with a cake order, haven’t you, and after meeting me, you’ve changed your mind.”
“No, but it’s tempting.” The sets of dimples dug deeper as his grin widened. “I’ve been sent to check on the cake.”
“Chloe’s cake?” Oh, no. That can’t be good. Suddenly her great mood tumbled. “Has she called off her wedding?”
“Nope.”
“Changed her mind and eloped?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“Has she gone with another baker and forgot to tell me? Has she postponed the wedding?”
“Let me guess. You’re more of a glass-is-half-empty kind of girl, aren’t you?”
“Hey, disasters happen. I’m a realist.”
Ava knelt to retrieve the spatula. She tossed it into the sink and washed her hands, turning her back to the guy. He wasn’t a burglar. She’d leaped to a wrong conclusion, but his being a thief might be better because he’d come with bad news. She knew, although he had yet to admit it, that he’d come to cancel the first cake she’d made in her bakery.
Total doom.
She grabbed a paper towel to dry her hands. “Tell Chloe I appreciate that she went with me, even if it didn’t work out. Is she all right?”
“I hope so, since she’s getting married tomorrow.”
“The wedding’s still on?”
“Sure it is.”
She was as cute as he remembered. Brice Donovan took a step closer, trying to act like he wasn’t stunned. He’d never met any woman who looked so funny and gorgeous all in the same moment. It was the eyes. Those big violet-blue eyes filled with one hundred percent vibrant emotion. They radiated such heart and spirit that he was sucked right in, like being caught in the vortex of a black hole.
It ought to be terrifying, but he didn’t mind it so much. He was glad to see her again. She didn’t seem to remember seeing him at Chloe’s wedding shower, considering she’d mistaken him for a burglar. But he sure remembered her. How could he not? She was unforgettable.
And absolutely adorable. Not that he could see much of her; she was standing behind the most unusual cake he’d ever seen. One large heart-shaped layer was stacked off-center on another, and another over that. Satin-textured, smooth ivory frosting adorned with amazing gold lace and ribbons of some kind of frosting, and colorful sugar flowers everywhere.
Unlike her cake, the designer wasn’t as perfectly arranged. She had globs of icing all over her. A streak on her cheek, a dried crown of it in her light blond hair, which was neatly tied back, and a blob just above the tip of her cute little nose.
When he’d agreed to check on the cake’s progress for his sister, he’d thought the address was familiar. He knew why the instant he’d pulled into the lot. His construction company had won the bid for renovation—starting next week. The moment he’d spotted the shop’s proprietor hard at work, he’d known why Chloe had sent him. She was meddlesome, but then a guy had to tolerate that from his baby sister. Not that he wasn’t grateful.
Over the past year, he’d noticed Ava McKaslin around town a couple of times. They didn’t belong to the same social circle or church, and didn’t live in the same parts of town, so he’d never had an opportunity to talk to her before. There was something about her that always made him smile. Just like he was doing now.
“I’ve been sent to make sure the cake is on schedule.” He stalked forward, wanting to get closer to that smile of hers. “It looks on schedule to me.”
“I’ll need thirty minutes tops, and then it’s done. Chloe doesn’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll deliver it bright and early at the country club, just as I promised, no sweat.”
“She’ll be thrilled.” He splayed both hands on the table and leaned toward her, drawn by those eyes, by everything.
Up close, there was nothing artificial about her. She was radiant. She had a fresh-faced complexion and dazzling beauty, sure, but she was unique. She was like the light refracting off a flawless diamond. Hers was a brilliance that was impossible to touch or to capture.
He’d really like to get to know her. “You said you’ve got thirty minutes until you’re done?”
“I promise. You and Chloe have nothing to worry about. Your wedding cake will be