Heir to Scandal (Secrets of Eden 3)

“You shouldn’t have let his daddy out of your sight,” Tori said with a knowing wink. “Oh, I heard about your win at the festival.”

Rose finally let the air escape from her lungs and nodded, thankful for the change in subject. Tori wasn’t interested in spreading around gossip. She’d probably made a point of letting Rose know she’d figured it out only in case she needed someone to talk to. It would certainly be nice to have someone she could confide in about all this.

“Thanks,” she said, a touch of embarrassed color coming to her cheeks. “It’s not a very difficult recipe, really.”

“Have you had that cake at the diner?” Xander injected himself back into their conversation.

“No,” Tori admitted. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it on the menu. I’d love to try it, though. It sounded divine.”

“It’s a new item,” Rose explained. “I’ve only made it this summer once the berries came into season. I’m sure since it won, we’ll have it on the menu for a while. You two should stop in and have a slice.”

“The name strawberry cloud doesn’t do it justice. It’s like...” Xander’s voice trailed off. “I can’t even describe it. It’s so light and flavorful.”

“Like a strawberry cloud?” Wade suggested.

“Yes,” Xander replied sarcastically. “Thanks so much.”

“We should come by,” Tori agreed. “We’ve been so busy lately. Wedding planning isn’t for sissies. And Wade’s wrapping up a development project. Seems to be taking up all our time. We’ve barely seen Xander and he’s been in town for two weeks!”

“That’s not entirely our fault,” Wade pointed out. “I went by the farm twice but Xander was preoccupied.” He turned and fixed his dark green gaze on Rose. “I don’t know who could be taking up all his time.”

“What can I say?” Rose said with a smile and a shrug.

Wade glared at his brother. “It’s like you’re back in high school again. I recognize the signs.”

“Signs?” Xander frowned.

“Oh yeah. I remember when you two started dating. All of a sudden, Xander was distracted and spending all his time doing his hair or trying to bribe us to take on his chores so he could spend more time with Rose.”

“Xander was a party to bribery?” Tori said, her mouth open in mock shock.

“Shh!” Xander said, his eyes wide with panic. “Don’t say that so loud. If someone heard that, they might not get the joke.”

Everyone laughed. “Xander was all about school and baseball until Rose came around. It’s probably a good thing you guys broke it off before he went to Georgetown. He would’ve flunked out hard.”

“Hey,” Xander argued, “I managed to date in college without dropping below a three-point-eight grade point average, thank you.”

“Yeah. But those were just anonymous college girls. That’s not the same as dating Rose. You had him wrapped around your finger,” Wade turned to her and said with a smile. “Putty in your hands. And from the looks of it, you’ve worked your magic on him again.”

Rose’s eyebrows shot up. She turned to look at Xander, trying to see what Wade saw, but it was the same face that had looked at her the past few weeks. Wade couldn’t possibly be right. They were just having fun for old times’ sake, right? At least he was. Rose had known she was in too deep the moment she laid eyes on him, but she had held back, knowing it would never be a two-way street.

Or could it?

“It’s true,” Xander said matter-of-factly, making her heart stutter in her chest for a moment. “She is a tasty treat and I can’t get enough.” A smile broke out across his face as he turned to Rose and lifted the back of her hand to his lips. His hazel eyes were fixed on her as his warm skin met hers and sent a tingle of awareness through her whole body. “Rose has entranced me with her...strawberry cloud.”

“Ugh,” Tori said, wrinkling her nose. “You make that sound dirty.”

Xander laughed and placed Rose’s hand back in her lap. She drew it under the table and smiled to hide her own disappointment. She’d thought for a moment that maybe he was being serious, but that was because she’d forgotten how much the Eden boys all joked around when they were together. Even Brody, the most serious of them all, would have a good laugh with his brothers.

The waiter brought their entrées to the table. Everyone took a few moments to settle into their meals, tasting and seasoning and softly groaning with approval. It was a very good restaurant. Rose had picked a blackened fillet of tilapia that had just the right amount of heat to complement the buttery white meat. With rice and grilled asparagus, as well, she could easily stuff herself.