Don't Go Baking My Heart

She tapped her screen before bringing the phone up to her ear. “Hmm, okay, this “Unforgettable” one is sort of familiar, but like I said, vintage.” She pressed the side of her phone, and the screen went dark. “I’d listen to it if I wanted to sleep or something.”

The curve of her mouth said she was teasing him, but Devon shook his head.

“Hey, you tried to diss Mariah! At least I’m not shitting on your guy.”

He supposed she had a point—not that he had dissed Mariah; it just wasn’t what he would choose to listen to.

“I’ll check him out. If I like it, it’ll go on our baking practice playlist so you can stop grouching about my song choices.”

Right, that. He had a breakfast date in the morning with his family, but later in the day, they had decided to meet up for round two. Which meant they should head out soon. He wasn’t used to being out late or at all. His weekends consisted of work and the rare family moment when he allowed them to convince him to come over. They had taken to using Leah to draw him out because both his mother and Maxi knew he adored his niece. It was more difficult to say no when Leah asked for him to come over. He didn’t call them out on the manipulation because he enjoyed spending time with her.

As far as he was concerned, Leah deserved some stable adults in her life. It had to be difficult with her father in Atlanta, and he and Maxi sharing custody. Leah seemed to be adjusting just fine, but none of that meant she wasn’t affected by the divorce in some way.

“No need, I have my own collection we can play. We should leave after your next song. I have a date with my niece in the morning.”

“Aww!” Reba pressed her hands together, tilting her head, so they cradled the side of her jaw. “That’s the cutest thing ever. Don’t forget to take the cupcakes, Uncle Devon.”

Ugh, why did she have to remind him of his failure? He had planned to do just that, but he wasn’t looking forward to their feedback. Children tended to be brutally honest, and he expected his cupcakes to be judged harshly.

But if he couldn’t survive criticism from a six-year-old, he may as well give up on trying to further his career goals.

“Okay, only because you don’t want to disappoint that sweet girl, we can leave early.”

“This is considered early?” It was almost ten.

Reba patted his arm. “This is when the party just gets started. After karaoke, this place turns into a club vibe.”

Then it was definitely time to get out of here. Reba laughed at what was surely a horrified look on his face. Thank God he had Leah as an excuse—otherwise, Reba would want to stay back. Devon couldn’t think of anything else he would like to do less. Karaoke was one thing. Actually party with these people? No, thanks. Loud clubs with sweaty bodies pushing against him wasn’t something he enjoyed.

After Reba and team finished up with their performance, Devon told Dax they were heading out.

“Well, thanks for coming and letting us meet Reba. It’s been an absolute pleasure. Bring her to the next thing.”

“Uh…” Devon didn’t have a clue what the next outing was, and he didn’t care to know. “We’ll see. I’ll be busy baking, and Reba’s helping me with that.”

“Oh?” Dax’s gaze turned curious.

Reba pressed her hands to her chest. “Did I not mention I’m an assistant pastry chef? Silly me.” She winked at Dax.

“Ah, well, it all makes sense now. I’ll be looking forward to your video diaries. I know Reba will keep you on track, but don’t use that as an excuse to be a stranger.”

“Sure.” That was non-committal enough. He hadn’t promised to attend any specific events, and Dax would at least see he was serious about this bake-off.

“Oh, man, that was great!” Reba exclaimed once they gave their farewells and walked outside. “I feel so energised.”

Devon couldn’t relate. He was ready to get some sleep since it was too late to think about working more on his presentation. He would get too engrossed and end up going to bed late. He needed to preserve his energy for Leah.

“You made it through and didn’t murder anyone with your sarcasm. The Evan moment was a close call, but I’d say it was a win.” Reba raised her hand, and Devon stared at it. “You gonna leave me hanging here?” She wiggled her fingers. “Come on, I don’t have cooties or anything. Although, you know, I never actually know what people mean when they say that. What are cooties supposed to be? I should Google that.”

He rolled his eyes but slapped her hand in a quick high five. He didn’t do high fives either, but there was no one around to see.

“There, was that so bad?”

It wasn’t terrible, which made him realise that Reba was already making him do things he didn’t usually engage in. He needed to get away from her and back to the safe, familiar comfort of his house.

Somehow, he was going to have to survive Reba Johnson, and he already felt himself struggling.

God dammit.