Suddenly, I wanted him to be giving me this ring for a completely different reason. I wanted him to drop down on one knee and ask me to marry him and not because of a fake engagement.
My voice cracked when I tried to speak, so I cleared it and said, “I don’t know what to say. Landon, this is the most generous gift anyone has ever given me.”
“Say you’ll wear it and be my fake fiancée.”
Tears threatened to build in my eyes, and my jaw ached from trying to keep them at bay. How was it my life had changed so much in just a few weeks? Was it because I’d been in love with this man for far longer than I had ever wanted to admit? Thinking about Landon not being in my life—as either my best friend or as my lover—was not a thought I even wanted to entertain.
“Y-yes. Of course I will be.”
I slipped on the ring, knowing that deep inside I prayed this so-called fake engagement would lead to a happily ever after. Our happily ever after.
Landon pulled up and parked in front of Sweet Confections Wedding Cakes and Bakery right at six o’clock on the dot. I bounced on the balls of my feet as I waited for him to get out and walk up to me. He leaned down and kissed me, letting the kiss last longer than it probably should have considering we were standing on the sidewalk. He kissed me like he hadn’t seen me in days, and it had only been since this morning.
When he pulled back, he rested his forehead on mine. “Shit, I’ve missed you, Emme.”
Butterflies flew in my stomach as I reached up and wiped the lipstick from his lips and giggled. “I missed you too. How did we do this before? Go hours without seeing each other?”
He laughed. “It was easier because we weren’t having sex then.”
I smacked him on the chest and laughed. “Come on, we need to get inside.”
The door chimed at the top of the frame as we walked in. An older woman in her fifties walked out and greeted us with a wide grin.
“You must be Landon and Emmerson. December twenty-first wedding.”
“That’s us!” I said, my voice way too cheerful.
Landon leaned in and whispered against my ear, “Tone it down there, sweetheart.”
Yep, there went my stomach again. I placed my hand over it to settle it and let my wide smile fall a bit. All this man had to do was whisper in my ear, and my stomach was either flipping or my heart was threatening to beat out of my chest. Or I was daydreaming about sex in the back of trucks, in showers, against a door…
My body started to heat up, so I pushed all thoughts of sex and Landon to the back of my mind.
“My name is Lynda, and I’m the owner and head baker here at Sweet Confections. Why don’t you two have a seat right here, and I’ll bring out the flavors.”
Landon clapped his hands together and rubbed them as he made his way over to a table that was set up in the corner of the bakery. Two glasses and a pitcher of water sat in the middle.
As Landon sat, he gave me a boyish smile. “I’m so glad I didn’t eat lunch today.”
Laughing, I shook my head and sat down.
Lynda walked out with a woman about my age, who set two long plates and three small bowls in front of us.
Lynda took a seat and pulled up the paperwork.
“You did say it was okay for me to document our cake tasting, correct?” I asked as I pulled out my phone stand and proceeded to get things set up to record the session.
Lynda smiled. “Of course. Have at it.”
After I got everything set up, I looked over at Landon, who was glaring at me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He gestured to the cupcakes in front of him. “I’ve got like a dozen cupcakes sitting here, and you’re taking entirely too long to set your phone up.”
I smiled and then focused back on Lynda. “We’re ready.”
She chuckled. “Going from left to right, we have our classic vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and cream, pink champagne, lemon, red velvet, and marble. In the bowls, you have our top three bestselling buttercreams. Left to right again is white chocolate mousse, Italian meringue, and then the cream cheese.”
“Damn, they all sound good.” Landon picked up his fork and was about to dig into the vanilla when Lynda continued speaking.
“Now, when we spoke the other day, you mentioned you didn’t have a theme or your colors yet.”
“Correct,” I said, also picking up my fork.
“Do you know approximately how many guests?” Lynda asked.
I gave a little shrug. “Well, if it were up to me, it would be a small event. Family and close friends.”