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In order to win a pageant, a contestant needed one of two things: a dress froeant coach Lexi had coached Waverly when she first started out in pageants, and Waverly wore several of Lexi’s gowns Any girl wearing a Lexi design won her title But there would be too eant They were close personal friends, she didn’t have a dress and having been dropped by the pageant coia, she had no sponsor—hence her factors hindering her road to the bigger title
Depressed eveninto the Slow Torture Southern dessert Chunks of vibrant, orange-tinted peaches clung to the sweet interior of the cupcake The sweetness of the buttery frosting ue
“Hey, you knohat?” Tiffani exclaimed with a curtsy “When you’re done with the peach cupcake, I have one left for you”
“You do?” Waverly finished the rest of her cupcake and scooted back in her seat Licking the frosting off her finger, she headed toward the counter Another chocolate cupcake would be dinner In the tiether, Tiffani disappeared behind the black-and-white polka-dot French doors leading into the kitchen Waverly sauntered to the counter and lingered over the curved glass The varieties of the cupcakes tempted her Her mouth watered at the rows The dark chocolate with peanut butter frosting, the vanilla drizzled with caramel, the salted caramel, the chocolate wafer cookie and even the birthday cake cupcake with pastel sprinkles all tempted her
Distracted by the hungry howl of her stomach, Waverly didn’t realize the bells over the bakery’s door had jingled until she saw the shadow of a figure blocking the blinding sun off the glass He o ahead of him Waverly turned to offer her thanks and to step out of the way for the customer since her order was on its way Waverly’sfrom the kitchen
Over six feet tall with broad shoulders and bulky ray paisley tie stood in front of her The man oozed sex appeal and confirrin
“Hello,” the deep, velvet voice crooned
“Hi,” Waverly said, or at least she believed she did It was hard to hear over the pounding of her heart against her rib cage In the past, Waverly’s taste in uy type riddled with tattoos, ripped jeans, snug T-shirts and a reputation a ot her banned fro but tiive men in suits a chance, just like carbs And carbohydrates were delicious
The man extended his copper-colored hand toward the counter “By all means You were here first”
“Oh, no” Waverly stumbled over her words “I already knohat I want”
The led his brows “A woman who knohat she wants? Nice”
“Don’t be surprised,” said Waverly “It’s not so hard to choose”
“Not foronly”
A jolt of electricity raced through Waverly She pressed her lips together and, for the first ti had allowed her to walk around in sweats, makeup-free, hair unkempt
“The Slow Torture Southern Peach Cobbler Cupcake,” he announced
Two odd feelings washed over Waverly Jealousy and greed Odd to envy a cupcake, right? For so her And now to realize they both stood at the counter wanting the same cupcake
The French doors opened and Tiffani appeared with a bright red shade of lipstick Waverly had failed to notice earlier If she wasn’t mistaken, Tiffani wore one of Waverly’s favorites—Go Get Him Red by Ravens Cosmetics Waverly cocked her head to the side as she noticed the way Tiffani tried to control her rapid breathing She recognized this tactic and had perfected it often when the backstage lineup changed at pageants The cashier batted her lashes at the man
“You’re back”
Waverly took a step to the side Clearly this was a tender ht? How dare he flirt with Waverly at his lady friend’s place of business? Waverly frowned
“You know The Cupcakery was my first stop”
“And I have exactly what you want” Tiffani aardly reached to the left whileeye contact with the new customer
“Ah, my Peach Cobbler cupcake”