Always Room for Cupcakes Read online

  “Two for Wilkes,” Cade said when the hostess asked how she could help. When she immediately led us back to our table, proving Cade was correct and something as insignificant as a dress code wasn’t going to keep him out.

  Thinking I just may be out on a date with the coolest guy I’d ever met, I smiled to myself as I picked up the menu and looked it over.

  “What’s the smile?” Cade asked.

  I looked over my menu at him and replied honestly, “I’m just happy to be here … with you.”

  That earned me a sexy grin.

  “Good,” he replied, as the waiter stopped to get our drink order.

  Guinness for me. Whiskey for Cade.

  “I would have guessed you for a wine drinker.”

  “I like wine,” I replied with a shrug. “But sometimes it goes to my head. With Guinness, I can keep my wits, while still enjoying a good drink.”

  “You don’t want anything going to your head?” God, it should be a sin to look as delicious as he did.

  “I think you’re potent enough,” I admitted with a laugh. “Since this is the first date I’ve been on in over thirteen years, I don’t want to get bombed and embarrass myself.”

  “Thirteen years?”

  “Yeah, my last date was with my husband, before we got married.”

  “When’d you get divorced?”

  “Ten months ago.”

  “And there’s been no one since?”

  “No. And honestly, we hadn’t been with each other,” I cleared my throat and continued softly, “Intimately… for a few years prior to the divorce. I guess I was upset, then bitter, and now, well, I hadn’t received any offers I was interested in … until yours.”

  I felt his hand hit my bare knee under the table and give it a little squeeze, which made me wonder, how freakin’ long are his arms?

  “Well, if it makes you feel better, this is the first date I’ve ever been on.”

  If I’d had something in my hand, I would have dropped it. As it was, I felt my jaw hit the floor as I asked, “Say what?”

  “I’m not the kind of man who plans picnics and sends flowers,” he said, squeezing my knee once more. “I’ve never taken a chick to the movies or out to dinner, unless it was my mom or sister.”

  “How’s that possible?” I asked, not meaning to be rude, but honestly wondering how a man like him had never been in a relationship.

  “Honestly,” he said, eyes on me, face totally serious, “I’ve spent my adult life focused on other things. There’ve been women, all of them willing. They knew the score. It was just about fucking…”

  I bit back a flinch at his brutal honesty, not really knowing how to respond.

  “Oh,” was what I came up with.

  “Yeah, oh,” Cade said, his smile softening his face, then gestured between us. “This is different for me, so it’s kind of good that you’re out of practice. Maybe you won’t realize right away when I fuck up.”

  That made me laugh, then I asked, bewildered, “But why? I’m just a thirty-five-year-old single mom, who lives in a shitty apartment and takes pictures of people doing shit they’re not supposed to.”

  “And that all works for you,” he said, leaning forward, then sitting back when the waiter served our drinks and asked for our order.

  Once he walked away, assuring us that our order would be up soon, I took a sip of my perfectly chilled beer, then focused back on Cade.

  I was a little freaked that he’d chosen me for his maiden voyage into dating. It was flattering, a little scary, and, frankly, a huge turn-on. Although the fact that he’d previous only been with women for fucking wigged me out.

  He’d probably be a master at it, and not only had I not had much practice, but one dirty talk from Slutty Shirley Finkle had been enough for my husband of twelve years to jump ship. I was terrified that I’d be a disappointment if Cade and I ever got to that point.

  “So, what exactly happened?” Cade asked, thankfully changing the subject.

  “With what?”

  “With your ex … and how’d you end up working for a PI?”

  I settled back and said, “Well, they kind of go hand in hand. See, I found my husband cheating on me and even though my kids were in the car and I was beyond shocked, I had the forethought to snap a picture with my phone before I left him and immediately filed for divorce.” I cleared my throat and hoped he didn’t think I was a psycho, before going on. “Then, in a fit of rage and humiliation, I printed up copies of the picture and posted them all over town. Moose happened to see one and found out it was me who took it and why, then he offered me a job.”

  I looked up to see if he looked completely disgusted, and was surprised to see him grinning over his glass of whiskey.

  “I think I saw that … Was it the beaver shot with the dude that looked like he was about to be murdered?”

  “Yup, unfortunately, that was my ex … and yeah, she was pretty hairy.”

  “Looked like a fuckin’ angry hedgehog.”

  I almost spit out my beer, but luckily got it down before I started laughing out loud.

  “Yeah, it really did.”

  The food arrived and I stopped laughing long enough to place some of their famous mouth-watering gnocchi in my mouth.

  When Cade leaned across the table and said, “Your ex sounds like a total pussy,” I had to agree.

  “Yeah, he is … but I have to admit, it wasn’t all him.”

  “How’s that?” he asked, taking a big bite of lasagna.

  “We could both tell there was something wrong, for years, and neither of us did anything to fix things. If it was that easy to get him to cheat, I obviously wasn’t doing what I needed to do to keep him at home.”

  “I find that hard to believe.”

  “No really, I got caught up with the kids and being a mom, and I didn’t focus as much on him … on us. I wasn’t the same then as I am now. I was a stay-at-home mom. I kept the house clean, put food on the table, and helped the kids with homework. I was a shadow of myself, but I didn’t notice until it was too late.”

  “I don’t think it’s too late, I think it’s right on time. That guy didn’t know how to handle you, so you’re better off. Anyone who would let a woman like you go, for a piece of snatch in the back of a beamer, is a jackass who doesn’t deserve a woman like you.”

  “For someone who’s never been on a date before, you sure are good at making me feel better about myself.”

  Cade just smiled and asked, “How’s your food?”

  “So good,” I gushed. “Yours?”

  “Best I’ve ever tasted,” he said, and the look on his face made it seem like he thought the company had something to do with it.

  On the drive home I began to get nervous again. A guy who fucked instead of dated, probably didn’t have any sort of three-date rule. What if he expected to come upstairs and get it on right away?

  I wasn’t sure I was ready for that, but at the same time, I didn’t think I’d turn him away if he wanted to come in.

  When he pulled in front of my apartment complex, I unbuckled my seatbelt so I could turn to him and ask, “Would you like to come inside?”

  “Not tonight,” he said, and the fear I’d been feeling quickly turned to disappointment.

  “I feel like we talked about me all night. I didn’t really get to learn anything about you.”

  “Next time,” Cade said then reached over and pulled me across the bench seat so I was sitting flush against him. “If things go good between us, I’ll give you all of it, but for now, let’s keep things about you.”

  My breath was coming in shallow pants at his nearness, the heat of his body seeping into mine, and it only got worse when he continued talking.

  “We’ll have dinner, coffee, go to the movies, whatever. And eventually I’ll get my fists in all of this thick red hair.” His hand slid up my back, into my hair, cupping the back of my head. “And I’ll get to see those blue eyes go heavy with desire as I move abov
e you.” I felt my eyes getting heavy, just as he’d described, as he spoke, and my lips parted as I tried to remain focused. “Seeing that lush ass move as you walk down the street, full of attitude and fire, the way your face lights up when you’re laughing with your kids, and the way you felt, arms around my waist, tits against my back when I had you on my bike … Those are just some of the reasons I just became a man who dates.”

  I struggled for breath and asked without thinking, “What are you doing to me?”

  “A woman like you should be confident in her sexuality, not wondering where she stands, so I want you to know what I think about when I see you.”

  “Mmmmm,” was all I managed, his dark eyes holding me hostage, then his gaze hit my lips and my tongue dashed out to wet them briefly.

  That was the last thing I saw before I had the ability to do nothing but feel.

  The combination of his soft lips and rasp of his beard sent waves of lust rolling through me upon contact. My mouth was already open, and he needed no invitation; he was there, claiming me as his own, and I was all too willing to submit.

  I wanted to crawl into his lap, but I settled for shoving my hands in his curls and enjoying the soft feel against my fingertips. His hand was still at the back of my head, holding me in place as he tilted his head and deepened the kiss. I felt a liquid fire in my belly as his tongue swept through my mouth, and I felt the whimper crawl up the back of my throat, not the least bit embarrassed when I emitted the sound.

  If he wanted to be open and honest about the things he wanted to do to me, then he deserved to know that I’d gladly strip down and offer myself up like a buffet to him right now in the cab of his truck.

  When he pulled back I bit back the urge to protest, instead bringing my hand to my lips, as if wanting to hold his kiss there.

  “I’ll see ya,” Cade said, and his words would have caused worry if I didn’t see the massive bulge in his jeans, confirming that he wanted me just as much as I wanted him.

  “See ya,” I said, then I opened the door and fell out of the damn truck.

  I’d had a couple of days to get over my embarrassing exit from Cade’s truck and now I was back to business as usual.

  I hadn’t heard from him, but I wasn’t worried. I decided to take him at face value and trust him when he said he’s into me. That being said, I realized we weren’t going to have a typical relationship, so I wasn’t going to get worked up even though I hadn’t talked to him in a few days.

  We both had lives, and I was sure when he had time, he’d get in touch.

  After I’d stopped dying from embarrassment after our date, all wrapped up in a cocoon in my bed as if I were hiding or something, I’d realized that I didn’t know how to get ahold of him. I didn’t have his number, know where he lived, or where he worked, so the ball was very much in his court.

  My kids were safely back in school, after a weekend RVing with their dad, and although Elin had fun, Elena said if she never went camping in that thing again, it would be too soon.

  On my way out of Amy May’s this morning, steaming cup of java in my hand, I’d stopped in the middle of the street when I heard someone calling my name. I turned to see Bea running after me, her uniform pressed and clean.

  “Morning, Bea,” I hailed as I walked back to the sidewalk to meet her.

  “Hey, Lila, I was hoping to catch up,” she said, not out of breath in the slightest.

  Maybe I needed to work out with her…

  “What’s up?” I asked. “Why didn’t you just shoot me a text.”

  “Cause I wanted to talk to you in person,” she said, looking up at me. Bea was one of the few people I knew who made me feel like a giant.

  “Shoot,” I said, bringing my coffee cup to my lips to blow on it before taking a sip.

  “Did I see you in Cade Wilkes’ truck the other night?”

  “There are ten thousand people in this town, and you know whose truck I was in?”

  “Just answer the question.”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Did you know he’s part of an MC club a couple counties over?”

  “An MC club?” I asked, my brain focusing on that rather than on what she was implying. “Doesn’t MC stand for Motorcycle Club?”

  Bea looked at me for a moment then said, “I thought that the M and C came from motorcycle.”

  “I don’t think so,” I replied. “I think the C is for Club, so you just called it the Motorcycle Club Club.”

  Bea threw her hands up and asked, “Can you please be serious and answer the question?”

  “No, I didn’t know that … How do you?”

  “I make it a point to know who’s living in my town, especially if they’re part of an MC club … or MC … Whatever, you know what I mean.”

  “Isn’t that like, racial profiling or something?”

  I could tell she was getting exasperated with me, because it looked like her head was about to pop off. I could practically see steam.

  “No it wouldn’t be racial profiling, for God’s sake, and MC isn’t a race…”

  “But it is some sort of profiling. You’re keeping tabs on him because of what he does … who he is, not because he’s actually done anything wrong. Am I right?”

  Bea crossed her arms and glared at me.

  “No, in the two years since he’s been here, his life in the MC hasn’t touched Greenswood, or The Heights, but he’s still an active member, Lila. All I’m saying, is that you need to know who you’re going out with.”

  “Look, as my friend, I appreciate that, but, Bea, give the guy a break. If he’s not doing anything illegal, then you shouldn’t be warning people off of him.”

  I could tell she didn’t like my response to her news, but I knew Bea, and I knew she’d get over it. Still, it did give me a piece to the puzzle that was Cade. And now that she’d said it, being in an MC seemed like an obvious thing, given the little I knew about him.

  I was in the library, checking in, when Moose contacted me, saying he needed more dirt on the cokehead for his client, so I was currently following her large-breasted, platinum-blonde self into the Chinese place next to the sport’s bar.

  She was seated at a large round table toward the back of the restaurant with six other women. They were all around my age, but had more of a trophy wife look about them. Fake tits, big lips, big hair, and expensive clothes.

  I walked through the dining area, skirting around their table to get to the sushi bar in the back. I picked the stool closest to them and ordered a hot tea, then opened my ears wide to eavesdrop.

  “Oh my God,” one of the bimbos was saying. “Did you hear that Cade Wilkes had a date the other night?”

  What the fuck?

  “No shit?”

  “No shit … I guess he’s finally ready to do more than fuck and duck.”

  “Hmmmm, I wouldn’t mind getting a shot at that…”

  “Mary!”

  “What? What Bob doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

  This caused all the women to start laughing like hyenas while I sat there thinking Cade was right. When I didn’t know who he was, I didn’t hear anything about him, but now that he was on my radar, it seemed like he was popping up all over the place.

  How did everyone else in this town know who he was? Was I that oblivious to the world around me?

  “All right, ladies, enough girl talk. I’ve got the stuff we’ve been talking about, and Hector is ready to move forward.”

  I opened my compact mirror and looked behind me. Just as I’d thought, cokehead was the one who was talking, which made me wonder what kind of stuff she was talking about … coke? And was she selling it to them, or was something else going on?

  I didn’t think she’d pull out a bag of cocaine in the middle of the Chinese restaurant, but I still pulled out my cellphone and pretended I was taking a selfie, getting a shot of their table instead.

  “Will it be just coke?” someone asked quietly behind me, and I swear my eyes we
re bugging out of my head.

  Are they seriously talking about that shit out loud in the middle of a restaurant? What kind of dumb fucks are they?

  “We can get coke, meth, crank, crack, roofies, or even that Devil’s Breath…”

  “Devil’s Breath, what the hell is that?”

  I leaned closer on my stool. I wanted to know what the hell Devil’s Breath was myself.

  “That’s that new zombie shit. You blow it in someone’s face, or have them smell it, and it fucks them up for like … hours.”

  “Shit,” someone muttered, and I totally agreed.

  “Yeah, well, anyway, Hector can get just about anything we need. I just need you girls to get buyers, then let me know what and how much, and I’ll get you the shit. We get a ten percent cut off the top.”

  Holy shit, were these bitches going to be drug dealers? In our town?

  I slipped off my stool and walked in the back, as if I were going to the bathroom, then slipped out the back door.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  My head swung up and I noticed the Camaro first, then the sleazy guy, who must be Hector standing next to it.

  I was having the shittiest luck with these two.

  Before he could say anything else, I was gone. Off like a shot, I ran around the corner and down the alley, my eyes looking everywhere for a place to hide. When I saw what I thought looked like Cade’s bike, I dashed toward the sport’s bar and ducked inside, hoping like hell Hector hadn’t followed me.

  I saw him, sitting in the corner by himself, eating a sandwich, his eyes on the TV.

  When I slid into the booth across from him, he took one look at my face and asked, “What the fuck?”

  “That guy,” I stuttered quickly, trying to get the words out. “The one from the day you picked me up, I just saw him again behind the Chinese place next door … And he saw me.”

  “Wait here,” Cade said.

  Then he was gone.

  “Are you eating my fries?” Cade asked when he returned to his seat across from me.

  I looked down at the fries in my fist and realized, yeah, I was, and I’d almost eaten them all.