Anything but Love

Lover, she’s not a local member. It puts a kink in the overall package considering she contributed so many recipes and stories.”

“Not to mention she’s featured in photos and the publicity video,” Monica said.

“Also,” Chloe went on, “Brett wasn’t lying when he said there’s a glut in the cupcake market. Between that, Tasha leaving, and the whole Rachel snafu, I can see where we’ve lost some of our appeal.

“If we only had a gimmick,” Ethel said.

“I hope they don’t cancel our deal altogether,” Helen said.

“Would we have to give the advance money back?” Judy asked. “How would that work?”

“I know I was never a fan of this project, but there’s no denying the extra income would benefit our special causes,” Rocky said. “Take Sugar Tots for instance. I still can’t believe Gretchen closed the day care center and moved on just because she lost her grant money. We could have helped. A little anyway.”

“Every time I think of Sugar Tots I think of Rachel,” Casey said. “I mean Rae. Anybody heard from her again?”

“Just that one letter,” Chloe said. “The same one that everyone else got a few weeks ago.”

Everyone but Luke.

One good thing had come out of his disastrous visit to California. He’d made Rae feel guilty enough about fleeing Sugar Creek in the middle of the night that she’d finally written a letter to each and every member of the Cupcake Lovers apologizing for her abrupt departure. She’d also apologized for pretending to be someone she wasn’t, explaining she’d been desperate to escape the limelight and certain pressures associated with her family. She hadn’t meant to hurt anyone and hoped that in time they’d forgive her. She’d then personalized each letter and wished each person well, saying she’d be the first in line to preorder Cupcake Lover’s Delectable Delights—Making a Difference One Cupcake at a Time.

The only reason Luke knew all this was because Rocky had shown him her letter and, of course, Rae’s true identity had dominated the gossip portion of the CL meeting two weeks back—Luke’s first meeting. Everyone, including Sam, had been stunned that Rachel was actually Reagan, and that she was the daughter of the famous starlet Olivia Deveraux. Stunned, confused, curious, but not angry. Luke didn’t get that. How could they not be angry? She’d lied to them. For a year.

Then again, they’d each gotten an apologetic letter.

Every time Luke thought about it his blood burned. He’d flown across the entire freaking country and Rae hadn’t confided spit. Sure, she hadn’t given the CLs details, but she’d given them some semblance of an explanation. All Rae had given Luke was a hard-on and a guilty conscience. Oh. And bonus. A freaking complex.

He still couldn’t believe he’d had sex with her. Especially since she’d been drinking. He’d never taken advantage of a woman like that. He’d meant to walk her to her door then walk away. But she’d wobbled and he’d steadied her. The moment they’d touched … Pow! She’d kissed him or maybe he’d kissed her. He didn’t even know. It was all a blur. A spontaneous carnal mating that dogged his conscience and dreams.

“Yo. Luke.”

Luke blinked and focused on his sister. “What?”

“Chloe asked if you wanted more tea.”

Rattled, he shifted in his chair. “Uh. No. Thanks.” Considering he was in the company of eight ladies, one of them his grandma, three of them as old as his grandma, he was more than a little embarrassed that he’d been fantasizing about nailing Rae. “So am I in or out?”

They all gawked.

“Of the club,” he clarified.

They traded another round of those cryptic looks.

“Here’s the thing, sweetie.” Daisy pushed her blingy cat-eye glasses up her nose then reached over and patted his hand. “We don’t think you have a real passion for baking and that’s the number-one requirement for being a Cupcake Lover.”

“I don’t believe this. You’re kicking me out of the club.”

“We wouldn’t do that,” Judy said.

“Especially given your state,” Helen said.

Luke frowned. “What state is that?”

“Depressed.”

“Bored.”

“Lonely.”

“Single.”

Luke blinked around the table. What the—

“To my recollection,” Ethel said, “You’ve always had two or three girlfriends at a time.”

“You don’t have any now,” Casey said. “Haven’t had since … when?”

“It’s been months,” Monica said with an ornery twinkle in her eye.

He blamed Rae.

“It was sex, just sex, and not even great sex at that.”

Every other woman he’d ever been with had declared him a god in bed. Then again, he hadn’t even made it to the bed with Rae.

“You’re off your game,” Chloe said with a sympathetic smile.

“And so close to Valentine’s Day,” Helen said. “Doubly depressing.”

“Have you thought about Ellie Tate?” Judy asked.

“You know,” Daisy said. “Bert Hawkins’s granddaughter. She recently moved back to town, fresh out of college. Doubt she’s ready for anything serious.”

“Young. Unfocused. Right up your alley,” Casey said.

Heart pounding, Luke gawked. Oh, hell, no. This same crew has been trying to match Sam up with a soul mate for weeks. Luke had caught a glimpse of that hell and wanted no part of it. “Can we get back to my status in the club, please?”

Rocky took pity on him. Sort of. “We’re not kicking you out, Luke. Just…”

“Don’t make any more cupcakes,” Daisy said.

“Unless supervised,” Chloe, his ever-kind someday sister-in-law, added.

“Speaking of Valentine’s Day,” Monica said to Rocky, “your wedding day is around the corner. Are you excited or what?”

And just like that the conversation turned to wedding plans—gown, flowers, honeymoon. As if that wasn’t bad enough, someone brought up bridesmaids’ dresses, which spurred mention of special fittings for Chloe, who was six-months pregnant, and Monica, who was newly pregnant and eating for three.

Baby talk.

Luke eyed Dev’s expensive wine rack, jonesing for a cheap beer and sports talk. He should have joined a damned bowling league.

FIVE

“Thanks for picking me up, Sam.”

“No problem.”

“You didn’t tell anyone I was coming, right?”

“You asked me not to. Won’t take long for word to get out though. You know Sugar Creek.”

Yes, she did. A tight-knit community. The tourist element notwithstanding, everyone knew everyone’s business—mostly. Amazing that she’d maintained her ruse for an entire year. Then again, Rae had worked very hard at being invisible. She was done with that now. Ready to attack life as Reagan Deveraux. She intended to use her semicelebrity status and money to help the Cupcake Lovers and to resurrect Sugar Tots. But that wasn’t the only reason she’d returned to Sugar Creek.