“Trust me, you guys don’t want to get mixed up in all that drama,” Paxton says again.
Poppy smiles widely. “Like I said, we’re set on the rugby team. We also have the swimming team. Water polo. Wrestling.” She ticks them off on her fingers. “Lacrosse…”
“Lacrosse,” Arlo scoffs. “How is that even a sport?”
“Okay, I’m really going this time.” I take two steps back, offering a half-hearted wave.
“Yes,” Paxton says. “Focus on school and important shit.”
“Like you do?” Poppy asks sarcasm has her lowering her chin and raising her eyebrows.
“Do what I say, not what I do, or however that shit goes.” He jogs the few feet to catch up to me and drapes an arm over my shoulders as I turn toward the large red-brick building.
“Hey, Lawson!”
Paxton and I both turn at the sound of our last name. Lincoln stands beside Arlo, grinning.
“What?” Pax yells.
“Nothing.” Lincoln shakes his head, and then a girl walks past him, saying something to him that I can’t hear from where we’re stopped some hundred feet away.
He’s too far away, and my brother is standing too close to confirm it, but I swear Lincoln’s looking directly at me.
I swallow, staring back.
“See,” Pax whispers. “Trust me. You don’t want to deal with dating an athlete.” His arm around my shoulders tightens, and he begins to turn, leaving me to follow him, my head on a swivel as I try to watch Lincoln’s reaction.
The last thing I see before I turn toward the math building is Lincoln flashing a smile to the stranger.
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Poppy’s Chocolate, Marshmallow Cream Filled Cupcakes
These cupcakes are amazing and a huge favorite. We make them once a month. You can certainly use a boxed cake mix and skip ahead to the marshmallow cream, or I’ve added my favorite chocolate cake recipe for you to try.
Chocolate Cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup water
Directions:
Heat oven to 325 °F
Prepare cupcake pans by adding liners. (learn from Poppy!)
Sift dry ingredients together into large bowl.
Add eggs, buttermilk, and vegetable oil to dry ingredients and mix until combined (don’t overmix or it will make chewy cupcakes.)
Add vanilla and water, then mix until combined again.
Fill between cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (crumbs are okay.)
Cool completely.
Marshmallow Cream Filling
6 tbsp of butter at room temp.
1 1/2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
3/4 cup marshmallow fluff
2 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Using a mixer, beat ingredients together until smooth.
Make a hole in each cupcake and cut the top off and reserve. (this is optional, but we think we get more filling by doing this. However, it takes more time. Feel free to experiment.)
Fill a piping bag or Ziploc bag with marshmallow cream (or use a small spoon!) and fill each cupcake, then place tops back onto cupcakes.
Chocolate Frosting:
3/4 cups butter at room temp.
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Directions:
Using a mixer, beat ingredients until smooth.
Liberally cover all cupcakes.
Lick the beaters.
Lick the bowl.
Hide the cupcakes and enjoy them! :)
Stay Connected
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Also by Mariah Dietz
The Dating Playbook Series
Bending the Rules
Breaking the Rules
Defining the Rules
Exploring the Rules
Forgetting the Rules
Writing the Rules
The Weight of Rain Duet
The Weight of Rain
The Effects of Falling
The Haven Point Series
Curveball
Exception
Standalones
The Fallback
Tangled in Tinsel, A Christmas Novella
Acknowledgments
A huge thank you to Arielle Brubaker for extending her wisdom and friendship. I’m so glad this series introduced us and can’t wait to see what comes next!
An enormous thank you to Margaret Neal, Charlotte Blowe Stanley, Michele Ficht, and Sarah Foster for being so gracious and helpful and the best set of eagle eyes!
A very special thank you to Ginger Scott who is my writing sister who encourages me and snaps the whip when necessary, which is sometimes too often.
An endless thanks to my beta team! Lizzy Ganske, Brittany Fretz, Amy Everetts, Margaret Neal, Shelly Duncan Wallace, Kieran Nelso, Karin Downs, Lisa GF, Brittany Olsen, Ellen Creamer Hawryciw, and Autumn Gantz for endlessly answering all of my questions and making this book truly shine! I can’t thank you enough for your time and devotion to this book!
A special thanks to my family who have lived with only half of me while I poured these characters out of my thoughts and head.
And to my readers who have been waiting so patiently for this book-thank you! I hope you loved Pax and Poppy’s story!
About the Author
Mariah Dietz is a USA Today Bestselling Author and self proclaimed nerd. She lives with her husband and sons in North Carolina.
Mariah grew up in a tiny town outside of Portland, Oregon where she spent most of her time immersed in the pages of books that she both read and created.
She has a love for all things that include her family, good coffee, books, traveling, and dark chocolate. She's also been known to laugh at her own jokes.
www.mariahdietz.com
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