Fake It Till You Bake It(6)

Olivia scrunched her nose in reluctant disagreement. “No, I’m pretty sure he’s the owner. One of them, anyway.”

Oh. Oops. Her inability to keep her thoughts to herself had bitten her in the ass yet again. And she knew exactly who to blame. “You know, this is all your fault.”

“What?” Olivia threw her hands up in the air, then cried out as her cupcake went flying. She made an impressive acrobatic dive to stop it from meeting an unfortunate end on the pavement. She landed in a crouch, saving the dessert a split second before catastrophe struck, cradled it in her palms, and rose back to her full height with a dramatic sigh. “If I didn’t love you, I’d hate you for almost making me lose my cupcake.” Her voice rose. “And how is it my fault?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Something about how you can’t hide out for the rest of your life, Jada,” Jada answered in a singsongy tone. “Let’s go to your favorite store, Jada. Why don’t we stop in for a snack, Jada? Be the badass I know you are, Jada.”

Olivia side-eyed her. “I meant every word. Admit it. You were miserable staying cooped up in your condo.”

True. She’d always been social. Loved being around other people. Except now she’d become public enemy number one.

“Besides, you’re the one who went all Joanna Gaines on the shop,” Olivia continued. Ride or die did not mean not keeping it real.

“I was just talking. I didn’t think anyone was paying attention to us. There was no one paying attention to us.” Except the finest man she’d seen in forever. Wait. No. “He winked at me. Who does that?”

“I think he was being cheeky.”

Jada squinted at Olivia. “Cheeky? Are you British now?”

“Must be all those episodes of Doctor Who and Great British Bake Off.” Olivia swung an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Sorry he brought up marriage.”

The sorest of subjects. Turning down a marriage proposal on national TV was how she’d ended up in this mess, although to be honest, messes were her specialty. She blew out a breath. “Yeah, well, he didn’t know he was stepping into it.”

Olivia took one last bite, then dumped the empty cupcake wrapper in a trash can. “Come on. We still haven’t hit up the store.”

“Now you’re talking my language.” Jada’s step quickened. She loved retail therapy. Her favorite boutique, Perfection, was directly up ahead. She would not think about how that also meant it was right around the corner from that dude’s cupcake store.

All thoughts of failed marriage proposals, cupcakes that weren’t actually stale, and uptight, hella attractive cupcake shop owners who thought they knew everything fled her mind as soon as they entered Perfection.

Jada immediately zeroed in on a display at the center of the room. “Oooh.”

Purple, her favorite color. She hurried over. She’d seen the dress with its long flowing sleeves and plunging neckline on a New York Fashion Week runway and had counted down the days until she could make it hers. Today was the day. Maybe her luck was starting to change. She didn’t check the price tag. What was the point? That’s what credit cards were for. Besides, when you were sad, you deserved whatever you wanted. Duh. Not that was she going to be able to fall back on that logic for much longer. Which she was not going to think about right now.

She quickly found her size and grabbed the hanger off the rack. “Mine. All mine. What do you think?”

“I approve.” Olivia held up a cute green A-line skirt from a nearby rack. “I’m going to try this on.”

Jada nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back there in a minute. I want to look around a little more first.”

While Olivia headed to the dressing room at the back of the store, Jada moved on to another display, where a pretty shirt was calling her name. This store really was her happy place.

“Jada!” A salesperson hurried up to her. The tall woman wore a cute wrap dress Jada recognized as one of the boutique’s offerings because it also resided in her closet at home. The dress looked amazing on the saleswoman’s lithe body. Man, what she wouldn’t give for a few more inches to her frame. She loved her heels, but actual height would have been better.

Jada gave a quick wave. “Hey, Carrie.”

“How are you doing?”

“Good.” She injected some hearty, fake cheer into her voice. While she appreciated the concern in the brunette’s eyes, she didn’t do well with pity. Her pride wouldn’t allow it.

Carrie nodded. “Great. Can I help you find anything?”

“No, I’m just looking, thanks.”

“Well, let me know if I can be of assistance.”

Jada’s shoulders relaxed. “Will do.”

Carrie nodded, then retreated to the cash register.

Jada returned her attention to the mannequin. The silk turquoise top would look amazing with her favorite silver heels and jeans. This shopping expedition was exactly what the doctor—or, in this case, the BFF—ordered. She’d have to buy Olivia a cupcake. But not from Sugar Blitz.

“Is that her?” someone behind her whispered. Jada’s hand tightened on the shirt sleeve, crumpling the thin fabric. She had no doubt she was the “her” the woman was talking about.

“Yeah, that’s her,” someone else replied. Disgust infused the quick response.