Chapter 98: Cupcake

Orion POV

"You're doing it wrong," Bailey says, watching me attempt to pipe frosting onto a cupcake.

"How can I be doing it wrong?" I protest. "I'm literally just squeezing the bag."

I have watched her countless times and that's how she does it.

"You're squeezing too hard," Bailey says, trying not to laugh.

“Your hand position is all wrong. Here, let me show you again."

She adds, coming up behind me and wrapping her arms around mine and guiding my hands with hers.

"Apply gentle pressure," she instructs. "And keep the tip at a consistent angle. Like this."

Together, we pipe a perfect swirl of frosting onto the cupcake.

"See?" Bailey says. "That's perfect."

"That was all you," I point out.

"Then pay attention this time," she says, stepping back. "Try another one."

It's Saturday morning and we're at Sweet beginnings.

Bailey insisted she needed to catch up on some baking for next week's orders, and I refused to let her come alone.

"You're pregnant," I'd said when she protested. "You shouldn't be lifting heavy bags of flour or standing on your feet for hours."

I was being the caring partner but that's not how Bailey saw things.

"I am ten weeks pregnant, not an invalid," She had argued.

So here we are, spending time together at her shop.

Bailey is making cupcakes for someone's baby shower next week, and I am her very incompetent assistant.

"How did you get so good at this?" I ask, watching her effortlessly pipe perfect frosting swirls onto a dozen cupcakes in the time it takes me to do one mediocre one.

"Have you ever heard that practice makes perfect?" Bailey asks.

“Passion too. You can't be good at something unless you love doing it." She points out.

"I love hockey," I say. "But I'm pretty sure if you asked me to bake a cake, it would be inedible."

"Exactly my point." Bailey says with a smile.

"You can do things on ice skates that would kill me. I can make pastries that don't taste like hockey pucks. It's all about playing to our strengths."

"That's a fair point," I concede.

I watch her work for a moment, admiring the concentration on her face and the movements of her hands. She's in her element here, surrounded by familiar tools and creating something beautiful.

"You're staring," Bailey says without looking up.

"Can you blame me?" I ask. "My fiancée is gorgeous when she's focused."

"Your fiancée is covered in flour and probably has frosting in her hair," Bailey corrects.

"She is still gorgeous," I insist.

She looks up at me then, her expression softening.

"You're such a sap," she says with a bright smile on her face.

Seeing that smile grace her features warms my heart.

There's nothing that pleases me like seeing my person happy.

"Only for you," I reply, leaning down to kiss her.

She tastes like sugar and vanilla, and I find myself deepening the kiss until she laughs and pushes me away gently.

"You're distracting me," she protests.

"That was the plan," I admit.

"Well, stop it," Bailey says. "These cupcakes need to be done by Monday, and you're not helping by being charming." She adds with a chuckle.

Is she flirting with me? Calling me charming?

"I can't help being charming," I say innocently. "It's just my natural state."

Bailey throws a dish towel at me and I catch it, laughing.

We work in comfortable silence for a while.

Bailey finishes the cupcakes while I clean up the kitchen. It's domestic and simple and exactly the kind of quiet moment I've come to cherish.

My life has been chaotic for so long. That's what happens when you are the captain of a famous hockey team.

But here, in this bakery with Bailey, everything feels normal and peaceful.

"How are you feeling?" I ask as Bailey stretches her back. "Do you need to sit down? Are you nauseous?"

I can't help but worry that she is exerting herself.

"I'm fine," Bailey assures me. "Actually, I'm feeling pretty good today.” She adds.

"That's good," I say. "Dr. Clara said any morning sickness should start easing up soon, right?" I ask and she nods.

"Around twelve weeks, usually," Bailey confirms. "So just two more weeks of potential nausea."

"Then we find out if it's a boy or a girl," I say, unable to keep the excitement out of my voice.

We decided last week that we want to know the sex. I know some people prefer to be surprised, but I want to know. I want to be able to call our baby by name, to pick out specific clothes and colors and to really envision our future.

"Have you thought more about names?" Bailey asks, reading my mind.

"Some," I admit. "But I want to wait until we know what we're having. It feels wrong to pick a name before we know if it's a he or she."

I point out. Except that we have had countless suggestions for the baby names and haven't settled on any.

"That's fair," Bailey says.

“ Your mom has already sent me a list of suggestions. She is so excited to be a grandmother.”

"Of course she has," I say with a laugh. "Let me guess…all family names?"

That's so like my mom.

"Mostly," Bailey confirms. "Though she also suggested some creative combinations that I'm pretty sure she made up." She says, giggling.

From her smile, I can already tell that my mom must have come up with something ridiculous.

"Like what?" I ask eagerly.

"Oriana," Bailey says, trying not to laugh. "For a girl.

That's definitely a combination of Orion and Diana."

I groan.

"Please tell me you said no."

"I told her we'd consider all suggestions," Bailey says diplomatically. "But yeah, that's a hard no."

The bell above the bakery door chimes, and we both look up.

The smile on Bailey's face fades instantly.

Marcus, Talia’s ex- lover, is standing in the doorway.

I have never met him personally but I do know him from an image bailey was cursing insistently the other night for being an asshole.

He looks like shit.

His hair is disheveled and he has dark circles under his eyes

He is wearing jeans and a wrinkled t-shirt. For a CEO, this is not how I expected to see him look.

One look at him and I can tell he is clearly not here for pastries.

"We're closed," Bailey says, her voice immediately cold.

"I know," Marcus says. "I'm looking for Talia. Is she here?" He continues to ask, as he hasn't read the room and seen the pregnant elephant in the room.

"No," Bailey says flatly.

"Do you know where she is? She won't answer my calls." Marcus presses.

"Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you," Bailey says, crossing her arms. "You have some nerve showing up here."

"I need to talk to her," Marcus says, and there is a desperation in his voice. "Please, Bailey. I know you're her best friend. I know she's probably told you everything. But I need to see her."

"Why?" Bailey demands. "So you can break her heart again? So you can show up, say you miss her, and then disappear the moment things get real?" Bailey snaps.

Looking at Marcus, all I can do is pity her. Bailey is very protective when it comes to Talia and the feeling is mutual.