Sugar Sweet Sin

Everything Changes

On Wednesday, the day before my first real dinner date with Dante, everything changes.

It starts like any normal day. I'm in the bakery early, getting my recipes organized for the day, when Jilly comes bouncing in. Rather than go straight for her apron, she stops right in front of my workstation.

"Is it true?" she says. "Are you really dating Dante Fontaine?"

I look up from the flour. "What? Where did you hear that?"

"The same place the rest of the world did." She holds up her phone, showing me a popular gossip website. There, front and center, is a photo of Dante and me leaving Big Barb's with the headline, "Dante Fontaine's new mystery girl: Who is Ashlyn Worth?"

A chill shoots down my spine. I knew this was coming, but I guess I'd hoped I'd have my anonymity for a little while longer. It's so strange to see my face on this site, to see my name printed as if I'm some sort of celebrity. Tens of thousands of people might read this.

"So?" Jilly prompts. "Is it true?"

"I..." After asking Dante to be open about our relationship, I can't exactly deny it. "Yes. Yes, I'm seeing him."

"Are you serious?" Jilly squeals. "You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm telling the truth."

"How did you meet him? What's he like? How long has this been going on?"

"I don't—"

"Oh, give the poor girl the chance to breathe." That's Mama Pat, who's just come in through the back door.

"Did you hear?" Jilly says. "Ash is dating Dante Fontaine!" She spins back toward me. "How did this even happen? Did someone introduce you? Or did you just run into him on the street somewhere and have some intense connection the moment your eyes met?"

"No, we—well, we knew each other back in school. And I ran into him again when we delivered the Cataclysm: Earth cake." As soon as the words leave my mouth, my mind revives a very vivid image of that night—of Dante and Emilia together—but I quickly push it away. I've done a good job of forgetting the circumstances that reacquainted Dante and me, and even though I know I can't ignore it forever, it's not something I want to dwell on right now.

"So this has been going on since then?" Jilly says. "I delivered the cake with you—why didn't I see him? Did you ask him out or did he ask you?"

"Why don't you make sure the front case is ready?" Mama Pat says. "Do your job before you start prying for personal information. She'll tell you when she's ready to."

Jilly glances at me, but I only nod.

"Go prep the front case," I say. "I've got three cake consultations today and I need to get eight batches of muffins done before the first one."

Jilly looks disappointed, but she's a good employee and won't directly disobey me. She heads out to the shop to get everything ready for the day. As soon as she's gone, I give a nod of appreciation to Mama Pat for coming to my defense.

She smiles. "I've been wondering what was going on with you."

I turn back to my muffin dough so she can't see my face get red. "Was it that obvious?"

"To anyone who's spent any great amount of time with you. I knew it would take something special to make you call off work." Her grin widens as she ties her apron around her waist. "I hope you noticed that we managed to keep the place from burning down while you were gone."

"I did. And thank you."

After that, we settle in for what seems to be a normal morning. But around noon, when I head up front to help Jilly with the lunch crowd, I see him.