Buttercream

As I’ve noted before my next release is called Buttercream. I love this story, like, well, buttercream frosting. Poppy, the female lead, owns a bakery. I would love to do nothing but bake all the time. Matthew is a hot, sexy helicopter pilot. This story will be released in mid-July. Hope you like it.

Chapter One

“Where’s the beef?” Poppy shook her head. Why did people think that was a funny comment to make about her vegetarian sandwiches? No matter how gorgeous the man was, and this one was definitely gorgeous, she wasn’t putting up with any nonsense about her food.

“Probably still rotting in your colon.” She gave her standard response and was struck speechless when he gave her an incandescently beautiful smile in return. Why were the pretty ones always the biggest idiots? At just under six feet, he wasn’t all that tall, which was a good thing as she barely cleared five feet herself, but he had the imposing presence of a much larger man. His almost white blond hair contrasted sharply with dark lashes and brows that framed a pair of puppy dog brown eyes so large and luminous they would have been almost feminine if he hadn’t also been blessed with sharp, indisputably masculine features. Bottom line, dude was hot, and his confident smile and swagger made it clear that he knew it.

“They’re really good sandwiches, but I don’t see how a little protein could hurt,” he responded with a cheeky grin.

Poppy, refusing to be distracted, ticked off the sandwich ingredients on her fingers. “Basil, tomato, and fabulous artisan buffalo mozzarella. You’ve got plenty of protein right there.”

He gave her a look so hot she was surprised her eyebrows weren’t singed off. “I’m not sure what artisan means, but a little meat couldn’t hurt.”

Good Lord, was he flirting with her? She refused to even consider the ambiguity in the way he lingered over the word meat. Instead, she opened her mouth to explain all the different ways that it could indeed hurt, but was interrupted by her much more diplomatic sister, Daffodil.

“I’m sure you’ve got a good point, but since this is your third trip to our booth, I’d say you find something about our sandwiches appealing.”

“Oh, they’re quite good,” the other man accompanying Blondie said, “You almost don’t miss the meat.”

Poppy had to smile. “Damned by faint praise,” she murmured under her breath. She turned to assist another customer, and when she came back to that side of the booth, the two men had drifted away.

“What are you putting in those sandwiches these days?” Daffodil asked. “Those guys act like they can’t get enough.”

Poppy looked up at her leggy blonde sister who somehow managed to be perfectly suited to her name. “I don’t know, Dill. It must be the arugula. Lots of people like the peppery taste.” Poppy tried to ignore her sister’s sly look. Normally she was oblivious to men hitting on her, but this guy was so obvious she would’ve had to be dead and buried to miss the signals. Of course, Poppy knew her curvy figure, especially dressed as she was today in cutoffs and a crop top, drew attention from men wherever she went; the Rainbow Family reunion was no exception. She’d been coming to the counterculture event with her family for most of her life, and it wasn’t unusual for a Rainbow romance to blossom in the majestic setting of a national forest. But these guys didn’t look like typical Rainbows. With their clean-cut, all-American good looks, they were far too conventional for such a gathering. Some people came looking to score drugs, but they didn’t look like that type either. Their closely cropped hair and erect bearing suggested military, but they could be DEA or ATF. There were plenty of drugs around, mainly weed, but the men didn’t seem like narcs either. The other Rainbows would’ve got rid of them by now if they were. So military seemed more likely. She wondered what had brought them here.

“Oh yeah, dozens of booths here, and those guys keep coming back for the arugula.” Daffodil gave her a wry glance.

“They bought some of the pineapple cupcakes too.”