"If it's too much to forgive me, if it's too big that even a cupcake can't fix this mess I've gotten us into, then I've brought reinforcements."

He rushed past her and stood by the burnt couch. He reached inside the bag and pulled out a white tablecloth. He covered one side of the couch. Next, a small vase filled with flowers was placed over the cloth. Then he took out his iPod. He made a playlist for the occasion? Liv shook her head and smiled. Tony.

Finally, he reached to the bottom of the bag and pulled out a long purple box. She recognized it right away to be from one of the specialty bakeries downtown in Yorkville. He had brought her French macaroons.

She couldn't help the smile that curved her lips. Actually, it was more of a grin that spread from ear to ear.

He laid the box on the couch. "That's all I wanted."

She looked at him in confusion. She was too caught up with the lengths he was willing to go to. "What?"

"To see you smile. If all this isn't enough, then all I want is to make you smile. I don't-"

"I forgive you." She still hadn't looked up from her gift, but she got him to stop talking. "I forgive you." This time, she looked up.

It was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The Jake Miller she first met stared back at her. The Jake Miller she'd fallen in love with closed the s.p.a.ce between them and grabbed her with both hands, pulling her into a heated kiss.

She loved the lips that softly mingled with her own. Lips that were made to fit perfectly with hers.

He pulled away quickly and spoke between gasps. "I didn't know he was your dad. It's not an excuse, but I wanted you to know that."

"I know. He told me."

"You spoke to him?" She traced her index finger along the line of his lip, wanting desperately to get back to what they had been doing not ten seconds ago.

"He sent me a letter." She c.o.c.ked her head to the side. "He also told me that you quit your job. Why?"

"I don't need the Vice President position to follow my dreams." He pulled her even closer to him. "Watching you, seeing how much you enjoyed getting up every morning and doing what you love, inspired me."

"Yeah. Look what it got me. A charbroiled business."

"You'll be back in business in no time. And since I'm unemployed, I can help you." This time, the thought of Jake helping didn't make Liv tense up. She wanted him in the picture. She wanted him involved in every aspect of her life.

She giggled. "I guess I could use someone to make sure that I'm really clean when I leave the house every morning."

"Where do I apply?"

He gave her a long, hard hug. It was exactly what she needed. Then his body tensed and he held her away from him as he said, "You know, we could make a lot of money if we coined the break-up cupcake."

"You're talking about us breaking up already?"

"Not us." He led her over to the couch. "Whenever guys screw up with women, they buy the break-up cupcake and all is forgiven."

"I think that you might be on to something." Maybe having someone to share in her business wasn't such a bad idea after all. Jake had just brainstormed a possible bestseller.

"I think we'll be rich. Guys are always s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up." He tapped her on the nose with his finger. "You have black soot all over your face."

She reached to wipe it away.

"It's hot."

The simple action of Jake uttering the word "hot" had her insides melting, but she was intent on making this right.

"Thank you," Liv said.

He shrugged it off.

"No." She grabbed his face between her hands. "Thank you. I was too stubborn to make the first move."

"I know. Let's just say that you owe me for giving you your happily ever after."

After all these years of reading about it in books, she could recognize it. The declaration of love, the grand gesture, the euphoric feeling. Liv was right smack dab in the middle of her own romantic ending.

He continued, "When I was a kid, my grandma once told me that I was going to have to find a woman who could spin sugar into gold in order to keep me happy."

That was...her.

"I know you're the perfect person for me. The only one for me, and I'll do anything to make sure that the rest of your life is a happily ever after."

He bent his head and nuzzled her ear. "So we're officially a couple?"

It was a question. Even after admitting he'd give her a-happily-ever-after, he still needed rea.s.surance.

"Because if you're still not convinced, I have a mathematical formula courtesy of Brian that proves we're meant for each other. I'd rather not explain it, because-"

Liv touched her finger to his lips, then replaced it with her lips. Everything felt right. Perfect. And even though she was standing outside of her burned bakery, she knew everything was going to be better from this moment on because she had someone to share her life with.

"I love you, Olivia Crawford. I love everything about you."

"I love you, too, Jake." She sighed. "With icing on top."

Their lips met again. They kissed in the back alley of the bakery as the sun fell behind the horizon, the smell of almond and b.u.t.ter cream sweetening the moment.

Epilogue.

Liv turned off the lights of her bakery. Holding tight a box of leftover cupcakes, she walked to the front door where Jake waited for her. Dressed in a black shirt and gray dress pants, he looked scrumptious. His strong upper body filled out his leather jacket, giving her the urge to run her hands up and down his pecs.

"This was the best grand opening I've ever been to," he said.

"It's probably the only grand opening you've been to."

The bakery looked exactly as it had before the fire. Blush pink paint covered the walls, new furniture sat in front of the store window, and a new awning bearing the name Cupcake! hung outside. The only difference was the addition of a second hook in the kitchen, where Jake hung his custom "I'm sweet on the owner" ap.r.o.n when he fulfilled his duties as Chief Stirrer.

"I couldn't have done this without you." She snuggled into his side. "I think you had every food critic in the GTA show up today."

"And the ones that couldn't make it-a box of cupcakes was sent to their door."

"How did you-" Liv's head spun trying to think of an answer to her unfinished question. "The lady who came in a few days ago and bought six boxes?"

"She was my a.s.sistant at Weston."

She smacked his arm.

"Ow! That's what I get for being your publicist? Abuse?"

She lifted onto her toes and laid a soft kiss on his lips.

"Thank you. That's much better."

She let out a hard breath. No matter how nerve-racking the day had been, tonight was going to be even worse.

"Do you think I should bring these?" She lifted the box toward him.

"He'll love them."

"Should I go home and change?"

"Liv, you look beautiful." He grabbed her around the hips and bent his knees to look at her at eye level. "You're glowing, actually, and I'm a little jealous that it wasn't me who gave you that glow."

Heat spiraled in her belly. "We could always step in the back and make it come true." She'd postpone evacuating for a tornado if it meant she could have Jake's hard body pressed against, and inside, her own.

"No way! Nice try. We've got to go."

Her shoulders slumped. "All right."

After weeks of contemplation, she had finally decided to meet with her father. She couldn't do it alone. She didn't want to do it alone.

"I'm proud of you."

"Don't be so proud just yet. I'm still capable of throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of the restaurant if he says something I don't like."

He gave her a stern look as he pulled the door open. The happy jingle filled her ears, a final calming sound before she ventured on a life-changing dinner meeting.

She slid the key into the lock and hesitated before she finally turned it and heard the soft click.

"Are you ready?" He held her tight.

As they walked in the night air, Liv settled into the warmth and security of Jake's body.

She had everything she needed. After tonight, maybe even something she'd thought she never wanted.

Acknowledgments.

Thank you to my fabulous editors at Entangled Publishing for giving me the chance to make my dream come true.

About the Author.

When her dream of becoming a mafia princess didn't pan out, Gina Gordon went after her second dream...becoming a writer. And she hasn't looked back.

Gina, a self-proclaimed happily-ever-after junkie and cupcake connoisseuse, loves spinning contemporary tales of knee-bending first kisses, unconditional love, and super-hot s.e.x. She broke out onto the romance scene with her #1 Amazon Bestselling erotic short story Her Five Favorite Words, that's been called a "deliciously naughty tale" by Joyfully Reviewed.

When not chained to her computer, you can find Gina sipping Starbucks, making cupcakes, or feeding her addiction to celebrity gossip. She lives in Milton, Ontario with her husband and lovable dog.

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