Free It's a Match by Ana Tejano Page B

then heard Cams yelling for her sister.
“Just go in and wait for me downstairs, okay?”
    Her sister Charlie was waiting for him when he got out of his car.
She gave him a once-over, letting out a low whistle as he approached.
    “Well, someone’s looking hot,” she said. He laughed and reached out
to ruffle the younger girl’s hair. Charlie was more outspoken than her sister
and had never been selfish with her compliments to him. She said once that she
was simply speaking for Cams, but the older sister never confirmed it.
    He followed her inside, and Charlie yelled in a singsong voice, “ Ate ,
your date is here!”
    “What!” was Cams’s muffled answer. He heard a door open, and her
voice came clear. “Gabriel, don’t believe that little brat.”
    “I don’t know, I think I’d like to,” he replied loudly, winking at
Charlie, who giggled.
    Cams didn’t have a comeback for that, but a few seconds later, he
heard the sound of heels making their way down the stairs. Charlie looked up
from the bottom landing, and a wide grin broke upon her face when she saw her
sister. It didn’t take too long until she appeared in front of Gabriel. His
eyes widened.
    “Camilla,” he breathed out softly.
    “Gabriel,” she answered, beaming at him. The short dark-red dress
fit her perfectly, showing off her bare shoulders, her dark hair framing her
face, making her look both mysterious and sweet.
    He had always thought that Cams was beautiful, even without the
makeup and all that fancy stuff. Today, she looked positively stunning, so much
that it felt like every move she made sent shivers to different parts of his
body.
     “Will this make a good first impression?” she asked, twirling
around once for him. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, and it was all
he could do to not close the space between them and wrap her in his arms so she
wouldn’t have to meet someone else. “Or is this too dressy for a first online
date?” she added.
    Of course this wasn’t for him. Why wasn’t she going out with him
tonight?
    Right. Because he didn’t move fast enough.
    “No, definitely not,” he answered, a smile tugging at the corner of
his lips. She smiled back and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“You look perfect, Camilla.”
    Any guy would be crazy not to want to go out with her.
    And Gabriel was one of them.

03. Two years ago.
     
    Cams
met Gabriel Evangelista on the last day of her baking class. He was the cousin
of their instructor, Pia, and she had invited him to help judge their creations
for the day. Their last class was a bake-off, and the maker of the best baked
goodies could get a business deal, care of Pia and Gabriel.
    She wasn’t competitive most of the time, but Cams liked the idea of
having something else to think about, so she set out to make her two
specialties: chocolate revel bars and red velvet cupcakes. She even practiced
frosting them at home a lot and enjoyed how something that looked so unassuming
could be so pretty and delicious after you dress it up.
    It was the least she could do—make something pretty that someone
would want, even if no one wanted her.
    “What are you making?”
    She looked up from her mixer and found herself staring into a pair
of brown eyes so dark, they were almost black. Surprised, she took a step back,
her hand knocking off an empty cup from the counter. Gabriel’s hand shot out,
his quick reflexes catching the cup, smoothly putting it back.
    “I’m making cupcakes,” Cams answered softly, pushing the rest of the
utensils away from the edge so she wouldn’t accidentally knock them off again.
    Gabriel crossed his arms as he leaned against the counter, peering
into her mixing bowl. “Hmm.”
    It was a noncommittal, observant “Hmm” that could’ve meant a hundred
things, really. But to Cams, it seemed like he was really saying “Boring,”
instead. She was fully aware that red velvet cupcakes were pretty common, but
she had a plan to make them