another look down the hall to the kitchen and then turned back to them. âWell, thatâs great. Glad to hear it. I have to pick up more cleaning supplies for Haley, anyway.â
âYou know sheâs not supposed to be working with harsh cleaners,â Caroline said. âItâs not good for the baby.â
But Matthew only chuckled at that. âOh, I know. Haley knows it, too. Thatâs why sheâs having me use them instead, while she drinks lemonade and plays in the sandbox with Lizzie.â
Though he laughed with the others, Logan couldnât help sneaking a peek at Caroline. Just when he thought heâd figured her out, she surprised him again. It crossed his mind to wonder why he continued to expect the worst of her, but he decided not to analyze that. He probably wouldnât like what he found if he did.
âMy baby sister.â Caroline smiled with pride. âI taught her well.â
As soon as his brother headed out the door again, Logan turned back to her.
âYou seemed awfully certain. You havenât even been back in the kitchen. How do you know I fixed the sink?â
âDidnât you?â
âWell, yeah, butââ
âBut nothing. Iâve seen you and your brothers fix anything from a running toilet to a window-sized hole in a ceiling.â She drew her eyebrows together. âHave you forgotten last Christmas when we fixed up that house for the Denton family?â
âHow could I forget that? That place was a disaster when we started working.â
âThen why would you wonder how I would know that you could fix a simple sink clog? If nothing else, the Warren guys are handy. I had no reason to worry.â
âThanks.â But as understanding dawned, he crossed his arms. âWait. You knew it was that simple, and you had me come in to handle it? Was it just so you could give me a chance to prove myself to the staff?â
âNot just that.â As she stared down at her hands, a small smile played on her lips. âI didnât want to get my hands dirty.â
âAt least you had a good reason.â
âThat and I was trying to follow the suggestion from a wise group called The Beatles that we all do better with some help from our friends.â
âOkay, this is going to be an odd day if youâre going to start citing wisdom from Sgt. Pepper this early.â
âNext time Iâll wait until after lunch.â
âGood. Now we have that settled.â He cleared his throat. âAnyway, thanks.â
âYouâre welcome.â
At the loud chatter coming from the kitchen, Logan started down the hall with Caroline at his heels. No matter what theyâd just told his brother, it appeared that they would be putting out fires all day at the bakery, and he could only hope it wouldnât be literal fires.
âWhat do you think?â Kamie gestured like a game-show hostess to the three-tier wedding cake with fresh yellow flowers on top and leafy vines trailing down its sides. âItâs done.â
The others, who had turned from their other activities, broke out in applause.
âGreat job, ladies,â Logan told her. âIâm sure the bride and groom will be impressed.â
âAs long as we get it and the other one to the receptions without damaging them,â Margie added.
âWe will,â he assured them. âThose weddingsâat least our part in themâwill be perfect.â
âYeah, perfect,â Caroline echoed.
When Logan glanced over at her, he expected her to be grinning, chuckling even. He wasnât disappointed. Mirth danced in her eyes, bringing a touch of light to their sapphire depths. But her smile changed then, becoming so warm and potent that Loganâs knees nearly buckled.
Heâd imagined the change; that had to be it. This wouldnât be the first time heâd misread signals from Caroline. Still, he couldnât