Free Just Desserts by Marquita Valentine Page A

smoothed back his hair and readjusted his tie.
    Palms up, Liam stepped back. “Seriously, get back together with Kate. Hell, fill her in on the entire scheme. Make it look like you give a damn about anything and anyone who isn’t you. Make them think you want this job. Be the exact opposite of your father and make your family want to be around you.”
    Sebastian wanted to defend himself, and say that he wasn’t a cold bastard like his father, but since his father’s death, he had actually become one. Most of his friends, like Liam, had overlooked it for the most part, since he’d seen the light . He owed them his gratitude, and an apology.
    “ I’d rather try to repair things with Christian than re-open an old wound with Kate,” he said, already deciding he would leave right after work and board the company jet to fly to the States, to the very town where the woman he adored from afar lived and waited on him. No, not him. Jules.
    Liam nodded. “There’s the Sebastian I know.”
    “ Too bad my family doesn’t know him.” Sebastian smiled wryly.
    “ You’re not a bad man, Sebastian, to those of us that know you.
    “ Don’t you think my family—my twin brother of all people—should know that?”
    “ You’ve only let them see glimpses of the real you,” Liam reminded him.
    Sebastian raised his brows. “Ah, but did they bother looking?”
     
    *** *** ***
     
    Plopping down in her office chair, Daisy tossed the certified letter she’d just received onto her desk. “Stupid insurance company.”
    Dealing with them was going to be the death of her, and she only had a month to decide whether or not to go through with arbitration.
    Yeah, because money was suddenly going to start growing on trees and she could just go outside and pluck off a few hundred grand to pay for everything.
    Her lawyer had been the one to recommended arbitration and to get it over with as soon as possible.
    She pushed the letters from the insurance company and her lawyer to the side and frowned. It seemed like every time she thought she was free, something else rose up to bite her on the rear.
    It had turned out that the final six months of her mother’s life spent at the best hospice insurance could buy hadn’t been covered after all. A clerical error was to blame, and now she—once again—had to pay up.
    What was she going to do?
    All of her money was in her business and she had just hired some part-time help that would start as soon The Sweet Spot was up and running in its new location.
    She and Isabella had decided to join forces and open a bakery/bookstore in the town. Unfortunately, the only building they could afford to rent was in the middle of major renovations. On the bright side, they’d signed a lease in time for the renovations to include a state-of-the-art workspace for Daisy.
    Every time she saw the design, she wanted to swoon and tell Jules, but she hadn’t yet. She had wanted to surprise him with her new adventure into expanding her business.
    Only now she wanted to go back and not agree to anything at all, which made her the worst business partner and best friend on earth.
    Isabella swept into her office.
    And there was the best business partner and best friend on earth , Daisy thought glumly.
    Dressed in dark jeans and a lime green sweater, Bella radiated happiness as she brushed a strand of caramel-colored hair behind her ear. “Hi—oh, no. Did Glen text you again?”
    A little laugh escaped Daisy. “Not since the last one, where he said he’d changed his mind and was really in love with Nina now and not Gina. Gosh, that man has a thing for rhyming.” Every so often, she would get a random text from Glen, saying that he missed her, that he’d been wrong and they needed to work things out. She had deleted every last one, and would then call Bella or Haven to tell them.
    And Jules. She shared everything with Jules.
    “ Oh good. I’d hate to go all medieval on him.”
    Daisy rolled her eyes. “What happened