Ember gave her mother a wide smile. “Not nervous at all,” she lied.
Because it was a lie.
Ember was a nervous wreck. It wasn’t just the competition that was weighing on her. She had a secret, one that she didn’t know how to handle.
She had no idea how to tell her family. Would they believe her? Would they panic? Would they insist that she not compete in the Bakers Gotta Bake television show?
She couldn’t risk it because of one pesky letter.
The piece of paper sat in her purse, far off in the entryway. The note had been left on her front porch the morning before, threatening her with violence if she didn’t pull out of the show.
It was insane, just someone trying to frighten her.
Besides, who would believe that someone was after her? She wasn’t Sparx with television fame or Cinder with the millions of followers. She was just some baker going on a baking show. No one was going to try and kill her over it.
Chapter Two
Kai
The sun was setting, but it was still quite hot. Kai flipped the steaks over on the grill, taking a sip of his beer to cool down. It was a peaceful evening that was just about to turn chaotic. His parents were already bickering inside over which salad dressing to put out, while his brother was running late, no doubt slowed down by his kids.
Kai enjoyed the silence, but it was also a clear sign that he was alone. His parents had each other, and they were always going off on some trip or another. The pair was as in love now as they had been as newlyweds. It was as endearing as it was disturbing when they started making out, despite being surrounded by family members. His brother Lee had a wife and kids keeping him busy. Those two were just as amorous as Kai’s parents.
Kai had none of that.
The stillness of his life was starting to make him uncomfortable. His mother repeatedly told him that he needed to go out more and put himself out there if he wanted to meet his mate. She was right, of course, but Kai wasn’t so sure hanging out in shifter bars would bring him his mate. He had tried that for years to no avail. Even all of the pride’s mothers had tried to set him up with their daughters or with available women.
None of the lionesses had caught his eye.
His own lion had been dispassionate at best.
Maybe Kai was just meant to be a lone lion. The cool uncle, but never a father. A good friend and brother-in-law, but never a husband.
“Uncle Kai, Uncle Kai!” The giggly shrieking kid came barreling toward Kai with his arms spread wide open.
They had done this enough times that Kai knew exactly what Silvester wanted. With a sweeping motion, he took the child up into the air, twirling him until his own head was dizzy. Silvester was laughing, squealing for more speed, more spinning.
“Okay, there, Silvester,” Kai placed the kid back onto solid ground carefully. However, the toddler still fell onto the grass with all the flair and drama that children were so good with affecting during games.
Silvester clung to the ground, giggling. “The earth is moving so fast, Uncle Kai.”
“Sure is,” he chuckled.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Lee grumbled, coming into the backyard. “If the kid yaks up his dinner, you’re cleaning it up.”
“Fuck!” Silvester shouted, pouncing to his little legs. “Daddy said a bad word. Fuck, fuck, fuck,” the little boy chanted, running around the enclosed backyard.
Lee shook his head. “Carmen is going to kill me for that.”
“I’ll kill you for what now? What did you do?” Carmen waddled toward them, very pregnant and very aggravated.
Kai couldn’t blame her. Silvester was only four, baby Sophie was barely two, and there would be another Mason cub joining the pride in a week or so.
“Nothing, dear,” Lee said, rushing toward his wife. “Let me get you settled, and I’ll bring you some water.”
“I’ll take care of the kids.” Kai took Sophie from his brother’s arms and went after Silvester, who was still running around.
The kid had more energy than anyone knew what to do with. That made sense, of course. He was a lion shifter, like the rest of the Mason family. Not for the first time, Kai wondered if he would ever have kids of his own. Lee was his junior by six years, and he was already a father of three. Kai was thirty-five with no prospects in sight.
His mate was taking her sweet ass time getting to him.
If she ever got to him.
Kai was starting to believe that a family of his own just might not be in the cards for him. That made him sad. He loved his niece and nephew, but it would have been nice to have his own cubs running around.
Even if they were uncontrollable balls of energy like Silvester.
For the next little while, Kai played in the backyard with Sophie and Silvester, only pausing their games of hide and seek long enough to flip the steaks on the grill. When the meat was done, Kai announced it was time for dinner, much to Silvester’s dismay.
“I’m not hungry,” the little boy pouted. “I haven’t run around enough to be hungry. I had cheese this afternoon.” He pooched his stomach. “It was my second snack. I had a pear before that.”
Kai couldn’t ever remember turning down food as a child. It was a true testament to how much fun Silvester was having. “If you come in and eat your dinner, I promise we can play another couple of rounds of hide and seek.”
“Are you seriously bribing my kid right now?” Lee said as he came outside to scoop Sophie into his arms. The little girl tugged at her father’s beard, all but shoving her tiny fists into the hair. Her giggle was infectious as she continued to smoosh the beard through her tiny, chubby fingers.
“Sure am,” Kai shot back, taking his nephew into his arms.
“That’s a parenting lesson you learn quick,” Lee added. “Anything to keep the peace.”
“Especially now that you’ll be outnumbered,” Kai pointed out as he settled Silvester into his booster seat at the table.
“Don’t remind me of that,” Carmen grumbled between bites of creamy potato salad. “I’m having nightmares about the kids tying us up and taking over the house.”
“What is the worst that could happen?” Kai asked, earning him a stare down, not just from his brother and sister-in-law but also from his parents.
“Do you not remember what it was like to be a young cub?” His mother rolled her eyes heavenward. “I swear the pair of you almost ate us out of the home. And the scuffles.” She shook her head with a hint of a smile.
“The hole in the basement window,” Dad pointed at him with his fork, a piece of steak skewered on the end of it.
“Hey, now,” Kai argued. “We were just practicing our awesome fighting moves. It’s not my fault Lee landed in the wall.”
“You threw me into it,” Lee shot back.
Silvester giggled, clapping his hands together. “The baby has to be a boy. I want to throw my brother into a wall, too!”
Carmen dropped her head in her hands. “Good lord, can we stop giving the little terror ideas?”
“Wall kick, wall kick,” Silvester chanted happily while flicking bits of potato toward Sophie. The toddler took the pieces of food and stuffed them eagerly into her mouth, unaware that her big brother was just trying to goad a reaction out of her.