During the filming of each show, she reminded herself often of why she was still doing something that she felt ashamed of and kept secret. There was no way she was going to let her sweet nineteen-year-old sister fend for herself and end up doing God knew what to earn money like she did instead of focusing on her studies. Or worse, drop out of school. Madison was about as innocent as they came, and while Lizzie might once have been that innocent, her determination to succeed, and life circumstances, had beaten it out of her. Creating the webcast was the best decision she’d ever made—even if it meant putting her nonexistent social life on hold and living a secret life after dark. The blond wig and thick-framed spectacles helped to hide her online persona, or at least they seemed to. No one had ever accused her of being the Naked Baker. Then again, her assumption was that the freaky people who got off watching her prance around in an apron and heels probably rarely left their own basements.
She was proud of helping Maddy. She felt like she was taking one for the team. Going where no girl should ever have to go. Braving the wild naked baking arena for the betterment of the sister she cherished.
A while later, as Lizzie checked the cupcakes and realized that while the oven was still warm, it had turned off—her stomach sank. Hiding her worries behind another forced smile and a wink, she stuck her ass out and bent over to quickly remove the tray of cupcakes from the oven, knowing the angle of the camera would give only a side view and none of her bare ass would actually be visible. Thankfully, the oven must have just died, because it was still warm and the cupcakes were firm enough to frost.
Emergency reshoot avoided!
Smile genuine!
A few minutes later she sprinkled the last of the coconut on the cupcakes, narrating as she went.
“Everyone wants a little something extra on top, and I’m going to give it to you good.” Giving one last wink to the camera, she said, “Until next week, this is your Naked Baker signing off for a sweet, seductive night of tantalizing tasting.”
She clicked the remote and turned off the camera. Eyeing the fresh daisies she’d brought home from her flower shop, she leaned her forearms on the counter, and with a heavy sigh, she let her head fall forward. It was after midnight, and she had to be up bright and early to open the shop. Tomorrow night she’d edit the webcast so it would be ready in time to air the following night—and she needed to get her oven fixed.
Damn thing.
Kicking off her heels, Lizzie went upstairs, stripped out of the apron, and wrapped a thick towel around herself. A warm shower was just what she needed to wash away the film of shame left on her skin after taping the webcast. Thinking of the broken oven, she texted her friend Blue Ryder to see if he could fix it. Blue was a highly sought after craftsman who worked for the Kennedys and other prominent families around the Cape. When Lizzie’s pipe had burst under the sink in the bathroom above the first-floor kitchen while she was away at a floral convention for the weekend, Blue was only too happy to put aside time to handle the renovations. He was like that. Always making time to help others. He was still splitting his time between working on her kitchen renovations and working on the cottage he’d just purchased. He was working at his cottage tomorrow, but she hoped he could fit her in at some point.
Can you fix my oven tomorrow?
Blue texted back a few seconds later. He was as reliable as he was hot, a dangerous combination. She read his text—Is that code for something sexy?—and shook her head with a laugh.
Smirking, she replied, Only if you’re into oven grease.
Blue had asked her out many times since they’d met last year, when she’d handled the flowers for his friends’ quadruple beach wedding. Turning down his invitations wasn’t easy and had led to more sexy fantasies than she cared to admit. Her double life was crazy enough without adding a sexy, rugged man who was built like Magic Mike and had eyes that could hypnotize a blind woman, but her reasons went far deeper than that. Blue was more than eye candy. He was also a genuine friend, and he always put family and friends first, which, when added to his panty-dropping good looks and gentlemanly demeanor, was enough to stop Lizzie’s brain from functioning. It would be too easy to fall hard for a caring, loyal man like Blue Ryder. And that, she couldn’t afford. Maddy was counting on her.
She read his text—Glad you finally came to your senses. When are you free?—and wondered if he thought she was being flirtatious.
Time to nip this in the bud, she thought. Her finger hovered over the screen while her mind toyed with images of Blue, six foot three, all hot, hard muscles and steel-blue eyes.
It had been way too long since she’d been with a man, and every time Blue asked her out, she was tempted, but she liked him so much as a friend, and she knew that tipping over from friendship to lovers would only draw her further in to him, making it harder to lead her double life.
That was precisely why she hightailed it out of her house on the mornings before he showed up to work on her kitchen. Leaving before he arrived was the only way she was able to keep her distance. He was that good-looking. That kind. And that enjoyable to be around. Not only didn’t she have time for a relationship, but she was pretty sure that no guy would approve of his girlfriend doing the Naked Baker show. Of course, the mornings after taping her shows, she left him a sweet treat on the counter with a note thanking him for working on her kitchen.