Read Icing on the Cake for Free Online Page A

two words to her. What had she been to Brice at that time? His boss’s little sister and nothing more. He didn’t even want her to discover what he’d done. No, despite the persona he put on of being aloof and distant, Brice had a big heart.
    And as Aerial gazed across the table to him, she realized at that moment, she wanted it for herself.
    The Brice seated across from her now was different somehow from the brooding bastard of the cafe.
    “Did I say something to offend you?” he asked, looking up at her. Without the menu and seated across from her, she could make direct eye contact. She liked how when he asked the question, his eyebrow quirked up over his left eye.
    “No, not at all. Thank you for coming out with me tonight.”
    “You did say we had a date.”
    “I did.”
    “I also received your voice messages. I was in Chicago this week, securing a contract from a client. They sell rain boots and C.A.K.E is going to build their next big ad campaign.”
    “Congratulations!” Aerial said. “Sounds exciting.”
    “Not at all. They’re just rain boots.”
    He made a joke. Aerial dissolved into laughter, but Brice didn’t. Instead he did the next best thing, he smiled.
    “Oh. My. Goodness!” Aerial couldn’t believe it. When Brice smiled, his dimples fleshed out and the world’s brightest teeth appeared. It was like sitting across from Apollo. How can a single man be this damn incredible?
    “What?”
    “You have an amazing smile.”
    “Thank you,” Brice said.
    Silence welled between them. He stopped smiling, but stared at her. On Monday, she couldn’t get him to look at her and now, she couldn’t get him to stop.
    “What? Is there something on my nose?” she asked, turning her face this way and that.
    “No, why?”
    “You’re staring at me.” She touched the choker. “Is this thing blinding you?”
    “No, no...” He shook his head, emphasizing that it wasn’t the choker. He licked his lips and swallowed. Clearing his throat, he tried again. “It’s just that you’re so beautiful.”
    “Thank you,” Aerial said softly, feeling heat flash across her cheeks.
    When the server brought their drinks, she quickly gulped down fast swallows. In the span of ten minutes, Brice had done something incredible—paid her a compliment.
    “Brice, may I ask a question?”
    “Since when do you ask for permission?”
    “Good point, but this is a serious one.”
    His face went blank again, and she saw him retreating, putting up his emotional guard. Damn her insipid curiosity. She wanted to know why he’d been so open with her tonight. Just like the incident at the office, she wanted truth and honesty. For the briefest of moments, he’d given it to her.
    “Go on, Aerial, ask. You and I both know how persistent you are.”
    “Why did you come tonight?”
    She wanted to shout for him not to, to stay his warm open self, but she could already see the clouds forming across his face. He didn’t like her question.
    “Here you go. One honey chicken and one orange chicken. Here’s brown rice for y’all.” The server dropped off their food, bobbed around to make sure they had everything and then fled.
    When she left, Brice quietly said, “I came tonight because I wanted to see you.”
    “Oh. Well, I missed you too,” Aerial said.
    Brice smiled again. Aerial smiled back. At that moment, she knew she’d gotten through to him. It made her feel empowered, but more importantly, special. A trite word, and it failed to adequately describe her feeling right then, but she already knew she had begun to fall in love with him. Despite their rocky beginning, she couldn’t stop herself.
    “I started rehearsals for Hamlet this week too,” she said, eager to share her activities with him.
    He quirked an eyebrow. “ Hamlet ?”
    “Yes! You do know I’m an actress, right?” Aerial decided to leave her questions aside for now.
    “No. Why don’t you start at the beginning? Where did you go to school?” he asked,