Loved You First (Jenlisa) COMPLETED

9

Jennie glanced up as Nayeon sauntered into the kitchen and stared.

"Did you invite an army of starving people over or do you just need a chocolate fix worthy of the Guinness Book?"

She surveyed the truffle-covered countertops of the bakeshop's kitchen with a hand on her hip.

Jennie went back to work. "Neither."

She was on a mission and couldn't be deterred. It was the end of the workday, but she didn't care. She had to keep going.

"When you ducked back here to do a little work, I had no idea what you were embarking upon. This is a little crazy, Nini. I'm not sure our refrigerators can hold this many truffles."

"I bake when I'm stressed, okay? It's a thing."

"Then you must be a stone's throw from a breakdown."

"It's been that kind of week is all. My dad's been depressed; business is hit and miss. Oh, and then the unforgettable blind date that I have you to thank for."

"Mhmm. And that's all that's got your mind scrambling?"

"Yep."

"All right. We can play that way. So what are we going to do with all of these?"

"You and Dara can take some home along with the copies of the recipe I laid out for each of you. I want you up to date on our latest menu item. Some will go to my dad, the Manobans, and then the leftovers can get us started on the inventory we'll take with us to the festival."

Nayeon snagged a truffle and took a generous bite. Jennie watched as her eyes widened in delight as she sank into the taste.

"You did it." She finally whispered. "You really did it."

Jennie couldn't help the grin. "They're good, aren't they?"

"Best I've ever had and I know chocolate. Woo-hoo!"

She offered Jennie a high five and their customary hip bump.

"What's all this?" Dara asked as she entered the kitchen.

"Jennie's stressed so she's baking for the free world."

"Because of Lisa? Nothing wrong with a little kissing, Nini Bear. You're only young and sexy once. Wish I'd remembered that when I was your age. I should have slept around more."

Jennie gasped and shot Nayeon an accusatory stare. "You didn't? Im Nayeon, you're going to die. You have no concept of discretion."

"What? Dara doesn't count. She's bakeshop family. You don't keep things from the bakeshop family."

Jennie glared harder. "By that logic, maybe we should notify Kai too. Where's the phone?"

Dara shook her head. "No need. I told him this afternoon when he picked up the muffins."

Jennie glared. "Fabulous."

"They were pretty good muffins." Dara headed back out to the counter.

"Maybe we should just run my life by committee."

Jennie threw her hands in the air and went back to rolling truffles while Nayeon considered this.

"You'd definitely have more fun. Now that you're actually talking about it, did you smooth things over with little miss Lisa?"

"Yeah, we're fine."

"Your voice is flat. Sweetie, it's hard to believe you when sound like a pancake."

Jennie stilled her hands, but kept her eyes on the bowl of cocoa powder. Her resolve to remain tightlipped was weakening.

"When I went to talk to Lisa today, almost everything went exactly how I wanted it to."