Cake: A Love Story Read Online Free Page B

their youngest son, Quinn, was born. But Michelle was unhappy again because she worried that Quinn would be lonely without a sibling close in age so two years later their youngest child, daughter Grace, was born. During the entire story the McKallister kids were covering their faces in mock humiliation and Michelle was shaking her head and rolling her eyes.
    When Scott was done embarrassing his family, Jake’s older brother, Keith, grinned and said, “Geez Dad, seriously? Was that really necessary?”
    Scott raised his glass and jokingly nodded his head as if he’d just done a valuable public service to the community.
    “Well all I can say after that story is…Jake, I bet you’ve never been so happy to be an ‘oops’.” Everyone burst out laughing as Keith patted his brother Kyle on the shoulder sympathetically. Kyle raised his hands in defeat then pretended to cry. Jake slapped Kyle on the back supportively. It was such a cute, light-hearted moment for a family who had undoubtedly lived through some very dark times.
    After dinner was finished, Sarah, who had been trying to get Jake’s attention all evening, made a beeline for him. During the rehearsal she’d been flirting with Jake’s brother, Kyle, who she was partnered with for the wedding. But now that his brother was in the picture, Kyle didn’t stand a chance. I watched him saunter off with an annoyed look on his face as Sarah introduced herself to his brother. Jake scanned her appreciatively with his eyes. With her shiny blond hair, high cheekbones and tall, model-worthy body, Sarah was stunning. Every guy thought so.
    Girls, on the other hand, weren’t as impressed. Sarah may have been beautiful on the outside but her insides needed a little work. The first time we met, I, at least, tried to give her the benefit of the doubt but damn, Sarah was a difficult one to like. Just after being introduced, and getting an unimpressed once-over from her, I attempted to break the ice with a joke. Instead of laughing Sarah just stared at me like I was some annoying little gnat then turned her attention to someone else. She made me feel like a total idiot and, from that point on, I didn’t like her. But sadly, our paths still crossed occasionally because Kate and Sarah had been friends since birth. Their families lived next door to each other growing up. So occasionally when I went out with Kate, Sarah was there too. And when she was with us, the guys fought over her. It was as if Kate and I didn’t even exist. Occasionally one of Sarah’s rejects would hit on me, but any guy who was interested in Sarah, was not a guy I wanted to get to know. That’s why I hated the idea of her hitting on Jake. Once she had her claws in him, the rest of us were toast. As if, Casey.
    Of course, I guess I couldn’t blame him for looking. She was practically thrusting her cleavage in his face. What straight man wouldn’t react to that? I noticed Jake’s eyes lingering a second too long on those impressive orbs. Sarah saw it too and took it as a sign to up her flirting. After all, she’d been waiting for this day to come for a long time now. So I watched as she boldly asserted her intentions. She was giggling and jiggling. If Jake wanted to, he could be having sex with her in a matter of minutes. However, the jury was still out on how he felt about her overly assertive behavior. I saw him look past her a few times. Was he planning an escape or was that just wishful thinking on my part?
    Then Sarah made a big mistake. She placed her hand on his chest. As if someone flipped the switch again, Jake’s walls went back up. His relaxed smile from earlier instantly faded and the strained one was back. His body seemed more rigid and his face took on that same unapproachable quality.
    Sarah saw it too. But instead of conceding defeat, she changed her tactics. The horny sexpot wasn’t working. She became more serious, more mature. I imagined she was telling him some sob story to get his