The Icing on the Cake

by Kent, Alison

• ISBN13: 9780757315350
• ISBN10: 0757315356
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-09-14
• Publisher: Hci

Summary

The Icing on the CakeMatchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match . . . dot com! An online dating service is not Michelle Snow's idea of how to find love, but when the Big 3-0 hits, Michelle decides she has nothing to lose since she hasn't brought a date home in ten years, she's professionally burned out, and her climb up the corporate ladder has come at the expense of abandoning her sweet dream: to own a boutique cupcakery. Todd Bracken, early thirties and a successful technology consultant, isn't exactly a player after being off the market for ten years, and pours himself into his dual passions of martial arts and home-sweet-home renovations. Only there's no one to come home to so he decides to give Match.com a try. Todd isn't so sure the Internet dating scene is his thing'”until a message pops up in the wee hours on a weekend night: 'I like your smile.' Todd likes'”a lot'”the whole package that glides into a French bistro in Washington, D.C. It's serious mojo-at-first-sight but there's a glitch: Todd and Michelle live in different cities. Will love find its way in the digital age with a 'You've Got Mail' courtship when video cam kisses just aren't enough? And when Todd challenges Michelle to not only go for her dream but let him share it, will they be able to make it happen together despite obstacles more plentiful than a shower of rainbow sprinkles?

Excerpts

*Snowflake: coconut bottom with coconutvanilla buttercream top '"MICHELE! DANA'S HERE!" Elbowing open her bedroom door while fastening the clasp on her necklace, Michelle Snow called out, 'Be right there!' in response to Christina's update. Liz, one of the foursome, was already in the tiny kitchen, brewing coffee and mixing a pitcher of mimosas for the weekend brunch. Dana, not surprisingly, was the last to arrive. She'd marched to a different drummer and kept time to a different clock as long as the four Alpha Phi sisters had been friends. It had been too long since the group had gotten together, and Michelle was thrilled to be the one playing hostess this time. Yes, they'd be doing a lot of stepping around one another in her pint-sized condo, but she knew not a one of them cared. They had food, drink, and the best of company with whom to share the afternoon not to mention months' worth of gossip to catch up on. And her place, well, if nothing else, it offered an intimacy no Friendship Heights venue could. Taking one last look at her reflection, Michelle smoothed the skirt of the dress she'd changed into after making sure the table was set and the food ready. She loved dressing up as much as she loved cooking and entertaining all joys instilled by her mother through the years. If she turned out to be half the hostess Ann Snow was, Michelle would consider it one of her life's greatest accomplishments. With that thought came a smile that warmed her all the way to her toes. She really had hit the jackpot with her friends as well as her family, and counting herself both lucky and blessed, she headed for the front room. There, she held her arms wide in welcome, greeting her Sunday guests. 'You guys look great! All of you! I'm so glad you're here!' 'Are you kidding?' Dana set her purse on the chest beneath the flat screen TV just inside the front door, her gaze never leaving Michelle's as she pushed a riot of coffee-black curls from her face. 'Look at you! I love that dress!' Laughing, Michelle spun once where she stood, the periwinkle fabric flowing softly against her skin. 'I do, too. I don't know why I don't wear it more often.' Dana took in the table set with Waterford crystal and Royal Tara china, then frowned down at her penny loafers, khakis, and chino vest. 'I feel decidedly underdressed. And plain. And I know Oxford casual does nothing for my eyes. But then again, there's not a lot to be done with brown, is there?' 'You're anything but plain, silly!' The other woman's complexion was perfect for the earth tones Michelle had never been able to pull off. 'You're chocolate cake and iced tea and Portobello mushrooms rolled up into one.' 'And mud. Don't forget mud.' Dana wrapped an arm around Michelle's shoulder and hugged. 'Actually, all that rolling would make mud, wouldn't it?' Michelle laughed in answer, the two walking toward the kitchen where Liz had been trapped by Christina while the stunning blonde showboated about