Shelton taps on the door and Nevil shoulders him out of the way and pounds on it until it opens.
“Nevil, behave… HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LYNN!”
Shelton steps quickly inside and gives Lynn a big hug. He pulls Nevil to his side. “Lynn, this is my boyfriend, Nevil. I didn’t think you’d mind if I brought him along. He wanted to meet you.”
Nevil picks up Lynn’s hand and smiles into her eye. A rakish grin crosses his face. “Enchanted. Happy Birthday, love.”
Shelton lifts the bag he’s carrying. “Thought we’d make a cake today, to celebrate. Nevil says I’m being silly, since you have a degree in the Culinary Arts, but hey, who doesn’t like cake?” Hearing voices, he glances into the next room. “Oh, good. People are already here. Hi everyone!”
He joins the others and sets the bag on the table, moving books aside. “Nevil, can you help me with this?” He takes a Betty Crocker ‘Easy Bake Oven’ out of the bag. “Didn’t think you had a kitchen here,” he explains, smiling as he searches Lynn’s delightful blog. “Where can I plug this in?”
Shelton lines up the ingredients for the cake. “Hope you like chocolate chips!”
Chocolate Chip Cake
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
“If this was reality, we’d heat the oven to 350 degrees F.” Shelton fiddles with the ‘Easy Bake Oven’ then starts to mix the dry ingredients together. “Nevil, can you…Nevil?”
“Over here!” Nevil waves from the bookshelf. “Have you seen Lynn’s books? ‘Seducing His Wife’ and ‘Decadent Seconds’. Oh, and ‘Breaking Delia’s Rules’. This one says something about a ‘hottie from the pool’. Got to look into this one!”
“Definitely,” Shelton agrees. “But for right now, can you cream the butter and all that together? What else…”
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, cream the butter, sugar and eggs (add the eggs in one at a time, beating after each addition).
4. Add sour cream and vanilla to the creamed mixture, mix well.
5. Slowly add flour mixture to the creamed mixture, mix thoroughly.
6. In another bowl mix the chopped nuts, chocolate chips, brown sugar and cinnamon.
7. Grease a tube pan (angel food cake pan).
8. Pour 1/2 the batter in the pan then sprinkle on 1/2 the chocolate chip mixture.
9. Add the remainder of the batter, then sprinkle the remainder of the chocolate chip nut mix on top.
10. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees F.
Nevil looks at the eggs Shelton hands him and Shelton takes a step back at the wicked gleam in his sapphire eyes. “None of that! Lynn wouldn’t like a food fight…” He picks up a cup of flour and holds it threateningly. “Stay back or this goes right in your hair…”
“Okay! I’ll be good.” Nevil chuckles and pulls a bowl closer for the eggs. He nudges Shelton’s shoulder as Shelton returns to his side. “But only until we get home,” he purrs and nips Shelton’s bottom lip.
“Um… Just mix the ingredients,” Shelton mutters, flustered. They mix and stir and soon have the ingredients combined. Shelton slides the cake into the oven and sets the timer. “There! Now we have plenty of time to look over Lynn’s bookshelves. In the meantime, here’s an excerpt from our own book ‘Shelton’s Choice’.”
“As a birthday gift, Nevil and I would like to give away a PDF copy of ‘Shelton’s Choice’ to a commenter who tells us what their favourite cake is.”
Happy Birthday!
Shelton’s Choice
Breathless Press: http://www.breathlesspress.com/sheltons-choice
Amazon: http://amzn.to/rNomv9
After a year of bliss with Nevil, Shelton is offered the promotion he's been working toward at the bank. Unfortunately the new position is in another state, and Nevil doesn't want to move. As tension mounts between them, Shelton is given another challenge in the form of a besotted coworker. Torn between the pressures at work and at home, Shelton has to choose his future. That is, until Nevil takes the decision out of his hands.
Excerpt:
"Have you told him yet?"
"Hmm?" Shelton murmured, reluctant to put down the book he was reading. Only a few pages remained to the thriller, and he still hadn't a clue as to who the killer would turn out to be.
"Have you told your tall, dark, and wickedly handsome boyfriend that you're leaving?"
Shelton shot the man at his elbow an irritated glance. "What do you want, Ted?" He noticed the coffee shop was filling up and hoped his coworker wouldn't take the vacant chair at his table. Ted Pringle was personable enough, even attractive in a light blond, pansy, blue-eyed way. He was also a gossip, though, and lived to stir up trouble in and out of the office.
Ted threw his hands up. "Hey, I was only asking! We go in a few months, and—"
"Leave me alone." Shelton turned back to the book and skimmed the page to find his place. Ted touched his arm, and Shelton spun on him but swallowed his angry words. Ted's attention wasn't on him. The man looked across the room, a smile of triumph on his lips.
Shelton followed his gaze, and his heart jumped then settled into a delighted patter. Nevil stood in the doorway of the coffee shop, scanning the tables with his beautiful turquoise eyes. Wickedly handsome? Damn right he was. Even after a year together, Nevil's smile still had the power to melt his bones and leave him weak with want.
He waved the book when Nevil spotted him. A curious look passed over Nevil's face as he approached the table, and Shelton remembered Ted's hand on his arm. He pulled free, and Ted chuckled, his breath warm in Shelton's ear when he bent down and whispered, "Don't forget to tell him."
Shelton growled, then forgot all about Ted as Nevil, his eyes dancing with mischief, stopped at the table.
"What are you doing here? Sit down," Shelton babbled, feeling the warmth of a blush on his cheeks as Nevil glanced at Ted's retreating back.
"Okay, but only for a minute. I have a surprise for you, and I've already wasted enough time finding you. Off work early?" Nevil took the empty chair at Shelton's nod and leaned across the table. A teasing smile covered his face. "I may have to blindfold you."
Heat swept through Shelton at the ardent look in Nevil's eyes. God, he wanted Nevil to take him right there at the table. He agonized under the constraint of public opinion that kept him from kissing Nevil's smiling lips.
Nevil settled back into his chair. "Who was that?" he asked, nodding toward the crowd at the coffee bar.
"Just that annoying prick from Accounts I told you about."
"Gossiping Ted? What did he say? I wanted to smack his pretty face for standing so close to you."
"I'm sure he wanted to make you jealous, as if he ever could. So, about this blindfold..."
Nevil smiled and licked his lips, his look provocative. "You'll see," he teased and rose to his feet. "Come on, love, before I change my mind."
Feel free to contact me any time!
Dianne Hartsock
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/diannehartsock
2 comments:
Thanks so much, Lynn, for letting us celebrate your Birthday with you! Have a great one!!
Hi Shelton and Nevil. So great you could both be here. I love the Easy-Bake over. Can I keep it? I haven't had one since I was a little girl.
I'm also going to try this cake recipe for myself. Thank you so much. And as always please help yourself to the buffet and open bar. Whatever you need Tyrell is at your disposal. And Chef stop pouting. They put the kitchen back the way to had it.
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