Must Love Frosting: Must Love Diamonds Series, Book 1 Read online

  MUST LOVE FROSTING

  MUST LOVE DIAMONDS SERIES, BOOK 1

  STACEY JOY NETZEL

  CONTENTS

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  Recommended Read

  About the Author

  Other Titles By Stacey Joy Netzel

  INTRODUCTION

  A wedding cake baker and a photographer walk into a bar—

  No, that’s just silly. They meet at a wedding, of course. And since Asher Diamond only does weddings for the frosting on the cakes, it’s a match made in hea—

  Nope, scratch that, too.

  Because Honor Hartman knows Happily Ever After isn’t the fairy tale it’s cracked up to be, no matter how much the sexy photographer makes her wish otherwise.

  * * *

  Asher thinks she could be The One, and the fact she’s the woman behind the butter cream frosting is icing on the cake. When his psychic best friend warns him Honor doesn’t believe in forever, he’s willing to risk his heart to prove to her true love exists—until a shocking family secret shakes the foundation of everything he believes in and reveals how wrong it can go if Honor is right.

  * * *

  New series. New family. New drama.

  Must Love Frosting is the first book in Stacey Joy Netzel's brand new Must Love Diamonds series. The Diamonds are the First Family of Colorado. They have money, looks, and charisma galore, but they don’t all have love...

  * * *

  Yet.

  * * *

  Coming in 2019 & 2020:

  Love Loyal and True, book 2

  Love You, Baby, book 3

  To Love and Protect, book 4

  DEDICATION

  To Patti

  Friend, fellow author, and Authors4Veterans co-founder…

  Here’s to doing this job we love for many years to come!

  CHAPTER 1

  A sher Diamond glanced through the front screen door on his way to the kitchen, but caught the doorjamb and leaned back for a double-take when he saw a man down on one knee in the yard across the street. Ah…the mysterious new owner to go with the SOLD sign. Just in time for summer. The house had been on the market for six months with no more than an occasional looker.

  Truth be told, it had been nice and quiet since the Zimmermans moved to California in December with their three boys, twin toddler girls, and two dogs—all of them Tasmanian Devils in disguise.

  He squinted through the screen. What the heck was the guy doing, testing the texture of the grass? He rolled his eyes and resumed his mission for a second cup of coffee—until she strolled into view.

  Whoa—hold the hell up.

  He halted and leaned back. Hmm. Caffeine could wait.

  Moving to the screen door to lean against the frame, he took his time scanning tanned legs topped by jean cut-offs and a white baby doll tee working overtime. God bless the warm May sunshine. This new scenery would be a helluva nice addition to the neighborhood, and that was going off only a long-distance-through-the-screen appraisal that hadn’t reached her face yet.

  He lifted his gaze when she halted in front of the kneeling man. And suddenly the man’s position made perfect sense. Well, that, and the box he’d extended to the red-haired beauty before him.

  Asher almost retreated from spying, but decided if the guy didn’t want the whole world to know his business—well, this one street in Lakewood, Colorado, anyway—then he shouldn’t propose to his girlfriend on the front lawn while the neighbors salivated for a glimpse of the new residents of 129 Hopewell Lane.

  And, what if she said no out there? How humiliating.

  As if on cue, the woman’s smile dimmed and disappeared, leaving her looking altogether too serious. Very beautiful in an intense sort of way, but not a good sign for her would-be fiancé.

  Duncan Collins from down the street drove by in his restored ’57 Chevy, drawing the redhead’s gaze for a long, covetous look before she refocused on the man kneeling at her feet.

  Ooh, ouch. A woman madly in love shouldn’t look away from her lover’s eyes—or the ring—when he was on one knee offering her the rest of his life.

  It was like seeing a car wreck; he didn’t want to stare, but couldn’t help himself. Pity rose for the poor man at her feet who was about to be rejected. The guy’s heart would be ripped from his chest and stomped into the lush grass the real estate company had cultivated after the Zimmerman wrecking crew departed.

  Yeah, he was jaded. That tended to happen when a guy had been cheated on by a superb actress who was less interested in his heart and more interested in the social and political standing that came with his last name. And while his parents were going to celebrate their thirty-fifth anniversary next weekend, and his grandparents had celebrated their fifty-fifth back in January, he and his oldest brother combined for a complete strike-out.

  Loyal had fallen head-over-heels in love twice. He’d proposed twice, too.

  The family had yet to hear him say, “I do.”

  Asher hadn’t proposed to Brianna, but he’d been about to. And while his brother swore off marriage and moved eight hundred miles away to Dallas six years ago, Asher’s method of purging the past was to throw himself into his photography career. He still wanted to get married and have a family, but with Grandpa Ira’s “Dodged a bullet on that one, son. Diamonds don’t do divorce,” echoing in his head, he’d make sure he found the absolute right woman the next time.

  He was only twenty-nine, after all. He had more than enough time.

  Across the street, the redhead out on the lawn extended her left hand while she beamed down at the man still kneeling before her.

  Huh.

  He hadn’t seen that coming.

  Asher shoved his shoulder off the doorjamb and straightened. His gaze lingered on her face. Man, she was something with a smile brightening her features. The guy’s hand shook so hard, he dropped the ring. He stared down for a moment, then frantically pawed through the trimmed blades in search of the rock that’d flashed in the mid-morning sunlight on its decent to doom.

  Legs—it was as good a name as any—dropped to the ground beside him and helped search. When she held it aloft and stood with a victorious smile, Asher experienced a tiny twinge of jealousy. His gaze travelled over her curves once more. The dude kneeling at her feet was one lucky man.

  However—thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s fiancé, so he mentally knuckled the green-eyed monster aside and waited for the happy ending so he could go get his coffee. Time for the passionate kiss to put the cherry on top of the romantic scene. Too bad he didn’t have his camera in hand to capture the moment for them. He could frame it as a welcome to the neighborhood present.

  The redhead nodded and extended her left hand ag
ain. After the ring was successfully placed on her finger, the man stood, they shared a smile, and then they—

  Hugged?

  Asher snorted as he swung back to the kitchen. Camera definitely not needed, and a hug didn’t bode well for the future of that marriage.

  He couldn’t speak for Loyal, but looking back, he should’ve realized that in his own relationship. Even though Brianna had been one hell of an actress, he should’ve recognized the lack of true, unadulterated, lasting passion.

  Like his parents, who still shared R-rated kisses when they thought they wouldn’t get caught. And his sister Celia, and her fiancé, Robert, who were always sharing glances, smiling, and touching even after six years. Not to mention, the night of their engagement party, he’d walked in on them in the wine cellar.

  The image seared into his brain still made him cringe as he refilled his coffee cup. Robert had an obscenely white ass.

  CHAPTER 2

  “ Got a big enough slab there, Ace?”

  In the middle of lifting his fork to his mouth, Asher shifted his gaze from the dance floor to his best friend, Roxanna Kent. The tall, feisty brunette sauntered up to his corner table, still flushed and disheveled a half-hour after the Grand March and the recent departure of their newlywed friends, Shawn and Miesha.

  “I’ve been working, remember? Other than a few appetizers earlier, this is the first thing I’ve had all night.” He shoveled the chunk of marble wedding cake into his mouth before slouching down into his chair with a guttural groan of ecstasy.

  Marble wasn’t fancy or gourmet, but the cake went light-years beyond basic. Exquisitely moist, it had the perfect hint of butter and almond flavoring in the yellow cake to combine with the rich swirls of chocolate.

  After a second bite topped with a delicate green frosting rose, he held up his fork and spoke around the sensory orgasm seducing his taste buds. “This is the only reason I still do weddings.”

  Roxanna dropped down onto the chair beside him and brushed her long hair back over her shoulder with a tired smile. Kicking off her shoes to prop her feet on a neighboring chair, she grabbed his Nikon and started flipping through the images.

  “Right. It has absolutely nothing to do with the hopeless romantic you keep locked behind that sexy, rugged exterior.”

  “You think I’m sexy?” he inquired with a grin.

  “All you Diamonds are—though not quite as sexy as Merit,” she teased as his younger brother danced past with a blond guest from the bride’s side. Miesha’s cousin or something. Roxanna gave Asher a quick sideways grin, then rolled her eyes. “Except I can’t even give you credit for shaving when you have green frosting in your teeth.”

  “Want some?”

  “I’m gonna pass. There’s something off about that cake.”

  “Such blasphemy. There’s something off about you.”

  She scrunched up her nose and kept scrolling through his pictures.

  Asher didn’t care what Roxanna said, the cake was pure heaven. Any masterpiece by Honor Hartman was nothing short of amazing. Didn’t matter if it was marble, lemon, red velvet, carrot, chocolate rum, or any of the other flavors he’d been lucky enough to taste the past couple years. His mouth watered whenever he saw the signature double H’s creatively swirled into the design on the back side of her cakes.

  Since he was usually photographing the ceremony while she was delivering to the reception, he’d never met the baker, and frankly, he didn’t want to. In his mind, Mrs. Hartman was a sweet grandmother wearing a matronly apron as she baked wedding cakes filled with love for young couples starting their lives together. When he did find the right woman, they’d have an Honor Hartman cake at the wedding.

  Oh, crap.

  There was that hopeless, romantic sap Rox had accused him of harboring behind his rugged exterior. But in his defense—and the romantic sap’s—eating the woman’s cake was an erotic enough experience by itself. No way he wanted to picture some sexy young baker in a skimpy apron unless he had the flesh and blood woman at hand to complete the fantasy.

  Speaking of sexy…he turned to scan the wedding guests until he located the slim redhead in emerald green he’d been watching on the dance floor—and pretty much most of the night. Disappointment drew his brows together as he watched the woman with her partner. Too bad she didn’t match that beautiful dress.

  Well, her body was equally breathtaking, but—

  “In-ter-rest-ting,” Roxanna murmured beside him.

  Asher nonchalantly returned his attention back to his plate, hoping his friend hadn’t noticed the direction of his frown. He relaxed when he saw she was still looking at his camera screen.

  “What?”

  “Some-one’s got a girl-friend.”

  Her teasing, sing-song tone made him snort. “What are you, seven?”

  “Hey, at least I didn’t take more pictures of a certain female guest than the blushing bride at our friend’s wedding.”

  Asher’s stomach lurched as he set his cake aside with one hand and snatched his Nikon from her with the other. It didn’t take long to see what she meant. Shit. So much for thou shall not covet. He angled the screen toward his friend. “Miesha’s in this one.”

  Roxanna chuckled. “Yeah. Great picture of the back of her head.”

  “I was capturing the design on her veil,” he muttered.

  She laughed at the weak excuse. “Who is she?”

  She meaning the woman in the green dress—Legs.

  Asher set the camera aside and picked up his dessert again. “I think she’s my new neighbor across the street.”

  “Oh, wow. The house finally sold?”

  “Yes. In fact”—he scooped up some of the butter cream frosting—“her boyfriend proposed on the front lawn this morning.”

  Roxanna sat up and craned her neck to get a glimpse of the redhead snuggled up close and personal to her curly-haired blond partner. “Mm. He’s cute.”

  His fingers tightened around his fork. “That is not the same guy who proposed.”

  Her brown gaze met his, her eyebrows arched high. “Reeeally?”

  Turning his gaze back to the dance floor, Asher nodded before stuffing another bite of heaven into his mouth. He had his cake, damn straight he was going to eat it, too. And why he was angry that some woman he didn’t know appeared to be cheating on her brand new fiancé, he had no clue. It certainly wasn’t any of his business.

  Rubbing her hands together in gleeful anticipation, Roxanna slipped her shoes back on and moved to stand. “I’m gonna check this out.”

  Asher caught her arm to keep her in the chair. “Don’t you dare.”

  “Why not? I’ll get your brother to provide cover, and she’ll never even know.”

  “Leave Merit out of it.” Last thing he wanted was his horn-dog little brother noticing Legs. Except he really shouldn’t care, damn it.

  “Fine.” Roxanna sat back with a sigh. After a long moment, she lolled her head in his direction while keeping her gaze trained on the dance floor. “Think we’ll ever have this? Weddings, I mean.”

  “Sure we will.”

  “Once we find the right person.” She sounded almost sad as she said it. Like she didn’t hold out much hope. He cast her a quizzical look, but she was still staring straight ahead. Another beat of silence passed before she asked, “Did you hear Adam and Amy separated?”

  “No way.” She nodded, and he frowned. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. No one’s talking other than I heard he moved out last week.”

  “Wow. That sucks. Their first anniversary was only a couple of months ago.” The news set off a ripple of discontent. He’d photographed their wedding, too, with their white velvet Honor Hartman cake.

  Roxanna sat up and craned her neck, still surveying his faithless neighbor. “If anyone was rock solid, I’d have thought it was those two.”

  “I know what you mean.” Realizing she’d shifted forward in her seat, Asher gave her a warning look. “Don�
��t do it.”

  “What?”

  He didn’t buy the innocent expression for one second. “Shawn and Miesha said no readings at the wedding. You had direct orders to relax and enjoy yourself.”

  “I just want to examine her aura up close.”

  “I’m not psychic, and I can see her aura from here,” he muttered as she ignored his advice and rose to her feet. He couldn’t really, but still. “It’s bad news no matter where you view it from.”

  “I don’t know. I see a subtle variance around the edges that—”

  “Let it go, Rox.”

  She spun around to face him and stuck her hands on her slim hips. “You like her.”

  He set his empty plate aside and stood. “Pretty wrapping doesn’t change what’s inside. After Brie, you know I wouldn’t touch another cheater with a ten foot pole.”

  “Brianna was more than just a cheater, Asher.”

  “Yeah, but it doesn’t change that she was a cheater.”

  “Fine.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I’m curious, that’s all. Call it job research. And technically, I’m not ignoring Shawn and Miesha’s orders because I love what I do.”

  Knowing she’d set her mind, he swiped up his camera. “Do what you want. I’m pretty much done here now that the bride and groom have left, so I’m calling it a night.” He leaned in for a quick hug goodbye. “Behave.”

  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She fluttered her fingers as she spun away.

  Asher went the opposite direction to gather the rest of his equipment. On his way out with his bag slung over his shoulder, the cake table distracted him long enough for him to wrap two thick slices in Hulk-green napkins. Shawn had hissed at him to shut-up when he wise-cracked about the color, because Miesha loved the sage and cream color combo, but then they’d shared a chuckle the moment the bride stepped out of ear-shot.