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Leon frowned at the cupcakes sitting in front of him. The frosting was running off, and they were definitely a little overcooked. He’d been trying to do something nice; Claire had complained all week about having to make cupcakes for Sophie’s holiday bake sale, so he’d thought he’d surprise her by making them for her.
At least, she’d still be surprised.
The sound of the garage door signaled her arrival, so he sped around trying to get at least some of the mess cleaned up before she got inside.
All the dishes were stacked in the sink, and most of the mess on the counter was cleaned up when the door to the garage slammed open. “Daddy! Are you home!”
“In here, sweetie,” Leon called back, greeted by the sight of his little girl running into the kitchen a moment later, a very pregnant Claire waddling in after her.
Claire’s brows creased the second she laid eyes on the mess, scrunching even more when she saw the abomination he called cupcakes. “Um, what are you doing?”
“I thought I’d make the cupcake for the bake sale for you,” Leon said, eagerly at first, and then frowning when he noticed one of the cupcake’s frosting sliding off onto the plate. “Though I couldn’t get the frosting to stay on well.”
“Did you let them cool?” Sophie asked, sticking her finger on the plate and scooping frosting into her mouth.
“Umm… no?” Great, even his six-year-old knew more about baking than he did.
“Yeah, they need to cool first,” Claire said, picking up one of the mostly frostingless cupcakes, her frown deepening. “I also thought I told you I was making vanilla cupcakes?”
“They may be a little overdone,” Leon admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Overdone? They’re brown,” Claire said, tearing the cupcake in half. “ — and raw inside. You had the heat way too high.”
“I was trying to get it finished quickly,” Leon said, staring at the wet cake inside of the burnt exterior. “I guess I should have read the recipe closer.”
Every emotion under the sun flickered across Claire’s face: frustration, appreciation, exhaustion, love, and anger.
Thankfully, Sophie spoke up before Claire regained control of her words. “Daddy, I can’t take these to school.”
“Obviously,” Leon grimaced. “I can go to the store and get new ingredients to try again —”
“No!” the girls shouted in unison.
“Message received loud and clear. How do I fix this?” He desperately didn’t want Claire to have to make cupcakes, especially behind the schedule she’d planned for while waiting on him to get back from the store.
Claire rounded the counter to stand in front of him, placing her hands on his cheeks. “You’re going to go to the store, buy a dozen of the most homemade-looking cupcakes, and on your way home, you’re going to pick up a pizza with extra banana peppers.”
“I can do that.” Banana peppers had been her most recent pregnancy cravings kick. “Can I get banana peppers on half the pizza?”
Claire glared at him.
“Right, right, I’ll get a separate pizza for the girls and me.”
“Thank you,” she said, and kissed him. “Now get on it; your son is hungry.”
Leon grinned, placing his hand on her round belly, the baby kicking his hand. “Sure, my son is hungry.”
“Hush.”
“Love you.”
Claire’s expression softened. “Love you too, and thank you for trying to help, even if it ended disastrously.”