Cake and consequences, p.1
Cake & Consequences, page 1
CAKE & CONSEQUENCES
WREN SHAW
Copyright © 2026 by Wren Shaw
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
CONTENTS
Cake & Consequences
Prologue
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
Epilogue
About the Author
CAKE & CONSEQUENCES
Her heart broke when he announced his engagement to another woman.
Tessa Hale never expected to be completely erased by Gage Langford. She thought their love was real…until he left a voicemail that didn’t ease any of her hurt before disappearing from her life.
Three years later, she isn’t the same woman Gage walked away from. She owns a successful bakery and has finally started to heal. Except the billionaire who traded her for a merger marriage is now free of his ex-wife and desperate to explain.
Tessa doesn’t owe him anything, but when Gage continues to show up, buried secrets unravel and the truth about that day threatens to break them both all over again. Now Tessa must decide if the man who threw her heart away can grovel hard enough to earn it back.
PROLOGUE
TESSA
Iwasn’t a wine person and felt completely out of my depth as I stared up at the wall of unfamiliar bottles. The only thing I knew for sure was that I was facing the right direction since the store had the cheap bottles on one side and the pricier brands with dark labels embossed in gold and names I couldn’t pronounce on the other. My boyfriend wouldn’t consider fifty bucks expensive, but it was a lot to me.
If Gage were here, he would have known exactly which vineyard, year, and blend paired best with the salmon, couscous, and asparagus I had in my cart. Except that would spoil my surprise, so I needed to find a bottle that wouldn’t ruin the fancy dinner I had planned.
I bit my lip as I scanned the labels for one that looked impressive but didn’t cost more than twenty bucks. After putting in so much effort, I wanted this dinner to be perfect.
Not because Gage expected it. He always said he loved me exactly as I was, and that I didn’t need to change just because we were so different. Which only made me love him more.
A woman to my right let out a soft hum as she picked up a bottle with an elegant script across the label. She had perfectly styled hair and makeup, was wearing a cashmere sweater, carried an expensive handbag, and had a giant wedding ring sparkling on her manicured hand. She looked as though she’d stepped from the pages of a magazine…or belonged on the arm of one of Gage’s fellow executives.
I wasn’t great with striking up a conversation, but this was too good an opportunity to pass up. So I took a deep breath before murmuring, “Sorry, do you mind if I ask for your opinion?”
She turned, her brows raised in polite curiosity. “Not at all.”
I pointed at the two bottles I was considering. “Which of these would you buy if you were cooking salmon for a guy who has great taste in wine?”
She inspected both bottles and shook her head. “Neither.”
“Really?” My brows drew together as I turned to check the labels again. “I thought chardonnay was a safe bet.”
“There’s an exception to that rule,” she explained, reaching up to gently tap one of the labels. “These are both heavily oaked and would overpower the fish's delicate flavors unless you’re cooking it in a cream sauce or with a ton of butter.”
“Unfortunately, no. My boyfriend is kind of a health nut, so I’m not using cream or butter tonight. I’m not even making dessert, and it’s my favorite part of every meal.” I gestured toward the shelf with a wince. “Is there something that won’t make it obvious I bought it at the grocery store?”
She flashed me an amused smile as she scanned the shelf. “Special celebration?”
“Nothing specific.” I shrugged. “My boyfriend has been working harder than ever, and I wanted to do something to acknowledge it, if that makes sense.”
She looked up, eyes softening. “It sounds very thoughtful to me. Your boyfriend is a lucky guy.”
“Thanks.”
“Get this one.” She handed me a bottle. “It’s dry, but it finishes beautifully. Strong, warm, a little surprising. Like a good man.”
I couldn’t stop my startled laugh from escaping. “I appreciate the help.”
“You’re welcome.”
I smiled and pulled out my phone to double-check that I hadn’t forgotten any ingredients. Once I knew I was good, I rolled my cart toward the checkout and sent a quick text to Gage.
Me
Let me know when you leave work so I can get dinner started. Love you!
Standing in line, I pulled up our thread again and saw that he’d read my message. Bubbles popped up to show that he was typing up a reply, but then they disappeared without anything coming through. I didn’t think much of it, since he usually didn’t text while in a meeting or on an important call.
Noticing the fancy chocolate bars that were one of the few treats Gage allowed himself every once in a while, since they were his favorite, I scooted around my cart to grab a couple from the end cap. As I dropped them into the cart, the woman in front of me gasped and gripped her friend’s arm. “Oh my gosh, he’s really engaged?”
“There goes any hope for regular women like us,” her friend muttered.
My lips curved into a smirk. I was as normal as you could get, but I still caught Gage’s attention. The Langfords were a big deal in our city, and he had dated models, actresses, and socialites before me.
The first woman sighed. “I wish I could say I’m surprised that he picked a woman like Vanessa Carrington to be his wife, but it makes sense. They’ll keep all that money within their families.”
Her friend nodded. “They might not even need a prenup since their fathers opened the business together. Talk about building a family dynasty.”
That description hit way too close to home. My hands trembled as I checked my phone again. There still wasn’t a reply from Gage.
I opened my browser and typed in his name. The top result was a headline that stole my breath in the very worst way.
Langford Tech Announces Merger of a Personal Nature—New CEO Gage Langford Engaged to Carrington Heiress
My vision swam as I tried to convince myself this was a horrible mistake. But then I saw the photo of Gage and Vanessa. She had a diamond ring on her finger that was big enough to be seen from outer space, and his arm was around her waist.
Tears blurred the screen as I closed the article to call Gage. It was only then that I noticed I’d missed a call from him earlier, probably when I was at the fish counter because cell reception was awful there.
My hand shook as I lifted the phone to my ear to listen to his voicemail.
“I'm sorry you had to hear this way, Tessa. It's not what you think. Don't hate me. Please.”
After a year together, that was all he gave me. Nothing more than a five-second message only minutes before he announced his engagement to another woman.
Abandoning my cart, I tried calling back but was sent straight to voicemail. I fired off a quick text asking him to call me, but it still didn’t show that he’d read it by the time I made it to my car. Another call went to voicemail.
I checked his social media, but none of his accounts pulled up.
I hadn’t just been dumped by voicemail…I had been blocked on every conceivable method of communication.
Gage hadn’t just left me. He erased me, and I never saw his betrayal coming.
I bawled my eyes out for a good fifteen minutes before I was able to pull myself together enough to drive home, where the situation only got worse.
The first thing I saw when I stepped inside my apartment was a cardboard box sitting on the kitchen island. My chest tightened as I walked toward it, already knowing what I’d find.
The key I gave Gage months ago sat beside it. There was no note. No explanation beyond the few words he’d left in his voicemail.
After lifting the sweater I used to wear when I stayed at his place from the top of the pile, I found that my things were crammed in the box without care. My toothbrush was tossed on top of a tangled phone charger. A half-open bottle of hand lotion had leaked across the bottom of the box and soaked the edges of a folded photo strip we’d taken last fall. I picked it up with trembling fingers, only to find the ink bleeding across our smiling faces like they were being wiped away. This felt fitting, since Gage had erased me from his life without so much as a goodbye.
As I dug through the ruins of our past, I realized something was missing from the box. And it was the only item I really cared about—my mom’s scarf. It had been hanging on the hook behind the door of his entryway closet for months. I didn’t know if he had thrown it away or just forgotten about it since the weather was too warm for scarves. Either way, I couldn’t imagine showing up at Gage’s door to ask for it when he’d cut off all other forms of contact.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I searched the apartment for any trace of him, but his things were gone too. His toothbrush. The dress shirts and ties hanging in my closet. Boxers and socks in the drawers. Shaving cream and razor. All gone.
Only a faint trace of his cologne lingered in the bathroom, spicy and expensive. I loved his scent but couldn’t stand it any longer. I spritzed my body spray to cover it up, and when I couldn’t smell a trace of him anymore, I started to sob again.
Curling up on the floor, I stayed there all night, only moving to the couch when my muscles finally started to ache the following morning. It took a week before I was ready to face the world beyond my living room, throwing myself into baking after barely eating for days. I drowned my sorrows in cake, and it ended up saving me in an unexpected way.
1
TESSA
Three Years Later
The frosting smoothed under my spatula as I turned the cake stand. I was almost done filming a time-lapse reel for my socials with just enough movement to capture the technique but not so much that it ruined the angle. Tilting my head, I double-checked the frame on my phone and smiled. The buttercream had just the right sheen, and the rosettes were symmetrical.
The cake was one of my simpler designs but still looked like it belonged in a magazine. Or on a celebrity’s table, which was where it would be tonight.
I was still blown away by some of the people who ordered from me.
It wasn’t that long ago that I was the girl crying over a broken mixer and rent bills that came too close together. Now I had a custom kitchen in the back of my own bakery, a waitlist that stretched three months out, and over half a million followers who liked, shared, and drooled over my work every time I posted a video.
The notification banner popped up as if summoned by my thoughts.
serenawattsofficial sent you a message.
“No way,” I breathed, wiping a hand on my apron after saving the recording in drafts.
The verified checkmark next to her name confirmed that the message had really come from her account.
serenawattsofficial: I need a cake for my sister’s birthday next week. I know it’s at the last minute, but it would mean the world to her. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, just so long as I get the cake from you.
If it had been just about anyone else, my answer would’ve been no. But Serena had starred in several of my favorite chick flicks, so it felt like she was a friend instead of a stranger. One who had kept me company during some of the worst times when sugar alone couldn’t fix what was broken inside me.
I glanced at my wall calendar, figuring out what it would take to squeeze in an extra when she needed it. I’d miss out on a few hours of sleep a couple of nights in a row, but it wouldn’t be the first time. I would make it work.
I quickly replied before getting back to the video I wanted to post. Once that was done, I felt like I was on top of the world. Nothing could ruin today.
I was in the groove, rolling out a mixture of modeling chocolate and fondant for a hyperrealistic cake order due to be picked up in two days. The macaroni and cheese design would take me at least six hours to complete, so I wanted to get the noodles done today.
My focus was on the chocolate, so it took a moment before I realized the loud voice I heard wasn’t someone on speakerphone. Which happened more often than you’d expect in the bakery.
“Like I said, this isn’t what I asked for.”
The male voice was sharp and…oddly familiar. But it was the stammered response that made me set down my knife and pull off my gloves.
Jenny had just started working for me two weeks ago, and this was the first time she was on her own at the register while Susan was out for lunch.
She was sweet, helpful, and eager to learn. But also shy. I’d been helping her build confidence, encouraging her to trust that she knew what she was doing. She did, but dealing with a confrontational customer wouldn’t be easy for her.
“My assistant said this was the best bakery for custom orders. Clearly, she was wrong.”
The man was still berating Jenny as I shoved the door open and stepped into the front of the shop. I thought I was ready to de-escalate the situation, but I was proved wrong when my gaze landed on the customer.
Annoyance was written all over his gorgeous face. His green eyes were narrowed, his dark brows drawn together, and his plush lips were pressed into a flat line. A muscle jumped in his bearded jaw, and his nostrils were flared.
I had always known that Gage could be intimidating when he was angry, but I never expected to see it for myself again. Let alone in my bakery.
Seeing him unexpectedly after so long knocked the breath from my lungs.
He was harsher than I remembered but still devastatingly handsome in that polished, boardroom-prince kind of way. His bespoke suit fit his tall, muscular body like a glove. The expensive watch on his wrist was the same one he wore when we were together.
But it was his eyes that caught me. The second he saw me, he stopped mid-breath.
Frozen, as though he’d seen a ghost.
Which was ironic when he was the one who’d buried me in his past without a proper goodbye.
I pulled in a breath and forced my expression to neutral as I moved to stand beside Jenny and set my hand on her shoulder. “Do me a favor and check on the cake that’s in the oven.”
She blinked at me, clearly flustered, but caught the edge in my tone and nodded. “Of course.”
She turned and all but darted into the kitchen, the swinging door flapping behind her. Then I turned to Gage.
Now that it was just the two of us, I didn’t bother smiling anymore. “You really haven’t changed. Still barking orders at people as though the world revolves around you.”
He opened his mouth, but I wasn’t in the mood to give him a chance to defend himself. Holding up my palm, I snarled, “I put up with your arrogance when we were together, but I have no reason to do it now.”
“Tessa—”
“Nope.” I shook my head as I punched a few buttons on the register before yanking open the drawer and grabbing a handful of cash. I tossed the bills at him. “This should cover your order, now get the hell out of my shop.”
“I don’t—”
“I don’t care how rich or powerful you are. Or what you think you’re entitled to.” I pointed at the door, my voice rising. “Setting aside how you ended our relationship, you don’t get to come in here, yell at my employee, and act like you have no clue why I’m kicking you out.”
His jaw flexed. “I wasn’t yelling. I was just—”
“You were intimidating a young girl who’s been working here for two weeks. This is her first job, for goodness' sake.” My voice shook now, but it wasn’t from fear. I was furious. “And if I hadn’t walked out when I did, you would’ve kept going. Because you don’t see people like her. You never did. It doesn’t matter where you are, you walk in like you own the place and tear through whatever’s in your way.”
His lips parted, and he looked stunned.
Good.
I leaned forward and dropped my voice. “Let me be clear, Gage. You are not welcome here. Not now. Not ever. Get out.”
When he didn’t move, I ran out of whatever little patience I had left. I stabbed a finger toward the door again. “If you don’t leave in the next five seconds, I’ll call the cops and have you trespassed.”
“My lawyer would have me out of those cuffs as soon as I arrived at the police station,” he growled, his eyes narrowing.
The door behind him opened while he was in the middle of his arrogant boast, and Jace stormed inside the bakery. He owned the music shop next door, and we’d gotten close since I opened the bakery.
“I heard the yelling from my shop and already called the cops.” He held up his phone as he strode across the room. “And I don’t mind being loaded into the back of one of their cars right along with him if it means I get to punch this guy for being an asshole. I might not get out as quickly, but it’d still be worth it.”
