Cherry on top, p.1
Cherry on Top, page 1
Cherry on Top
Synopsis
Cherry Davis is turning her part-time influencer gig into a full-time venture. As Cherry on Top, she’s the happy, loved, lesbian lifestyle guide with an enviable relationship, friends, and wardrobe. Reputation is crucial for her business, and if she uses some smoke and mirrors to spice it up? She doesn’t hurt anybody. Everyone else does it too. Trolls might try to tell her she isn’t being authentic, but she’s tougher than they are. Her childhood gave her a thick skin.
Ellis Conrad dreams of becoming a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. You know what she doesn’t dream of? Debunking politicians, local celebrities, and online influencers for the less-than-reputable site, 11th Commandment. But the truth is important, especially to Ellis, and besides, she really needs the money.
A chance meeting leaves Cherry and Ellis reeling from the unexpected intensity, and they both start to long for a different life, perhaps even one that includes each other. But when Ellis’s search for truth crashes into Cherry’s insta-filter world, do they have any hope at all of a happily ever after?
Praise for Georgia Beers
The Secret Poet
“[O]ne of the author’s best works and one of the best romances I’ve read recently…I was so invested in [Morgan and Zoe] I read the book in one sitting.”—Melina Bickard, Librarian, Waterloo Library (UK)
Hopeless Romantic
“Thank you, Georgia Beers, for this unabashed paean to the pleasure of escaping into romantic comedies…If you want to have a big smile plastered on your face as you read a romance novel, do not hesitate to pick up this one!”—The Rainbow Bookworm
Flavor of the Month
“Beers whips up a sweet lesbian romance…brimming with mouthwatering descriptions of foodie indulgences…Both women are well-intentioned and endearing, and it’s easy to root for their inevitable reconciliation. But once the couple rediscover their natural ease with one another, Beers throws a challenging emotional hurdle in their path, forcing them to fight through tragedy to earn their happy ending.”—Publishers Weekly
One Walk in Winter
“A sweet story to pair with the holidays. There are plenty of ‘moment’s in this book that make the heart soar. Just what I like in a romance. Situations where sparks fly, hearts fill, and tears fall. This book shined with cute fairy trails and swoon-worthy Christmas gifts…REALLY nice and cozy if read in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Covered in blankets. By a fire.”—Bookvark
Fear of Falling
“Enough tension and drama for us to wonder if this can work out—and enough heat to keep the pages turning. I will definitely recommend this to others—Georgia Beers continues to go from strength to strength.”—Evan Blood, Bookseller (Angus & Robertson, Australia)
“In Fear of Falling Georgia Beers doesn’t take the obvious, easy way…romantic, feel-good and beautifully told.”—Kitty Kat’s Book Review Blog
The Do-Over
“You can count on Beers to give you a quality well-paced book each and every time.”—The Romantic Reader Blog
“The Do-Over is a shining example of the brilliance of Georgia Beers as a contemporary romance author.”—Rainbow Reflections
The Shape of You
“I know I always say this about Georgia Beers’s books, but there is no one that writes first kisses like her. They are hot, steamy and all too much!”—Les Rêveur
The Shape of You “catches you right in the feels and does not let go. It is a must for every person out there who has struggled with self-esteem, questioned their judgment, and settled for a less than perfect but safe lover. If you’ve ever been convinced you have to trade passion for emotional safety, this book is for you.”—Writing While Distracted
Calendar Girl
“A sweet, sweet romcom of a story…Calendar Girl is a nice read, which you may find yourself returning to when you want a hot-chocolate-and-warm-comfort-hug in your life.”—Best Lesbian Erotica
Blend
“You know a book is good, first, when you don’t want to put it down. Second, you know it’s damn good when you’re reading it and thinking, I’m totally going to read this one again. Great read and absolutely a 5-star romance.”—The Romantic Reader Blog
“This is a lovely romantic story with relatable characters that have depth and chemistry. A charming easy story that kept me reading until the end. Very enjoyable.”—Kat Adams, Bookseller, QBD (Australia)
Right Here, Right Now
“[A] successful and entertaining queer romance novel. The main characters are appealing, and the situations they deal with are realistic and well-managed. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good queer romance novel, and particularly one grounded in real world situations.”—Books at the End of the Alphabet
“[A]n engaging odd-couple romance. Beers creates a romance of gentle humor that allows no-nonsense Lacey to relax and easygoing Alicia to find a trusting heart.”—RT Book Reviews
Lambda Literary Award Winner Fresh Tracks
“Georgia Beers pens romances with sparks.”—Just About Write
“[T]he focus switches each chapter to a different character, allowing for a measured pace and deep, sincere exploration of each protagonist’s thoughts. Beers gives a welcome expansion to the romance genre with her clear, sympathetic writing.”—Curve magazine
Lambda Literary Award Finalist Finding Home
“Georgia Beers has proven in her popular novels such as Too Close to Touch and Fresh Tracks that she has a special way of building romance with suspense that puts the reader on the edge of their seat. Finding Home, though more character driven than suspense, will equally keep the reader engaged at each page turn with its sweet romance.”—Lambda Literary Review
Mine
“Beers does a fine job of capturing the essence of grief in an authentic way. Mine is touching, life-affirming, and sweet.”—Lesbian News Book Review
Too Close to Touch
“This is such a well-written book. The pacing is perfect, the romance is great, the character work strong, and damn, but is the sex writing ever fantastic.”—The Lesbian Review
“In her third novel, Georgia Beers delivers an immensely satisfying story. Beers knows how to generate sexual tension so taut it could be cut with a knife…Beers weaves a tale of yearning, love, lust, and conflict resolution. She has constructed a believable plot, with strong characters in a charming setting.”—Just About Write
Cherry on Top
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By the Author
Romances
Turning the Page
Thy Neighbor’s Wife
Too Close to Touch
Fresh Tracks
Mine
Finding Home
Starting from Scratch
96 Hours
Slices of Life
Snow Globe
Olive Oil & White Bread
Zero Visibility
A Little Bit of Spice
What Matters Most
Right Here, Right Now
Blend
The Shape of You
Calendar Girl
The Do-Over
Fear of Falling
One Walk in Winter
Flavor of the Month
Hopeless Romantic
16 Steps to Forever
The Secret Poet
Cherry on Top
The Puppy Love Romances
Rescued Heart
Run to You
Dare to Stay
The Swizzle Stick Romances
Shaken or Stirred
On the Rocks
With a Twist
Cherry on Top
© 2022 By Georgia Beers. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-63679-159-3
This Electronic Original Is Published By
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, NY 12185
First Edition: August 2022
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editor: Ruth Sternglantz
Production Design: Stacia Seaman
Cover Design by Jeanine Henning
eBook Design by Toni Whitaker
Acknowledgments
Social media fascinates me. Growing up into a person who confides in a very small group of trusted friends and family, I’m always equal parts interested and horrified when I see somebody posting about their most personal, most emotional, most private thoughts / events / life happenings on social media, people who work through their emotions online for all to see. And since hesitantly starting my own TikTok account, I’ve been even more fascinated by the people who post endless content, who actually make a living off th
Thank you to all the usual suspects: To Rad and Sandy from Bold Strokes for being positive and professional. To Ruth Sternglantz for helping to make me look like I know how to write a book. To my fellow writers and other friends who check in on me regularly: Melissa, Carsen, Paula, Kris, Fiona, Ann, Rey. To my animals, Archie and Emmett, for being here with me for the past two years of near isolation and loving me when there were no people around. And to my readers. Thank you so much for the support over the years. I can’t believe this is book #32. I don’t feel old enough to have written thirty-two books, but apparently, I AM!
I hope you love it.
Chapter One
How many people have plunged to their deaths while taking selfies?
The thought ran through Cherry Davis’s mind just as she glanced over her shoulder at the drop-off behind her and decided maybe using the tripod was the better way to go. With a sigh, she pulled out the telescoping tripod and set up her phone on it. She posed a couple different ways and snapped some shots, then went through them until she settled on the best one.
She edited and smoothed out the flaws and then posted it on all her socials with the caption: Walking on this lovely day in the park with my sweetie, who insisted on taking this horrible shot! She added a wide-eyed emoji, gave it a proofread, then posted it, tagging the park and adding a bunch of hashtags for maximum views. Seriously. It was all about the hashtags. Nobody needed to know that there was no actual sweetie with her. At least for now.
Her stomach rumbled loudly as she put her tripod back into her backpack, telling her it was way past time for breakfast, so she headed to her favorite spot to eat, have some coffee, and do work, and forty-five minutes later, after having changed into her work clothes, she was sitting at her usual table by the window.
Now those are some nice legs.
Cherry watched—subtly, she hoped—as the waitress walked away after dropping off her yogurt parfait. Was she new? Cherry was in Sunny Side Up at least three mornings a week and had never noticed this woman before. And she definitely would’ve noticed this woman before. She watched her go, then refocused her attention on her breakfast.
The parfait was pretty. Layers of white yogurt separated by deep indigo blueberries, happy, bright raspberries, topped with walnuts and a sparkling drizzle of honey. Sliding the glass dessert-type dish closer to the window allowed it to catch the mid-April sunlight, and she took a couple photos. Picking the best one, she again used her editing app to quickly make it look even better. Then she posted it to Instagram and did the hashtag thing. She had gained seventeen new followers overnight, and when she clicked over to TikTok, she had twenty-three new ones. Excellent. Her viewership was growing every day, and that’s what she needed, to be able to say good-bye to insurance forever.
There was an old-fashioned bell over the door, and it jingled happily every time somebody came or left. Some might find it annoying, and to be honest, Cherry was surprised she didn’t, but she loved Sunny Side Up and everything about it. While most young business professionals were standing in line at Starbucks, frantically scoping out the tables and couches to see where they might have a shot at sitting, she had a cute little corner table all to herself, and she could see Black Cherry Lake if she craned her neck just right. Instead of the bustling of a coffee shop, she was in a more laid-back environment. Not that there wasn’t bustling. There was. Of course there was. It was nine in the morning on a Wednesday, for God’s sake. It was busy. Just not Starbucks-level busy.
The café was old, had been a staple along Black Cherry Lake for decades—long before Jefferson Square came along as the new hot spot in Northwood, and long before some prime sites around the lake became offices and shops and restaurants—and now it felt a little…outdated. Cherry had heard talk about the owners either selling or trying to modernize a bit, but for now, it was just fine with her. She preferred the quieter setting, the way it was situated at the end of the lake—so it still got foot traffic but was a bit off the regular beaten path.
She sipped her coffee. God, was there anything better in the morning? Hot, strong, and sweet, just the way she liked it. She’d never let that on to her followers, though. No way. They wanted her drinking trendy stuff. Lattes and macchiatos. Fraps and whips. So she’d do a post a little later at—you guessed it—Starbucks. Right now, though, she had to do her temp work.
Which wasn’t really actual temp work, but that’s what she called it in her head because working for the insurance agency was only temporary to her. That was the plan. She had no desire to be a claims adjuster her entire life. Hell, no. Cherry on Top, her brand, her social media handle, was going to be her primary income eventually, she was sure of it. Just wait and see.
Her phone pinged, and as if she’d read her mind, it was her boss, Amanda Crowley. Or Cruella, as Cherry preferred to call her. In her head of course. She had a streak of silver right in the center of her dark hair. Which would look super cool if she wasn’t such a bitch. A quick glance at the text confirmed what Cherry already knew—she was being checked up on.
Peterson claim?
Cruella didn’t believe in greetings or small talk. Right to the business at hand. Always. There were many times that Cherry would shine a spotlight on that. Text back something like, Good morning to you too. But not today. She had no patience for her boss today.
In progress. She sent it.
“More coffee?” The voice surprised her, and she looked up into sparkling blue eyes. They were large and framed by very dark lashes. The waitress again, and apparently, her face was just as sexy as her legs. For just a split second, Cherry thought about kissing her. No warning. Just reaching for her face, pulling her down, and kissing her senseless. She swallowed, because what the hell, brain?
“Please.” She held out her cup and the waitress filled it up. “Thanks so much. It’s a gorgeous day, isn’t it?”
The waitress smiled, and the smile was just as beautiful as the rest of her. Straight teeth. Full lips. Smooth cheekbones. Light, wavy hair. “It really is. I love spring. It’s like you get to start over again.” There was a moment of held eye contact. Deliciously held eye contact, if you asked Cherry. And then the waitress asked, “Can I get you anything else?”
Your number? A date with you? You could kiss me…
She said none of those things because of course she didn’t. She simply shook her head with a soft smile and watched for a second time as the beautiful waitress with the sexy legs walked away from her.
The sound of another text arriving pulled her out of fantasyland and into the present. Cruella again.
ETA?
“I will slay this claim if you’d give me five freaking minutes,” she muttered, returning her attention to her laptop screen. Soon, she texted back, knowing the vagueness would tick Cruella off and not caring. With a last wistful glance at the waitress, she forced herself to focus on her job.
* * *
Ellis hated waitressing. She hadn’t been hired as a waitress at Sunny Side Up—she’d been hired to manage Sunny Side Up. And most of the time, that’s what she did. She was much better with spreadsheets and invoices than she was with actual people sitting at tables and wanting stuff. But two of her waitresses called out sick that morning, and her backups didn’t respond in time, so she had no choice but to shimmy into a uniform, tie an apron around her waist, and jump into the fray.
