Page 10 of Cut The Cake

“Could you?” A mischievous glint sparkled in Denise’s brown eyes. “I’m pretty sure there’s a fudge cupcake left over from the morning rush. Let me get it for you? Maybe with a cup of coffee or tea?”

Jenny bit her lower lip. She should turn down Denise’s offer, rush to the B&B for a change of clothes and at least try to make it to Bow Tie Pasta in time for her reservation. That was what she should do, what she’d planned to do. She tugged on a loose strand of hair. The long day of travel had exhausted her, but it wasn’t nearly over. A veritable mountain of decisions about the wedding waited for her at the B&B. With everything she had left to do, she’d be lucky if she drew the covers up to her chin in her suite’s comfy-looking bed before midnight tonight. When she factored in an embarrassing fall, didn’t she deserve a little break?

Deciding she did indeed, she nodded. “I think I’ll take you up on that, Denise. Andcoffee, if it’s not too much trouble.” Chocolate and caffeine. Two of her favorite vices. Her only two vices, to be perfectly honest. Together, they’d power her through the work that lay ahead.

A few minutes later, the scent of rich chocolate rose from the plate she carried to a nearby table. Staring down at dark swirls sprinkled with sea salt, she licked her lips. Though Denise hadn’t asked for her wedding date, she wasn’t going to let it bother her. Any more than she’d worry that she’d given the wrong answer when asked about her fiancé’s name. Not with a delectable confection staring up at her, begging to be eaten. With that, she forked a bite of the decadent cupcake into her mouth … and moaned.

A second batch of cupcakes securely strapped into the seat beside him, Nick tapped his fingers on the steering wheel while the car idled at the corner of Bridal Carriage and Champagne. Though he did his best to temper his impatience, he revved the engine a bit when the light finally changed. He was pretty sure the situation demanded it. After all, it wasn’t every day he had to dash across town to get his assistant out of a jam. Or lost an entire order in a freakish accident. And he’d never—ever—mowed down a bride before.

He ran a hand through his hair. That little error in judgment had both thrown him off schedule and dinged his pocket. Once the shock had worn off and he’d assured himself the bride was unharmed, he’d come face-to-face with the fact that the reason he’d been going out the front door in the first place now lay smashed to smithereens on the sidewalk. He’d had no choice but to cobble together twelve replacements by borrowing from the batch he’d meant for tomorrow’s daily special. As a result, he was running woefully behind making the Halperteen delivery, and he’d have a dozen fewer cupcakes to sell in the morning.

All thanks to a bride who hadn’t been watching where she was going.

Though, when he gave her a second thought, he had to admit he liked her style. Some of the women who came here to get married would have landed in a puddle of tears after the fall she’d taken. Not only had this one kept on going with barely a hitch in her stride, she’d done so without resorting to a single bridezilla tactic. In his ten years at the helm of I Do Cakes, he’d seen plenty. From teary pleas that wormed an extra ten grand for the florist from their daddy’s pockets to angry outbursts that kept a platoon of bridesmaids marching in lock-step on the wedding day, some brides wore a sense of entitlement like a cloak around their shoulders.

Not this one. This one had only licked her lips, dusted herself off, and insisted she was perfectly fine, thank you very much. She was a feisty thing, he’d give her that.

Chuckling to himself, he turned onto Champagne Ave. His laughter died the moment he spotted Jimmy anxiously pacing the sidewalk outside a stately two-story home. The tension that had dissipated on the short drive from the bakery settled once more across Nick’s shoulders. He braked sharply at the curb. “Everything all right? The party hasn’t broken up, has it?”

“Yes—er, no, boss. Everything’ll be fine as soon as I get the cupcakes inside. You did bring them, didn’t you?”

Nick hit the button releasing the locks on the car doors. “Right beside me.”

Jimmy grabbed the box. He peered through the cellophane window. “Hey, these aren’t the ones I made.” His face fell. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Nick answered in his most soothing voice. “Yours were fine. Great, even,” he said, recalling the way a certain bride-to-be’s face had lit up at one taste of the icing. “There was a small accident.” He brushed aside Jimmy’s questions with a wave of one hand. “I’ll save the long story for when we have more time. The short version is, I had to decorate a new batch.”

Jimmy’s forehead creased. Tiny lines formed around his eyes as his lips shifted into a teasing smile. “Must be a woman involved. Who is she, and what did you do?”

“Sorry to disappoint.” He stopped to reconsider. “All right,” he admitted. “There was a woman, but it wasn’t like that at all.”

“Whatever happened, I want to hear more about it when I get back to the shop.”

The sounds of children playing in a pool and a burst of laughter drifted from the backyard.

Jimmy hefted the box. “Gotta run. These kids need more sugar,” he said with a huge grin.

Just as well.

If his young assistant was waiting for a juicy piece of gossip, he’d be sorely disappointed. Nick had knocked a woman flat. She’d barely given him the time of day. End of story. Why, he hadn’t even gotten her name.

Pushing aside thoughts of the brunette for the moment, Nick focused on the things he needed to accomplish before he shut down the ovens and retreated to his apartment over the bakery tonight. Two assistant bakers handled the day-to-day task of filling the display cases with brownies, cookies, and all manner of tasty treats prepared using I Do Cake’s time-honored recipes. A specialist took care of the delicate piping for their most elaborate designs. That freed him and Jimmy to handle the cakes and cupcakes. And with the busy wedding season upon them, cake orders crowded the bakery’s calendar through the summer and well into the fall. Some weeks, they’d be so busy that he and the entire staff would pull double-shifts in order to deliver every cake on time.

Which they’d do, no matter what. Both the bakery’s and the town’s reputation depended on it.

Outside I Do Cakes a few minutes later, Nick scanned the sidewalk and the low hedge beneath the store’s window. No matter how closely he examined the area, he couldn’t spot a trace of Jimmy’s cupcakes. Knowing he owed Denise a big thanks for the cleanup, he cut through the front of the shop. “Hey, Denise. How are things?”

For once, the sales associate didn’t have her nose in a book. A bottle of spray in one hand, a handful of paper towels in the other, she glanced up from the fingerprints she’d been busy erasing off the display case. “It’s been pretty quiet, Mr. Bell. Except for—”

“Hang on a sec.” He held up one finger. His dad had made a habit of complimenting employees on a job well done. The practice was one he strove to continue. “You did a great job out front. I appreciate the extra effort.” He’d dreaded coming back to a mess.

“Sure, no problem.” The girl waved a dismissive hand through the air. “Just doing my part.”

“Well, thanks anyway. So you were saying?”

“Turns out, that woman wanted to order her wedding cake. I know we’re busy, but I took her order anyway. I left the paperwork on your desk—Jenny Longley and Bob Chase. They’ve reserved the Captain’s Cottage for the event. It’ll be a small affair, just fifty guests, but there’s something special about her. You should have seen her eyes sparkle.”

Halfway to the kitchen, Nick stopped in his tracks. Slowly, he turned toward Denise. “Are you saying she’s a true Heart’s Landing Bride?” If so, that explained a lot. Starting with why it had been so difficult to shake this Jenny person out of his thoughts.

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