Page 21 of Cut The Cake

“Good, now that I’m back.” Kay gave a long-suffering groan. “I spent the last three days filming on location in the Mojave.”

Jenny’s eyebrows hiked. The entire crew of Kay’s latest film had spent a week on location south of Death Valley this spring. “I thought you already shot those scenes.”

“We did. And the dailies looked great. You know Guzman, though. The man is a perfectionist. He wanted retakes. And there I was, stuck in the middle of the desert for three whole days. It was brutal.”

“How awful for you.” Jenny made the expected sympathetic noises, even though, for someone of Karolyn’s stature, spending time on location wasn’t exactly a hardship. Her cousin’s fully stocked and air-conditioned trailer was the size of a Greyhound bus. Plus, onsite caterers provided everything from PB&J’s to prime rib with all the fixings around the clock.

“Now that I’m home, I finally had a chance to study those pictures you sent. You’ve been, um, busy.”

That was it? Busy? No gushing over the floral arrangements? No swooning over the delectable cakes? Jenny stiffened. “But?”

“But don’t you think they’re a little—hmmm. What’s the word? Plain?”

Jenny pressed her lips together while she slowly counted to ten. Her cousin was having last-minute doubts, that was all. And no wonder. Kay didn’t have her perspective. Kay hadn’t walked the streets of Heart’s Landing or seen other brides finalizing their wedding plans. She didn’t know how much effort the thoughtful and caring shop owners had put into her last-minute wedding. Her cousin could see the photographs, sure, but no picture taken with an iPhone could possibly do justice to the intricately carved mantle in the library or the metallic threads woven into the table linens. A picture didn’t carry the lingering scent of roses; it didn’t convey the sweetness of the frosting or fill her mouth with the bright taste of pink champagne.

“It’ll be all right,” she finally soothed. “You’ll see, once you get here. You’ll be amazed.”

“My wedding has to be special. It needs more pop and sizzle. Some pizzazz,” Kay whined.

Jenny sucked in a breath and prayed for patience. “You asked for a minimum of fuss. You were quite insistent on it, in fact.” She reached for the notebook that contained Kay’s very specific requirements.

“I thought you’d understand that things had changed when we expanded the guest list.”

Jenny’s hand, like her heart, stilled. “What do you mean?”

“The guest list. We added to it.”

Jenny started to shake her head but stopped, realizing she was wasting the effort on someone who couldn’t see the motion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You didn’t get my message? I sent you a text.”

“No,” she said, drawing out the word while she swiped over to her messages and scrolled through them. Nothing. She hadn’t received a single email or text message from Kay since her arrival in Heart’s Landing.

“What ev.”

Jenny didn’t need to see her cousin’s face to know that Kay’s frustration was showing. She heard it in the exasperated tone that grated on her nerves.

“Once word of our engagement spread, Chad and I realized we hadn’t given our plans enough thought. Our agents will have to be there, of course. And my Aunt Gertrude. I left her off the list before, but it wouldn’t be right to exclude her now.”

Jenny grabbed a pen and started jotting notes. Agents, his and hers. They’d probably bring dates, so that made four more. Kay’s aging aunt on her father’s side never ventured far from home without a companion. That meant another two. Since Chad had probably overlooked a couple of relatives, as well, she doubled that figure and studied the result. She’d have to add another row of chairs on the veranda, one or two more tables in the library. That wasn’t so bad. Certainly not anything to cause this much drama.

She tugged on a loose strand of hair. Was this another example of Kay simply being Kay? Her cousin’s flair for the dramatic was part of what made her one of Hollywood’s leading ladies, but she did tend to get excited over the smallest things. The over-the-top personality could wear a little thin at times.

“Directors. Producers. The studio bigshots.” Kay rambled on from the other side of the country. “Altogether, it comes to just over two hundred. Better make that two-fifty in case we have to add anyone at the last minute. This is Hollywood,” she said as if Jenny needed the reminder. “We can’t afford to slight anybody.”

“Two—?” Jenny’s mouth dropped open. Did she dare argue with Kay? No one said no to one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Doing so was a sure-fire way to get fired. But she wasn’t one of Kay’s usual crowd of yes-men. She and Kay were practically sisters, and, as such, she’d always been able to tell her cousin exactly what she thought. Something she needed to do right now, before things got out of hand. She swallowed.

“Karolyn, that’s impossible. You asked me to plan a small wedding for fifty guests. Intimate friends and immediate family. We can’t possibly cram more than two hundred people onto the veranda. It can’t be done.”

“You’re forgetting I rented the entire estate for the weekend,” came her cousin’s dry response. “I’m sure they handle weddings this large all the time.”

“Not on a month’s notice. No.” She stopped to catch her breath. “Make that three weeks’ notice. Besides, everything’s been arranged. I’ve put down deposits on the catering, the flowers, the wedding flavors. Just like you wanted. What you’re asking is impossible. To say nothing of how much it will cost to change things this late in the game.” Thinking of the enormous expense, she rubbed her forehead. “You need to stick to the original plan.”

“It’s too late for that. The invitations have already gone out.”

“How? What?” Jenny stammered. She eyed the addressed envelopes stacked on one corner of her desk. The ones she’d slaved over for hours, writing out names and addresses in her finest penmanship. With a fountain pen, no less. To protect her cousin’s privacy, she’d scheduled a courier service to hand-deliver each of the fifty invitations next week.

“Chad’s assistant says it’s practically criminal to use paper when it’s so easy to do everything online. He designed a beautiful e-vite for our guests and sent them out days ago. The RSVPs are pouring in. No one wants to miss the wedding of the decade.”

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