Page 43 of Cut The Cake

She rushed on. “What about Christmas? Remember how we used to leave cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer? You can’t have Christmas without gingerbread men, can you?”

“I guess not.”

She crossed her fingers in the hope that she was getting the point across. “It’s the same with weddings. Because it’s your wedding, your guests will expect something spectacular.” Nick’s rich icing piped to match the lacy pattern of Karolyn’s dress was just the ticket.

“What I want is beside the point. People are flying across the country to see me walk down the aisle. The least we can do is serve them something they’ll want to eat. We have to make allowances.”

Jenny shook her head. “There’s no such thing as a sugar-free, carb-free cake.” Well, there was, but it looked and tasted like cardboard.

“I’ve made up my mind,” Karolyn insisted. “I want a naked cake.”

“I don’t even know what that is.” Jenny rubbed her head. Behind her eyes, a drummer pounded a familiar beat.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like, a cake without any frosting. Hang on. I’ll send you a picture.”

Seconds later, her phone dinged to signal an incoming text. Jenny swiped it and stared open-mouthed at the bare edges of cake layers glued together by a thinnest layer of icing. Someone had tucked flowers between the tiers, but without water to keep them fresh, the blossoms had wilted. The whole thing resembled the last item on the bake sale table at the church bazaar. “You can’t be serious,” she gasped.

“Oh, but I am.” Kay’s voice dropped. “You need to make this happen.”

“But N—the baker. He’ll have a conniption.”

“I don’t see why. It’s a lot less work for him, and he’s still getting paid the same amount. He’ll probably thank you.”

Her cousin obviously didn’t know Nick. Jenny pictured the storm clouds that would gather in his eyes when she broke this piece of news to him. He was going to hate it. “I don’t think—”

“What you think doesn’t matter. This is what I want.” Kay’s voice turned deadly quiet. “I’m depending on you to make it happen.”

For a moment, the weight of three thousand miles stretched between them. At last, Jenny shook her head. Between a rock and a hard place—that was exactly where she was. Though she refused to let Kay turn her into one of her many yes-men, she had sworn to give her cousin the wedding of her dreams. She could at least present this latest idea to Nick. “I’ll do my best,” she said without making any promises.

“What’s going on with you lately?” Kay asked on the heels of her answer. “We used to be simpatico. Most of the time, you knew what I wanted before I did. But we’re not on the same page anymore. It’s like you’re not even trying to understand me,” she said, ending on a breathy sigh.

Jenny bit down on the first response that popped into her head. Her cousin probably wouldn’t appreciate her pointing out how different the wedding was now from the intimate family gathering she’d first planned. That alone had caused some friction between them, but there were other factors at work, as well. Other people weighing in with their opinions. “Aunt Maggie is there with you. I’m sure she’s been a big help. It’s only natural that she’d have a few suggestions about the festivities. And then there’s Chad. He has his own ideas about how things should be done. They’re great, but I’m having a hard time keeping up,” she admitted. “And I’m not the only one. All these changes have the people I’m working with spinning in circles.”

“It doesn’t help that I keep calling with more demands.” Kay’s voice softened. “You probably think I’ve turned into Bridezilla.”

Jenny heard the faint stirrings of insecurity in her cousin’s laugh. Knowing how quickly one of Kay’s mercurial mood swings could lead to a dramatic meltdown, she struggled to stay calm and collected. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned by coming to Heart’s Landing, it’s that every bride wants her day to be special. I’ll do my best to make your wedding everything you want it to be, but we can’t get so wrapped up in the details that we lose sight of what’s really important. This is a celebration of the love you and Chad have for each other.”

“You always know just what to say. I miss having you here.” Karolyn’s voice grew the tiniest bit melancholy. “It’s never going to be just you and me again, is it?”

“Things will be different,” she agreed, “but you have Chad now. He’s a keeper.”

“He is that.” Kay chortled.

“And, soon, you’ll be starting your new lives together.”

“I can’t wait! In less than a week, I’ll be Mrs. Chad Grant.”

Thinking of the changes the marriage would bring, Jenny smoothed one hand over her hair. Once the newlyweds returned from their honeymoon, there’d be households to combine, schedules to mesh, and tough staffing decisions to make. The married couple wouldn’t need two housekeepers, two cooks.

Or two personal assistants?

She gulped. Losing her job was something she hadn’t wanted to think about. Worrying about it now wouldn’t do any good. Karolyn would make the decisions when the time came and, no doubt, she’d do whatever was best for her career.

Jenny tapped her finger to her chin. She had other wedding details to discuss with her cousin while she still had Kay’s attention. “How’d your appointment go with Madame Eleanor? Did you find a wedding gown?”

“I did! Oh, Jenny, you should see it! It’s perfect. It’s the most beautiful trumpet-style gown with what Madame Eleanor called a royal train. The cap sleeves are a gorgeous see-through lace, and the neckline plunges way down in front. The back—oh, you should see the back—it hugs me in all the right places, if you know what I mean.”

After helping the movie star dress for countless awards shows over the years, she wasn’t a bit surprised to hear that Kay had selected a form-fitting gown.

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