Page 69 of The Senator: Raphael

He smiles and turns me around, trapping me between the sink and his body. In moments like these, I wish I could spend the day rolling around naked between the sheets with him.

“The world is spinning just fine without me helping it. If you feel overwhelmed by the wedding stuff, I can help you.” He seems concerned, and I don’t get it. It’s just a matter of dropping by with the name of the cake and nothing else.

“I’m fine, Raphael. There’s really nothing to worry about. It’s just a matter of telling them what we decided and going over some details for the decorations. They’ll probably give me a bunch of pictures to choose from and that’s it. We can do our yes, maybe, hell no! list and we’re good.”

He seems worried, and I can’t shake the feeling that it’s related to the secret he’s keeping. He’s become more protective since lying to me, and I can’t put my finger on what’s making him want to be around me all the time.

“Okay, but if you need help, just call me and I’ll drop everything and come.” He pins me with an intense gaze.

“Is working with Matthew so boring you need an excuse to bolt?” I joke.

“Sometimes he makes me want to choke him,” he admits with a laugh.

It takes me forty-five minutes to get ready and then another insane amount of time to reach the place. When I finally walk into the bakery, I’m feeling flustered.

“Sorry, I’m a bit late,” I tell the blond woman behind the counter, Kelly, whom I recognize from when she delivered the samples.

She smiles and waves her hand, dismissing my concerns. “Los Angeles traffic is a nightmare. Ten minutes is considered early around here.”

I smile because it’s true. I’ll never get used to factoring in extra time to get anywhere in this city.

“Have you decided which flavor you want?” she asks, guiding me toward a small room in the back. There’s a desk scattered with papers and dozens of boxes are stacked against the three walls. The sugary smell is even more intense in here, since we’re right next to the room with the big ovens where she does the baking.

“We want the orange cake with the chocolate chips in it,” I say, sitting down on the chair in front of the desk.

Kelly seems to lighten up at the choice. “One of my favorites!”

“It’s pretty good,” I admit. “And Raphael loved it too.”

She widens her eyes at the mention of him. “He tasted it too?”

“Of course, he did! We went through all sixty-three samples.” I don’t have the heart to tell her we got through about half of them and then gave up.

“I didn’t think he had time for that kind of thing. I’m sorry, it’s none of my business, but I thought that important people like the two of you have a wedding planner doing all this stuff.” She babbles on a bit nervously. It’s the first time someone is fidgeting in my presence and it’s a bit of a surprise.

“We have someone doing all the booking and organizing of details, but we do most of the decision making. It’s our wedding, and this is the fun part.”

She chuckles and picks up an iPad with a pen and starts to take notes. “So, what’s the theme of the wedding?”

“The what?”

“The theme. You know, how you’re coordinating everything to look consistent?” She tries and fails to hide an amused smile at my shocked face.

“It’s a wedding, isn’t that enough of a theme?”

She giggles and I relax a bit. I haven’t put much effort into thinking about my wedding because I never considered it a real possibility. Now I regret not creating a Pinterest board with a bunch of ideas for my special day.

“I suppose it’s a start.” She tries to comfort me with a smile.

“We have white roses, gerberas, and lavender centerpieces,” I blurt out like a kid in school caught not having their homework done.

“See? That’s a theme.” She nods, jotting down lavender and white on her iPad.

I didn’t think choosing a cake for a wedding was so complicated. “Thank God I have one,” I murmur and she chuckles.

“No worries. I’ll guide you with questions and you’ll be fine.”

Two hours and a billion question later, I don’t feel fine. I’m exhausted and had no idea you have to decide on so many details for a cake. And the cupcakes. And the dessert buffet. Apparently, we’re also going to have a candy cart.

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