Page 67 of Stony Point Summer
“No Kyle today?” the consultant asks over her shoulder.
“Oh, he’s running late. But he should be here soon,” Lauren says with a glance at her watch. “This is actually his best man. Jason Barlow. A good friend of ours. Jason’s sitting in for Kyle for now.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jason says as they stop at a round table in the back of the room. Several cake samples are set out in tiny paper cups on a crystal platter. There are napkins and forks, too. “Great shop you have here.”
After shaking Jason’s hand, the consultant turns to Lauren. “Did you bring one of your invitations? It’ll tell me a little more about your style. And I like to incorporate some design element into the cake.”
“Oh, yes.” Lauren gives her an envelope she pulls from her purse. “I have a color swatch, too, of my bridesmaid dresses.”
“Excellent.” The consultant tucks the items in a manila envelope on the table. “I’m hoping you can choose your flavors today.”
“Me, too,” Lauren tells her.
“You did leave your deposit at our initial meeting. We’ll also need another payment once you select the cake design you’d like to reserve.”
Lauren nods, then turns to the cake-covered table. “So where do we begin?” she asks.
Her consultant explains the cake-sample layout. “They’re lined up from lighter, like angel food cake, to denser—dark chocolate.” She points to the two rows of cups. “You’ll want to sample them inthatorder. It’s easier on the palate that way.”
“What’s this one?” Lauren picks up a cupped sample.
“Lemon. There’s also red velvet, vanilla and the chocolate. A couple specialty flavors, too: Italian rum cake and raspberry chocolate mousse.”
“Oh,Marone,” Jason quietly says.
The consultant smiles, then turns to Lauren. “Now, if I remember, you said you wanted a three-tier cake?”
Lauren nods. “So long as me and Kyle can take home the top tier.”
“Gotcha. Okay, you two. Have a seat and get comfortable.” The consultant sets her notepad on the table, beside cake sketches she already worked up. “Oh. It’s also really important to cleanse your palatebetweentastes. So let me get glasses and a pitcher of fresh, cold water,” the consultant says as she heads to the kitchen. “And I’ll put in your order, Jason.”
Jason nods, pulls out a chair for Lauren, then sits beside her. He also slides over the crystal platter topped with cake-cups and sets a sample in front of her.
“Lauren,” he says, leaning close as he takes a sample for himself. “What the hell are your intentions? Youcan’tkeep this up.”
“Keep what up?”
“This charade. It isn’t right.” Jason forks off a hunk of cake. “Why are you doing this?”
Lauren slowly turns the cup holding her cake sample. She swipes a hint of frosting, lifts it to her mouth and barely tastes it. “I’m going to break things off with Kyle, okay?”
“What?And not Neil?” Jason turns and stares at her.
Lauren slightly shakes her head.
“When do you plan on this breakup happening? For Christ’s sake, you’re samplingweddingcake!” he says in a harsh whisper.
Late-day sunlight comes in the window behind them. It shines golden in the room. Frosted cake samples are spread on the table, the frosting chocolate and buttercream, whipped and fondant, swirled and puffed.
Lauren shimmies her chair closer to Jason before halfheartedly forking another sample. Her face is white as a ghost; her expression, drawn. “It has to be the right time, Jason.” She leans over, hand on his arm, and lowers her voice even more. “And between you and me? I’m a little bit afraid.” Then? Then she sets down her fork and nudges the sample away.
“Which means you have your doubts about breaking up with Kyle?”
“No. It’s just that I don’t want to bethatperson.”
Jason eats a mouthful of the red velvet sample with white frosting. “What person?” he asks around the cake.
“You know.” Lauren blows out a long breath. Her hand fidgets with the lacy tie of her peasant blouse. “That person who breaks Kyle’s big heart.”
