Page 85 of Blue Hawaiian
Her phone rang, startling her out of her reverie. She answered it quickly. “I’m here. Who was calling?”
“So…this isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But…the bakery called. And…” Gabi’s voice broke. “There was a problem with the compressor in one of their refrigerated units. It broke down in the middle of the night, and no one noticed until they showed up for work this morning. All those mini cheesecakes I ordered? They’re not safe for human consumption.”
“Shit. That’s terrible.”
When Gabi had come up with the idea of serving mini cheesecakes, rather than a wedding cake, Jess had heartily endorsed the idea. Who didn’t love cheesecake? The photos Gabi had sent looked delicious, with flavors like mango margarita, piña colada, lemon blueberry, and white-chocolate raspberry. She and Marc had also ordered a large chocolate-truffle cheesecake for the cake cutting.
“I called the resort’s catering kitchen to see if they could provide a last-minute cake,” Gabi said. “But they’re swamped because they’re dealing with two weddings today. The one after mine is much bigger, with a full sit-down dinner.”
Damn.The bakery snafu wasn’t a huge crisis, especially since Gabi’s brunch menu leaned heavily on sweeter options. But her sister had wanted a memorable dessert to cap off the reception.
“What did the bakery say?” Jess asked. “They’re the ones that messed up.”
“They can’t make enough mini cheesecakes in time for them to cool and set. They suggested we go with something else. But I can’t accept a substitution, sight unseen. Whatever I pick would have to go with my wedding aesthetic. And I don’t have time to go down there. I mean, I could, but—”
“I’ll do it.” The words flew out of Jess’s mouth before she had time to think them over. “I’m already awake. I’ll go talk to the bakery and see what dessert options they have available. I can send you pictures. I’ll even do taste tests, if need be.”
It might be nice to help with someone else’s crisis instead of focusing on her own problems.
“Would you? That would be wonderful. I’ll call the bakery and let them know you’re coming. It’s Decadent Desserts on Front Street, in downtown Lahaina. I’m texting you the address. You can use the hotel trolley to get there.”
“Okay. I’ll text you once I know more.” Jess went back into her room and grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of shorts from her suitcase. But when she called the lobby, the clerk told her the trolley didn’t start running until 9:00 a.m. Not an option, considering she needed to be back for photos by ten. She was about to pull up her ride-share app when she thought of another solution.
One that was bound to be uncomfortable but made more sense than relying on an unknown driver.
After taking a deep, fortifying breath, she called Connor. The fact that he answered immediately made her suspect he’d already been awake.
“Jess,” he grumbled. “What is it?”
His response was so off-putting she almost hung up. But she pushed past her anxiety and plowed on ahead. “Are you up and dressed? If so, I need a favor. Before you say no, it’s for Gabi. And it’s a legit wedding emergency.”
A lengthy pause followed, making her regret reaching out to him. Maybe a ride-share was the best option. But what if she had to bring back a giant cake?
Connor sighed. “Fill me in. But it had better be arealemergency.”
She gave him a quick rundown. Again, she had to wait for him to answer, and when he did, he prefaced it with another sigh. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you in the lobby.”
Relief washed over her, allowing her to breathe freely. With no time to shower, she attempted to tame her messy curls but gave up after a troublesome snarl brought tears to her eyes. Makeup wasn’t worth the effort. What did it matter if she looked like shit? Connor wouldn’t care.
When she got to the lobby, Connor was leaning against the wall, next to the bank of elevators. Like her, he wore a t-shirt and shorts and sported a messy case of bedhead. Normally, she might have teased him or ruffled his hair, but his grim expression dissuaded her. Without saying a word, he gestured for her to follow him, and they headed out to the parking lot. The silence unnerved her, but she kept her mouth shut.
You’re doing this for Gabi. Connor can suck it up and help.
Once inside the car, Jess pulled up the bakery’s address on her phone and set it on the console. Rather than deal with Connor’s grumpiness, she leaned against the window and closed her eyes.
If she was lucky, she might sneak in a ten-minute catnap.
Chapter 33
After a few minutes on the road, Connor couldn’t take the silence. “Any idea what kind of dessert Gabi wants? Or are we supposed to wing it?”
When Jess didn’t answer, he glanced over at her. She leaned against the passenger-side window, eyes closed, as if she’d already conked out. Either that or she was pretending to sleep. Not that he blamed her. He’d barely been civil when he answered the phone. And he acted like she was putting him out, when he’d been awake since six, too miserable to fall back to sleep.
Now that twelve hours had passed since the rehearsal dinner, he regretted the way he’d treated her. He shouldn’t have blown up. Or left her looking so forlorn, all but begging him for another chance. After he went into his room for the night, he debated going back to her. But he let his stubborn pride get in the way.
As he struggled to fall asleep, his cousin’s words echoed in his head.Maybe Jess was ashamed to be seen as a failure.
Was that why she’d hidden the truth? Out of shame? Connor knew what it was like to be the less spectacular sibling, the one who paled in comparison. How would he feel if he attempted his winery venture only to have it fail? Would he want to admit it at first?
