Page 10 of The Wedding Cake Wish
‘So how are Sherlock and Moriarty these days?’ I ask Hudson aswe settle down with our coffee and muffins.
‘Good, good. Getting up to all sorts of mousey mischief. Youknow, like chasing each other through their little tunnel and over the bridge,and playing house in their little mousey hideaway. They particularly enjoyspinning endlessly in their matching wheels at two in the morning, but it’s nota problem. I’ve got a supply of earplugs. I bought them two wheels because Ididn’t want them fighting for ownership.’
‘You spoil those mice.’ Grinning, I dig in my bag. ‘Here yougo. To help them settle in. Apparently, mice love to nibble.’
Hudson takes the mousey gifts I hand him, looking asdelighted as if they were much more than simple wooden chew toys. ‘Hey, thanks,Ruby. The little guys will absolutely love these.’
‘Well, they deserve it.’
‘They do indeed. They played a significant role in our lastinvestigation, after all.’
‘A case which I managed to crack in the end,’ I remind himwith a pert look.
‘Yes, yes, Miss Marple. I hadn’t forgotten. Stop bragging.’He gives me one of his warm, full-on smiles and my heart flips over.
I beam at him. ‘And now we have another case toinvestigate.’
He nods. ‘The case of the disappearing best man.’
‘So where do we start looking for Rory?’
‘We need to have a chat with Fen.’
‘I’m seeing her after work, actually. I’m making her weddingcake.’
‘Herwedding cake? How the hell did you manage tolandthatimportant assignment?’
I grimace. ‘I honestly don’t know.’
‘What happened?’
‘Well, Marjery had ordered a really sophisticated creationfrom Lulu Longberry, would you believe? But the company’s gone out ofbusiness.’
‘Who the hell’s Lulu Longberry?’ He looks bemused.
I shake my head. ‘Not important. The point is, Fen came intothe bakery yesterday, panicking because her mum’s stressed to the eyeballs,trying to find another catering company to design a cake for the wedding, andobviously, only the best will do for Marjery.’
‘Obviously.’ He grins, having heard the saga of Fen’s weddingfrom me.
‘So, anyway, I said to Fen – just as a joke, really – tellyour mum you’ve managed to gettheRuby Rose Creations to do the cake.And the next thing I knew, I was actually agreeing to do it!’
‘Right.’ He studies me, his eyes sparkling with warmth andamusement. ‘Ruby Watkiss, you just keep on amazing me.’
I smile shyly. ‘Why, thank you. I think. Was that acompliment?’
‘It most definitely was. So do you think you can foolMarjery into thinking this Ruby Rose Creations company actually exists?’
‘Well, I’m going to give it a bloody good try. For Fen’ssake. She wants something simple. Chocolate fudge cake instead of thetraditional fruit.’ I shrug. ‘I can do that.’
He nods admiringly, and I’m blushing all over again, lovingthe fact that I surprise him.
But at the same time, warning bells are jangling inside myhead.
This growing attraction I’m feeling for Hudson, my partnerin mystery-solving, is very dangerous. It’s bound to end in tears but I can’tseem to stop myself liking him...far too much...
I’m all too aware of the two girls on the table behind us,who keep glancing over at Hudson. I have a side view of the bitchyblonde-haired girl with the pixie cut but I’m just ignoring them in the hopethey might go away.
‘I think we should pay Rory’s mother a visit as well,’ Isay, turning the conversation back to the investigation.
