Page 24 of Cut The Cake

“Well.” Jenny tilted her head and issued a challenge. “I need a bigger cake.”

“No problem.” He could easily add another layer to her wedding cake, maybe even two. There was something in Jenny’s expression, though, that triggered a flicker of doubt. Had he just committed to more than he could deliver? Not exactly sure he was going to like her answer, he ventured a tentative, “How much bigger?”

Her gaze cut to one side. “Enough to serve two hundred and fifty guests.”

“Whooo.” Air whistled through his teeth. That was a lot more cake.

“I’ve been having second thoughts about the flavor, too.”

“Okay,” he said, bracing himself. He’d known about Jenny’s soft spot for chocolate since the day they met. But to craft a cake in her favorite flavor for that many people would require extra work. He’d need dowels to support each layer of the dense, heavy …

“Almond,” she said firmly.

Not chocolate? He frowned, recalling how her nose had scrunched up during the tasting. She didn’t even like almond.

“And it needs more, uh.”

“More what?” he asked, growing more perplexed by the moment.

“It needs more pizzazz.”

He took a breath. Of all the brides he’d worked with over the years, he would have sworn Jenny was the least likely to want a lavishly decorated cake. Maybe he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. “I could pipe the icing to match the pattern of your dress,” he suggested, certain she’d consider the idea too ornate. “And add a cascade of rose-gold flowers down one side.”

A happy smile teased Jenny’s lips. “Yes. That’s it. Exactly.”

Nick folded his arms across his chest. They said no good deed went unpunished. He should have known offering advice to a bride-to-be would come back to haunt him. This larger, fancier cake would take the better part of a week to create. Worse, just when he’d sworn he’d keep his distance from Jenny, he’d have to work closely with her on a whole new design. “I’ll get on it first thing in the morning,” he promised on his way to the stairs.

“I’ll stop by in the afternoon so we can go over the particulars. Save me a cupcake?”

Though he automatically agreed, he shook his head as he headed for the van. His determination to keep his distance from Jenny had lasted less than two minutes before she’d melted it, just like she’d melted his heart.

Chapter Eight

Jenny trudged down Bridal Carriage Way. A couple traveling in the opposite direction neared her on the shaded sidewalk. Arm in arm, they laughed at some private joke. The man brushed an airy kiss through the woman’s hair and snugged her the tiniest bit closer to his side.

Jenny mustered a weary smile. Someday, she wanted a love like that. Someday. But not in Heart’s Landing. And not today.

Today, she needed to fix a wedding that had grown more complicated than she’d ever imagined. Nick’s reaction to the expanded guest list had been so blasé, so matter-of-fact, that she’d been sure everyone else in town would take the news in stride as well. She’d been wrong about that. But for very different reasons than she’d expected.

Jenny had never been good at lying. Apparently, she’d gotten better at it, thanks to all the practice she’d had since her arrival in her favorite wedding destination. Too much better. She hated how, at their meeting this morning, Alicia hadn’t so much as lifted a doubtful eyebrow when she heard Jenny’s convoluted tale of how she’d been pressured into adding to the guest list by her future mother-in-law. She was certain Alicia had only had her best interests at heart when she’d advised Jenny to stick to her guns and plan the wedding of her dreams, not anyone else’s. The tears that had shimmered in Alicia’s eyes when Jenny explained that the invitations had already been mailed nearly caused her to blurt out the truth. The whole truth. She hadn’t, though. And in the end, they’d agreed to serve cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on the veranda, but hold the ceremony and reception in the grand ballroom.

Her heart heavy with the weight of everything she had to do to protect Kay’s secret, Jenny had headed to Forget Me Knot next. There, Mildred had been visibly shaken by the news of the larger wedding. When she couldn’t locate enough hydrangeas to top an additional twenty-five tables and suggested using white freesia and large garden roses as substitutes, the florist had actually trembled like a leaf in a storm. Though Jenny thought the new combination was sheer perfection, she’d spent the better part of an hour reassuring Mildred that she trusted the woman’s judgment.

Wasn’t that supposed to work the other way around?

Jenny ran her fingers through her hair. She had just reached the crosswalk when a horse and buggy trotted past, carrying another lucky bride to the church at the end of the street. Unable to wrench her eyes from the passing vehicle, she tapped her foot in time with the horse’s hooves.

“One day,” she whispered. One day, she’d take her own carriage ride through the center of town. She pinched her lower lip between two fingers. She’d set her heart on a Heart’s Landing wedding, and now she was in the middle of planning one. Only it was for someone else.

A passerby cleared his throat. The noise startled her. She blinked slowly and took a breath. Around her, people went about their business. Shoppers ducked in and out of stores. Couples meandered down the sidewalks hand in hand. She glanced toward the end of the street. The space in front of the church stood vacant, the ringing sound of hooves against the pavement long since faded. She shook herself. She had no business standing here mooning after some other bride’s carriage ride when she still had so much left to do.

Straightening, she waited for the opening bars of The Wedding March. When they played, she crossed the street. A few minutes later, she stepped into Favors Galore, ready to face her next task in finalizing the plans for her cousin’s big day.

The instant she crossed the store’s threshold, the smell of rich chocolate engulfed her. Pausing to get her bearings, she drank in the candy-scented air. The wonderful aroma drew her, and she made her way down the wide aisle that cut through the center of the shop. Shelves on the left housed party favors that ran the gamut from matchbooks to cookie tins. An extensive wine collection lined wooden shelves on the right. At the back of the store, tray after tray of hand-crafted chocolates filled a low display case.

“Hi, Jenny!” One of a matching set of willowy, raven-haired twins looked up from the marble slab balanced in one of her hands. Arrayed in circles, hand-crafted candies dotted the stone platter.

“Hey …” Uncertain whether she was talking to Alexis or Ashley, Jenny halted.

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