Page 84 of Sweet on You
29
Lex
An hour later, Maddie and Ronnie were in my bakery, sitting at the table across from me. Maddie had tried every flavor cake imaginable… I was pretty sure she was going to be bouncing off the walls on a sugar high for hours to come. But if Ronnie didn’t seem to mind, neither would I.
Maddie should have been on cloud nine… but she looked stressed. And maybe a little sad. “What’s wrong, Miss Maddie?” Ronnie asked, rubbing circles over her back. Her arms were folded on top of the table, her chin resting on her forearms as she stared forlornly at the various slices of cake in front of her.
“I just…” she swallowed, her voice breaking, and I watched as her big eyes filled with tears. “It’s a lot of pressure. It’s Dad’s and Lydia’sweddingcake.”
I looked up to find Ronnie staring at me, helpless.
“I think they’re going to love whatever cake you choose, baby bear,” Ronnie said. “And youarethe cake connoisseur of the Tripp family.”
She nodded as though this was a well-known fact. One that none of the Tripps would argue with.
I leaned forward on the table, mirroring the way her elbows rested on the table. “How about we start by narrowing down the choices?” I waited for Maddie to nod… accepting my proposal. Then, I slid the plate with the lavender vanilla cake to the side. “You didn’t like this one much, right?”
“That was the one that tasted like flowers, right?”
I laughed and nodded. “Sort of, yeah.” Lavender was an acquired taste, that was for sure. I loved it, but not everyone did.
Maddie scrunched her nose and shook her head. “I didn’t like that much.” Then she bit her lip, looking regrettably up at me. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, don’t apologize,” I said. “It’s okay that you don’t love all the flavors.” I moved on to the strawberry shortcake, holding it up. “And this one? You didn’t seem to love it like you did the others. Right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, that’s true.”
I continued like that, going through the cakes, one by one, separating out her favorites from the ones she didn’t love as much until we had narrowed it down to two: A chocolate caramel crunch and a lemon meringue cake that I had created just for Cam based on the small conversation we’d had. I wasn’t sure what Lydia and Cam’s history with lemon meringue was… and frankly, I didn’t need or want to know. But the fact remained, therewasa history there. And judging by the blush that spread across Lydia’s face when Cam mentioned it, flashing his boyish smile… it was meaningful.
Maddie sighed, looking between the two cakes. “I like this one the best,” she said, pointing to the chocolate cake. “But I know Daddy and Lydia love lemon meringue. Instead of cake, Dad gets lemon meringue pie for his birthday every year.” Another sigh slipped through her lips. “I think we should do that one,” she said. “It’s their wedding and it should be whattheylike… not what I like.”
I had to say… I was shocked. No matter what Maddie’s choice was, I was going to find a way to get them both flavors. Whether it was a small cake for Cam and Lydia or a tiered cake with both flavors. They did a lot for this community and they deserved the wedding of their dreams.
“That’s very sweet of you, Maddie,” Ronnie said, giving her a smile, which Maddie returned… it just didn’t reach her eyes.
“I’ll tell you what,” I said. “We’ll do the lemon meringue for the three-tiered wedding cake. But I’ll make a small cake… just for you… the chocolate caramel crunch. My treat. It’s my little gift to you because that choice you made was beautifully selfless and that deserves to be rewarded.”
Her smile lifted, spreading wide across her face, dimples diveted on either side of her mouth. “Really?” she asked.
“Really.”
Beneath the table, I felt Ronnie’s foot stroking against my calf, and when I looked at her, she gave me a quick wink.
Ronnie slid some papers across the table. “And design wise, this is what Lydia had in mind,” she said.
I flipped through the images, nodding. But if I was being honest, I was hardly looking at them. My brain wasn’t working at full capacity now that Ronnie’s toes were tracing up my leg beneath the table.
I cleared my throat, hoping like hell that I seemed like I was paying attention. “Easy enough,” I said with another glance at the designs. Lucky for me, they did seem simple. White cake. Piped flowers. I could handle that.
Setting the papers down, I held out a hand for Maddie to take. Her little palm slid into mine and like a miniature businesswoman, she gave me a firm handshake. “Thank you for your business, Ms. Tripp. Will you be paying for this in gummy bears?”
She threw her head back and giggled. “That would takea lotof gummy bears.”
“Probably,” I laughed in return. “How about I send the bill to your dad instead?”
The bells on the door chimed as Mr. and Mrs. Murphy entered the bakery with Olivia in their arms. She saw Ronnie before she saw me, and a giant grin spread across her chubby, little face as she waved at her. Seeing my daughter reacting to Ronnie in that way? The sight stole my breath from my lungs. It made my heart beat faster and something in my chest tugged.
Then, Olivia saw me and that grin went from wide to wider. She squealed and bounced in Mr. Murphy’s arms, clapping and reaching for me. That tug in my chest became a knot that constricted all the way up to my throat. My daughter. A daughter I’d nearly given up hope on ever finding was happy to see me. She was reaching forme.
