Baking Love (15 page)

Kate took her sketchbook out of her workbag and turned to the detailed drawing of tier four. Jess pulled two pastry bags filled with pale yellow buttercream frosting from the repair kit and handed one to Kate. “For you.”

“Thanks.” Kate slid the cake to the corner of the counter so she and Jess could each access one side. They knelt and started piping lacework onto this tier for the second time in less than forty-eight hours.

* * * *

Kate brushed a lock of hair off her face with her wrist. “Would you hand me one more?”

“Sure.” Jess gave her another fondant flower from the repair kit.

Kate put a dot of buttercream on the back of the flower, then gently pressed it against one side of the cake. She kept her finger on the flower until it felt secure. “Alright, let’s see how we did.” She stood up and took a few steps back. She studied the completed tier as Jess slowly rotated it. “Looks good from here.”

“Looks good up close, too.”

Kate laughed in relief. “We did it…again!”

“Talk about a rush.” Jess sank to the kitchen floor and rested her back against the wall.

Kate scanned the room.
Where’s the clock?

“You looking for the time?”

“Yeah.”

“My phone is somewhere on the counter.” Jess paused. “Just out of curiosity, why is it you don’t wear a watch?”

“A watch gets in my way when I’m trying to work.” Kate spotted Jess’s phone beside the repair kit.

“Did your grandma wear a watch?”

“No, she carried a pocket watch in her apron.” Kate picked up the phone and glanced at the screen. “It’s one-fifteen.”

“Almost time to assemble the cake.” Jess stood back up. “I’ll go get Mark.”

“I’ll stay here and guard the tiers.”

“Good idea.”

Jess left the kitchen, and Kate looked again at tier four. It had taken skill and determination to pull off what they’d done in the amount of time they’d done it.
Wish my grandma could’ve seen us in action.

Kate smiled.
This cake’s for you, grandma.

* * * *

Kate and Jess lowered tier five onto the rest of Cecilia and Eric’s wedding cake as it set on the circular table in the center of the Wynnfield House banquet hall. “We’re over halfway there!” Jess cheered.

“I’ll go get tier six,” Mark told them.

Jess grabbed a nearby chair and slid it up against the cake table. When Mark returned from the kitchen, he handed the tier to Jess and took her arm. She stepped onto the chair and placed the tier on the top of the stacked cake.

“Nice,” Kate nodded in approval.

“Stay there, and I’ll go get the next one.” Mark disappeared into the kitchen and soon returned with tier seven, which he handed to Jess. “Here you are, my lady.”

“Thank you, kind sir.” She lifted the tier above the rest of the cake and placed it.

Kate rubbed her hands together in anticipation.
Almost there.

Mark left the banquet hall a final time, and Jess met Kate’s gaze from the chair. “You want to do the honors?”

“You go ahead. You’re already up there.”

Jess stepped down. “Now I’m not.”

Kate smiled graciously. “Thanks.”

Mark entered the room carrying tier eight, and Jess pointed to Kate. “She’s stacking the last one.”

He handed the tier to Kate, then helped her onto the chair. She reached out over the cake and placed tier eight inside the premarked circle on the top of tier seven. Once she’d released the tier, she held her breath and glanced down at Jess. “How does it look?”

Jess beamed. “Phenomenal.”

Kate exhaled. “That’s what I wanted to hear.” She stepped down from the chair and laid eyes on the finished product. “You’re right. It
does
look phenomenal.” She focused her gaze on the center of the cake. “You can’t even tell we redid tier four.” Her heart raced with excitement.

We are done.

“I’ll photograph it.” Jess pulled the camera from Kate’s workbag and snapped photos of the cake.

“Why do y’all always take pictures of the cakes you make?” Mark asked.

“Evidence.”

“Evidence?”

“Yeah.” Jess returned the camera to the bag. “Evidence the cake was perfectly intact when we left it. That way, if something happens to it after we’re gone, we can’t be blamed.”

“Ah, smart thinking.”

Kate couldn’t take her eyes off the cake.
I could stare at this cake for the rest of the afternoon…but Mark would miss photos.
“We’d better get back to the inn.” They gathered their belongings, then hurried out to the van.

As Kate stood in the grass unlocking her door, she noticed a nearby gardener staring at her.
Probably because my vehicle is ruining his hard work.
Kate waved to him. “Sorry!” she shouted.
There, that’s better.
She jumped into the van and started it up, but when she hit the gas, the van didn’t move.

“Sounds like one of the wheels is spinning,” Mark said. He looked in his side view mirror. “Yep, it’s the back right wheel.” Kate pressed the gas pedal harder, but the van still didn’t budge. “I’ll push while you give it some gas,” Mark told her, getting out on the passenger’s side.

Before long, Kate heard Mark shout, “Okay!” She gave it gas, only to feel the van rock. “One more time!” he yelled. Kate pressed the gas pedal, and after hearing the wheel spinning again, finally felt it give way.

“There we go!” Jess clapped.

Mark got back in the van. “You left some nice tire marks in the grass, Kate.”

“I wouldn’t have had to park in the grass if the driveway was longer.”

“The driveway’s a mile long,” Jess noted.

“Then more people should’ve carpooled this weekend.”

“Cecilia’s going to have a fit.”

“About the driveway?”

“About the tire marks.”

“Why would Cecilia care?”

“Because they’re taking wedding photos in front of the house.”

Kate burst out laughing. “They are?”

“I thought I told you.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“That’s the plan. Photos out front.”

“You know, it’s actually a
good
thing I left those tire marks.”

“Why?”

“Now my wedding gift to Cecilia will be the first one she sees—and she won’t even have to open it!” Kate laughed again as she drove toward the inn.

* * * *

Kate and Jess lay in lounge chairs by the Wynnfield Inn pool when a waiter from the restaurant came up to them. “Here we are, ladies. Two glasses of our finest champagne.” He handed them each a champagne flute.

“Thank you,” they said in unison.

“You’re welcome. Enjoy.”

Kate raised her glass to Jess. “I’d like to propose a toast.” Jess raised her glass as well. “To Cecilia’s wedding cake. While it is the first eight-tiered cake we’ve ever made, may it not be the last.”

“Here, here!”

“To meeting deadlines. May we always get our work done on time—even
if
a tier needs overhauling along the way.”

“Here, here!”

Kate smiled warmly. “To friendship. Even if we never make another eight-tiered cake or meet another deadline, may our bond of friendship always be as strong as it is right now.”

Jess clinked Kate’s glass with her own. “Here, here.”

Kate put her glass to her lips and lifted her chin. The ice cold champagne slipped into her mouth, its bubbles dancing across her tongue. Her palette registered a slight sweetness before the champagne slid down her throat, tingling all the way.
Perfection.

The sun descending in the western sky cast warm rays across her body. She closed her eyes. “This is paradise.”

“I wish I could skip Cecilia and Eric’s wedding and just stay here,” Jess grumbled. “Do you think Mark would notice if I wasn’t there?”

“I feel sure he would.” Kate opened her eyes. “Don’t you want to go so you can get some more ideas for your wedding?”

“Actually, Mark and I have finalized our wedding plans.”

“You have?” Kate exclaimed. “That’s so exciting! Tell me everything!”

“We indeed decided to have a fall wedding. We’re getting married Saturday, October twentieth at the church we grew up attending in Hillsborough. I know I originally told you we were thinking about getting married in the mountains, but since almost everyone we’re inviting lives in Hillsborough, it makes more sense to get married there.” Jess met Kate’s gaze. “I hope you don’t already have something scheduled for that day. You’re my only attendant.”

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world.”

“Speaking of missing a wedding…” Jess pulled her phone from her purse and looked at the screen. “Ugh, it’s already after four. I need to go get ready.”

“If you don’t have time to finish your champagne, leave it here, and I’ll finish it for you.”

“What a selfless offer.” Jess took a couple dollar bills from her wallet and handed them to Kate. “Would you give these to the waiter when you’re done?”

“Sure. Enjoy your evening.”

“Enjoy your two glasses of champagne.”

Kate smiled. For a celebration of this caliber, two glasses might end up proving not to be enough.

* * * *

Kate dried off from her shower, then put on her pajamas. She brushed her teeth, switched off the light, and crawled into bed. As she lay facing the nightstand, she reached out and turned the clock toward her.
Eight-fifteen.

Eric and Cecilia are husband and wife.

Kate rolled over and faced the wall. She closed her eyes. Then, she cried.

Sunday, June 3

Kate knew the ceremony had already started, but she didn’t care. She pulled the wooden doors open and marched down the aisle. Cecilia and Eric were in her direct line of sight as they faced each other on the platform before Reverend Wilson.
I wonder why Cecilia is wearing her pink dress from the rehearsal and not her wedding dress.

Kate had almost reached the front of the room when Reverend Wilson’s gaze met hers. “Can I help you, Kate?”

“I need to talk to Eric.”

“Excuse you!” Cecilia snapped. “We’re trying to get married!”

Kate ignored her and turned to Eric. “I need to talk to you.”

“Now? Here?”

“Yes.”

“What’s so urgent that it can’t wait until after Cecilia and I get married?”

“That’s just it. I want you to marry me instead of her.”

“What?” Cecilia exclaimed.

Kate ignored her again. “I’m in love with you, Eric. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before now, but I never found the right time.” She glanced at Reverend Wilson. “This probably still wasn’t the right time, but it was my last chance, so I had to do it.” For some reason, Kate felt inclined to get down on one knee. “Eric Wagner, I’m asking you—begging you—to choose me over Cecilia.”

“I can’t believe this!” Cecilia clamored. “You have some nerve!”

“Zip it, bitch.”

“You can’t find your own man, so you’re trying to steal mine. You’re pathetic.”

Kate popped up off her knee. “Did you know Eric’s had feelings for me since he’s been engaged to you?”

Cecilia scoffed. “You wish.”

“I know. He told me in New York.”

“I don’t care, and you want to know why?” Cecilia stuck her left ring finger in Kate’s face. “Eric gave
me
this ring, not you. He asked
me
to marry him, not you. If he ever wanted you, he doesn’t want you anymore.” Cecilia smiled smugly. “He wants me.”

That does it.
Kate drew her arm back and delivered a sharp blow to Cecilia’s cheek, releasing months of pent-up anger, frustration, and resentment. Cecilia fell backward into a large arrangement of blue flowers.
Those look like the flowers Mrs. Wagner used to decorate the groom’s cake table.

Kate turned to talk to Eric—but he no longer stood on the platform. “Reverend Wilson, did Eric leave?”

“He sure did. Guess he doesn’t want either one of you.”

Kate closed her eyes and started to cry—then, she rethought her reaction.
Instead of getting upset about the notion that Eric might not want me, I need to find him and convince him he does. It wasn’t so long ago when he confessed his feelings for me; maybe I still have a chance with him. As a bonus, Cecilia’s out cold and unable to thwart my efforts.

This is the perfect opportunity.

Now determined to win Eric’s heart, Kate opened her eyes to search for him. When she did, she found herself staring at an unfamiliar light fixture hanging from an unfamiliar ceiling.

Where am I?

Kate lowered her gaze from the ceiling and saw she was lying in a bed.
I was dreaming.
She shifted her gaze to the window and saw sunshine peeking around the edges of the closed blinds.
It’s a new day.
She looked over at the nightstand and saw a tri-fold card reading THE WYNNFIELD INN.
I’m in the mountains of North Carolina.

Realization set in.
Cecilia and Eric’s wedding was last night. They’re Mr. and Mrs. Wagner this morning.
Kate glanced at the empty pillow beside her.
I’m still…alone.

The door to the room opened. “Good morning,” Jess called out.

Kate covered her head with the comforter. “It’s not a good morning.”

“I brought you coffee.”

“That makes it better.” She pushed the cover away and sat up. Jess walked over and handed her a paper cup. “Did you and Mark have breakfast downstairs?”

“We did.”

Kate sipped the coffee. “This is delicious.”

“Everything was delicious. I’ll go with you if you want to eat.”

“Thanks, but I’m ready to get out of here.”

“Alright. I’ll call Mark and let him know.”

Kate set her cup on the nightstand and walked over to her suitcase. With an attitude of indifference, she pulled out jeans and a T-shirt and changed.

As she and Jess packed, a knock sounded at the door. Jess opened it, and Mark entered the room, rolling suitcase in tow. “Hey, Kate.”

“Morning, Mark. How’d the wedding go last night?”
I don’t really want to know. I’m just asking to be polite.