Icing on the Cake (6 page)

Jenna had never seen anything like Las Vegas. On the “strip” where all the hotels were located, everything was all flashing lights and video screens advertising everything from circus shows, roller coasters, and star-studded concerts to all-you-can-eat buffets. Each hotel had a different theme and was modeled after a different place: Paris, New York, Egypt, even Caesar's Palace.

But the Venice Hotel looked like something out of a fairy tale. As she strolled through the lobby, Jenna noticed the soaring arches, towering columns, breathtaking artwork, and elaborate gold sculptures. The ceiling of the resort was painted to look like the sky, complete with fluffy white clouds and cherubs. In the center of the main palazzo was a replica of the Grand Canal with gondolas gliding on the water.

“Wow.” She whistled through her teeth. “This place is amazing.”

“It feels like we're in a different world,” Kylie exclaimed. “Look at all the cafes—and the jugglers and artists.”

Delaney grabbed Jenna's mother around the waist and hugged her. “Thank you,” she squealed. “Thank you for getting married here. I feel like Alice in Wonderland!”

Ms. Medina and Leo went to check in, leaving Marisol and Gabby in charge.

“All of you stay with me,” Marisol commanded. “That means you, Manny…” He was already trying to figure out how to sneak into the casino filled with lights and noise. A security guard stopped him in his tracks.

“See this sign? No one allowed under twenty-one,” the guard said.

Manny scratched his chin. “I'm in kindergarten. I don't read,” he replied.

The guard chuckled. “Well, then I'll just make it real easy for you. Anywhere you see this uniform…you don't go.”

Manny nodded, but Jenna knew it would take a lot more than that to keep her mischievous little brother away from the clanking slot machines. The casino looked like a giant video arcade.

“Manny, if you want to be in the wedding, you have to behave yourself,” she instructed. “No wandering off,
comprende
?”

Of course, that didn't apply to the PLC girls who had already taken off with Gabby to explore the hotel's palazzo. Lexi perched herself on a stool so she could watch an artisan sculpt a bust. “I can't believe how amazing his technique is,” she whispered, watching him chisel away at the lump of plaster to create an image of a woman.

“Do me next! Do me next!” Ricky shouted.

Gabby caught him by the hand. “That would require sitting still—which you never do,” she said.

“I wanna go swimming in the pool!” Ricky suddenly shouted, spying a giant water fountain.

“
Dios
mío
! It's not a pool…it's a fountain!” Gabby cried, chasing after him before he could leap into the water.

“I think they think this hotel is an amusement park,” Jenna sighed. “Maybe you can take them to the real pool on the roof and keep them out of trouble?”

Gabby pouted. “What about me? When do I get to shop and walk around? How come I have to babysit?”

Jenna's face grew stern. “Because I'm the one who has to do all the baking for Mami's wedding. Would you rather be slaving over a hot oven for six hours?”

Gabby thought it over. “Fine. You win. Marisol and I will take the Terror Twins.” She glanced over at Ricky, who was trying to fish coins out of the fountain. Manny had caught up to him and was holding his brother's ankles so he wouldn't fall in.

“No!” Gabby and Marisol screamed, then called behind them, “Jenna, you owe us!”

Kylie was also anxious to rein in her PLC mates and get them focused on the job at hand. “We'll have lots of time to check the place out after we finish the cupcakes,” she pleaded. “Guys? Please?”

Sadie was fascinated by a stilt walker roaming the “streets” of Venice. “I've never seen someone that tall,” she said. “We could sure use you for the Blakely Bears basketball team.”

Delaney was equally mesmerized, but by the gondoliers singing Italian songs as they paddled the long, narrow boats through the canal. “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's
amore
!” they sang.

Jenna knew exactly how to get everyone's attention. She placed two fingers between her teeth and blew a deafening whistle. Lexi, Delaney, and Sadie all jumped.

“
Escúchame
, listen up!” she said. “My
mami
is getting married in the morning. We'll have plenty of time to check the place out after we get the cupcakes baked and decorated.”

“She's right,” Kylie said. “Let's find the concierge and get to the kitchen.”

They wandered back through the lobby where they found a man impeccably dressed in a black suit and red tie. “Excuse me,” Jenna began. “We're Peace, Love, and Cupcakes, and we have permission from the catering manager to use one of your kitchens.”

No sooner had she gotten the words out than a voice behind her barged in. “Excuse me, did you say you're bakers? Lordy, I'm in luck!”

Jenna spun around and had to blink twice to make sure she wasn't imagining the figure in front of her. He was dressed in a gold lamé jumpsuit covered in sequins and wore long sideburns and sunglasses.

“I know you!” Delaney cried. “You're the King of Rock and Roll! You're Elvis!”

“In the flesh.” The man bowed deeply. “Thank you very much.”

“You mean, he's an Elvis impersonator,” Jenna corrected her. “They're all over Vegas. Come on, guys, we have to get baking.”

“Wait! Please!” Elvis insisted. “It's my hundredth show here at the hotel and I need a cake,” he pleaded with the girls. “I've called every bakery in Vegas, and no one can do it on such short notice. I was just coming to the concierge to ask for his help, and lo and behold, you girls came along! Now is that destiny or what?”

“What,” Jenna grumped.

Lexi was curious: “A cake should be pretty easy to find. Why would everyone tell you no?”

“Because it has to be the King's favorite flavor: peanut butter banana.”

Kylie nodded. “Yup, I can see how that could be a problem. Not just any baker can do PBB.”

“And it needs to serve my entire audience at tonight's show,” Elvis added. “All 250 of them.”

Jenna tugged on Kylie's arm. “The kitchen's this way. Let's go. Sorry, Elvis, can't help you. Adios!”

As Jenna turned to leave, Elvis started singing. A crowd gathered around them, and they were trapped. “I'm all shook up! Uh-huh, yeah!” he sang, shaking his hips.

“He's pretty good,” Delaney said. “I'm impressed.”

“And it would be kind of fun to do Elvis cupcakes,” Lexi added. “It's very Vegas.”

Kylie put it to a vote. “All in favor of helping out the King?” Kylie said. She, Sadie, Delaney, and Lexi raised their hands. Only Jenna was against it.

“I just don't think we have time with all the preparations that need to be done for the wedding,” Jenna pointed out.

“I'll pay you double what you normally charge per cupcake,” Elvis insisted.

“Did you hear that? Double!” Sadie whispered.

“I can make some fondant records, guitars, and musical notes—maybe even blue suede shoes—to put on top of the cupcakes,” Lexi said. “It'll be okay, Jenna. We can divide the work up between us.”

Kylie left it up to Jenna. “What do you say?”

“Fine…I give up!” Jenna said. “You win, Elvis. We'll deliver 250 cupcakes to your show tonight.” She handed him a PLC business card.

“Thank you, thank you very much,” Elvis replied. “You ladies better rock and roll if you want to make my eight p.m. performance.”

The kitchen was huge and fancy—just like the rest of the Venice Hotel. There were an industrial mixer, an enormous commercial oven, and tons of baking supplies—everything Jenna had asked the catering manager to get them. But it took the girls over an hour just to hunt down all the ingredients they needed and get them organized.

“I never thought I'd miss my
mami
's tiny kitchen,” Jenna said, climbing on a step stool to search for salt in a cabinet. “At least I know where everything is. This is way too big and way too confusing.”

Sadie walked around, checking things off on their list. “We have condensed milk, evaporated milk, and coconut milk—that's the
tres
leches
.”

“I'm worried about the butter and sugar,” Jenna said. “With all we need for the Elvis order, we might run short.”

Kylie did a quick tally. “I'm more worried about how many bananas we need for the King's cupcakes.”

Jenna shook her head: this was a disaster—and she couldn't even blame it on Manny and Ricky. “I think Lexi, Sadie, and Delaney should start on the batters while Kylie and I go borrow some supplies from a few of the restaurants in the hotel.”

“Bring us back some snacks,” Sadie called after them.

“Pizza!” Delaney added. “Extra cheese and pepperoni. And some garlic knots…and meatballs! Gosh, I love Venice!”

They borrowed flour from an Italian pizzeria, sugar from a gelato shop, and bananas from an Italian bakery. They could barely carry all the ingredients and the two large pizzas back to the kitchen.

When they returned, the mixer was whirring and there were already two batches of
tres
leches
cupcakes baking in the oven.

“It smells like heaven in here!” Kylie exclaimed.

Sadie grabbed a pizza out of her hands. “No,
this
smells like heaven! I'm starving.”

They gobbled up the slices and started on the batter for the Elvis show.

“I think we should do our signature banana cake and top it with peanut butter frosting and a little marshmallow fluff,” Lexi suggested. “I can start right away coloring the fondant to make the toppers.”

Delaney searched the albums on her iPod until she found her fave Elvis tune. “You ain't nothing but a hound dog, cryin' all the time!” she sang, strumming her spoon like a guitar.

“You ain't nothin' but a hound dog,” Jenna chimed in. But the mention of the word
dog
made her suddenly sad as she remembered her little Dulce puppy at the shelter. Was the little dog waiting for her every day at the window? Was she wondering where and why Jenna had disappeared for the past several days? Jenna felt so guilty—Dulce always looked forward to her visits and greeted her with wet puppy kisses.

Kylie read her friend's mind. “I'm sure she's fine, and you can see her when you get home.”

Jenna nodded. “Yes, but that doesn't make me miss her any less right now.”

“You know what I think?” Lexi told her, expertly piping a purple G clef on one of the cupcakes. “It was love at first sight. You saw Dulce, and you were struck by lightning—just like Juliette and Rodney, and your mom and Leo.”

Jenna thought about it. Maybe it wasn't so crazy after all. She couldn't get the tiny puppy out of her mind or her heart.

“You think that's how my
mami
feels about Leo?” she asked. She'd never considered that. She thought her mom had just rushed into the relationship without giving it much thought.

“For sure!” Kylie said. “Do you see how her face lights up every time Leo walks in the room? It's so sweet. They really love each other. They want to be together. It's just like you feel about Dulce.”

“Done!” Lexi declared, placing the last sprinkling of luster dust on the cupcakes to make them glitter. “You guys can go take these to Elvis. Sadie, Delaney, and I will start frosting and stacking the wedding tower.”

Lexi had arranged the cupcakes on a rolling cart to spell out
ELVIS
.

“We better hurry,” Kylie said, checking the time. “We have only five minutes 'til curtain!”

They raced through the hotel lobby, weaving in and out of guests until they reached the stage door. A man was peering out, looking anxious.

“Finally!” he shouted when he saw them. “Do you know what time it is? He's been waiting for these. Go right out onstage.”

Jenna gulped. “Onstage? You want us to go onstage?”

“Yes, yes,” he said, pushing them and the cart in the direction of the wings. “Hurry up. Show's starting!”

Jenna and Kylie looked at each other. “He didn't say anything about us being part of his act,” Kylie whispered. “I'm a mess! There's peanut butter stuck to my hair!”

But it was too late. A loud voice boomed across the theater: “Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the one, the only, the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley!”

A trapdoor in the stage opened and smoke rolled out. Elvis rose out of the floor dressed in a white jumpsuit studded with gold. On the back of his white cape was an eagle, beaded in sequins. As the crowd went wild, he began singing, “Bright light city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire!” Fireworks suddenly exploded behind him spelling out “ELVIS” in balls of fire.

“OMG!” Kylie gasped. “This is crazy!”

“Get out there! Get out there!” the stage manager barked at them. “What are you waiting for?”

“A fire extinguisher?” Jenna quipped.

He pushed the cart of cupcakes, sending it speeding toward the center of the stage. Jenna and Kylie chased after it and stopped it just before it ran Elvis over.

“Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas!” Elvis sang, dancing around them.

Jenna and Kylie froze. The audience was on its feet, clapping and singing along.

“Thank you, thank you very much,” Elvis said, mopping the sweat from his forehead with a silk scarf. He threw it to Jenna.

“Eww!” she screamed. “Gross!”

“You know when I started in this business, I was an itty-bitty guy with an itty-bitty guitar and itty-bitty sideburns. Then the Venice Hotel put me onstage,” he said. “And tonight, I am celebrating my hundredth performance!”

The crowd screamed again.

“And to help me celebrate with all of you tonight, these lovely ladies have made me some amazing cupcakes in my favorite flavor: peanut butter banana. My helpers are gonna hand these out to everyone in the audience.” Two Vegas showgirls dressed in sequins and feathers appeared from the wings with silver platters.

“Give it up for Peace, Love, and Cupcakes!” Elvis shouted.

“Woo-hoo!” the crowd roared. “We love you!”

“Do they mean us…or Elvis?” Jenna joked.

“Take a bow, ladies, take a bow!” Elvis said. “You deserve it!”

•••

When they got back to the kitchen, Lexi was standing on a ladder, trying to stack cupcakes on each of the tiers.

“You guys won't believe what happened to us!” Kylie reported. “Elvis dragged us out onstage with him…and there was fire…and smoke…and sequins.”

“Shhh!” Lexi hushed her. “This takes complete concentration and silence.” She was delicately piping lines on each cupcake 'til the frosting on top looked like lace. “Hand me the candy pearls, Delaney,” she whispered. “Carefully!”

“Don't breathe,” Sadie instructed Kylie and Jenna. “The artist is at work.”

Lexi frowned. “Did you see that sculptor working on that bust in the palazzo? He would not stand for any distractions.”

“Like I said,” Sadie whispered. “She's in the zone. Shhh…”

“What can we do?” Jenna asked.

Delaney handed her a rolling pin. “Roll fondant. My hands are killing me.”

By 11:30 p.m., the tower was complete, all except for the giant cupcake on top.

“My eyes are closing,” Lexi groaned. “I can't pipe one more drop line or I'll drop.”

“We could get up early tomorrow, say six a.m., before we have to get dressed for the wedding,” Kylie suggested.

Jenna nodded. “I think we take a break.” There were bits and pieces of gum paste stuck to her face, her hands, even her sneakers, and frosting, flour, and sugar coated her shirt and jeans. “A little more fondant, and I could be the giant cupcake on top.”