“Okay.” Emmie winces my way. “So, don’t kill me, but I’ve sort of taken it upon myself to kick your wedding planning into high gear.”
Macy swipes both Misty and Fish off the floor as they try to dart past her.
“And I’m here to kick your butt if you try to put off any more decision-making.”
Leo lifts a hand. “I heard there’d be cake.”
Jasper sighs over at his old friend. “I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to ask if you wouldn’t mind being in the wedding party.”
Leo sobers up as he stares hard at Jasper. They used to be as close as brothers.
Closer. Leo nods, acknowledging my thought.
“You have brothers,” Leo points out.
Jasper nods. “And they’ll be in attendance. But I wanted to know if you’d stand up for me.”
Leo looks at Jasper a good long while. And I don’t need to pry into his mind to know he’s reliving all those years they spent as best friends.
“You bet.” Leo pulls Jasper in for one of those man-hugs and I press my lips tight in order to keep my emotions in check. It warms my heart to see them come full circle with their friendship.
“And that will be perfect,” I say. “I was just about to ask Emmie to stand up for me. No offense, Macy, but I figured you wouldn’t want to stand through the whole ceremony anyway.”
She nods while swallowing down a bite of a blondie bar.
“You nailed it on the head. Also, I plan on wearing black. It’s my best color. And I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve already invited Archie to the wedding.”
“And what about Gio?” I muse.
“Are you kidding? The man made me pay for his drink last night at the Magic Castle. I may be a thoroughly modern woman, but as soon as you ask me to pay for your liquor, you’re off the hot list and onto the not list.” She gives both Fish and Misty a squeeze before setting them onto the floor once again. “So let’s get this party started, shall we? I vote for cake tasting first.”
Jasper and I are quickly shuffled to the kitchen of the Cottage Café where Emmie has set out six different cakes for us to sample.
“Emmie, you shouldn’t have,” I say as she doles a thin slice of each onto a plate for us.
“I should have six weeks ago,” she counters. “Now let’s get to tasting. We have chocolate with chocolate ganache, chocolate raspberry truffle, hazelnut praline, caramel apple cake, café latte cake, cookies and cream, and marble cake with Bavarian cream filling. Of course, you’re welcome to come up with your own combination, but the café needs answers and we need them today. It’s time for me to start perfecting my recipe. Your cake has to be just right.”
Jasper and I moan our way through each bite.
“What do you think, Bizzy?” His brows bounce as he gives an approving nod to the entire plate.
“What do you think?” I shrug. “I want to have something you like there, too.”
Leo lifts a hand. “I’ve got an idea. You both blurt out the flavor you like best and I bet Emmie can make them both work somehow. On three?”
Leo, Emmie, and Macy count it off, and both Jasper and I say, “Chocolate raspberry truffle,” at the very same time.
“That was easy enough.” Jasper pulls me in with a crooked grin blooming on his lips.
“Oh, and I liked the caramel apple cake, too,” I say as I look to Emmie. “Any thoughts on that?”
“I say we start with a groom’s cake—chocolate for Jasper.” She nods while jotting it down on the enormous yellow legal pad in front of her. “It’s a great way to have two different cakes. And if I were you, Bizzy, I’d go with raspberry truffle and maybe have a caramel apple set out on the dessert table.”
“Consider it a done deal,” I assure her.
“Now”—Emmie pulls out her laptop and sets it before us—“we need to pick a style.”
The screen is populated with a hundred thumbnail images of wedding cakes in every shape and size.
“Ooh.” Macy points to a cake in the shape of a black stiletto with a bright red heel. “That’s the one for me.”
Emmie laughs. “I’ll tuck that into the back of my mind, but something tells me I won’t be needing that info anytime soon. You’re allergic to long-term relationships in the event you haven’t noticed.”
“Technically, I’m in one now,” she says, taking another slice of the caramel apple cake. I don’t blame her, it’s that good.
“With whom?” I ask, trying to figure out how she came up with that one.
“Alex Fox.” She shrugs. “We’re doing that whole long distance, open relationship, late night racy texting thing. It’s working out beautifully. I highly recommend it.” Her phone chirps. “I bet that’s him now.” She pulls her phone out, and her face contorts in horror. “What in the fresh H-E-double hockey sticks? Someone stole my credit card and ran up a five thousand dollar tab at the Magic Castle last night. I’m sorry, Bizzy, but I’d better call and take care of this. I have that credit card tied to all of my utilities and my car payment. This is going to be a nightmare to untangle. Have fun, you guys.” She picks up a knife and pauses before slicing off another piece of that caramel apple cake before setting the knife down and snatching up the whole cake instead. “What the heck, the day has already fallen in the shredder.”
She takes off, and Emmie turns the page on her list.
“Flowers?” she says it curt while looking my way.
“I’ll talk to Archie,” I say. “He’s working on McKenna’s floral arrangements. I bet I can work a deal out with him.”
“Okay.” Emmie turns the page once again. “We already have the caterer—me.” She flashes a bright smile. “So what do you want for appetizers? What do you want for dinner, and how many dessert tables are we
