She didn’t skip meals, but she did have the bad habit often-minute lunches between tasks. “Deal.”
“Do you need anything for now?”
“I don’t think—wait.” She remembered the question she’d accidentallyasked Mel. “The almond pastry cream.”
“Top shelf. All the way in the back.” Tanya lifted her chin. “IfI don’t see you in an hour, I’m coming for you. Consider yourself warned.”
“Noted.”
Tanya disappeared the way she’d come and Amanda got back to work.Each cake got split in two; the resulting layers got sandwiched with filling. Athin coat of buttercream to seal in the crumbs and create a smooth surface forthe second coat of frosting. By the time she finished the three smaller tiers,the two larger ones had chilled enough. She pulled one from the cooler and setit on her turntable. Since this cake would be covered in fondant, it didn’tneed to be perfect, but the smoother the frosting, the smoother the finalresult.
By the time she had all five frosted and ready to be covered anddecorated, she’d used up most of the time Tanya had allotted her. Might as welltake her break now. Once she was rolling fondant, she preferred to do it all atonce.
Amanda washed her hands and headed to the front, only to findJulia and Erin chatting with Tanya. She made a show of spinning on the ball ofher foot and going back the way she’d come. A chorus of “hey” and “get your assback here” followed her. She did as she was told, not really looking to avoidthem. If she could tell them all at once, she could save having to tell itmultiple times. If only Jack was there.
He swept in, an infant strapped to his chest in a BabyBjorn.“Looks like I almost missed a party.”
It wasn’t unusual for her friends to converge on the bakery atonce, but the timing of his arrival made her laugh. Julia grinned at the babybefore looking at Jack. “Accidental party. We’d never have an on purpose partyand not invite you.”
Erin nodded and shrugged. “As accidental as bumping into eachother at a place we all come several times a week can be.”
Jack waved them off. “I’m not worried. I’m the life of yourparties and we all know it.”
“I love you, Jack, but you’ve got nothing on this beautifulgirl.” Julia had crossed the room and was now making silly faces at the baby,who giggled with delight.
Enissa was cute and had a way of pulling all the attention in theroom. Maybe Amanda could let her. She could air her woes on a group text andavoid having to talk about it out loud at all. She knew better than to thinkshe could get away with such a tactic, but it didn’t hurt to dream.
* * *
Quinn walked into the Advocacy Center charity breakfast, a knotof tension in her stomach. Lesedi would be there, but so would three hundredother people. She might have to see her across the room or, at worse, run intoher at the raffle table. It would be fine.
Only her life didn’t seem to work that way. She’d barely handedover her ticket before literally bumping into her. “Good morning.”
Lesedi beamed at her. “Well, hello.”
She didn’t see any sign of Lesedi’s new girlfriend, so thatcounted for something. “How did the semester treat you?”
Lesedi tipped her head back and forth. “Quite good. My last paperhit the Journal ofConsumer Behavior.”
Quinn mustered a smile. “Not surprising at all. Congratulations.”
Out of nowhere, or seemingly out of nowhere, Joanna appeared. Shestuck out her hand like they were old friends and not like she’d stolen Quinn’swife right from under her nose. “Quinn, good to see you.”
Quinn couldn’t quite bring herself to reciprocate the sentiment.She accepted the handshake and wondered how quickly she’d be able to escape.“How’ve you been?”
“Good, good. Gearing up for the late summer term in Monaco.”
Of course they were. They were both marketing professors atCornell. Lesedi’s area of specialty was consumer behavior, while Joanna’s wasluxury brand management. Teaming up on a research project was the start of theaffair that ended her marriage. “Sounds exciting.”
Lesedi’s face softened. Whether it was guilt or regret, Quinncould never tell. Not that she was interested in either. “What about you? Whatdo you have cooked up for the summer?”
As someone who wasn’t an academic and didn’t have kids, summerdidn’t provide the same kind of dramatic shift as it did for some people. Evenpeople who were married to academics, which she no longer was. She didn’t sayas much because it would probably come out bitter. And honestly, she wasn’tbitter. Disappointed, maybe. At worst, jaded. But not bitter. “Nothing major.I’ll take the kayak out, spend as much time as I can on the lake or up at the cabin.”
Lesedi smiled. “I’ll miss the lake.”
“I’m sure you’ll make do with the Mediterranean.”
Both Lesedi and Joanna laughed. Not an arrogant, in your facesort of laugh. More of a what can we do, we’re so blissfully happy sound. Evenwithout the ill intent, it cut.
“How’re your sisters and the kids?” Lesedi asked.
She both loved and hated that Lesedi felt the need to ask aboutthem. It was standard divorce protocol according to her friends and several ofthe self-help books she’d waded through on the matter, but it left a bad tastein her mouth. At least for now. Maybe that would fade with time. “Good, good.Kids are loving summer. Jacob finished his first year at Cornell.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful.” Lesedi clapped her hands together.“Architecture, right? Following in your footsteps.”
See, this was the problem. Lesedi wasn’t a bad person. She wasthoughtful and interested and all the other things Quinn valued in awoman—partner or otherwise. “Yep.”
“I’m so glad. You’ll have to make sure he emails me. I’d love totake him to lunch.”
Quinn sighed. “I’m sure he’d like that.”
“And work?” Joanna asked.
The worst part about Lesedi falling in love with Joanna was thatJoanna had been a mutual friend as much as Lesedi’s colleague. Hell, Joanna andher wife. Ex-wife. They’d done dinners and wine tours and even a trip toProvincetown together. It made hating her difficult for someone like Quinn, whohad
