Page 98 of Broken Pieces
She lets out a deep breath before she starts speaking a mile a minute. “Okay well, there is a very angry bride in my house right now. She is the one that is supposed to get married on Saturday. And well, her caterer just canceled on her. And before you interrupt me, let me just tell you the idea I have.”
She pauses for a second, taking another deep breath so she can continue. “She has a friend who works out in Chattanooga at a restaurant, so she is hoping he will help with the dinner. But she had chosen a caterer who handles both dinner and dessert and cake and well her friend ain’t no baker and so I thought you could do it. I know that it’s short notice, but you are amazing. Hell, you just won the blue-ribbon at the county fair last week and everyone in town is praising you for the goods you provide the diner so…”
She stops talking long enough for me to cut in. “It’s Wednesday.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“The wedding is on Saturday.”
She grabs her blonde hair and starts to twirl it around her finger. “Yep.”
“And you expect me to figure out how to make a damned wedding cake in three days!” I practically shout at her.
She avoids eye contact with me as she says, “Well and she wants a dessert bar too.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Summer, there is no way I can do that and make the bakery items for the diner.”
“Well, I already talked to Ivy and she said the diner can go a few days without them. The town would understand.”
I look at Brooks who is staring at Summer with wide eyes. “No, Summer,” I say. “The answer is no.”
She twists her hands in front of her as she looks up at the ceiling and I know that whatever is about to come out of that mouth of hers is bad news. “I kinda already told Jess, the bride, that you would do it.”
“You what!” I shriek this time as I jump off the bed making a move to strangle her. Brooks grabs me from behind, holding me back.
“Rae, let’s be rational here,” she says barely looking at me.
I struggle as Brooks has a hold of me. “Rational? Rational! You just told a bride I would make her a goddamned dessert bar and a wedding cake, which I am clueless about, for a wedding happening in three days! And I know what wedding this is. It’s a two hundred person, high societal, all eyes on this place, wedding. This is impossible. I cannot do it.”
Summer meets my eyes finally. “I am sure we can negotiate the terms of my agreement.”
I scream as Brooks tries to soothe me. It’s not working.
“Hey Blue, calm down for a second, okay?”
I twist in his arms. “Don’t tell me to calm down.”
“I’ll help you, baby.” He pulls me in close, murmuring into my ear. His soothing tone, his bergamot scent, and his words help me relax. A little. “You aren’t in this alone. We can make Summer help. I am sure Ivy and Harper will too. Probably even Laney. We can call in all reinforcements. You direct the show. We’ll help where we can. I did it before, remember? It didn’t turn out that bad.”
Of course, it didn’t turn out bad when he helped before. He had me so turned on and wet I would have begged for him to help me again. But this is entirely different. “I don’t want to fuck this up,” I say to him. My eyes drawn, hoping he understands.
“I know baby. But you won’t. You are amazing, like Summer said. And this could be an opportunity you don’t want to pass up.”
I nod into his chest as I silently give in.
He whispers into my ear, “Maybe you should break out that French cookbook and show everyone how incredibly talented you are.”
I peek a glance at him and smile. A newfound hope enters my bloodstream. This is an opportunity I can’t pass up. If I can succeed at those delectable French pastries, I could launch a career. And not just for me but Summer too. This wedding is a huge deal. Brooks knows it as much as Summer and I do. The wedding of a senator’s daughter. A huge exposure for the farm and for my baking if all turns out well.
I lean up on my toes as I kiss Brooks on the cheek. I turn around and face Summer. “Alright. I will do it. Brook is right. But I do need to negotiate with Jess. I am not making her a cake. That is not what I want to do or what I am good at, but I will make her a French wedding masterpiece she won’t forget.”
* * *
I have been baking for three days straight. I let myself get a few hours of sleep a night but other than that I am in the kitchen. Harper, Ivy, and Laney are here helping with every tiny detail I give them and have not complained once.
I was lucky that Jess was so agreeable with me. She loved the idea of a French pastry dessert bar. Her fiancé proposed in Paris. She was even fine without the wedding cake after I explained to her what I wanted to make.
Brooks walks into the kitchen as I whip up egg whites for my macarons. He grabs my hips and pulls me into him as he whispers into my ear. “You are amazing, Blue. But I wish all these people weren’t in the kitchen right now.”