Page 99 of Broken Pieces
I push him away as I laugh. “Well, I am glad they are here. The wedding is in eight hours. And I need to be out of this kitchen in six so the caterer can start with dinner.”
“What can I do to help?”
Summer looks over at him as she finishes placing canelés on a serving plate. “Are all the chairs set up?”
Brooks rolls his eyes at her. “Yes, dearest sister-in-law the chairs are all set up. The tables are out, and the centerpieces are being set by the florist and wedding planner. And the honeymoon suite is being prepared by your dear husband. There is really not much more we can do.”
“Good, good. This is all sounding good. What the hell is going to go wrong then today?” The panic in Summer’s voice makes everyone else in the kitchen laugh. We all know she is more stressed over this wedding than I am. She knows this could be a turning point for the farm. This could make it known as a luxury venue for all brides and would guarantee her business for life.
I don’t want to joke, but my hardest task is about to begin. “Well I could fuck up the Croquembouche and then all hell would break loose.”
“Don’t you even joke about that, Rae,” she scolds me.
I just laugh as I pipe out the egg whites for the macarons onto a baking sheet. “Don’t worry. I only attempted it in once and failed miserably. What’s the worst that could happen now?”
Her face turns red in anger. “Raelynn Calloway you are going to cause me to go into premature labor. You better guarantee that that damn French wedding cake will turn out.”
I set down my egg white bag and put my hands up in peace. “Don’t worry it will be fine. I may have stayed up until four in the morning the other night making a miniature one to make me feel better.”
Her eyes harden. “And what happened to it?”
“I ate it. It was fuckin’ delicious,” Brooks says as he pats his stomach. “I had to work out for three hours yesterday to burn it off.”
I push him away from me and go back to piping the macarons. “Don’t worry, Summer. I feel in complete control. And all of the help you guys have been giving me has made a huge difference.”
She finally relaxes at that statement. “Okay. Good. I am so nervous.”
Harper sets the Dacquoise down that she pulled from the refrigerator and wraps an arm around Summer. “This wedding is going to go off without a hitch. You’ve done so much to prepare for this. It will be a night to remember.”
“Thank you,” Summer says as she hugs Harper back.
“Okay, great. I am glad everyone is happy and ready for today. Now we need to get down to business,” I say as I clap my hands together. “Harper put the Dacquoise back in the fridge. It can come out when we are ready to serve it. Laney, these macarons need to sit on this sheet for an hour and then they go in the oven at three hundred degrees for seventeen minutes. Meanwhile, work on the buttercream filling. Make enough for three batches and then separate them and add the flavoring into the separate bowls.
“Summer you can start filling the eclairs. The filling is done and in the fridge. I labeled it. Harper, you can finish the Religieuse that we started yesterday. Let me know if you need help making the ganache, but I already made the whipped cream and filled it in the containers. Ivy I don’t trust you measuring a cup of water.”
Ivy laughs, “Duh. That’s why you’ve had me on dish duty these last few days.”
“And it was for the best. I need you to grab the rest of the desserts that are finished from the fridge and the ones off that counter. We are using the dining table to stage all the serving dishes. I know I can trust you to place the desserts on the dishes.”
Ivy grins at me, “As long as you know I might sneak a few.”
“I planned on that. Well and Brooks inability to not eat anything I bake.” He pushes me as I say it. “Alright now get to it.” I glance up at the clock, five hours and twenty-seven minutes until I need to be done. “Let me know if you have questions, but I am going to need serious concentration for my task at hand.”
Everyone disperses and goes to their jobs. Brooks pulls me back into his arms as he whispers into my ear, “That was hot. I like you bossy. Maybe you can do that in the bedroom. Like now.”
His mouth sucks on my ear before he presses kisses down my neck. It takes all my self-control to push him away.
“Alright, alright, no fun now,” he concedes. “What do you want me to do?”
I take a deep breath as I flip my cookbook to the one dessert I am not sure I can pull off. “You are going to help me with these pastry puffs and cross your fingers I don’t fuck this all up.”
He laughs at that while he ties an apron around him. One of the most adorable things I have ever seen. “Show me what you got, Blue.”