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er.”
She laughed and poked him. “I don’t talk about the wedding more than a hundred times a day. Oh, my mom got her dress. It’s so pretty! I pooh-poohed every boring mother-of-the-bride type suit she tried on until she finally gave up.” Sherry let out her infectious laugh again. “It’s red. I mean serious, kick-your-ass red with glittery shoulder straps and a swingy skirt that’ll look great on the dance floor. Because, baby, my mom can dance. I’m going with Nick’s mom tomorrow to find hers. And she will not settle for fade-into-the-background matronly. I can’t wait to bend her to my will.”
Charmed, Laurel shook her head. “And some brides worry about being upstaged.”
Sherry dismissed the idea with a flick of her hand. “Everybody at our wedding’s going to look awesome. I’ll just make sure I look the most awesome.”
“No chance of otherwise.”
Sherry turned to Nick. “Any wonder I’m nuts about him?”
“None. How about a glass of champagne?” Laurel offered.
“Can’t, but thanks,” Nick said. “I’m working tonight.”
“The ER frowns on doctors with a champagne buzz.” But Sherry wiggled in anticipation. “But I’m not working tonight, or driving, since Nick’s dropping me off on his way to the hospital.”
Laurel poured a glass. “Coffee?” she asked Nick.
“Perfect.”
She poured, then sat back. “I just have to say working with the two of you and your families has been so much fun for all of us. I really think we’re looking forward to September as much as you are.”
“Then you’re looking forward a lot. And then, you’ve got the next Maguire wedding in December.” Sherry did another quick chair dance. “Carter’s getting married! He and Mac are ... Well, they’re just exact, aren’t they?”
“I’ve known her all my life and can honestly say, she’s never been happier. I’d love him for that alone, but just being Carter is plenty of reason on its own.”
“He’s really the best of us.” Sherry’s eyes filled, and she blinked quickly. “Wow, one sip of champagne and I’m all sentimental.”
“Then let’s talk cake.” Laurel tucked her hair behind her ears before she poured herself a cup of tea. “What I’ve got here are various samples for you to taste. Cake, fillings, frostings. From the size of your guest list, I’d recommend five tiers, graduated sizes. We can mix cakes, fillings for the tiers, or go with one for all. Whatever you want.”
“This is where I’m terrible, because I can never make up my mind. By the time we’re done here,” Sherry warned, “you’ll have stopped looking forward to the wedding.”
“I don’t think so. Why don’t I show you the design I have in mind? If you don’t like it, we’ll try some more until we come up with what works for you.”
Laurel didn’t sketch a design for every client, but Sherry was family now. She opened her sketchbook, offered it.
“Oh gosh.” Sherry stared and blinked again. “The layers—tiers—aren’t round. They’re—what is it?”
“Hexagons,” Nick supplied. “Very cool.”
“They’re like hat boxes! Like fancy hat boxes with all those flowers between, and all different colors. Like the attendants’ dresses. Not white and formal. I figured you’d do white and formal, and it would be beautiful but it wouldn’t be ...”
“Fun?” Laurel prompted.
“Yes! Yes. This is
fun, but beautiful, too. Special, beautiful fun. You designed this just for us?”
“Only if you like it.”
“I love it.You love it, right?” Sherry said to Nick.
“I think it’s great. And, man, this is a whole lot easier than I expected.”
“It’s a fondant frosting. I initially thought that might be too formal, but when I thought about tinting each tier to play along with the colors your attendants picked, it felt as if it showed off better, and suited your style.”
As Sherry simply beamed over the sketch, Laurel sat back, crossed her legs.
Nick had it right. This was a whole lot easier than expected.
“The flowers push more color so it’s bold and cheerful and anything but formal. Emma will work with me so we have the flowers keyed into what she does for you, and we’ll arrange more on the cake table. I did the piping in gold—and can change that if you’d like something else. I like the way it played off the colors, and thought we’d use a gold cloth for the cake table—set it all off. But—”
“Stop!” Sherry shot up a hand. “Don’t give me more choices. I love this, I love everything about it. It’s so us. I mean, you just nailed us with this. Look at our awesome cake.” Sherry tapped her flute to Nick’s cup.
“Okay, please avert your eyes while I indulge in unprofessional behavior.” With a grin, Laurel lifted fisted hands in the air. “Yes!”
Sherry bubbled out another laugh. “Wow, you really get into your work.”
“I do. But I have to tell you, I really wanted this design for you—and me. I’m excited about making it. Oh boy.” She rubbed her hands together. “All right, done. Now back to professional mode.”
“I really like you,” Sherry said suddenly. “What I mean to say is I didn‘t—really don’t—know you as well as I do Emma or Parker, and since Mac and Carter got together, I’ve gotten to know her really well. But the more I get to know you, the more I like you.”
“Thanks.” Laurel smiled at her. “It’s completely mutual. Now let’s eat some cake.”
“This is going to be my favorite part,” Nick said and reached for a sample.
It took a lot longer and entailed a great deal more discussion and deliberation to choose the inside of the cake than it had the outside. Laurel steered them, just a little, and in the end they went for a variety as delightful as the design.
“How will we know which is which?” Sherry asked as they started out. “Like which is the apple cake with the caramel filling or the mocha spice with the apricot or the—”
“I’ll take care of that, and the servers will offer a full complement as they pass or serve at the tables. If you want any changes, you only have to let me know.”
“Don’t say that,” Nick warned, and Sherry laughed again.
“He’s right. I hate that, but he’s right. I’m better off thinking it’s carved in stone. Wait until Mom and Dad get samples.” She shook the box Laurel had given her. “Thanks, Laurel, for everything.” She grabbed Laurel in a hard hug. “We should run over real quick and say hi to Carter and Mac.”
“I don’t think they’re home.” Laurel checked her watch. “She had an outside shoot, and she was going to drop him off at Coffee Talk. He’s meeting his friend. Bob?”
“Oh.Well. Next time.”
Laurel walked outside to wave them off, and decided it had been one of her most satisfying consults. Not only would she enjoy creating that cake, but they were so happy with it—and each other, she thought, catching the way they leaned into each other for a kiss as they approached their car.
In tune, she thought. That’s what they were, even though Sherry’s beat was often blindingly quick, and Nick’s more deliberate and thoughtful. They complemented each other,
got each other, and best of all so obviously enjoyed each other.
Love was lovely, she thought, but being in tune? That spoke of the long haul.
She wondered if she and Del were in tune. Maybe you couldn’t tell, not for certain, when you were inside the dance. They got each other, she mused, and certainly they enjoyed each other. But did they, could they, find a way to match their different beats?
“I missed them.” Parker hurried outside in time to see Nick’s car make the turn from top of the drive to road. “Damn it. I got stuck on the phone and—”
“Shock! Disbelief!”
“Oh, shut up. Friday night’s bride just found out she doesn’t have a bad case of the nerves or a stomach bug.”
“Pregnant.”
“Yeah, you bet. She’s a little
panicked, a little thrilled, a little stupefied. They’d planned to start a family within the year, but this is a lot closer to the beginning of their time frame than the end of it.”
“How’s he feel about it?” Laurel asked, knowing the bride would have told Parker everything.
“He had a moment of speechless
huh? and now he’s excited. And apparently very attentive when she’s dealing with morning sickness.”
“It says a lot about a guy if he can stick when you’re puking.”
“He gets the gold star there. She’s told her parents, and he’s told his, but that’s it. She wanted my advice on if she should tell her MOH, the BM, anyone else. And so on. Anyway, I was hoping to get down before Sherry and Nick left. How did it go?”
“I can’t think of a single way it could’ve gone better. It was one of those times when you’re done, you just can’t imagine being in another business. Or why anyone else would be. In fact, we should go in, pour ourselves a glass from the bottle of champagne I opened for Sherry, and toast ourselves for being so damn good.”
“Wish I could, so save me a glass. I’ve got a meeting in Greenwich. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Okay. I’m done for the day. Maybe I’ll take a swim, then have a glass of champagne.”
“Now you’re just trying to make me jealous. It worked.”
“Another layer of success to my day.”
“Such a bitch.”
Amused, Laurel watched Parker walk to her car in her pretty buttercream summer suit and hot pink heels.
She wondered idly if Emma was done for the day. They could take a swim together, laze around with a glass of champagne before Jack got home. She was in entirely too good a mood to be alone.
She considered her own heels—donned for the consult—and the walk down to the guest house. She could go inside and call, but if Emma wasn’t ready to quit, she’d have a better time convincing her face-to-face. Better to go in, change her shoes, and wander down to Emma’s and seduce her with pool time and champagne.
She went back in, changed to her kitchen shoes, then headed out from the back of the house.
