While I nudged Ryan for his cheek, my sister sighed. “Zane Rafferty. I loved that man. I was convinced I was going to marry him. Then he had to go and die on me.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in marriage?” Leo asked.
“For him, I’d have done anything.”
Ryan shook his head at Sal. “Time to get back in the real world, love.” He indicated the kitchen countertop. “We’ve got a shedload of cakes to taste here.”
Leo laughed. “Ready when you are.”
Ryan picked up two forks. Handing one to Leo, he kept the other for himself.
“I’ll take that.” Sal snatched Ryan’s away.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
She handed it to me. “You…” my sister said to Ryan. “Can wait for the leftovers.”
Ryan tutted at the unfairness. “Bet you wouldn’t say that to Zanewhatshisname.”
“Damn right I wouldn’t.” Sal gave him a mock stern look. “Shouldn’t you be off collecting dinner?”
“Why?” He gestured to the various cakes on offer. “No one’s going to be hungry after eating this lot.”
Sal’s stare continued.
“Okay, okay.” Ryan put his hands up in defeat, before grabbing his keys from the table. As he headed out to leave, he paused and bowed his head in my direction. “Your majesty.”
“Go!” Sal said, laughing.
With her husband out of the way, she indicated the first cake. “Shall we get started?” she said, coming over all professional.
We didn’t need asking twice. Leo and I dug straight in.
“This one’s lemon and elderflower, known for being fragrant and refreshing.”
It seemed it was my turn to swoon. “With a light and delicate texture,” I said, going in for another mouthful.
“I like,” Leo said. “Sal, you’re a baking genius.”
Much to my disappointment, Sal indicated the glasses of water for us to drink from. As we moved on to our next sample, I could easily have loitered on the first. “This one is vanilla and raspberry,” my sister said. “The sweetness of one should complement the sharpness of the other.”
I took in the plump fruit that had been mixed into the sponge and eagerly stuffing it into my mouth, I couldn’t help but close my eyes while I chewed. “Oh, it does. And it’s so moist.”
“Tastes like summertime,” Leo said, smiling as we both dove in for seconds.
Again, Sal gestured to the water. “The next one is a white chiffon cake.”
“It is pale, isn’t it?” I said, putting a forkful into my mouth. “Ooh, it’s very light.”
Leo’s shoulders dropped. “It’s like a fluffy cloud melting in my mouth.”
“High praise, indeed,” Sal said, chuckling as she, once again, forced Leo and me to cleanse our palette. “Now on to the richer two. Starting with a chocolate cake.”
As soon as it hit my tongue, I knew I was in chocolatey heaven. “So creamy.”
“Definitely denser than the others,” Leo said.
“And finally…” Sal waited for us to finish our next round of water. “We have a traditional fruit cake.”
