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“I’m sure Jesse will be happy for an extra pair of hands,” Margie said. “If he doesn’t invite you, offer to help.”
“What about me?” Ryan asked. “I could help too.”
Ashton threw his hands in the air. “There’s no point asking me if you can help,” he said. “If you offer to help me on the day of the party, I might put you to work weeding the vegetable patch or cleaning out the pig pen. Would that suit you both?”
Tyler wrinkled his nose. “Henry might eat me,” he said, referring to Ashton’s big boar. “And he stinks.”
“He’s meant to,” James said, giving his younger brother a withering look across the table. “He’s a pig.”
Ashton grinned. “Then, I guess you’d better wait and ask Jesse about it. He’s the boss of this occasion, not me.”
2
Lily Redman glanced at the number on her cell phone. She quickly wiped her hands and picked it up. She couldn’t afford to miss it; a new client might be calling.
“Hello, Simply Divine Catering, this is Lily.”
“Hello, Lily. Do you have a spare moment? My name is Jesse, and I’d like to inquire about catering.”
Lily beamed. “I sure do. What do you need to know?”
They discussed the details and arranged a time to meet to go through the menu and what services she would be providing. Jesse was interested in booking the catering and decorating package, a one-stop service she offered for parties and events.
After the call ended, she felt ridiculously pleased. This was the third new client she’d found in the past week. Obviously, her advertising was working, or her previous clients were doing a good job of recommending her. It was rewarding to see her hard work starting to pay off.
“What are you grinning about?” her housemate, Bec, asked as she wandered into the kitchen. “Mmmm, something smells good in here!”
“I was trying out a new recipe for rosewater cupcakes. I want something fresh and interesting for the afternoon tea I have coming up next week.”
“Ah, yes, of course. Am I allowed to be a taste tester?” Bec’s fingers hovered above the dainty pink cupcake platter.
“Yes,” Lily said with a grin. “Give me your honest opinion.”
Bec closed her eyes and savored her first bite. “This is delicious,” she announced a moment later.
Lily pulled her hair net firmly over her wavy, deep auburn hair. “Should I make it for afternoon tea?”
“Absolutely!” Bec’s green eyes shone. “This is amazing. You’re the best cook, Lil.”
“Thank you,” Lily replied.
“What were you so happy about before, anyway?” Bec asked, helping herself to another cupcake.
“Oh, I didn’t tell you, did I? I have a new client!” Lily clapped her hands together and did a little happy dance. “I’m meeting him tomorrow. He wants me to cater for a surprise party for his wife’s thirtieth birthday.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful news,” Bec agreed, wiping frosting off her top lip and then licking her finger. “Where and when?”
“In two weeks, out on his farm. It’s going to be a country theme in a barn. He’s thinking about taking the catering and decorating package. I seem to have quite a bit of interest in it from men arranging something for their wives. I guess it makes it easy for them.”
“I just love decorating for a party, said no man ever,” Bec grinned. “You’re going to kill it, Lil. You’ll own the most in-demand catering company in town.”
“That’s the plan,” Lily agreed.
Bec flicked her long, blonde plait back over her shoulder. “And I get to eat the experiments,” she grinned, and then looked down at her curves. “Living with you might be really bad for my figure.”
“I’ll try not to make such decadent goodies too often,” Lily promised, glancing down at her own trim figure. “It might be bad for both of us.”
“I’ll take any leftovers to work,” Bec said. “They’ll disappear in a flash.”
