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Sarah snorted, her blonde ponytail swishing back and forth as she reached into the back of the vehicle and began to pull things into her arms.
“I am not a better baker than my mother,” she argued.
William paused, glancing at her conspiratorially.
“You are,” he said in a hushed tone, glancing back and forth as if he was afraid to be overheard. “But don’t you ever tell her I said that. I value my life.”
Sarah laughed and her spirits began to lift as they grabbed the final bag from the car and William hoisted the straps onto his already full shoulders. They waddled toward the front door of St. Nick’s Place, both of them completely weighed down with the items they held. Sarah looked at the cars already lining the driveway, realizing that more than a few people had arrived early, and it warmed her heart.
She easily spotted Derek and Lacy’s Honda Pilot near the front, and she smiled as they walked past it, hoping that Lacy had been excited at the surprise.
The moment that William opened the door to the massive house, noise floated out of it to greet them. A group of people somewhere in the house were singing a loud, enthusiastic rendition of “Joy to the World” to an equally as exuberant chorus of cheers and applause.
William chuckled, shaking his head as they made their way through the winding hallway toward the kitchen.
“Sounds like they’ve already broken into the champagne.” Sarah laughed, eliciting a snort of agreement from her fiancé.
They made it to the kitchen, and Sarah immediately cast a glance toward the dining room. There was no wall that separated the large, formal dining room and the kitchen, so it gave her an unobstructed view to the people that had begun milling about the space. She tore her attention away and began setting down her belongings at one of the workstations. Earlier in the week, she and Mindy had had an opportunity to chat and decided that since they were having trouble narrowing down their favorite recipes, each woman would bake a total of three pastries for everyone to sample, and the party goers would vote on their favorite collection.
Immediately after that, she and William had come to St. Nick’s Place to make sure that the kitchen was set up perfectly to handle two bakers creating that amount of food. She started pulling her supplies out of the bags but was immediately interrupted by someone rushing over to her.
“There you are!”
Sarah’s head snapped up, her eyes immediately falling on Lacy who was making her way over as quickly as she could. Her friend’s face was pulled up into a wide, excited grin, green eyes flashing with joy, and Sarah was immediately wrapped into a hug.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Lacy gushed, squeezing Sarah as tightly as her baby bump would allow.
The women finished embracing, stepping back so that they could grin at each other.
“Do you like it? The surprise?” Sarah asked nervously, making Lacy’s eyebrows shoot up.
“Like it?” Lacy clapped a hand to her heart. “I love it. I love you all for the work that you put into this.”
Sarah blushed slightly, grinning at her friend in appreciation. “Good.”
“Colette and Zach told me all about the bake-off.” She pointed over her shoulder, and Sarah glanced in the direction she indicated.
The two people in question were standing in the center of the dining room, talking animatedly to Louise, whose hands were waving wildly through the air. Colette’s brown eyes darted up for a second as her gaze landed on Sarah. The woman’s face broke into a welcoming smile, and she gave Sarah a small wave before turning her attention back to Louise.
“I’m so excited for all the treats,” Lacy continued excitedly, patting her rounded belly as she talked about the pastries. “What are you going to be making for us today?”
“It’s a surprise,” Sarah said mysteriously, giving her friend a wink.
Lacy made an excited face, going along with the intrigue of the answer. “Well then, I guess I’ll let you get to it, because it looks like your competition is here.”
She gestured with her chin in the direction behind Sarah, and Sarah turned to see what she was talking about. Mindy was making her way through the crowd, carrying boxes and bags of supplies, her blonde corkscrew curls bouncing merrily with every step. Sarah’s heart began to pound nervously at the sight of the other woman, but she tried her best to tamp it down as she turned her attention back to her friend.
Lacy placed a warm hand on Sarah’s arm, giving it an encouraging squeeze.
“You’re going to be great,” Lacy said earnestly.
“Of course she is,” came William’s voice from beside her, and Sarah threw a grateful smile his way.
He had finished unpacking her things for her, having it all laid out on the tables and he gave her a quick, swift wink.
“But Lacy is right. We should let you get to it.”
William leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before he and Lacy turned and disappeared into the crowd. Taking a deep breath, Sarah steeled herself as she walked toward Mindy.
