How to Bake the Perfect Wedding Cake (12 page)

The car swerves a bit to the side. “Jack, be careful.”

“I am careful. If you want to be a backseat driver I can pull over and you can switch seats.”

I nudge his arm. “Haha.”

“Now that I think of it, I wouldn’t mind hopping in the back seat with you.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

I can’t help but laugh.

Jack glances over at me. “Do you have a Reykjavik snow globe?”

My cheeks blaze. I swallow. “No.”

Jack guides the car over some bumps. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Why? Iceland isn’t exactly a go-to destination.”

“Anywhere with you is a go-to destination for me.” His eyes meet mine and I’m melting like an ice cube on a hot summer night. “Besides, Iceland is meant to be amazing. Northern lights, the Blue Lagoon hot springs, amazing food… It could be the ideal honeymoon destination, snuggled up with you in front of a roaring fire?”

I pull a face. “I had beaches and sunshine in mind for our honeymoon.”

Jack grins. “Well you in a bikini is also ideal.” He winks at me as he pulls into a parking spot and I’m delighted at the sign above. Mariscari’s—it’s an Italian seafood place. We haven’t been here together. I’m hoping tonight will be a treat besides it being a work dinner.

We make our way to the entrance of the restaurant and I glance up at Jack. His at-ease face is missing. There is a crease between his eyebrows that I’ve not seen before. Is he nervous?

At the host stand Jack advises the hostess of our party and she leads us to the back of the restaurant where a group of six people are already seated at our table. I’m guessing we are late.
Damn.

The line on Jack’s forehead is gone and he’s beaming a winning the lotto kind of smile. He is over-smiling almost. This is the first time I’m seeing him in a work environment. Granted I saw him at Vintage Estates but that was something he inherited, whereas these architecture people are from a business he built himself.

“Jack, it’s not like you to be late.” A woman in a red power blazer cocks her head to the right and glances at her watch. Who wears watches?

Jack lets out a hard chuckle. “Kristen, this is Lauren—her beauty alone makes me late to things. I have to constantly catch my breath. I can barely keep up with her.”

I raise an eyebrow. Wow. Okay. I grab on to the chair in front of me. If Jack didn’t have his hand on the small of my back I’m sure I would swoon backwards like in an old movie. But I don’t need a fainting chair because Jack is here with me and he’s already got his hand on me like he wants me to know he won’t let me fall. Physically. Emotionally, I’m already gone. I’ve fallen. This is obvious.

And I was the reason for us being late. Right now I want to be the reason we exit and have a romantic dinner together. Jack is too much.
Almost.

Kristen stands and she swipes her dark hair out of her eye before offering her hand to me. “Lauren, it’s so great to finally meet you. Jack has changed from Mr. Grumpy Grump to a semi-decent person to be around since the two of you got together.”

I let out a small laugh. Jack’s eyebrows furrow. I can tell he is not really bothered by her statement and I shall save this one for later to joke about with him in private. Jack as a Mr. Grumpy Grump? I can see this because during our first encounter at the pecan farm he wasn’t exactly buckets of kindness. “It’s great to meet you too.”

Jack squeezes my arm. “This is Patrick, Kristen’s husband. And AJ and Joe, and finally Anders and Katie.”

I shake hands with everyone before sitting down, next to Kristen. A waiter approaches the table and Jack orders a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. I almost want to interrupt and ask that they make sure it’s a magnum. I want to wash away my workday blues and really enjoy this dinner.

“So, congratulations, what’s the date for the wedding?” Kristen is eyeing me with excitement. It’s almost as if I can see her reminiscing about her own wedding. And how she planned things. Weddings and babies are very similar for women. They bond over them. Colors, flowers, cakes, places, names, and the experience of it.

“Thank you, our wedding is set for October twenty-second.”

“Do you already have your dress?” Patrick inspects my face.

“Ha, ah no not yet. I’ve just begun the hunt.” I laugh.

“This woman does not settle either.” Jack beams at me. “She is big on details and sees the whole picture. And sometimes she likes to break the rules. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.” Jack squeezes my hand under the table. My insides are on fire. I know what he’s talking about. I refused to wear a hair net while we were baking pecan pies together. It became a very hot situation between us and it wasn’t the ovens. It was the heat that radiated off of Jack.

“It’s been really fun trying on all the different dresses. I had no idea there were so many options.” I laugh again.

“Isn’t it the best? I loved trying to figure out which one I should get. Picking out a dress is a big deal. I’m the analytical one in this outfit, not an artsy thing about me, and it took me months. Isn’t that right, Patrick?” Kristen pats her husband’s arm.

Patrick nods. “Yes, but I almost think the venue was a bigger deal. It took us forever to decide on a location and then the music.” He rolls his eyes.

Kristen laughs. “And don’t forget the food. How many argu—discussions did we have about the food?”

Patrick laughs with her and their foreheads touch.

“Well, Joe barely gave me enough time to make it a wedding at all. What was it, honey, like a week’s notice?” AJ jabs her husband to her right. He glances up from his breadstick dipping frenzy and laughs.

“Hey, AJ, when you know you’ve found the right one, why wait? Right?” He laughs and I can’t help but join in with him. It’s endearing and sweet.

“What about you?” I glance at Katie and Anders. Both reach for their glasses. Crap. Obviously, this is a question that neither want to answer. Jack’s eyes are on me and he shakes his head.

“All right, appetizers, yes?”

“You’re the boss,” Kristen says with a laugh. “But not for long—right, Lauren? Remember the man might wear the pants, but the women control the zipper.” She laughs. My face heats. “I’m just teasing you, sweetie. Have you two decided when you’re going to have kids? Don’t wait too long. People wait too long these days.”

The waiter returns with the wine, perfect timing. Thank goodness. I don’t want to discuss when we are going to have children with Jack’s co-workers, no matter how sweet they are. I want to push fast forward on the production of popping the cork and offering it to Jack to sniff. It would certainly be a faux pas if I just reached for the bottle and took a long hard swig. I maintain my self-control and wait for the proper moment when the waiter offers a glass for me to sample.

I take the glass and avoid the normal swirling and take a sip. A polite sip. One that says yes, this is good. Though it is—the Cabernet is woodsy from the oak barrel it obviously was stored in—but I’m sensing heavy clay. This wine must be from Chile or something. It’s so earthy and the tobacco notes complement it well. I’m assuming Jack is going to want to pair it with steak.

The waiter fills my glass to a bit under halfway. I’m not being pessimistic about the pour—it really is a little shallow. It should be at the halfway point. Despite this being a Michelin-starred restaurant, they might need to skill their staff with the proper wine pour. I say nothing. I wouldn’t say anything even if it was just Jack and me, but I definitely wouldn’t in front of his co-workers.

“So where will you guys live?” AJ winks at me.

“I’ve got— We have a place not far from here.”

“Right, where you are staying now, but after the wedding, will you get someplace bigger? Jack mentioned it wasn’t that big,” Kristen says as she takes a sip of her wine.

“Um, it’s a three-story townhouse so not small by any means. But actually Jack found us a beautiful home with more space and land.” I glance at Jack and smile. He returns my grin with a sparkling dose of happiness. His eyes are always filled with love. My insides warm. “I guess we’ll be moving in there soon.”

“Sounds perfect for all the kids you’re going to have. Those youngins will need room to roam.” AJ lets out a soft laugh. She is funny. I could see us hanging out. Maybe when I do have kids. But that’s a ways away. Not anytime soon.

I take in a deep breath and inhale the notes of the wine. I’m being whisked away into a forest with a depth and certainty…it’s so far from this moment of questions. I want to dive into the wine and swim off to this earthy-flavored destination and forget about the future and planning, and babies for tonight. I let the heaviness of the wine lie upon the back of my tongue and take another sip. This is heaven. Tasty wine. Better than my glass earlier at Shantilly’s. An amazing man and fun chat with new friends. I want to get to know Jack’s co-workers and find out about them and what their relationships are like with Jack. Obviously I won’t ask any more relationship questions—at least not of Katie and Anders.

“So, Lauren, Jack says you are some sort finance whiz? What’s that like having two lefties in a relationship?” Kristen’s brown eyes are warm and full of cheer and she’s delivered a question that has never crossed my mind. How is this possible?

“Oh, um…well I’ve never really thought about it—odd, right?” I let out a laugh and take another sip of my wine.
Bring on the courage.

“That’s so funny. See, Patrick and I well…he is the artsy one. He’s a glass blower and, well, you know I’m an architect like Jack. Anyways, I just didn’t think I would end up with an artsy person, you know?” She laughs at me and our glasses clink together as if we are sharing an inside joke.

Patrick clears his throat. “Yes, except you aren’t all numbers and lines. And even if you were there are other areas where you are definitely not left-brained.”

Kristen’s face turns a shade of crimson and I catch Jack’s eye. He winks at me. He sends me over with a quick movement of his lid. He could make me swoon a thousand miles away. He could make me swoon with one word. We have our special word.
Ready.
I’m so ready for him and for us and our wedding. We are so connected. It was like we were on two separate boats drifting out in our own seas of possibilities and now our boats have linked up. Maybe this is why he wants the bigger house? Like if we were at sea we wouldn’t want to be in our two separate boats; we would want one boat. I semi-understand his bigger house idea, now. His eyes bore into mine like he knows what I’m thinking and like it’s just us at this table. I know it isn’t but we are sharing a moment that makes everything better.

Our dinner progresses and finally Katie and Anders open up a bit too. I’m guessing they are on the cusp of becoming engaged but it hasn’t happened yet. Which makes sense for my earlier question and the response from the table.

Kristen is nice—I could see us hanging out again as couples. Playing
Cards Against Humanity
even. She has a wicked sense of humor.

AJ and Joe are older but their relationship is sweet and kind—the type that you know will last forever.

When the bill arrives everyone grabs for their wallet except me. I know there is no way Jack would let me pay, so why should I play the game of “oh no let me”?

The waiter has a worried look upon his face and Jack eyes him with a stern politeness that oozes control. He gives him the card and waves off everyone else and their protests. I’m sure the bill was really expensive. But it is nice being with someone this generous, whether he is expensing it or not. I gulp.

We haven’t had a proper money talk yet. He avoided my last attempts to set some guidelines. I have no idea if Jack has a grocery cart full of credit card debt or if he is loaded. Well, I know he has plenty of money for Vintage Estates, but should I be concerned about anything else? I’m sure there is a book on questions you should as your soon-to-be-spouse. Maybe, I’ll go to the bookstore tomorrow and grab one. Not that I need him to support us; I also have a career. But we should probably talk about this again properly. And soon.

As the dinner comes to an end we each make it to the valet stand and give our goodbyes. Kristen hands me her card. “Call me if you need anything. We just uprooted from Dallas and I’m really missing out on my girl time.”

My insides warm over. “Oh thank you, yes I’ll definitely call. It was great to meet you.” It’s a little cool. I rub my arms. “Jack, I forgot my blazer. I’ll run back in and get it.”

Jack glances down at my feet. “I’ll get it. Walking on stilts always takes longer.”

I roll my eyes and laugh. He gives me a wink and rushes back into the restaurant.

“Hey, Lauren, it’s seems like we are always running into each other.”

I take a step back. “Trent.” What is he doing here? And why is he talking to me like nothing’s happened?

“You look good. Do you want to grab a drink? Sevens is right around the corner.” He takes my arm and tries to pull me in the direction. Alcohol reeks from his breath. I shake my head and take a step back but his grip is too tight.

“Trent, let go of my arm.”

“Come on, one drink. Seriously, we need to talk.”

I can’t help but laugh. “No thanks, I’m good.” Wasn’t my disgusting reaction to his kiss earlier enough to put him off? I try and pull my arm back again but it’s as if his grip has tightened. “Trent, let go of my arm.”

Trent’s eyes are cold. Like he is angry. He has no reason to be angry with me. I am the one who should be upset and I am about two seconds away from yelling.

A large hand smacks his arm down—a hand I would recognize anywhere. Jack’s.

“Hey, man, what’s your problem?” Trent steps towards Jack. Oh great. This is not going to go well. I take in a deep breath and hold it. My heart is beating fast. Do not have a panic attack in this moment. After recent events I know there’s a chance I’m going to have one. But not here. Not in this moment.

“My problem is that you had your hand on my fiancée and I don’t take kindly to that.” Jack moves in closer to him. They are almost matched for height but Jack seems taller and stronger even against Trent’s large frame.