Toss the Bouquet (28 page)

“How many guests are you expecting?” Derrick asked. “The number of tiers depends on the number of guests.” He went on to share details about how many people each tier could feed, depending on the overall size of the cake.

“How do you know all that?” Crystal looked as amazed as I was.

“I know my cakes.” Derrick waggled his eyebrows. “My mom bakes wedding cakes.”

“What? Your mom is a baker?” Crystal slapped herself on the forehead. “Then what are we doing here?”

Phillip cleared his throat. “My parents suggested Crème de la Crème because all their friends use it. I think it's more of a social thing. Their friends expect it.”

“Right.” Crystal nodded and sighed.

Derrick shrugged. “No biggie. I think a wedding cake for three hundred might be more than my mom could handle, anyway. She's up to her eyeballs in other events around that same time, I think. But if you need anything for a bridal shower, for instance, I'm sure she'd love to be involved. She's pretty amazing.”

Hearing the man talk about his mom made me smile. So . . . he was easy on the eyes and a family guy as well.

My sister smiled too. Well, until her phone rang. She glanced down and sighed. “It's Sienna.”

“Ah.” I should've come up with a more enthusiastic response, but nothing came to mind. My gaze shifted to
Derrick as I tried to gauge his reaction. He was too busy staring at the cake samples to notice.

As Crystal turned her attention to the phone call, Phillip engaged Derrick in a conversation about an upcoming ball game. I tried to pay attention, but I found myself distracted by a loose strand of hair on Derrick's forehead. I wanted to take my index finger and nudge it into place. Instead, I cleared my throat and focused on the plate of cake samples, which proved to be equally as tempting.

My sister continued her conversation with Sienna in hushed tones, but I couldn't help but overhear. “It's okay, Sienna. Really. I understand.” A pause was followed by, “Oh, we're still sampling cakes.” Another pause. “Who? Oh, me, Phillip, Mari, and Derrick.”

I could hear the squeal come through the phone. Crystal pulled it away from her ear and made a face, then put it back. “You're hurting my ear, Sienna.” A long pause on Crystal's end followed. “Okay, okay, I'll give him the phone.” Crystal held out her cell to Derrick and sighed. “She wants to talk to you. Is that okay?”

He shrugged. “Guess so.”

A lengthy conversation followed between best man and maid of honor. I couldn't tell from the expression on Derrick's face if he was just tolerating Sienna or if he actually enjoyed talking to her. Either way, he handled the back and forth bantering with grace and ease. My sister seemed more than a little put off by the distraction from the cake tasting, and I didn't blame her, though it certainly wasn't Derrick's fault.

When the sales rep returned with a large piece of the
dark chocolate hazelnut cake, Derrick ended the call. He handed the phone back to Crystal, jabbed his fork into the new cake sample, and took a bite. Another look of near delirium appeared on his face. “Mmm. Okay, I've changed my mind. Forget the white with raspberry filling. I'm going with this one.”

I laughed and then reached for my fork, ready for a taste. I took one bite. Then another. Then another. Derrick jabbed his fork into the cake sample once again, our forks battling it out for the last tidbit of yummy goodness.

“Out of the way, Southpaw.” He gave me a wink as he nudged my hand away. “I let you win the first round with the nacho dip, but this one's all mine.”

“First round?” Phillip seemed perplexed.

“Nacho dip?” My sister gave me a curious look.

I didn't take the time to explain. I was too busy looking at Derrick and trying not to giggle as I remembered that night we'd met over the nacho dip. “Oh yeah?” I gave him a playful “You'd better watch out” look, then pushed his hand away. “Over my dead body.” I took another bite, then licked my fork clean. “Mmm.”

Okay, so maybe I flirted . . . a little. Who would blame me?

Across the table, Crystal cleared her throat. “Mari?”

I glanced her way and realized she was glaring at me. “What?” I wiped my lips with a napkin.

She pointed at the empty plate. “Excuse me, but Phillip and I didn't even get one bite of the chocolate hazelnut. You two ate the whole thing.”

“Oops.” I laughed.

“Guess you'll just have to trust us that it's the best.” Derrick flashed a boyish smile. “And if you can't trust your best man and maid of honor, then who can you trust?”

“I . . . I'm not the maid of honor, remember?” A little shrug followed as I fought the temptation to allow jealousy to surface. The look of compassion in Derrick's eyes brought comfort and wiped away any feelings of angst that might threaten to rise up. Was this guy great, or what?

It took him a moment, but he eventually nodded. “Oh, right. Well, you might as well be, Mari.”

Thank you!
I knew I liked him.

Crystal mumbled something under her breath about Sienna, but I didn't hear all of it. I was too busy staring at the smudge of chocolate frosting on Derrick's upper lip. I gave him a little nod and gestured to it. He reached for a napkin and wiped his mouth, then leaned back in his chair with a satisfied look on his face.

I felt pretty satisfied, too, but it had nothing in the world to do with cake. It had everything to do with the handsome guy smiling at me from across the table.

On the first Saturday in March, all the bridesmaids met
Crystal at the All Things Wedding boutique. Finding her wedding gown was my sister's main goal, but selecting our bridesmaid dresses—in a lovely shade of pink—was also high on the agenda. I'd never cared much for pink, but I vowed to keep my opinions to myself, at least in my sister's presence.

We arrived promptly at ten. Well, all but Sienna, who was noticeably absent. She came meandering in several minutes later with a massive shopping bag in her hand.

“Sorry!” She giggled. “I just can't come to the mall without going to the shoe store. They have the best sale going on right now. Aren't these adorable?” She pulled out a shoe box and opened it to reveal some strappy sandals with high heels. Very, very high heels.

“Shoedipity.” Cassie whispered the word in my ear. When I turned to give her a curious look, she added, “Wearing ridiculously uncomfortable shoes just because they look good.”

I bit my tongue to keep from laughing.

“They're cute shoes, Sienna,” Crystal said. “But we really need to stay focused. Today's all about the wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses, remember? We can talk about shoes another time.”

“Right, right.” Sienna gave the shoes another glance and then closed the lid on the box and pressed it back into the shopping bag. “What did I miss?”

You missed being on time
, I wanted to say. But didn't.

“We're just about to start the hunt for my dress,” Crystal said. “Mama and Grandma are going to be here in a few minutes. This is a special day for all of us, and I really want to—”

“Oh, look!” Sienna squealed. “It's Derrick and the other guys!”

Through the opening between the bridal salon and the tuxedo shop, I could see all the groomsmen standing with Phillip.

Sienna let out a whoop and took off running in their direction.

“So much for telling her what's on the schedule.” Crystal sighed. She walked over to Phillip and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then whispered something in his ear.

Phillip's gaze shifted to Sienna, who stood entirely too close to Derrick. Not that Sienna appeared to care. Her gaze never left the good-looking baseball player. On and on she rambled, her animated voice traveling the distance over tuxedos and bridal gowns.

Derrick's eye caught mine. He waved and called out, “Morning, Southpaw.” I couldn't much tell what he said next because Sienna reached to touch his face—
Really? Who does that
to someone she barely knows?
—and turned him, literally, back to her. I remained in the bridal shop, deliberately keeping my distance. Well that, and responding to the snide comments from the other bridesmaids, who all took aim at Sienna. I couldn't stop thinking about her hand on Derrick's face. A wave of jealousy washed over me, but I did my best to push it aside.

Minutes later Crystal dragged the reluctant maid of honor back into the dress shop, but the giddy young woman couldn't stop chattering. “Ooh, Derrick is going to look great in a tuxedo. Almost as good as he does in his uniform. Speaking of his uniform, he's got a game in just a few hours. I asked if he could get us tickets, but he didn't answer. Do you think I should text him and ask again? Of course, I'd have to ask Phillip for Derrick's number. Do you think he'd give it to me? Ooh, I hope so. Maybe Derrick will get me seats near the dugout. That would be amazing.” Off she went, talking about her impending trip to the ballpark.

Crystal clapped her hands together, just a few feet in front of Sienna. “Sienna.” When the chattering didn't stop, she did it again. “Sienna!”

Sienna startled to attention. “W-what? What, Crystal?”

“We're not here to talk about Derrick. We're not here to talk about baseball. We're not here to talk about shoes.”

“My shoes!” Sienna looked around, her eyes widening. “What did I do with my new shoes?”

I pointed to the floor, where she had dropped the shopping bag before running to the tuxedo shop. She picked it up and hugged it to her chest. “Oh, thank goodness. I'd hate to lose these. They cost me a fortune, even on sale.”

“Sienna.” My sister crossed her arms at her own chest. “Do you even remember why we're here?”

“Well, duh. To try on dresses that are going to make us look fat.” Sienna rolled her eyes.

Crystal's jaw clenched. “We're also here so you can help me choose my wedding dress. Remember?”

“Your dress? Isn't that why your mama and grandma are coming? I thought we were here to pick out bridesmaid dresses. And by the way, I can't stay long. I have to be at the tanning salon in an hour.”

Crystal groaned. “Mom and Grandma are coming, yes. But I need other opinions too. You are my . . . Maid. Of. Honor. Sienna.”

I loved the way my sister stressed those last few words.

“Right, right. But just so you know, it's not my shift. I'm working on my tan so I'll look good in my bridesmaid dress. So, really, it's all for you.”

Crystal groaned again, this time with an added, “Ugh.”

Sienna didn't seem to notice Crystal's distress. She appeared to be more than a little distracted by the guys. She turned to give Derrick a little wave, but he didn't respond. Instead, he and the other guys disappeared behind a group of mannequins. Thank goodness. Now maybe Sienna would pay attention.

My mother and grandmother arrived a couple of minutes later. Crystal headed off with them to start looking at wedding gowns and left Sienna in charge of bridesmaid dresses. Great. Just what we needed—Sienna making the selections.

We looked at a variety of dresses in pink, but the irritated maid of honor turned up her nose at every one. “I don't want
to look like a big ball of cotton candy.” She groaned as she held up a floor-length gown in a soft shade of pink. “Ick.”

“But that's the color Crystal wants.” Why did I even have to argue this point?

“And the bride always gets her way.” Cassie gave Sienna a stern look.

“Always.” Gillian emphasized the word with a nod.

Sienna's eyes sparkled with mischief. “Unless some clever bridesmaids convince her otherwise. You know what I mean?”

“Um, what
do
you mean?” Brianna's gaze narrowed. “You're up to something, Sienna.”

“Are you saying we need to somehow change her mind?” I shook my head. “That's not going to happen. She's wanted a pink wedding for as long as I can remember. We're not going to ruin this for her.”

“Did I mention I look terrible in pink? It totally washes me out.” Sienna rolled her eyes. “And anyone who's anyone knows this season's hot color is teal. You girls can talk her into that.” Sienna launched into a lengthy dissertation about how great teal looked against her tanned skin, but she lost me a few words into it. I would not be sucked into this game, no matter how much manipulation she used.

“Nope. We're not going there.” I glared at Sienna.

She stopped cold and stared at me. “Huh?”

“We're not going there. My sister's going to have what she wants. End of discussion.” I pointed to the rack of pink dresses and pulled out a really cute mid-calf gown in a shade of pink that had suddenly grown on me. “I think Crystal will love this one. What do you girls think?”

With the exception of the cranky maid of honor, everyone agreed.