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F I V E
- Lucy -
It was time to cut the cake, and I was in the front row. It was towering above me on a round table that looked as if it had been built just to display it. Curls of white chocolate lattice work cascaded over the edges as fluidly as if they hadn’t yet hardened and the voices of the crowd dropped to a whisper.
Claire and Dave both had their hands on the cake slicer, and they were about to sink the knife into the base layer when Claire stopped and looked up.
“Wait,” she said, putting her free hand on Dave’s shoulder. “Let’s let Lucy do it?”
“No,” I said. “I couldn’t.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Dave said, beckoning me over with his hand. “You should do it.”
I could feel everyone’s eyes on me as I walked over to the cake. Even Mr. and Mrs. Briggs seemed happy for me to cut it.
“Are you sure?” I asked as Dave handed me the knife.
“Of course,” Claire said. “I would be so honored if you would.”
I took a deep breath and laid the sharp edge down on the icing so gently it gave a little before the edge of the slicer broke through. The cake was dense but spongy and when I dragged the slicer out to make the second cut, the mild vanilla scent of the cake wafted up my nostrils. As I inhaled, I noticed some streaks on the slicer that gave away the fact that there was a hidden layer of fresh strawberries that I didn’t even know about.
And just as I was about to make the second cut I looked up and saw Aiden’s face. He was standing in front of the other guests just a few feet away, and he looked absolutely horrified that I was cutting his sister’s cake.
I opened my eyes and exhaled. It wasn’t true. That never happened. I didn’t even go near the cake. Plus, Aiden didn’t look horrified at all. On the contrary, he was sitting on the edge of the bed smiling down at me.
“Hey,” I said, my first words scratching their way out of my throat.
“Hey,” he said. “How did you sleep?”
“Good. You?”
“Like a log,” he said. “I brought you some breakfast in bed.” He cocked his head towards the nightstand.
I rolled my head to the side and smiled. “Is that the wedding cake?”
“Yep.”
I sighed. “I was just dreaming about that.”
“That’s disappointing. I was sure from the look on your face that you were dreaming of me.”
“That, too,” I said. “You were there.”
I stretched my arms up over my head and my eyes went wide when I realized I could feel the cool air on my bare skin. I tucked my scarred arm under the covers in one swift motion, hoping I wasn’t too late.
“Have you been up long?” I asked, noticing that Aiden was in a terry cloth robe.
“Just long enough to get us some cake.”
“That was very sweet of you.”
He laughed. “As if you were leaving here without trying the wedding cake.”
“So you only got it cause you’re trying to avoid a scene?”
“Or a tantrum,” he said. “I know how you get when everyone gets cake but you.”
“I’m not that bad.”
