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“Probably not.”
“Please go for it, Mom,” Layla pleaded. “You didn’t even really try at Auntie Nessa’s wedding. Skylar caught it.”
Charli glanced at Skylar in time to see her frown. She’d been much more excited about trying for the bouquet at Janessa’s wedding than she seemed to be now.
“We’ll see.”
Charli didn’t want to do it, but she also didn’t want to disappoint Layla. Perhaps she could take part by just joining in, but not actually trying to catch the bouquet.
“Can we go watch them cut the cake?” Layla asked.
“Yes. But make sure you’re not in the way.”
“Do you want to come with me, Lia?”
When the little girl nodded, the trio got up and made their way over to the table that held an elaborate cake. A cream-colored fondant covered the layers, along with an abundance of sugar flowers in the colors of the other floral displays in the room. The cake was a masterpiece, and Charli didn’t want to think about how much it had cost.
“Are you okay with Layla calling Amelia Lia?” Charli asked once the kids had left the table.
She’d heard Layla referring to Amelia that way for a few days, and she wanted to make sure that Blake didn’t prefer she not call her by the nickname.
“Yep.” Blake smiled, the skin crinkling at the corner of his eyes. “I actually think it’s kind of cute, and Amelia seems to like it.”
There were times when Charli saw the girls together that she felt strongly that she should tell Blake about Layla. The girls would probably be thrilled to discover they were sisters.
But the other things that needed to be considered weighed more heavily on her, and they were what kept her from revealing the secret she’d kept for so long.
“I sure appreciate Kayleigh and Hudson including me and Amelia today. She was so excited. I don’t think she slept much last night, and then she was up early, but it looks like she’s having a blast.”
“So is Layla. I thought she might get bored, but she’s having fun.”
“Kayleigh has set the bar high for Amelia’s expectations of what a wedding should be.”
“Well, hopefully she’ll have lowered her expectations by the time she gets married. Or she gets engaged to a wealthy man. I’m pretty sure much of this is due to Hudson’s stepmom’s efforts.”
“Really?” Blake glanced around. “I just assumed that Kayleigh was responsible for it.”
“Kayleigh chose the color palette, then let Candace and the wedding coordinator take over. They ran all their plans by Kayleigh, but Kayleigh said that she had no issues with anything Candace presented to her.”
It had kind of surprised Charli how hands off Kayleigh had been when it came to those details, as she tended to worry over everything. It had certainly led to a less stressful time for Kayleigh, which was always a good thing.
Charli leaned to the side to allow the server to place a beautifully plated dessert in front of her. Behind the young woman came another server to offer her coffee or tea.
Once she had a cup of coffee, Charli spent a few minutes sipping it before diving into the dessert. She wasn’t sure why they were having cheesecake when there was also wedding cake to share, but since she loved cheesecake, she wasn’t going to complain.
The first taste was creamy, sweet, and slightly tart. The cheesecake was Turtle flavor, so the topping was a mix of chocolate, caramel, and chopped pecans. In other words… divine.
She had just finished her last bite when Gareth spoke over the mic again, calling for all the single ladies to gather on the dance floor.
When Charli looked over at Skylar, her sister lifted her hands and shook her head. “Nope.”
“Mom!” Layla appeared in the space between her and Skylar. “You’ve got to get up there.”
“I really don’t think I need to.”
“Please, Mom!” Layla pleaded. “Please!”
Charli rolled her eyes. “Okay. Fine. But don’t get upset if I don’t catch it.”
