AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good. Now get in the car.” I flashed him a smile and hopped in the driver's seat.
My heart came to a stop in my chest. The room spun around me, but even if I was standing perfectly still, I’d be able to see the cake was leaning. “Oh God.” Panic swirled around me. This couldn’t be happening. I promised Phoebe a perfect cake to go with her already perfect wedding. Seriously, everything had gone seamlessly, and she looked absolutely gorgeous. I couldn’t serve her the Leaning Tower of Buttercream.
“Hey, sexy—” Nero’s words cut off as he stared at me. “What’s the matter?”
Panic twisted my windpipe, making it impossible to speak. I pointed to the cake.
“What do you need?” He didn’t panic. He barely even reacted.
I turned to him, so grateful for this man. “I need time.” But as grateful as I was for him, he wasn’t a miracle worker. He couldn’t turn the clock back.
He kissed my forehead, and I closed my eyes, savoring his sweetness, trying to give myself one moment of peace before I allowed my defeat and self-deprecation to take over.
“You got this,” he said and took off for the door.
“Where are you going?” I called out.
“I’m going to get you time. Do what you have to do and trust me.”
He flashed that Grasso charm, and I knew not to ask questions. I grabbed my apron, tied it around my waist, and got to work.
I had no idea how this happened, but cake wasn’t like wood. It had a mind of its own, and it was all about proportions and balance. I got a chair, kicked my heels off, and stood on the seat. I needed to dismantle and reassemble, adding more dowers and hoping to all that was holy I’d be able to get it back together, looking as perfect as it did when I had left it.
Ignoring the negative commentary in my mind, I zoned in completely. I could hear Nero’s voice on the microphone just outside the door. Laughs and applause came in waves, but he was managing to keep the crowd from getting restless.
With the third layer off, I grabbed dowels and hammered them into place, crossing my fingers it would be enough to create a secure structure for the other tiers.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Sherry stepped into the kitchen, and she gasped when her eyes landed on me and the half-dismantled cake.
“It was leaning,” I admitted. “I don’t know how it happened. It could have just settled. It could have been the heat. I don’t know, but what I do know is I’m fixing it, and other than you and Nero, no one will ever know. Okay?”
“That’s why Nero is out there acting a fool. Luckily, he’s entertaining, and people are eating it up.” Sherry kicked off her shoes. “What do you need me to do?”
I sighed in relief. Sherry was one of the few people I would trust in this situation. “If you can hold these and hand them to me when I need them. That way, I don’t have to keep stopping.”
Sherry hurried to my side and took the dowels. “Nero skipped out of the rehearsal dinner last night,” she said. “You wouldn’t happen to know where he went, would you?”
“Austin broke the bottle of Pinot Noir I was using for this layer of cake.” I motioned to the tier I was currently doweling. “Nero brought it to me.”
“Then why didn’t he come back?” she asked.
My teeth slid over my lip as I focused on placing the next tier in place and pretending to ignore her question.
“You slept with him again.”
“You make it sound like a crime.”
“Seeing how you two were earlier, I assume he stayed this time.”
“He did.”
Nero’s head popped in the door. “How’s it going in here? I’m running out of material.”
“I need five more minutes.”
He sighed and ducked back out. A smile tugged and heat filled my cheeks.
“You’re in love with him.”
