Page 48 of The Best I Never Had

Before I can fully spiral that yet another family member knows our secret, Addy and Dawn, Owen’s other aunt and wedding planner extraordinaire, rush over to our table. Addy’s face is contorted in horror, a look she rarely lets anyone besides me see, and my heart kicks up.

“What’s going on?” I ask, jumping from my seat. I meet her halfway while Dawn continues on to the table.

Addy lets out a little hiccup-y sob. “I emailed all the vendors yesterday to confirm, and the baker wrote back that she can’t make the cake anymore. She broke her arm! What are the chances?”

She throws her arms up in the air, letting them slap back down on her legs with a thwack that echoes through the room.

“It’s okay, this is fine,” I say, digging my phone out of my back pocket. “They can’t be the only baker in town. We can find someone else. I’ll start making a list.”

“It’s pointless,” Addy says, swiping a hand at the tears streaming down her cheeks. “I reached out to every baker between Asheville and Tennessee, and this was the only person who was available on such short notice.”

“There has to be something,” I mumble as I search random key words.

Addy lets out a shuddering breath, before whispering just loud enough for me to hear, “How am I supposed to fit into this family for the rest of my life when I can’t even make a wedding that meets their standards?”

I grab her face between my hands, wiping away the remaining tears with my thumbs. “Stop. This is one day, and if they judge you for it not being perfect, then fuck them.”

Addy releases a shuddering breath. “But I don’t want to fuck them.”

The two of us stare at each other for a couple of seconds as the words fully process, then break into a fit of giggles. Addy’s eyes are still watery as she drops her forehead to my shoulder.

“That didn’t come out right.” She hiccups, half sob, half laugh. “I just want them to like me.”

Addy prides herself on being put together. On being the one all the foster families looked at as easy. She doesn’t see that she’s so lovable beyond the perfection, but a stressful wedding week is not the time to unpack her trauma.

I lift her head from my shoulder and kiss the top of it. “I’ll sort this out. You are going to walk down the aisle in five days, marry the love of your life, and then you’re going to eat the best fucking cake of your life. I promise.”

Addy’s eyes fill with tears again as she nods, and I let out a slow exhale. Dawn comes over, taking Addy’s hand in hers and towing her over to the table. She sits her down, and we take the seats on either side of her.

“Addy, you don’t need to worry about confirming things with the vendors. That’s my job as your wedding planner.”

Addy’s face goes a bit panicked. I can tell from Dawn’s expression that she’s trying to take some of the pressure off, but Addy hears she overstepped.

“I’m so sorry,” she says. “I just wanted to help since you’re doing all of this for free.”

She grasps Addy’s hand. “It’s my honor to help with my nephew’s wedding. I want you to enjoy your time here, not be buried under your to-do list all week.”

Addy releases a long breath and smiles her most agreeable smile.

“What about me?” I ask. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Dawn eyes me speculatively. “Can you bake?”

Addy lets out her little snort, then claps her hands over her mouth in horror. “Sorry. Tia’s not much of a cook.”

I smack her arm. “I could with the right guidance.”

She levels me with a get real look. “And you’re going to learn how to be an expert baker in a couple days? Last time you tried to bake cookies, your entire apartment complex had to evacuate.”

I stick my tongue out at her.

Dawn and Diana share a look across the table that I recognize all too well. It’s the same exchange Addy and I have had a hundred times when we were conspiring. Dawn slips her phone out, typing something and sliding it onto the table, face up. It lights up a second later, and she beams.

Dawn turns back to me with a smile that I can only call devious. “If you had someone in the kitchen guiding you, could you do it?”

“I mean, I don’t know,” I say, but then I look at Addy’s face, her once perfect makeup ruined by her tears, and I know I could figure out how to build a rocket to the moon if it would bring back her smile. “Yes, I can.”

She wiggles her eyebrows at Diana. “This could be perfect.”