Holiday Wedding

by Robyn Neeley

  The image of a naked Drew sliding down the slope brought out more than one giggle. “He’s really trying to adjust his attitude toward the holidays,” she fibbed and reached out her hand. “I’m Lauren.”

  “James.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Well, we’re happy you are here. It’s all the town’s been talk—” He paused. “I should get back to work. I’ll see you around.”

  “Wait.” She reached for his sleeve. “What were you going to say?”

  “Merry Christmas?” he asked, with a sheepish grin.

  “No. You implied the town’s talking about us.” She narrowed her eyes. “Why is our being here such a big deal?”

  James smiled and reached down for a paintbrush. “We grant wishes.”

  “Right, Natasha told us that these toys go to disadvantaged children. That’s absolutely wonderful. Maybe next year, JDL Toys could get involved somehow. I’d love to partner with you.”

  “I’m sure the big guy would like that. He’s been spending a lot of time in the city these days.”

  “We’ll set up a meeting.” She reached in her purse for a business card, handing it to James.

  “Great, but definitely in the spring. He goes on an extended vacation after the holidays.” James nodded to a table where a woman was waving him over. “I should probably get back to work. I’ll see you tomorrow, Lauren.”

  “See you,” she chirped. “Wait, why will I see you tomorrow? What will we be doing?”

  He winked. “You’ll see.”

  • • •

  Lauren sliced the velvety white cake with her fork and took a bite. Her eyes rolled back as her tongue soaked in the sugar. “Drew, you’ve got to try this one.” She glanced behind her at her ex, who hadn’t let up in trying to reach his brother.

  His insistence that he talk to Luke was starting to get on her last nerve. If he acted like this the entire trip, it was going to be a long two weeks.

  He finally came over and slid on the bar stool, eyeing the Santa cap on the bakeshop owner’s head. “Don’t you find it odd that everyone in this town has an abundance of Christmas spirit?” he asked, pointing to the hat.

  “I think it’s charming.” She sliced into another cake. “Who knows? After a week or two, maybe some of it will rub off on you.”

  “Doubt it. Christmas is about fighting crowds, standing in line, and spending too much money on an overpriced gift for a kid who probably didn’t deserve it.”

  “Says the VP of the most successful toy company in the world.” She reached for the chocolate cake, knowing that chocolate was his favorite. Although Drew didn’t have the sweet tooth that Luke did, he never turned down a chocolate cake. She’d always made a point to make sure he had one on his birthday.

  What kind of cake had he had this year in Tokyo, and who’d baked it for him? She shuddered as Olivia’s face popped into her head and mentally drop-kicked it out of her mind.

  Perhaps a small bite would help Drew ease into the wedding cake selection task at hand. “How about trying this one?” She pushed her fork through the decadent slice and held it to his lips.

  “I’ll pass.”

  “Suit yourself.” She turned the utensil toward her and brought it up to her lips. “You have no idea what you’re missing.”

  “Okay, I’ll try.” He snatched her fork, took a bite, and then sliced into the cake for another.

  “Do you remember the wedding cake that we chose?” she asked.

  He grinned. “Yeah, it had some exotic fruit in it.”

  “It was Haupia.” She could almost taste the thick coconut milk and sugar from memory alone.

  “Wow, you remember that?”

  “I remember a lot of things about that day.”

  “Didn’t exactly go down as the wedding of the year, did it?” He pulled the chocolate cake closer to him and dug in.

  She’d known one bite, and he’d be a goner. “No, it didn’t. You know what was funny about the cakes?”

  “They all had exotic fruit in them?”

  Her lips turned up into a half-smile. “Well, that, too. What I was going to say is we didn’t pick them out. Kate and Miles did.”

  “No, we went with the haupi-dippity-cake.”

  She laughed at the butchering of its name. “Haupia, and we only chose that one because Kate and Miles said it was their favorite.”

  “Yeah, come to think about it, I didn’t really care for any of the cakes. Too exotic.”

  “None of those cakes was ‘us.’” She raised her fingers in air quotes.

  He grabbed a clean fork from the counter. “Well, payback’s a bitch. Let’s find one for Luke that doesn’t have sugar in it.”

  “Now, come on. That would be mean.” She studied the cakes in front of them. Two appeared to be some sort of chocolate cake and three were white buttercream. “These do look more traditional than the choices we had.”

  “This one has my vote.” Drew grabbed Lauren’s fork, giving her the last bite of the cake he’d polished off.

  The decadent chocolate melted on her tongue. “Very good,” she had to agree.

  “Done. Let’s go back to the cabin and work on our marketing plan for the Happily Ever After dolls.”

  “Not so fast. We’re not skimping on our wedding planning duties. We need to taste all of them or Miles will kill me.” She motioned to the untouched slices. “How about one of these buttercream cakes or a red velvet one, maybe?”

  “Why do we have to choose one?” He pushed off his stool. “You’re much better at this kind of stuff than I am. I’m going to try reaching Luke again. He can’t avoid me forever.”

  Lauren watched her ex move toward the bakeshop’s window. A few seconds later she caught his end of the conversation as he tried to sweet talk Luke’s assistant into patching him through. Would Drew be able to make it till next Friday if Luke kept ignoring him? And why exactly was Luke ignoring his brother, for that matter?

  She reached over and picked up a wedding cake binder the bakeshop owner had left for them. Flipping through its pages, Lauren’s eyes rested on a decadent white cake with a huge red bow on the top. The tiers were decorated with piped red ribbon and sparkly snowflakes.

  Her heart skipped as she thought about her own special snowflake still inside her purse.

  She hadn’t made her wish yet. It would be so easy to wish for her life with Drew back, but was it really that simple?

  The bakeshop owner appeared and leaned over the counter from the other side. “How’s the tasting going?”

  “They’re all so delicious. It’s hard to pick one.” She nodded toward Drew. “My partner in crime had to make a call, but I’m not letting him off the hook.”

  The bakeshop owner laughed. “Yes, it’s important that he like the cake he’s going to remember for the rest of his life.”

  Lauren blinked. She must think the cake was for them. Her finger pointed to the page open in the binder. “This cake is gorgeous and perfect for a winter wedding.”

  “It sure is,” the bakeshop owner agreed. “I made the exact cake a couple of years ago for a darling couple. They loved it.” She leaned in and winked. “That bride had gotten the last Christmas wish on the tree, too.”

  Lauren smiled politely. What was it with this town? Not only did they know her name, they also seemed to know her whereabouts.

  The old woman excused herself to the kitchen, saying to just holler if they needed anything.

  Lauren focused on the slices in front of her, realizing she was probably going to make this decision on her own. Chocolate or buttercream? Drew’s suggestion of mixing them up had been a silly one. She paused—or was it?

  She called out to the bakeshop owner, who popped her head out. “Yes, dear?”

  “Would we be able to have a different flavor for each tier?”

  The bakeshop owner nodded. “Absolutely, I can do whatever you two decide.”

  Whatever you two decide. That sentence made Lauren’s
heart skip a beat.

  She grabbed her fork because it was time to get serious. Kate’s tastes were definitely more aligned with her own. This shouldn’t be too hard.

  The white coconut cake she’d tried first was delicious and would remind the happy couple of their time in Hawaii, but then again the red velvet cake was calling her name, too. “Hey, Drew, I really need your help over here,” she said, adding a little agitation to her voice. It had used to work to get him to take out the trash or bring in the groceries on more than one occasion.

  Drew returned to the counter. “I can’t believe Luke’s ignoring me. Maybe I should have you call him.” He offered her his phone with a conniving smile. “I’m sure he’d pick up for you.”

  “First, I need you to try this.” She cut a slice of the red velvet cake and held the plate up.

  “We’re not going with the chocolate?” He pushed her hand away.

  “I think we should go with your idea.”

  “My idea?”

  “We’ll do the first tier in chocolate symbolizing Luke’s sweet tooth, a coconut buttermilk filling in the center paying tribute to their falling in love in Hawaii, and a festive red velvet for the top, celebrating their holiday wedding.”

  “You got all that from my saying we should mix flavors?”

  “What can I say? You inspire me.” She blinked up at him and then reached for the coconut cake. It bugged her that he refused to participate in the tasting, and she wasn’t going to let him get away with it. Drew was going to be a part of planning his brother’s wedding whether he liked it or not.

  He clapped his hands. “Awesome. So we’re done? We can head back to the cabin?”

  “Not quite. I really want you to taste all of them, not just the chocolate. Since you continue to resist, we’ll have to do it another way.” She picked up the white slice and shoved it in his face.

  “Definitely coconut,” he deadpanned while licking his lips. Grabbing the red velvet slice, he displayed the small plate in his palm.

  “You wouldn’t,” she breathed as her heart galloped.

  “No, of course not.” Scooping some white frosting from the cake with his finger, he reached over and coated her bottom lip.

  Her lips stayed parted. His tongue could come over and taste the frosting anytime now.

  He wiggled an eyebrow and then leaned in, lowering his voice. “Aren’t you going to taste it?”

  She pulled in her bottom lip and ran her tongue over it. “Delicious,” she whispered.

  “Good, because here’s more.” He pushed the red velvet cake into her face.

  “Drew!” Her hands went up to block him as he continued to mash it in. “Stop it.” She pretended to be mad, knowing he’d let up.

  He stopped and pulled a couple of napkins out of the dispenser.

  It only took her a second to grab the other slice and throw it at him. He blocked her hands, and pulled her close. Her arms immediately went around his neck as she studied his frosted lips. This wasn’t the kind of cake tasting she imagined they’d be doing. It was far better.

  A noise from the kitchen caused Lauren to move away. The bakeshop owner appeared with a huge grin on her face. “I see you two have selected your favorites.”

  “I think we have.” Lauren smiled, her heart full of hope. Who knew wedding cake taste testing could be so delicious?

  She watched as Drew excused himself to clean up. If they’d had this much fun choosing their own wedding cake, would they still be together?

  CHAPTER NINE

  Drew leaned back in the steamy Jacuzzi, letting the hot water jets do their magic. There was something to be said about relaxing in a hot tub in the brisk outdoors.

  He breathed in the fresh mountain air. Today had started out a little weird, but touching Lauren’s sugary lips, even if it was only with one finger, had been a highlight. If the bakeshop owner hadn’t appeared, would they have kissed? He was all but sure of it.

  If only the whole day had been about flirting with Lauren. But no, his brother had turned them into elves. Why had Luke sent them to Santa’s Workshop to make toys?

  Didn’t he want them to plan his wedding? Losing three hours this morning to paint train sets didn’t seem like the best way to hit the ground running.

  Today should have been devoted to the task at hand as they would spend the weekend pushing the Happily Ever After dolls at the festival.

  The dolls. Drew had beelined it to his laptop when they got back to the cabin. Only two more boy dolls were registered for the site to meet their matches. Two. Freakin’. Dolls.

  His head dropped to the left in frustration and his gaze lifted up to Lauren’s bedroom window. She had disappeared when they returned, saying she needed to get the rest of the frosting out of her hair. That was a couple of hours ago.

  Selecting the cakes—and then wearing them—had been the best part of this day. She had been absolutely right about their not choosing their own wedding cake. He let out a heavy sigh. Maybe if they had been more involved in all the different pieces of planning their wedding, things would be different.

  He should have given into his feelings and pressed his mouth to her frosted lips. But what if she’d pushed him away? Would he then have his answer to the question he didn’t have the balls to ask? Did she no longer love him?

  He sank down into the tub, letting the hot water massage his shoulders. Then there was Olivia. She’d sent three text messages earlier saying how much she missed him before going radio silent this evening. He wasn’t quite sure when he’d do it, but they wouldn’t be a couple for much longer. It was not only the right thing to do; it was the honest thing to do.

  “Hey, is there room in there for another?”

  His head flew up and his heart raced as he watched Lauren glide over in a white cotton bathrobe. She held her iPad in one hand and large ruby red towel in the other.

  “Depends.”

  “Oh, really.” She lifted an eyebrow. “On what?”

  He pointed to the iPad. “As long as you promise we’re not Skyping with Miles.” He drew an imaginary circle around the hot tub. “This is an annoying wedding-planner-free zone.”

  She giggled. “I can’t make any promises, but I’m pretty sure he has no desire to see us exposing so much skin.”

  His groin tightened as he waited for her robe to hit the ground. Was Lauren wearing his favorite lavender bikini? Three seconds later he had his answer as she removed her robe and slid into the Jacuzzi. Hello, string bikini. I’ve missed you.

  “This feels amazing.” She sat across from him, submerging into the water up to her neck.

  Yes, it does. He smiled. “So why did you bring your iPad down with you?”

  “We have an assignment tonight.”

  “We do?” He slid his palm underneath a jet, enjoying the pulse. “I don’t remember you saying there was anything else on the agenda for today.”

  “Miles e-mailed it over while we were tasting wedding cakes.”

  “So what does my brother want us to do now?” he asked reluctantly. Leave it to Luke to interrupt what could be a perfect evening. Why couldn’t they just enjoy the night? He wasn’t leaving the Jacuzzi anytime soon, not with Lauren in it.

  She grinned. “He wants us to pick out their song.”

  “Their song?”

  “Their wedding song. For their first dance.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding.” He cackled. “Luke’s too lazy to pick out his own freakin’ song? ‘Rump Shaker.’ There, done. Let’s enjoy the hot tub.” He slid down, submerging his head for a couple of seconds before reappearing.

  Lauren gave him that familiar look like he was freakin’ out of his mind. “We are not picking that song. Let’s just relax and listen to the playlist Miles sent over.” She twisted her body over the side, giving him the opportunity to enjoy her back.

  He bit his lip as his gaze rested on the tip of her bikini bottom peeking out from the water. “Fine.” He sat up. “Have it your way.”

>   She laughed.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Miles said in his e-mail that he’s already gone ahead and booked a DJ for the reception. DJ Dancer.”

  “Sounds like a winner.”

  “Let’s listen, shall we?” She started the playlist and a familiar Tony Bennett tune filled the air.

  “That’s nice.” Drew strummed his fingers on the sides of the Jacuzzi. “‘The Way You Look Tonight.’ Classic. I like it.”

  “Too dated.” She wiggled her nose. “I see them dancing to a more contemporary song. Maybe the next one.” Settling back into the water, her gaze went up toward the mountains.

  “It’s pretty breathtaking, isn’t it?”

  “It sure is.” Her face lit up. “I bet your legs are itching to slide down those slopes.”

  More like his tongue, and the slope he wanted to attack started at her earlobe and went down her neck. “It’d be nice,” he said, adding with sincerity, “But this is nice, too. Real nice.”

  Her expression softened and she reached for her iPad. “Let’s try another song.”

  He shrugged. “I liked my first choice.”

  Sonny and Cher’s classic tune came on next. Drew fist pumped the air. “I stand corrected. This one is perfect.”

  “You can’t be serious.” She paused and scrunched her nose. “Are you?”

  Drew started to sing the iconic lyrics with a pretend microphone, belting out the infamous line, “I’ve got you, babe.”

  Lauren pushed her palm in front of her, signaling him to stop. “Next.”

  “Suit yourself. Where did Miles get this playlist, anyway? Cheesy wedding songs dot com?”

  “He said Luke e-mailed it over.”

  “That explains it. Luke probably grabbed the first playlist he found on the Internet. Mr. Wouldn’t Know Fun If It Bit Him in the Ass has probably never heard of any of these songs.”

  “Luke knows how to have fun,” she defended him.

  “Name once in the time we were together you saw him cut a rug.”

  She grinned. “What about the summer we all went to Spain? I seemed to remember him letting his hair down and running around the city.”

  “That’s because we were avoiding being trampled by bulls.”