by Nora Roberts
“There might have been some mention of a suitably patriotic cake. And we thought we’d go over to Gantry’s after, for some music. ”
“I’m not designated driver. If I bake, I get to drink.”
“Reasonable. We’ll make Carter do it,” he decided and made her laugh. “We can all fit in Emma’s van.”
“That works for me.” It was all working for her, she thought as he turned in the drive.
She was going to have to keep a careful eye out for pianos.
SHE DECIDED TO GO WITH A FIREWORKS THEME, WHICH MEANT working with a lot of spun sugar. Probably silly to go to so much trouble for a park picnic with friends, she thought as she threw heated strands from her whisk to the wooden rack, but also fun.
She’d use the strands to form exploding fountains on the cake she’d already piped out in red, white, and blue. Some gum paste flags around the border, and you had a winner.
Enjoying herself, she began to form the fireworks with the sugar strands made pliable with just a touch of beeswax.
She stepped back to check the first formation, and nearly yelped when she saw a man in her doorway.
“Sorry. Sorry. I didn’t want to say anything when you were working. Afraid I’d screw you up. Nick Pelacinos, from the last-minute engagement party?”
“Sure.” He had a summer bouquet in his hand that made her think: uh-oh. “How are you?”
“Good. Your partner said I could come back, that you weren’t working, but ...”
“This isn’t for a job.”
“It ought to be.” He stepped closer. “Fun.”
“Yeah, it is. Spun sugar’s like a toy.”
“And your hands are full with it, so why don’t I just put these over here.” He crossed over to set the flowers out of the way.
“They’re beautiful.” Had she flirted with him? Yes. Sort of. “Thank you.”
“I have my grandmother’s recipe for the lathopita.”
“Oh, that’s great.”
“She gave me orders to deliver it in person.” He took a recipe card out of his pocket, laid it beside the bouquet. “And to bring you the flowers.”
“That’s awfully sweet of her.”
“She liked you.”
“I liked her, too. How about some coffee?”
“No, I’m fine. Her third order was for me to ask you out to dinner—which I’d intended to do anyway, but she likes to take credit.”
“Oh. And that’s sweet of both of you. But I’ve actually started seeing someone recently. Well, the seeing part is recent. Sort of.”
“My grandmother and I are disappointed.”
She smiled a little. “Can I still keep the recipe?”
“On the condition I can tell her you only turned me down because you’re madly in love with someone else.”
“That’s a deal.”
“And ...” He took out a pen, turned the recipe card over, and wrote something down. “My number. You’ll call me if things change.”
“You’ll be the first.” She took a strand of sugar from her rack, offered it. “Have a taste.”
“Nice. As consolation prizes go.”
They grinned at each other as Del walked in.
“Hi. Sorry, I didn’t know you were with a client.”
Awkward, Laurel thought. “Ah, Delaney Brown, Nick—”
“Pelacinos,” Del said. “It took me a minute.”
“Del, sure.” Nick held out a hand for a shake. “It’s been a while. How are you?”
Or not awkward at all, Laurel decided as the two men settled in.
“I talked toTerri and Mike just a couple weeks ago. Are you in the market for a wedding cake?”
“Me? No. I have a cousin getting married here in a few months.”
“Nick’s grandmother’s visiting from Greece,” Laurel put in, in case they’d forgotten she was there. “We had a pre-event event so she could see the setup.”
“Right. I was by that night.”
“You should’ve joined the party. It was a good one.”
“I glanced in for a minute.You got Laurel on the dance floor.” Del glanced at her, deliberately. “Big night.”
She went back to her spun sugar. “I got a recipe from the matriarch out of it,” she said with a smile as sweet as her sugar. “That’s a major night for me.”
“I’d better get going. I’ll let my grandmother know I made the delivery.”
“Tell her how much I appreciate it, and I’ll try to do her proud at the wedding.”
“I will. Good to see you again, Laurel. Del.”
“I’ll walk you out. What’s your handicap now?” Del asked as they left the kitchen.
Laurel frowned after them until she realized Del was talking golf. With a shake of her head, she tossed more sugar. It wasn’t as if she’d wanted the moment to be awkward or tense. Jealousy was weak and self-absorbed and irritating.
But a little hint of it—like beeswax in spun sugar—couldn’t hurt.
Nick had asked her out, after all. He’d even left his number where she’d see it every time she took out the recipe for lathopita. Which had been very clever of him, now that she thought of it.
Of course, Del didn’t know that, but he could infer it, couldn’t he? And so inferring be just a little irked or something instead of all “how’s it going, how’s the golf game?”
Men, she thought—or rather, men like Del—just didn’t get the subtle nuances of a relationship.
He came back in a few moments later. “That’s great,” he said nodding toward the cake as he opened a cupboard. “Want a glass of wine? I want a glass of wine.”
When she shrugged, he opened a bottle of pinot and poured two.
“I didn’t know you were coming by” She ignored the wine for now as she added the dazzle of sugar fireworks to her cake.
“I’m staying over, since we’re all leaving from here tomorrow. Mrs. G’s going with some of her friends, but she’ll see us there. She’s bringing enough food to feed the village.”
“Yes, I know.”
He sipped his wine and watched her. “Flowers, huh?”
She shrugged and kept working.
Casually, and in long-standing habit, Del opened a canister for a cookie. “He’s not your type.”
She stopped long enough to arch her eyebrows. “Really? Attractive, considerate men who work in the food industry and love their grandmothers aren’t my type? I’m glad you let me know.”
Del crunched into the cookie. “He plays golf.”
“Good God! That was a lucky escape.”
“Twice a week. Every week.”
“Stop it. You’re scaring me.”
He pointed with the cookie, then took another bite. “And he likes art films.You know, the kind with subtitles and symbolism.”
She paused to take a sip of her wine. “Did you date him? Bad breakup?”
“Funny. I happen to know someone who did.”
“Is there anyone you don’t know?”
“I’m his cousin Theresa’s lawyer—and her husband’s. Anyway, Nick’s more Parker’s type, except his schedule’s nearly as insane as hers and they’d never manage to get together anyway.”
“Parker doesn’t like art films, especially.”
“No, but she gets them.”
“And I don’t because, what, I didn’t go to Yale?”
“No, because they’d annoy you.”
They did annoy her, but still. “There’s more to types than cinema choices and golf. He’s a good dancer,” she shot out, and hated the defensive tone in her voice. “I like to dance.”
“Okay.” He stepped over, put his arms around her.
“Cut it out. I’m not finished with the cake.”
“It looks good.You look better, and smell really good, too.” He sniffed at her neck. “Sugar and vanilla. I didn’t recognize Nick when you were dancing with him.” He turned her smoothly, right, then left. “It was crowded. And I was looking at you. Really, I was just looking at you.”
“That’s pretty good,” she murmured.
“It’s pretty true.” He dipped his head to brush her lips with his. “Hi, Laurel.”
“Hi, Del.”
“If you give Parker those flowers, I’ll buy you some more.”
It was, she thought, the perfect amount of beeswax in the sugar. “Okay”
HOLIDAYS, THE REAL DEAL WITH NO WORK ON THE SLATE, WERE SO rare Laurel’s internal clock woke her at six sharp. She started to roll out of bed when she remembered she didn’t have to roll out. She snuggled back in with the same sort of giddy wonder she’d felt as a child with an unexpected snow day.
Even as she sighed and closed her eyes again, she thought of Del in another bed, conveniently close by.
She could get up after all, sneak into his room, into his bed. All bets off.
It was Independence Day, after all. Why not be independent? He wasn’t likely to complain or yell for help. She could change into something sexier than her tank and boxers. She had the equipment. The blue teddy would do the job. Or maybe the silk chemise with the pastel flower pattern, or ...
Thinking about it, she fell back to sleep.
Opportunity missed, she thought as she wandered down to the family kitchen nearly three hours later. Probably for the best as the others would surely gloat about her and Del losing the bet. This was the best way, the way to show they both were adults with willpower and sense. Just a couple more weeks, really, so no big deal.
Breakfast scents and voices filled the kitchen. And there he was, looking all gorgeous and relaxed, drinking coffee and flirting with Mrs. G. She could only wish she’d followed through on that early-morning thought.
“And she’s up,” Mac announced. “Just in time. We’re having the ginormous holiday breakfast, which, thanks to Del’s persuasive powers, includes Belgian waffles.”
“Yum.”
“I’ll say. We’re going to do nothing but eat and fat-ass all day, until we go to the park and eat and fat-ass there. Including you.” Mac pointed at Parker.
“Not all fat asses are created equal. I’m going to do a little reorganizing in my office. It relaxes me.”
“Your office is already organized to Obsessiveville,” Emma pointed out.
“It’s where I live, where I make my home.”
“Nag the girl while you finish setting the table,” Mrs. Grady ordered. “I haven’t got all day.”
“We’re eating on the terrace because, holiday.” Mac picked up a stack of plates, shaking her head when Carter started to take them from her. “Uh-uh, cutie. Grab something unbreakable.”
“Good thought.”
“We’re having mimosas, like grown-ups.” Emma handed Carter the bread basket. “What this is, is a prelude for our vacation next month, where every day’s a holiday”
“I’ll tend bar.” Jack hefted the champagne and a pitcher of orange juice.
“Someone should’ve woken me up. I’d have given you a hand with this, Mrs. G.”
“Under control.” Mrs. Grady flicked her spatula. “Get the rest out there.We’ll be ready in two minutes.”
“Nice start to the day.” Laurel glanced at Del as they carried platters outside. “Your idea?”
“Who wants to be inside on a day like this?”
Laurel remembered how often there’d been fun summer meals on the terrace when she’d visited as a child. Flowers, good dishes, and easy company on lovely, lazy mornings.
They’d already put tables together to accommodate the whole group, draped them in pretty cloths, and, yes, there were flowers and good dishes, and the sparkle of crystal in the morning sunlight.
She’d forgotten what it was to indulge like this with nothing more pressing on the day than enjoyment.
She took the glass Jack offered her. “Thanks.”Took a sip. “You could have a career.”
He gave her hair a friendly tug. “A fallback’s always good.”
When Mrs. G came out with the last platter, Del took it from her. “Head of the table for you, Waffle Queen.”
Of course she loved him, Laurel thought, watching as he fussed over Mrs. Grady until she was settled with a mimosa in her hand. How could she help it?
She stepped up, kissed his cheek. “Good job.”
It would be like this from now on, she realized. Oh, not Belgian waffles and mimosas on the terrace. But this group, this family. These voices, these faces, on holidays and impromptu family meals.
Voices crisscrossed the table along with the food. A sliver of waffle for Emma, fruit for Parker while she talked to Carter about a book they’d both read recently. Heaps of whipped cream for Mac, and Del arguing with Jack about a call on a baseball game.
“What’s on your mind, girl?” Mrs. Grady asked her.
“Hardly anything. It’s a nice change.”
Mrs. Grady leaned over, lowered her voice. “Are you going to show them the design you just worked up?”
“Should I?”
“Eat first.”
Mac tapped her spoon on her glass. “I want to announce we’re holding tours after breakfast for the new Carter Maguire Library. Carter and I hauled half a million books up there last night, so we expect lavish praise, with some left over for the architect.” She lifted her glass to Jack.
“It wasn’t more than a quarter million books,” Carter corrected. “But it’s great. Really great, Jack.”
“Nothing I like more than satisfied clients.” He aimed a look at Emma. “Well, almost nothing.”
“And no more hammering, sawing, painting. Not that we’re complaining,” Mac said. “But, oh boy.”
“Hammering and so forth starts next door next week,” Jack warned her.
“Earplugs,” Mac said to Emma. “Highly recommended.”
“I can take it. For a new cooler and work space, I can take it.”
“We’ll be doing some work on your space in tandem, Laurel.”
“She’ll bitch.” Mac waved her fork. “Me? I’m a saint, but she’ll bitch and complain.”
“Probably.” Laurel shrugged and finished her waffle.
“We’ll block off the work area from your kitchen,” Jack told her. “Keep out of your space as much as possible.”
“She’ll still bitch. It’s her nature.”
Laurel gave Mac a cool stare, then rose and walked inside. “What? What? I was kidding. Mostly.”
“She’s not mad. If she was mad she’d have snapped your head off.” Parker glanced toward the house. “She’ll be back.”
“True.You’re not mad, right?” Mac wagged her fork at Del. “If she’s mad you’d be mad on her behalf since you’re hooked up.”
“If that’s a rule, it’s a girl rule.”
“It’s not a girl rule. It’s a couple rule.” Mac looked to Emma for verification.
“Yes, it is. If you know what’s good for you.”
“I’m not mad, so if she’s mad she’s going to have to get over it.”
“You really don’t get how this works,” Mac decided. “Parker, you should write some of this stuff down for him. Rules are the thread that knits the fabric. He’s got holes in his fabric.”
“Are these girl rules, couple rules, or Quartet rules?”
“It’s really all the same,” Parker told him. “I’ll get you a memo.” She glanced over as Laurel came back out with her sketchbook. “But the point’s moot at the moment.”
“What’s the point?” Laurel asked.
“Anger and insult rule.”
“Oh. I’m not angry or insulted, I’m just ignoring her.” She walked around the table to Carter. “This is for you, not for her. Just for you.”
“Okay.” He glanced at Mac. “Is that allowed?”
“Depends.”
“She has nothing to say about it. For you, if you like it. The groom’s cake.” Laurel angled the pad so Mac’s view was blocked, and opened it for Carter.
She watched his face and saw exactly what she’d hoped to see. The quicksilver flash of pu
re delight. “It’s amazing. It couldn’t be more perfect, and I’d never have thought of it.”
“What is it?”
Even as Mac asked, shifted, Laurel snapped the book shut.
That brought a few hoots of laughter from around the table as Mac cursed. Then she shifted tactics with a sad, pitiful expression.
“Please? Pretty, pretty please?”
Laurel opened the book a fraction. “I’m only showing you for Carter. Not for you.”
“Okay.”
Laurel opened the book, heard Mac’s breath catch before she managed a shaky, “Oh.”
Jack craned his head to get a look. “It’s a book. It’s nice. Fits.” “It’s not just a book. It’s As You Like It. It’s kind of our book, isn’t it, Carter?”
“I was teaching it when we started seeing each other. It’s even open to Rosalind’s speech. See down here.” He ran his finger down the open page. “‘No sooner looked but they loved.’”
“Oh, big awww.” Emma leaned over for a better look. “I love the bookmark ribbon with their names on it.”
“I think I’m taking Mac’s off. I’ll just have Carter’s.” Laurel considered. “Yeah, just his. Carter Maguire, PhD.”
“You won’t take me off the cake.You love me.”
Laurel made a pfft sound.
“You love me,” Mac said again, scooting up. “You designed the perfect cake for my guy. You love me.” She grabbed Laurel in a hug, did a little dance.
“Maybe I love Carter.”
“Of course you do. Who wouldn’t? Thank you, thank you,” she whispered in Laurel’s ear. “It’s the best.”
“You almost deserve it,” she whispered back, then laughed and hugged hard.
“I’ll have a look at that while the lot of you deal with the dishes.” Mrs. Grady curled a finger. “Food’s ready to be packed up for the park when you are. You’ll need to get the hampers out.”
“Packing, family kitchen at three thirty,” Parker announced. “I’ll hand out specific assignments after kitchen duty. Loading up the van at four, which includes food, folding chairs, blankets, any sports equipment, and people. I have your assigned seats for transportation,” she added and only inclined her head at the groans. “It’ll save arguing. I’m driving.” This time she held up a hand.“I alone among us am dateless, and as such am to be pitied, indulged, and obeyed.”
