by Lucy Kevin
“I like the idea of a lot of color contrast, but the fruit cake might still work.”
“Maybe if I incorporated a walnut swirl into it?”
Daniel nodded. “That would be good. That extra bit of visual impact would show people that your cakes aren’t just about the decoration, even though they’re going to be beautiful too.”
Beautiful, but also a great deal of work. Each unique cake mix required different materials, ingredients, and timings. She was trying to work out how to manage the process when Kate poked her head into the kitchen. This was a rarity. Although Married in Malibu’s gardener was fun to be around, she spent nearly all her time outside with her plants.
“I thought I’d come in to see if you needed any help.” At Jenn’s surprised look, Kate explained, “I know my way around a kitchen pretty well, since I do so much with the vegetables from my home garden.”
“I’d love your help.” Considering how many cakes Jenn needed to bake before Daniel could even begin to take test photos, that was the understatement of all time. “But I don’t want to pull you away from your work in the garden.”
“I have a delivery of topsoil coming this afternoon, but before that I don’t have all that much on my plate today.”
“You know what?” Daniel’s eyes had lit up with an idea. “It would be great to get some pictures with both of you working together. Not every workplace is full of supportive co-workers, so it might be nice to show on our website that ours is.”
Wasn’t it just like Daniel to put it so sweetly? “I agree wholeheartedly,” Jenn said with a smile. “Our team here is amazing.” She turned to Kate. “Can you start measuring ingredients for the sponge cake? I’ll pull up the recipe for you on my tablet.”
As Kate got to work, Jenn was pleased that she really did know her way around the kitchen. With Kate’s help, the timeline might actually be manageable.
After snapping dozens of shots of the two of them in action, Daniel said, “We’re going to need some backgrounds to show the cakes against. I’ll be right back.” A few minutes later, he returned with Nate, who looked happy as ever to step away from his computer and help out with a project. The two men mocked up simple backdrops from cardboard and paint, then called in Meg to lend her design expertise to the effort.
Over the course of the day, the kitchen got busier and more crowded. Travis helped press dents out of the seashell molds Jenn wanted to use. Kate continued to help with the mixing, and even Liz dropped in, presumably to check that everything was going okay.
Eventually, however, Kate had to go take care of her topsoil delivery. Travis and Nate needed to finish testing the security cameras covering the remaining blind spots around the grounds. And Liz went with Meg to interview linen suppliers for the Sanserre wedding.
Jenn had thought she and Daniel would be spending the entire day alone, only to be surrounded by their friends and co-workers all day. And yet, every moment she’d still been aware of how great it felt having him near—and how sweet and helpful he was as he did everything he could to make the process seamless for her.
She went to get a cake out of the oven and yelped. “Ow!”
“Are you okay?” Daniel was by her side in an instant. When he saw the burn, he quickly grabbed a first aid kit from the corner of the kitchen, gently took her hand to soak it in cool water, then bandaged it carefully.
But Jenn barely noticed the sting of the burn on her skin. The only thing she could focus on was how electric his touch was.
“Is everything okay?” Liz asked as she suddenly appeared at the kitchen door.
“Just a minor baking injury,” Jenn told her boss.
Liz rushed forward. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” Jenn assured her. In fact, this close to Daniel, with her skin still tingling from his touch, she was more than fine.
It was then that she saw the two women behind Liz. They looked like they’d come from an expensive spa.
“I thought that since you and Daniel are doing such a great job and working so hard,” Liz said, “you should have a chance to relax before jumping into day three. Cindy and Adele are masseuses. Enjoy.”
She left before Jenn could even thank her, and one of the masseuses stepped forward. “I’m Cindy. Liz booked head, neck, and shoulder massages for both of you. Would you like to sit down?”
Beyond surprised by this lovely gift at the end of what had been a very long day, Jenn sat on one of the special massage chairs the therapists had brought while Daniel took the other. She initially tensed when the masseuse began to press into her tight muscles, but soon relaxed under the woman’s expert touch. Beside her, Daniel also seemed to be rapidly de-stressing.
“It’s nice working on you both side by side,” Cindy said, pushing at the knots in Jenn’s shoulders. “Couples don’t take enough time to just relax together.”
“We’re not a cou—” Jenn began, but the masseuse chose that moment to do something that made all her tension melt away.
Besides, it was impossible not to feel close to Daniel after they’d worked together so easily the past few days—both at Married in Malibu and at his house with his kids.
By the time the masseuses were done, she could barely summon the energy to move out of the chair so that the therapists could pack up and leave.
That was when she finally looked around the kitchen again and saw it all with new eyes. The basic cakes were done, they’d started work on the settings, and while there was still a huge amount of effort to put in, the Brides project didn’t seem nearly as daunting as it had twelve hours ago.
“Did we really get all this done today?”
Daniel nodded. “We make a good team.”
“Yes,” Jenn agreed, unable to do anything but stare into his eyes. “Yes, we do.”
And then, just as he had the previous day, he hugged her. She felt like she was completely wrapped up in him in the best possible way.
Their hug seemed to go on forever, neither of them willing to break it. When they finally did draw back, he said, “I think we should make an end-of-the-day hug a regular thing.”
“Sounds good,” Jenn said with a smile so wide, she knew she must look like a total goof. But how could she help it when she felt happier than she had in a very long time?
Because a regular end-of-the-day hug with Daniel didn’t just sound good.
It sounded amazing.
Chapter Nine
Both Daniel and Jenn arrived at Married in Malibu early the next morning. When he pulled out coffee and pastries again, she said, “You’re so sweet, but you don’t have to keep going to Tamara’s to pick up breakfast.”
“I figured you’d prefer it to something I might bake myself.”
Laughing, she said, “We can always give you another shot in the kitchen sometime, if you’d like.” She broke off a piece of still-warm croissant and popped it into her mouth. “I really do appreciate how thoughtful you are. If every guy were like you, women wouldn’t need to have so many girls’ nights to drown our sorrows in bottles of wine.” She scrunched up her nose in that adorable way she had when she wished she could take back her words. “What I meant to say is, why don’t we go over our plan for the day?”
He wanted to say something that would make her feel better about her dog of an ex, but she seemed determined to put it behind her and get to work. Following her lead, he helped uncover each of the cakes she’d baked the day before.
“I’d like to get a base layer of icing down on each of the tiered layers,” she told him. “I’d also like to sculpt the shape of the Malibu cake so that we have a recognizable seashore. When both of those things are done, I plan on baking a few components for the theme cake.”
Many people would have already folded under the timeline, pressure, and expectations, but Jenn simply threw her heart into her work.
“I’ll set up my angles and document everything you’re working on, without getting in your way. Does that sound good?”
The smile she gave him turned everything inside of him warm. Joyful too. “It sounds great.”
She began by whipping up batches of icing, working to find the perfect consistency and color. When that was done, she started on the detail-oriented process of sculpting her seashore cake into as perfect a replica of the cove as she could achieve. Daniel did his best to help by running down to the beach to snap photographs for her to work from. The people at Brides would never know if she had the topography right or not, but if it mattered to Jenn, then he was going to do whatever he could to make sure she nailed her vision.
“The slope is different from the way I imagined it,” she said a short while later as she studied one of the photographs. She made a quick slice with a knife, shaving off a fraction of the sponge cake with great concentration.
Daniel couldn’t stay in the kitchen all day, however, because Meg needed him to photograph several possibilities for the Sanserre wedding sets. For a couple of hours, he went back and forth between taking pictures of Jenn’s progress in the kitchen and Meg’s changing sets.
“How are you both doing?” Liz asked around lunchtime, bringing in sandwiches from Tamara’s café.
“It’s all going fine,” Jenn assured her.
“We’re great,” Daniel echoed.
“Yes, I can see that.” The way Liz smiled as she said it made Daniel wonder if she was referring to the magazine prep…or something else entirely. “The two of you should make sure to take a break now and then, especially considering that you were here even earlier than I was. I don’t want you burning out.”
“You already treated us to those incredible massages last night,” Jenn said. “You really are the best boss in the world.”
“I agree,” Daniel said. “Back in my previous life, being sent into a war zone to take pictures was considered my reward for work well done. A massage beats that by a mile.”
“Well, considering the two of you are a big part of why Married in Malibu is soon going to be known as the best wedding venue in the world, I’m more than happy to reward your excellent work. But I am serious about taking breaks.”
“She’s right, you know,” Daniel said after Liz left. “You’ve been working nonstop since six this morning. You should take a break, at least for lunch. Kate’s gardens are in full bloom. Why don’t we eat outside?” It wasn’t the same as asking her out on a date, but he hoped it was a step in the right direction, at the very least.
“I guess there isn’t anything that will burn while we’re away. And it would be nice to grab a little sun.”
Married in Malibu’s gardens were spectacular in their variety, a half-dozen microgardens rolled into one beautiful package so that clients could choose the space that was best for their wedding. Jenn and Daniel chose a painted wood bench beneath a leafy oak tree.
As they unwrapped their sandwiches, Jenn said, “I’d love to hear more about your career as a photojournalist.”
“I mostly shot photographs for newspaper and magazine articles focusing on social issues. I tried to cover areas that people seemed to want to ignore or write off as beyond help. I also did some war reporting in South Sudan and Iraq.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It was, but I had security around me in the truly dangerous situations, whereas the people I photographed in those war-torn countries didn’t have that kind of protection. And the truth is that some of the things I photographed in other ‘safer’ situations have felt almost as dangerous.”
Jenn’s eyebrows knotted together. “What do you mean?”
“Not everyone wants their story told with pictures,” he explained. “I’ve upset plenty of businessmen and a gang member or two.” Daniel would never forget the times he’d had to run, or shoot his pictures from a hiding spot, or take them with gunfire sounding close by. “At the time, it all seemed rather exciting, but after Victoria died, I needed to make sure I could be here for the kids. I was also ready to tell happier stories by then—where I would know for sure that everything had turned out okay in the end.”
“Is that how you got into wedding photography?”
Nodding, he said, “I know most photographers do weddings and events to pay the bills until they can make their name with more ‘serious’ work. But the way I look at it is that weddings are one of the biggest events in people’s lives. The photos I take at a wedding might not matter to everyone else in the world, but to the bride and groom, they mean everything.”
“I love the way you just put that,” she said with a smile that mesmerized him.
Happy to be sitting with her in the shade of the leafy tree with the warm sea air blowing over them, he said, “What about you? How did you get into baking?”
“For years, I’d tried different things. Different jobs. Different hobbies. I even started writing a novel once. Let’s just say that I won’t be competing with Jason for a spot on the bestseller lists any time soon,” she said with a laugh. “But the day I started baking…I knew it was right.”
“That’s how photography was for me.”
She gave him another small smile, but it fell away too soon. “Unfortunately, my ex-husband wasn’t exactly thrilled with my new passion.”
“What was it with him?” Daniel knew he wasn’t doing a good job of keeping his irritation with her ex out of his voice, but he simply couldn’t help it. The guy really made him mad.
“He doesn’t think baked goods are healthy. He didn’t want them in the house—didn’t even like smelling them baking in the kitchen.”
“Now I know for sure that the guy is nuts. Everyone knows one of the best things in the world is walking into a kitchen that smells like a fresh-baked cake or cookies.” But that wasn’t nearly enough. Jenn deserved to know what a wonderful person she was, needed to know there were people out there who thought far more of her than her husband obviously had. People like Daniel. “Your baking is amazing, Jenn. You’re amazing.”
Her eyes went wide, and her cheeks flushed. “Thank you.” He was wondering if he should say—or do—something more, when she suddenly added, “You’ve got something on your shirt.” She reached out and brushed several crumbs away, then looked up abruptly, as though she’d just overstepped her bounds. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” He loved that she’d instinctively done something so sweet and intimate. But at the same time, he knew better than to make a big deal out of it. “Someone has got to make sure I don’t scare off potential clients by showing up to a meeting wearing lunch.”
Fortunately, the moment of tension disappeared when she smiled back. They were just heading back into the kitchen when Daniel got a return call from the folks over at Brides magazine. She continued inside while he remained in the gardens so that he wouldn’t distract her while he talked on the phone.
After he quickly explained how he and Jenn had been working together to document the baking process each step of the way, the editor said, “We don’t usually use photographers who aren’t on our books. Then again, we never thought we’d be working with Daniel Brooker, either. We’re all big fans of your work here.”
Glad that his reputation might help with this project, he spent a few minutes going over technical details with the editor. “Everyone at Married in Malibu is intent on making sure the shoot goes as smoothly as possible,” he assured her before they hung up.
By the time he made it back to the kitchen, Jenn was mapping out the elements she would need to construct the castle of the theme-park cake. Honestly, it looked more like a feat of engineering than baking.
When his phone rang again, he wondered if the Brides editor was calling back with additional instructions. But it was Kayla.
“Hey, sweetie. What’s up?”
“You haven’t forgotten about tonight, have you, Dad?”
They were going to the movies. “Of course I haven’t forgotten. You, me, and Adam at a Frozen sing-along.”
“What about Jenn? Can she come too?”
When he looke
d over at Jenn and saw that she was smiling at him, he figured there was no time like the present to make his next move. Plus, he did like to encourage his daughter’s great ideas.
“Kayla would like to know if you can go to a Frozen sing-along with us tonight.” He needed her to know that Kayla wasn’t the only one who wanted her to come along. “I’d like to know too.”
Fortunately, instead of looking ambushed by him and his daughter, Jenn only smiled wider. “I’d love to.”
Chapter Ten
Jenn couldn’t believe how difficult it was to get ready to go to the movies with Daniel and his kids.
“Not special enough,” she said, rejecting her favorite pair of dark jeans. She didn’t want to look the way she looked at work every day, because that would imply that this was no big deal. But when she held up a sleek black dress and looked at herself in the mirror, that didn’t feel right either. She’d bought it to remind herself that she could be sexy if she wanted to be, regardless of everything Oliver had said—but a sing-along animated movie was definitely not the time for a little black dress.
“There has to be something.” A moment later, she spotted it. A light blue fitted sweater worn with a dark skirt with light blue embroidery at the hem. It had a bit of color and prettiness without being over the top.
There wasn’t enough time by then to do more than put on a touch of lipstick and a little eye shadow. On impulse, before she left her bedroom, she rooted through her jewelry box for her sparkling crystal earrings cut in the shape of miniature cupcakes. She loved how the crystals caught the light with every movement she made. She was tying her hair into a loose ponytail when her doorbell rang.
When she opened the door, she found herself met by a sudden storm of hugs. Kayla squeezed Jenn around the waist, while Adam managed to grab one of her legs, almost knocking her over with the force of his affection.
“It’s great to see you both too.” She looked at their father standing behind them. “Hi, Daniel.”
