by Lucy Kevin
He seemed to take in her hair and makeup and outfit in a split second, and she could have sworn there was admiration—and more than a little heat—in his gaze. “You look great, Jenn.”
“Oh wow, your earrings are amazing,” Kayla said.
Before Jenn could thank Daniel’s daughter for the compliment, Adam asked, “Do you have cakes all over your house?”
“I mostly leave the cakes at work,” Jenn replied. “But fortunately there should be plenty to choose from at the Cheesecake Factory.”
“It’s our favorite place to eat ever,” Kayla said. “We love their pizza too.”
“And then after dinner,” Adam added, “we get to sing, Let it go, let it g—”
“How about we wait until we’re there, Adam?” Daniel said. He was smiling, despite the fact that he’d likely heard the kids sing the popular song a hundred times by now. He glanced down at his watch. “We should get moving, or there won’t be enough time to have dinner before the movie starts.”
Daniel and Jenn found themselves alone on the sidewalk when the kids ran to get back in the car. “I hope Kayla and Adam aren’t too overwhelming.”
“They’re great,” Jenn assured him. “Trust me, you don’t ever have to apologize for your kids.”
“You’re only saying that because neither of them has spilled bright-colored juice on anything expensive yet.”
“Given the amount of colored frosting I get on my clothes, I think most of what I own is pretty spill resistant.”
Standing together on the sidewalk chatting about his kids shouldn’t have been a big deal. Especially considering that they spent hours together at work talking about similar subjects. But she couldn’t deny that the moment felt strangely electric, as exciting as if it were a first date with a guy she’d been crushing on.
Only, it wasn’t a date, was it? It was just an impromptu trip to dinner and a movie with a co-worker and his kids. Which, she reminded herself, should be more than enough for the time being considering she wasn’t one hundred percent sure that she was even up to a new relationship.
She wanted so badly to be sure. But just like Tamara had said during their chat in the café, if they proved that they had good chemistry while working on the Brides spread, then maybe that would mean they would be okay taking things to the next level.
The drive to the restaurant was quieter than Jenn had anticipated. She’d expected a string of questions from the kids and had been looking forward to asking them questions about school and sports and their favorite hobbies. Instead, they spent the journey whispering in the backseat together.
“What are you two plotting back there?” Daniel finally asked.
“Nothing, Dad,” they said in unison.
Clearly, they were up to something, but by then they were parking in front of the restaurant and the kids were unbuckling and rushing inside to check in for a table. Kayla and Adam ended up choosing seats on the same side of the table, leaving Jenn and Daniel to sit next to each other on the opposite side.
It wasn’t much of a leap to guess what the kids had been whispering about in the car. To think that they might want to make a match between Jenn and their father was very sweet.
Dinner was every bit as loud and chaotic and fun as Jenn had hoped it would be. Especially when Kayla asked her father to tell them about his travels around the world.
“It must have been exciting to experience so many new things,” Jenn mused.
“There definitely were great moments, but while Niagara Falls and Baffin Island will still be there a year from now, I didn’t want to miss Kayla taking her first steps or Adam’s first tooth falling out any more than I wanted to miss the Saturday afternoon soccer games or cupcake-baking marathons.”
Everything Daniel had described—simple family life and a warm house full of laughter—used to be her dream. But somewhere along the way, she’d stopped fantasizing about it when she’d realized Oliver didn’t share the same dream.
She had assumed the dream had died completely for her. But had it been lying in wait all this time for the right person to come along? Someone who knew exactly how to make that dream a reality?
They had cheesecake after the main meal, of course. Kayla laughed while she demolished a slice with whole Oreos embedded in it, while Adam had the peanut butter fudge ripple cup cheesecake. Oh yes, her ex definitely had no idea what he was missing out on…
“So,” Daniel said when they were finished, “who’s ready to sing?”
“Me!” Kayla and Adam said at the same time.
“What about you, Jenn?”
“I am too.” A sing-along movie wasn’t something she normally did, but she was looking forward to it. And when Daniel bought a family ticket for the four of them, warmth spread through her. Because even if she wasn’t sure yet that she was emotionally ready for a new relationship—especially one that came with the responsibilities of two young children—it was undeniably fun to be a part of their tight unit for one night.
It wasn’t until they reached their seats that she realized they had been set up again by the kids. This time, they were bookended with Kayla on Jenn’s left and Adam on Daniel’s right.
Jenn had never seen Frozen before, which made her the odd one out in a movie theater packed with families who knew every single word and were even dressed in costumes. Honestly, though, there was nowhere Jenn would rather have been—especially when Daniel started singing in a warm baritone. And when she made a stab at singing along with a couple of songs with repeating choruses, the pleased look he gave her made her feel as good as if she’d just won Cupcake Wars.
It was over far too soon. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had this much fun. She didn’t want the night to end.
“What now?” Kayla asked, obviously feeling the same way. She had grabbed Jenn’s hand while they were walking out of the theater and hadn’t let go.
“Now it’s time to get you two home and into bed,” Daniel replied. Before the kids could protest, he added, “And since Jenn has been working so hard all week, we should probably take her home to get some rest after wearing out her vocal cords tonight.”
It was true, everyone seemed tired as they drove back. Parking a few houses away, they all got out to walk Jenn to her door.
“I had such a great time tonight,” Jenn told them. “Thank you for inviting me.”
Kayla and Adam responded with hugs that were even tighter than the ones they’d given her earlier when they’d arrived to pick her up. Jenn hugged them back just as tight.
Daniel pulled his phone out, obviously intending to capture the moment with a photo. Before Jenn realized what Kayla was doing, she had pulled the three of them close enough to her father to include him in the group hug.
It felt so much like they were a family right then that it was almost impossible for Jenn to keep the tears out of her eyes.
“Time to go, kids,” Daniel finally said, although he didn’t sound like he wanted to break away from the hug any more than she did.
As the three of them walked back to their car and Jenn stood on her doorstep watching them pile into the minivan, she couldn’t help but wish that she could go with them to their home full of warmth and laughter.
And, most important of all, love.
Chapter Eleven
The next day was a rare Saturday with no wedding, which meant that Jenn was the only person at Married in Malibu. For all her progress, there was still so much to do, which was why she was working while everyone else took the day off. Not only finishing up the individual components for the cakes, but also the assembly and decoration. The sugar and marzipan detail work alone was enough to make her start to panic.
“Breathe,” Jenn reminded herself. Spiraling off into an anxious mess wasn’t going to help. Instead, she simply needed to tackle her list one item at a time—especially the one big thing she’d been avoiding all week that had been hanging over her casting its shadows.
Her ex.
Jenn
pulled out her phone where there were several new texts from Oliver. All of them had the same theme: While he acknowledged that things had ended badly, he “really needed” to see her.
She couldn’t ignore him any longer, no matter how much she wished she could. His frequent texts were a huge distraction, especially when she had such a big project to complete. But she was determined to set up a meeting on her terms, not his—in a place where she felt safe and at a time that was convenient for her.
I can see you today, 11 am at Malibu T and Coffee.
Her phone dinged less than five seconds later with his affirmative response. Looked like she was going to be having coffee with her ex today.
Ugh.
Fortunately, for the next few hours, she would be doing her favorite thing in the world: creating beautiful wedding cakes.
She set to work on the decorations for the Malibu-themed cake, and then while her seashells and starfish were setting, she began to frost the traditional cake. By the time she stopped to take a break, she had used nearly a gallon of icing and had made so many caramel shells that she could have restocked the beach with them.
Thankfully, exhilaration had overtaken anxiety while she worked. She truly was the luckiest person in the world to have a job she loved so much—one where she could let her creativity loose every single day, with the knowledge that she was making a bride and groom happy on their special day.
But it wasn’t only her job that had her feeling like she was walking on air. It was Daniel. Every time she thought about him, she couldn’t stop smiling.
What a difference a week made. After everything Oliver had done, Jenn had sworn off men. She’d planned to forever cut herself off from emotion, to just focus on her work, and never, ever risk her heart with anyone again. But she couldn’t stop thinking about Daniel, couldn’t stop dreaming of what it would be like to have his arms wrapped around her, his lips pressed to hers…
Last week, she would have told herself to stop dreaming, to stop wishing. But the more she got to know him, the more she wanted to risk. Risk opening up to him the way he’d opened up to her. Risk showing him everything that lay in her heart.
Just then, the alarm on her phone went off. It was nearly eleven. Time to meet Oliver.
Refusing to let herself be nervous—or to fix her hair or clothes—she washed and dried her hands, took off her apron, then headed over to Tamara’s café.
At first glance, she didn’t see him. Until she looked closer at a guy in the corner who looked like he might be a monk with his shaved head and kaftan. It was only when he waved that Jenn realized he was Oliver.
“Oliver?”
“Jenn, namaste.” Oliver stood to greet her, bowing as he did so. “It’s good to see you again. Will you sit down? They do a wonderful herbal infusion here that’s great for the mind. Can I get you one?”
Before she could answer, Oliver waved imperiously at Tamara and ordered for Jenn. Thankfully, Tamara knew to make her a latte instead.
“How have you been?” He didn’t wait for her to reply. “I’ve had a lot of changes recently. A macrobiotic diet is so much healthier than polluting one’s body with junk, and it’s helped me so much in my yoga practice. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that I’ve been focusing on Ashtanga recently.”
Oliver always assumed that everyone around him was interested in every detail of his life, but right then, Jenn was glad. It meant she had some time to figure out how she wanted to deal with him while he went into a story about meeting Sting in the middle of a yoga session.
“…he was so flexible, you wouldn’t believe it. Really something to aspire to, except of course, aspiration is born out of envy, and we should all learn to put it aside…”
Oliver was good at filling space with whatever thoughts came into his head. He quickly drifted from yoga and onto the incredible mileage his hybrid car got. Subjects sped past: his solar heating system, the brilliant business idea he’d had while sitting in meditation watching the sunset.
As he continued in one seemingly continuous stream of thought, she wondered if he had mastered some kind of yoga technique that let him keep talking without taking a breath. Then again, speaking without giving her a chance to respond was something he’d always done.
“…and that’s when I realized that living meant living in harmony with the world so that…”
Tamara brought over her coffee, major questions in her eyes. She wasn’t the only one wondering what was going on here.
“Oliver.” Jenn said his name firmly enough that he couldn’t ignore her. “I’m glad to hear that you’re doing well, but like I said in my text, I have a lot of work to do. So as fascinating as this all is, I would appreciate it if you could tell me why you wanted to meet. Presumably, it was for more than just letting me know you’d met Sting.”
Oliver looked a little taken aback. And no wonder, given that during their time together, he’d been in control of things. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, looking like a particularly well-toned goldfish.
Finally, he recovered himself. “You sound like you could really benefit from the yoga and meditation retreat I recently went to. We learned to let stress go and forget about time constraints. Booking a week for yourself might help.”
A laugh escaped her before she could stop it. There had been a time when she would have wanted to throw her coffee at him, but strangely, none of his little barbs hurt. Instead, she felt as though she was having coffee with a cartoon character. “Well, if that’s all you needed to tell me, I’ve got to get back to work.”
She was just about to push back from the table, when he said, “Jenn, no! Don’t leave yet.”
It was the genuine panic in his voice that had her staying where she was.
“I came to say I’m sorry for anything I might have done to hurt you.”
Jenn was speechless for a long moment. Not because he’d apologized—which was a major rarity. But because of how he’d apologized.
Anything he might have done? It was as if he couldn’t possibly figure out why she was upset. Like, say, because he’d cheated on her. Or, perhaps, because he’d lied to her.
She nearly did throw her coffee at him this time. Because underneath his veneer of calm and spirituality, he was still the same man. Empty and vain.
She hated that she’d fallen for his act all those years ago. Hated that she’d been so foolish. Hated that she’d been so desperate for love that she’d thought he loved her, when the truth was that Oliver would never love anyone but himself.
Refusing to even address his faux apology, she said, “We’ve gone our separate ways, and it has worked out for the best for both of us. It sounds like you have some interesting things going on in your life right now, and I hope you have great success and happiness with whatever you do next. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go.”
She stood up quickly, intent on getting out of there as quickly as possible. She wanted nothing more than to shake off this meeting, just shove it out of her heart and mind completely.
“Jenn, wait!” Oliver’s hand clamped down on her arm.
Tamara stepped out from behind the counter, obviously looking to intervene, but Jenn gave her friend a small shake of her head. As good as it was of her friend to look out for her, Jenn needed to be the one to deal with this.
“Let go of me, Oliver.”
He did, thankfully, but he kept talking. “There are still so many things I haven’t told you. Things haven’t worked out very well with Varla.” Varla was the woman she’d caught him in bed with. “We’re calling it quits. I’ve done a lot of soul-searching these past few weeks, and I’ve come to realize that I made a terrible mistake. I almost can’t forgive myself, but I think we can agree that everyone deserves a second chance. I’ve meditated on this a lot. I’ve consulted my guru. I even asked Sting what he thought when we ran into each other in the yoga session.” He paused. Dramatically. “I love you, Jenn. I’ve always loved you, and I want to get b
ack together. We were so good together, and I want that again.”
There was a time when she would have killed to hear those words. In the months after their marriage had fallen apart, she had wanted nothing more than for Oliver to come crawling back, telling her how wrong he’d been, and promising to do anything to make it up to her.
Now, though, it wasn’t enough. It couldn’t be enough when she’d finally realized that the man she’d thought she’d fallen in love with had been nothing more than a figment of her imagination.
“Oliver—”
“I know baking is important to you, and I want you to know that you can have sugar in the house.”
Her mouth fell open. “You’re willing to let me have sugar in the house?”
“I am,” he said, as if he’d just conceded absolutely everything to her. As if he was doing her the biggest favor in the world by even sitting here with her. “In fact, not only am I ready to give us another shot, I have everything mapped out. We should create an exclusive retreat catering to the physical and spiritual needs of only the most select clients. You could oversee all the cooking. Of course, you will have to learn to cook healthy food, but I’m sure that with enough dedication you could come up to speed fairly quickly. And, of course, you would want to keep your position at the wedding company for a long as possible. I mean, just think of the connections you must be making there with all those stars.”
Aha. At long last, they’d gotten to the heart of what Oliver wanted: Her connections to the rich and famous.
He wasn’t sorry about anything. He didn’t truly want to get back together. But he did want a fast track to fortune and fame for himself.
There were at least a dozen different things she could have said about how selfish he was, how manipulative, how condescending. But he wasn’t worth the breath it would take to say them. And he definitely wasn’t worth another minute away from her cakes.
“Good-bye, Oliver.”
She made a beeline for the door, but before she could get away, he leaped in front of her. “At least think about everything I’m offering, Jenn. I need this.” He quickly added, “And you. I need you too.”
