by Lucy Kevin
As she stared up at him with her heart in her eyes, it felt as if they were the only people in the room. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word, Grace called her over to the theme-park cake to detail the ingredients she’d used to make the sparkles on the castle’s roof.
“Is it just me,” Kate said a while later when she came in from the garden, “or is it hot in here?”
Daniel had been so preoccupied with making sure that Jenn was okay while the photographer took hundreds of shots of the theme park and Malibu cakes from every possible angle, that he hadn’t noticed the rising temperature in the room. But now that Kate mentioned it, he realized it really was hot with the setting sun streaming in through the windows. “I wonder if the AC is down?”
“I’ll ask Nate to take a look at it,” Kate said. During the past month, Nate had proved to be nearly as good a handyman as he was a computer expert.
Kate had only just left when Jenn rushed across the room. “Does it look to you like the traditional cake is leaning?”
Sure enough, it was slowly becoming a leaning tower of cake. The heat must have softened it, weakening its structural integrity.
“We need to hurry,” Jenn said, panic beginning to overtake her earlier glow, “but Bryan just set up his equipment by the Malibu cake again.” It had, unsurprisingly, proved to be everyone’s favorite of the three cakes. Not only because it was stunning, but also because it was full of so much heart. “Is there any way that you can step in and make sure we get a few shots of this cake before it falls over? I know Bryan has taken some, but he’s spent far less time with this one today.”
Daniel didn’t waste another second before picking up one of the cameras and dropping to one knee to take shots the way he would have in a war zone. Working with utter concentration, he took one picture after another. After working so closely with Jenn this week, he had some pretty good ideas about how to best showcase her work, so he was able to work very efficiently. Unfortunately, as the seconds ticked by, the cake was leaning more and more, the icing and cake growing softer with every degree the thermometer edged higher.
When the collapse came, it almost seemed to happen in slow motion. The middle layer went first. As it slipped, the top layers came down, crashing into the bottom one. One of the photography assistants made an admirable attempt to catch it, but only ended up covered in cake for her trouble.
Daniel expected Jenn to be distraught. He reached out, intending to comfort her. But when he put his arms around her, she wasn’t crying as she buried her head against his chest. She was laughing.
“So much for preserving the cake forever,” she said through her laughter.
“Please tell me we have enough photos of this cake,” the editor said.
Without letting go of Jenn, Daniel handed over the digital camera he’d taken the last-second pictures with.
Jenn drew back enough to be able to look up into his eyes. “I love you, Daniel. And I love Adam and Kayla too. There’s nothing I want more than to be a part of your lives.”
“We want that too. And they’re going to be beside themselves with happiness at being immortalized on your cake. Just like I am.”
“I’ve always loved baking, but never more than when I was working to capture your beautiful family.”
Her mouth was soft and sweet beneath his as the chaos in the room momentarily faded away. Not long after, the shoot finally wound down, and Liz broke out a bottle of champagne to celebrate.
“To Jenn,” Liz said as she lifted her glass. “The best cake designer anyone could hope for.”
“To Jenn!” Daniel’s voice was nearly drowned out by the others.
It didn’t matter that the cake had collapsed. Life, as they both knew so well, was often messy. Sometimes you were able to laugh about it, other times you needed a good cry. But what mattered most was that they had their family. Their friends.
And love.
“Jenn,” the editor said after she’d polished off her glass of champagne, “we’re very glad we get to be the publication that ‘discovered’ your wedding cakes. And Daniel, you took some very impressive photos of the traditional cake in the heat of the moment.”
“I’m just glad I could help.”
Turning to Liz, Grace noted, “You’ve got yourself a very impressive staff.”
“I certainly do,” Liz agreed as she topped up Grace’s glass.
“Jenn,” Bryan said as he also accepted a bubbly refill, “Grace and I were talking, and we’d like to include a bio and photo of you with the shots of the cakes. Would it be possible to set up another shoot with just you?”
This was another thing Daniel had expected to happen. “I’ve been taking pictures of Jenn in the kitchen working on her cakes throughout the entire week if you’d like to see them.”
Sixty seconds later, they had his camera plugged into the editor’s laptop. As they looked at the shots Daniel had taken to document Jenn’s creation process, he was utterly captivated by how happy she looked as she’d done everything from mixing batter to testing icing colors.
But as he looked more closely at the pictures, he suddenly realized her joy wasn’t the only thing he’d captured with his camera during the week they’d spent working together in her kitchen. In the shots where she was looking straight at him, there was love there too.
So much love it took his breath away.
Jenn drew him away from the computer where Grace and Bryan were debating which pictures to use. “Do you think anyone would notice if we snuck out to the beach?”
They hurried out of the room before anyone could protest. Hand in hand, they headed down to the cove. The waves were gently crashing against the shore, and the setting sun had turned the sky an awe-inspiring purple.
“The last time we were here,” she said softly, “you told me that you loved me. I thought I needed to be extra careful, that I needed to take things as slowly as possible, that I needed to examine starting a new relationship from every possible angle. But those pictures you took show what my heart always knew—that I’ve loved you from the first moment we met.”
“Just the way I’ve always loved you.” The kiss they shared was both sweet and sinful, simply perfect in every way. “We both have complicated pasts, but the only thing that matters is that the future has you in it.”
“What do think your kids will say when they find out their matchmaking was a success?”
He grinned at the woman who was the second chance at love he’d never expected to get. “They’re going to feel like all of their dreams have come true. Just like I do.”
Epilogue
The moment Brides magazine hit the newsstands, everything went into overdrive at Married in Malibu. It wasn’t just Jenn’s incredible cakes that captured the public’s imagination, it was the romantic pictures that the magazine had included of her with Daniel.
“First Liz and Jason, now Jenn and Daniel,” Travis said to himself as he did his nightly walk around the perimeter of the Married in Malibu property to ensure that security was as tight as it could possibly be.
Of course, he’d expected plenty of romance at a wedding venue. He just hadn’t thought each of the staff would fall in love one by one. Who would be next?
Would it be Kate, finally taking more of an interest in a man than her plants and flowers? Maybe Meg would suddenly emerge like a butterfly from her cocoon because of someone special? Or perhaps Nate would finally admit why he spent so much time at Tamara’s coffee shop?
Whoever came next, Travis was sure it wouldn’t be him.
In any case, more publicity meant more business, which was great, but it also meant a marked increase in photographers trying to worm their way into getting shots of celebrities. Thankfully, the previous Saturday, Greta Sanserre’s wedding had gone off without a hitch. No paparazzi had been able to enter the premises, and there hadn’t been any sight lines through the bushes or the trees for the sneakier members of the press to get a shot of the happy couple or
their guests.
Travis wasn’t one to rest on his laurels, however. He believed in constantly upgrading security. With the rough neighborhood he’d grown up in, he’d learned that the smallest mistake, even letting down your guard for the briefest moment, meant that people could get hurt.
Married in Malibu’s main building was fairly easy to keep locked down and under wraps, but an outdoor environment had many more variables. He wanted to have a new set of hidden security cameras installed by the time they put on their next wedding, this one for a supermodel.
He’d only just begun to prep the site when clouds started to roll in. California didn’t get that many storms, but when the sky looked like this, you headed inside or you got soaked to the skin. Grabbing the expensive equipment, he sprinted toward the building, but made it inside a beat too late, the wall of rain drenching him in less than five seconds.
He was shaking the rain off when he heard knocking at the front door. In weather like this, one of the other Married in Malibu employees would probably have been tempted to throw the doors open and invite whoever was out there inside as quickly as possible. But Travis’ security procedures were there for a reason. He made his way over to the camera feeds to see who was outside.
Rain pelted the woman standing at the door. The light wasn’t great, but even so, there was no mistaking who she was.
Amy Woodford.
He hadn’t seen her in years…but he’d never been able to forget the woman who had completely stolen his heart.
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THE BAREFOOT WEDDING (Married in Malibu, Book 3) will be released soon!
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Please enjoy an excerpt from THE WEDDING GIFT, Book 1 in Lucy Kevin’s New York Times bestselling Four Weddings and a Fiasco series!
After Julie Delgado’s restaurant closes, she temporarily takes over the catering position at the Rose Chalet, a full-service San Francisco wedding venue. She plans to dazzle the bride and groom so the Chalet’s owner will keep her around, but fate has other plans for her when the bride’s brother shows up for the first food tasting.
Andrew Kyle is not only the Cuisine Channel’s Edgy Eats host and chef, but his recent review of Julie’s restaurant was the final nail in its coffin. Once he meets Julie at the Rose Chalet, he’s certain she’s playing it safe. And he wants nothing more than to be the one to break her guarded passions loose.
But despite the undeniable sparks between Julie and Andrew–and the fact that he seems to believe in her when no one else does–can she afford to be taking risks with her cooking, with her career…or with her heart?
It wasn’t easy trying to finish off the main courses and desserts, knowing all the while that Andrew Kyle was probably out there telling the Rose Chalet’s owner exactly how awful Julie’s food was. And Rose would listen, of course, because what else would she be able to do in the face of a triple whammy: celebrity chef, the groom’s brother, and great dimples?
Enough about the dimples, Julie ordered herself. Just remember what he did.
It was pretty hard to forget. One review from the city’s most prominent TV chef, and her business had come crashing down around her ears. The faint trickle of new customers Julie had hoped would widen into a stream dried up completely. Her entire dream went south in a matter of weeks, all thanks to the man who was currently sampling Julie’s seafood platter.
Well, she couldn’t let him ruin this dream too. Which meant Julie couldn’t do anything horrible to his food, even if a small part of her wanted the revenge.
The truth was, the best revenge would be to show him just how wrong he had been. All she had to do was present him with the best plates of food in her life, and then force him to eat his words.
Easy.
Though if it was that easy, why was her hand shaking while she finished the duck? She needed to focus, take her time, and—
“Is everything okay?”
Julie jumped at the sound of Andrew’s voice, almost slicing a finger open in the process.
What was he doing in her kitchen? Had he finally realized who she was? Had he come to gloat?
Or, maybe, to apologize for what he’d done?
Knowing anything she really wanted to say to him would get her instantly fired by Rose, Julie settled for, “I’m not sure you should be in here.”
“No, it’s fine—”
“Julie,” she reminded him, like he hadn’t just been told her name a few minutes ago. “Julie Delgado.”
Was there a flicker of recognition in his eyes? Did he even vaguely remember her name?
Then again, why would he? He was a famous chef. She was a nobody who couldn’t keep her own kitchen open and was now cooking for scraps at a wedding venue.
“I asked Rose before I came in to see the kitchen where the food for the wedding might be prepared.”
“Might be?”
“My brother and his fiancé deserve the best. I promised I’d cast my chef’s eye over it as my wedding gift to them. Which is why I’d appreciate it if you could bring the desserts out with the main courses and stay with us as we go through everything.” He flashed that brilliant smile of his. “After all, I’m sure the two of us will have a lot to talk about.”
For a moment, Julie wondered if he meant the review, but those darn dimples of his were turning her brain just enough to mush so that all she could manage was, “Will we?”
“Sure,” Andrew replied, with another smile.
Oh my God, after all he’d done, was he actually flirting with her?
Julie just barely resisted the urge to hit him with the nearest thing on hand, but only because it happened to be a saucepan full of steadily reducing plum sauce. Of all the arrogant…
Again, Julie forced herself to take a deep breath and reminded herself that since she obviously wasn’t important enough for the big star to remember, why wouldn’t he try out the charm that had everybody else fooled?
“I’d be happy to bring out everything at once,” Julie said, if only because it seemed like the quickest way to get him out of her kitchen. “Just give me a minute or two.”
* * *
Watching Andrew Kyle eat was an experience. He didn’t talk between bites, as though that would in some way spoil his concentration. Instead he assembled the food carefully on his fork, closing his eyes and letting his nose take in the scent of it for a moment before he finally pushed it into that sensuous mouth.
Julie found herself briefly entranced by the way he clearly wanted to involve as many of his senses as possible, by the fact that he seemed to treat food as something truly important.
Of course, that didn’t make up for the way he kept Julie and Rose waiting while he tasted everything. In fact, the only time he spoke at all was about halfway through, when he glanced up and raised an eyebrow.
“Is everything to your satisfaction?”
Andrew put his fork down carefully. “It’s all well cooked,” he said. “The scallops are nicely done and the fish goes well with them. The salad is crisp and fresh. The plum sauce with the duck is just right, and I like the richness of the gateaux. The food is well prepared,” he said, “but, unfortunately, it’s too bland.”
Bland.
It was the same word he’d used about her restaurant.
Julie’s hands closed on the tablecloth. “Bland?” she repeated.
Andrew nodded. “As I said, it’s fine, it’s just…frankly, it’s wedding food.”
“That’s what this food is for,” Julie had to point out. “A wedding.”
“Yes, but it’s for my brother’s wedding, and I’m sorry, this menu won’t work. It’s been done. There’s nothing exciting here. There’s no twist on any of the classic dishes, and there isn’t anything innovative, either. This is my wedding gift to my brother and his fiancée. It needs to be special. But nothing about this menu makes it cl
ear that their wedding is a really special occasion.”
Julie thought the part where there would be a bride and groom saying “I do” in front of a few hundred people might be a clue as to the specialness of the occasion, but, of course, she wasn’t going to say that. Besides, just then, she was too busy remembering the first time Andrew Kyle had made these comments about her food. Remembering how much it had hurt.
About as much as it hurt right now, come to think of it.
“So what is it you want?” Julie asked. She very carefully kept her voice level. Completely devoid of emotion.
“Something special. Something different. Something with a bit of imagination to it. Look,” Andrew said, “I’d like to come back so that we can throw a few ideas around. Between Julie and myself, I suspect we can come up with something that’s perfect for the wedding.”
He’d just demolished her cooking for the second time in a few short months, and he thinks she would want him around?
“What a wonderful idea,” Rose said before Julie could flat-out refuse to ever see Andrew Kyle again. “Our aim at the Rose Chalet is to make sure the day goes exactly the way the happy couple wants it. Julie would be happy to brainstorm menus with you, wouldn’t you, Julie?”
Since the question was obviously rhetorical, Julie mumbled something that could be taken as a yes.
Rose stood. “Andrew, if you have a few more minutes, I’d like to talk you for a walk around the Chalet to get a feel for the place. My full staff isn’t here at the moment, but we can start to discuss a few options.”
Julie had never been so grateful for anything as when Andrew agreed. Ordinarily, with a guy like him, she would have watched him go just because she couldn’t not stare. Today, however, it was simply to make sure he was well and truly gone before she let out a sigh and slumped down in her seat.
What had she gotten herself into?
…Excerpt from THE WEDDING GIFT by Lucy Kevin © 2014.
Buy The Wedding Gift
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Enjoy an excerpt from BE MY LOVE, the first fun, sweet and emotional contemporary romance in Lucy Kevin’s Walker Island series!
