by Beth Ehemann
Her eyes met mine as she directed her cheerful grin my way. “Hi Brody … wait. Brody Murphy? Number 30 for the Minnesota Wild? Best goalie in the league? Two-time NHL MVP?”
I smiled politely. “Yes, ma’am. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh my God.” She giggled nervously. “I’m a huge fan. My husband and I are season ticket holders, have been for years.”
“Well, I thank you for that. Once the season starts, you’ll have to get in contact with me. I’d love to give you and your husband a special tour around the stadium.”
She snorted with excitement. “Oh my, I’d love that. Wow. Thank you.” Her eyes darted back and forth between me and Kacie while she wrung her hands, all flustered. “This is such a pleasant surprise. Lauren called last week and explained her situation to me, that you’d be coming in her place, but I had no idea Brody Murphy would be coming with you.”
Kacie looked away, smirking at Pearl’s excitement.
“I don’t think she knew. We’re excited though, I even wore my elastic pants.” I grinned at Pearl, and her face flushed.
Kacie’s head snapped back to me, her eyes bulging out of her head as her hands flew over her mouth, barely able to contain her laughter.
“Well, come on back and we’ll get you all set up.” She motioned for us to follow her.
Kacie poked me hard in the side, still chucking. “I can’t believe you just said that. Elastic pants, really?”
“It’s true,” I defended myself. “And I am excited—this might be the best day ever.”
Pearl led us to a large room through the back door, right next to the kitchen. A table with four chairs sat in the middle, and built-in shelves full of framed pictures of wedding cakes lined the wall to our right.
Kacie and I sat down at the table while Pearl strolled over and took an oversized binder off the bottom shelf. She set it down in front of us and said, “Here, take a look at this while I get the first plate ready. Lauren already picked the outside, but it just gives you an idea of what we have. I’ll be right back.” She stopped by the doorway and turned back to us quickly. “What can I get you to drink? Some people like milk, while others prefer water.”
“I’ll have milk, please.” Kacie smiled courteously.
“Two, please.”
Kacie cracked open the binder as Pearl disappeared around the corner. I watched her eyes flutter excitedly around the pages filled with pictures of big white cakes that had fake flowers trailing down the sides.
“Are those diamonds?” I asked, gawking at a picture that caught my eye.
“Not real ones, they’re edible. Amazing, huh?”
I turned up my nose and leaned in close to her, not wanting Pearl to overhear me. “These are all too white. Where’s the color? The excitement?”
“These are wedding cakes—they’re supposed to be elegant, not exciting.”
I walked over to the shelf and grabbed a different binder. “This one looks better.” It was full of birthday cakes, retirement cakes, engagement cakes … every type of cake you could think of.
“And … here we are with your first batch.” Pearl set a tray on the table with milk in two fancy-looking glasses that looked way too breakable for me to hold, and a plate with about ten squares of cake on it. “There are two of each kind: our basic chocolate, German chocolate, dark chocolate with a raspberry layer in the middle, Crème de Menthe and Oreo.”
My head snapped up at Pearl. “You make Oreo wedding cake?” I asked incredulously.
“Yep, and we can put a layer of fruit filling or custard in between too, if you want. Basically, you can completely design your own.” She shrugged her shoulders excitedly and grinned at us. “Okay, take your time, sample them, talk about them and I’ll be back in just a bit with your white cake options.”
Grabbing a fork off the plate, I dove right into the Oreo cake.
I rolled my eyes back in my head and dropped the fork. “Oh. My. God.”
“That good, huh?” Kacie asked, trying it for herself.
“Yes!” I groaned. “I think I’m hard.”
“Shhh! Not so loud!” She giggled.
“Seriously, this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my whole life … almost.” I winked at her.
She gasped and turned a shade of red so dark, I was worried her head would explode right there in front of me.
“Do you agree?”
“Yes, I think it’s delicious,” she said once she regained her composure. “And really moist.”
“Oh no, stop right there.” I held my hand up. “It’s a little late, but it’s my turn to implement a condition on our relationship.”
Kacie blinked rapidly, frowning at me. “What?”
“The word moist, you can’t ever say it again.”
She threw her head back and laughed at me, covering her mouth so that cake didn’t spill out.
“No, no. Stop laughing, I’m serious.” I said, but that only made her laugh harder.
She inhaled deeply and coughed, choking on her cake.
“See, that’s what you get for making fun of me,” I teased in a self-righteous tone. After she was done hacking, she took a big gulp of milk and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“So why don’t you like the word moist?”
“Ah ah ah. What did I just say?” I warned, waving my finger.
“Why don’t you like that word?” she asked, still chuckling.
“It just sounds gross. Doesn’t it?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it. It’s just a word.”
“No, spoon is a word. That other M-thing is vile. It’s like a porn-word or something. It needs to be removed from the English language.” I shuddered.
“Porn word? Are you innocent all of a sudden? Do I need to remind you about last weekend?”
I didn’t speak, I just glared at her.
“Okay, if you feel so strongly about it, I’ll be careful not to use it...” She smirked. “Unless I’m trying to piss you off.”
“How’s it going in here?” Pearl interrupted.
“Slow, sorry,” I responded. “She doesn’t know how to use a fork, so she keeps choking,” I joked, pointing to Kacie whose eyes bulged out of her head.
“Oh dear, do you need a spoon?” Pearl asked, completely serious.
Kacie was laughing so hard, no sound came out—all she could do was shake her head.
“Okay then, no rush. I’ll bring the white selections back in a minute, that way you can compare if you want to.”
Half an hour and eighteen cake squares later, I was beyond stuffed and extremely thankful for my elastic pants.
We’d tried every piece and had finally decided on the dark chocolate with raspberry filling, even though I pushed really hard for the Oreo. I had to … for Tommy. I was killing time flipping through the birthday binder again while we waited for Pearl. One of the cakes showcased in the binder was nothing short of incredible. It was a two-foot tall exact replica of the castle at Disney World with who I assumed were all the princesses scattered around it. Cinderella, the only one I recognized for sure, was standing on a balcony with Prince Charming.
“Holy shit, Kacie. Look at this!” I turned the book so she could see it.
Her mouth dropped open and her eyes lit up.
“Wow. I mean … wow.”
“When is the girls’ birthday? They need this cake.”
“In a couple months, August 31st. I can’t get this cake though, Brody. Did you see the price?”
I spun the book back around and looked at the sticker next to the picture, which I’d totally overlooked.
“Two seventy-five? For cake?”
She nodded slowly. “I told you this place was the best. Lauren is spending a grand on this wedding cake. This place is way out of my budget.”
We’ll see about that.
Alexa and I impressed ourselves with all that we got checked off our list while Lauren was away.
Cake, band and flowers �
� done. Centerpieces weren’t even on our list, but we found the most beautiful antique vases at a flea market for a steal and couldn’t pass them up. Lauren was beyond thrilled with our progress and gushed about how grateful she was. The minute she got back into town, I made her repay the favor by helping me get ready for the charity event with Brody. I wanted to dress to kill; no way was I going to give Blaire any ammunition tonight.
There was no fashion show this time, nor did Mom or I have a say in what I wore. Lauren had a handful of expensive designer dresses that she was saving for a special occasion, and she insisted I wear one of them tonight.
It was a red, fitted Nicole Miller jersey-style dress that gathered down the front and back, showing off the waist Lauren said most women would kill for. Silver, strappy Jimmy Choos that she’d never even worn fit my feet like Cinderella, nicely showing off the pedicure I had gotten earlier that day with the girls. I never wanted to forget how adorable they looked sitting in those big chairs, grinning from ear to ear with their cute little toes barely reaching the water.
The Wild Kids event was halfway in between my house and Brody’s, so it didn’t make sense for me to drive all the way to his place. He told me he’d be by at 6:15 to pick me up. As usual, I was ready early and pacing the kitchen like an expectant father.
“Sit down, relax,” Mom called from the living room, patting the couch cushion next to her.
“I can’t, I’ll wrinkle my dress. I want everything to be perfect.”
She got up and came into the kitchen, keeping me company while I paced. “Well, you look beautiful and happy. You’re glowing. I could cry just thinking about what a change I see in you the last month and a half since you’ve met Brody. He really is a blessing.”
My chest warmed at his name. It’d been almost a week since I had seen him and I was aching to wrap my arms around him. This long distance thing was rough, but it made me really appreciate the time we were able to spend together, not to mention the dozens of hours on the phone we spent really getting to know each other. We still never ran out of things to talk about.
“I know, Mom. I’m pretty crazy about him.”
“I already knew that—you two don’t exactly hide it well. The way you look at each other across the room, the involuntary way you grin when I say his name, the way your heart swells when you see him playing with the girls … you two are the real deal.” Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Don’t make me cry, my makeup will run.” I waved at my eyes, hell-bent on keeping them bone dry. “It’s so strange, I went into this bound and determined not to let it get too serious, but I don’t think that’s what I want anymore. I judged him. I assumed because of what he does for a living, he wasn’t capable of being a good guy, a family guy. He’s proven me wrong time after time. I like him, Mom. I like him a lot.”
“I like the way that sounds.” A husky voice behind me set every nerve in my body on fire. As I spun around, my breath caught in my throat.
Wow.
Brody looked like he’d just stepped out of an Armani magazine ad. He was leaning against the wall with one arm behind his back and the other holding onto the lapel of his jacket. The lines of the black tuxedo he wore were tailored perfectly to his body, accentuating every detail from his broad shoulders to his trim waistline. His normally untamed, short curls were slicked back just enough, his face silky smooth. Brody was this crazy, macho professional athlete, but tonight, he could easily have passed as a model.
“Wow. You look great, way better than great. So far past great, you can’t even see great anymore.” I was nervous and rambling. I couldn’t even think of a word to justify how amazing he looked.
“You … my girl, are breathtaking.” He took a step toward me, revealing that in the hand behind his back were a dozen perfect red roses. When he got to me, he lifted my hand to his mouth, gently brushing his lips across the top. “When we walk into that room, you’re going to put every other woman to shame. How lucky am I that you’ll be on my arm?”
My mom sniffed again as Piper came barging into the kitchen. “Mom, come look at this car. It’s the longest one I’ve ever seen!”
“What?” I looked from her to Brody, confused. “What is she talking about?”
Brody shrugged nonchalantly and cocked his head to the side. “The limo.”
“You rented a limo?”
“I wanted to give all my attention to you tonight, didn’t want to worry about driving. Come on.” He took my hand in his and pulled me toward the front door.
“Would you mind putting these in water for me?” I handed the roses to Mom on the way out of the kitchen, laughing at the tiny Twisted Petal logo on the plastic wrapper. Knowing Alexa, she went through dozens of roses to handpick the perfect ones for me.
The girls were standing in the front room, their faces fogging up the glass as they stared at the limousine.
“You guys wanna go for a quick ride?”
“Yay!” They squealed and jumped up and down like they would’ve if he’d bought them each a pony.
He opened the front door and stepped back, waiting for the three of us to go out. Once the girls hit the porch, they were out, sprinting across the yard like an Olympian ran for the finish line.
“Relax,” I said in my mom tone as I walked up behind them. “We’re going to sit nice in here and not break or ruin anything. Got it?”
They didn’t hear a word I said but nodded anyway as I pulled the limo door open and they climbed inside. Once they were in, I bent down to climb in myself and stopped when I saw the red rose petals sprinkled all over the floor of the limo. I sat down on the bench opposite Lucy and Piper and looked at Brody apologetically when he joined me, knowing this wasn’t the way he wanted the night to start out.
He shrugged it off and delivered his smile that could make all my troubles disappear. “I wanted you to feel like a princess tonight.” He nodded across at the girls who were excitedly pushing and spinning every knob and button they could find. “Now I have three princesses.” He leaned over to drop a kiss on my forehead, but I was done hiding things from the girls. I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and redirected his mouth onto mine, meeting in a sweet, wonderful kiss.
No tongue—I wasn’t anywhere near ready to teach the girls about all that yet.
Brody asked the chauffeur to drive up and down the main road off our driveway for the next ten minutes. The girls either didn’t notice or didn’t care that we were driving in a big circle, they were too fascinated with the TV in the car, then the radio in the car, then the fridge in the car where they discovered bottled water they just had to have.
We dropped the girls off with Mom and we were on our way. Brody slid the cover off the built-in cooler in the limo and pulled out a bottle of Cristal. “Glad they didn’t find the good stuff.” He said, winking at me as he pulled out two champagne flutes and poured us each a glass.
I took the glass from him as he leaned over and kissed me softly.
“Here’s to a night we’ll never forget.”
Truer words were never spoken.
Our limo crawled to a stop at the curb of the Prescott Pavilion, and I was shocked at the chaotic scene of fancy cars, security guards and photographers.
“This is a charity dinner?” I asked, staring incredulously out the window. I don’t know what I had expected to see, but this definitely wasn’t it.
“Yep, this is it.” He squeezed my hand. “You ready?”
An attendant dressed in a crisp white shirt with a black tie and black pants rushed over and opened the door for us. Before I took the young man’s hand and got out, I glanced back at Brody to see if he was as nervous as I was. He calmly buttoned his jacket and winked at me.
“Let’s go.”
I stepped out and moved off to the side so Brody could follow.
“That was a nice view,” he whispered into my ear once he was out.
He offered up his arm and I hooked mine through immediately, smiling up at him. We wa
lked up a few steps and heads started to turn; people started to whisper.
“Brody, people are staring.” I breathed, leaning in close.
“I know. It’s okay. We’ll walk the red carpet and go right inside. Just a few more minutes.”
“Red carpet?” My voice cracked in a panic. “You didn’t tell me about that.”
“Breathe.” He reached up squeezed my hand reassuringly. “I didn’t want you to freak.”
“Well, that worked out well, didn’t it?”
He stopped walking and pulled me over to the side. “Do you not want to do this? I can walk alone and meet you inside if you’d rather? I want you to walk with me, but I’m not going to force you.”
Dread whirled around in my stomach, knocking down everything in its path as it spun and grew like a twister in the summer heat. A month ago, the biggest decision of my life was what shade of pink to paint Lucy and Piper’s fingernails, now I had to decide whether or not to walk the red carpet at the charity dinner for my new boyfriend’s hockey team. It wasn’t the walking that made me nervous, that part was easy—one foot in front of the other. It was the people staring, whispering, and pointing that made me want to crawl out of my own skin.
I looked into Brody’s soothing green eyes as he bit his lip, patiently waiting for my answer. I was proud to be his girlfriend and I wanted him to know that. Soon enough, people would figure out who I was anyway. I might as well rip the Band-Aid off fast, right?
“Let’s do this,” I said, raising up on my tippy-toes and planting a kiss right on his beautiful mouth.
He palmed the back of my head and held me there, elongating our kiss before he rested his forehead on mine.
“You. Amaze. Me.”
I didn’t have time to tell him he amazed me more before he took my hand in his own and morphed into ‘Sports Superstar Brody,’ confidently shaking hands and working his way through the crowd.
The red carpet was overwhelming, suffocating. Flashbulbs right in my face, hundreds of them causing me to blink so fast, I’d be surprised if there were one picture with my eyes open. My heart was pounding as hard as ever, the only thing keeping me from sprinting back to the limo and barricading myself inside was Brody’s warm hand resting comfortably on the small of my back.
