I had worked my damned ass off in Torture. I told myself that I looked fabulous no matter what I wore. I looked fine. No, more than fine...I was hot! Scorching!
When I returned, I touched Eddie's arm to take his attention away from Levi and his pal. "We should get started."
Eddie mumbled something inaudible and walked to the back of the store, shaking his head.
I schooled my face into something more serene. "We have four cakes to try," I announced. "Please remember, this is for a seven-tier cake."
Levi's lady friend hummed, but I was sure it was due to something else other than the thought of cake. Her hand seemed to have found something interesting beneath Levi's shirt.
I narrowed my eyes marginally as Levi finally took off his sunglasses and placed them on the table. He wasn't smiling. But he didn't seem upset either. He was stoic. The unfeeling man.
And he unnerved me.
I looked away and paid attention to my phone, tapping a text to Chase to hurry up.
Thankfully, Eddie returned with a tray of empty dessert plates, which he left on top of the counter. He then took out four lovely, intricately-decorated round cakes from the display cabinet, and arranged them before us. "What we have here are..." Eddie began but was interrupted by a ring at the door. Eddie looked stunned, making the rest of us turn our heads.
I stifled a gasp as a six-foot-four hunk of a man in a plain white tee, dark jeans that hugged every sinful bit of his lower half, sauntered in. Diego prowled like a male model on a catwalk. He was just plain sexy all over.
"Sorry I'm late," he said, eyes on me, as he neared. He kissed the side of my cheek.
"What are you doing here?" I whispered, then smiled.
"I knew you were gonna see Eddie, so I thought I'd surprise you and stop by. I would have made it on time, but I got stuck in traffic." Diego glanced over my head and nodded. "Hey, Eddie."
"Hello?" Eddie was right to question Diego's presence. On top of that, he didn’t even know him, but Diego acted as though he did.
I tapped a finger on my chin, trying to make sense of what was happening. When I received the text from Chase: Is he there now? I got it. Diego was Chase's solution to my dilemma.
"Hi!" Levi's date spoke up in a high-pitched tone. Diego and I turned to her, and I swallowed a guffaw. She stretched out the hand that had been in Levi's shirt moments before and offered it to Diego. "I'm Ophelia."
Her name rolled over her tongue, and it sounded as though she said 'I'll feel yah.' I bet she would too. I shuddered.
Diego, ever the good boy, took the proffered hand and shook it once. "Very nice to meet you." He had to pull away forcefully from Ophelia's grasp. Then he angled his body and stretched his own hand toward Levi. "Diego," he introduced himself.
Levi's eyes narrowed into tiny slits. He looked down at Diego's large, callused hand, up to Diego's face, and then to me.
I had to take advantage of the situation. The new me needed it. Levi brought Ophelia to either piss me off, or make me jealous, or whatever. I touched one of Diego's bulging biceps and left my hand on it. "Diego dear, this is Levi. Remember the wedding I told you about last night? He's the best man." I made sure to enunciate the ‘last night’ and didn’t miss the understanding in Levi’s eyes. Yes, he knew that Diego was my date. He didn’t have to know that we had parted as friends.
Diego slowly retracted his hand. My face burned like I’d eaten a five-alarm hot pepper.
Eddie cleared his throat, produced dessert spoons and forks, and placed them on a linen serviette on the table. "Shall we continue?" We all returned our focus on Eddie.
I nodded. "Please."
"Our first cake is an homage to our lovely country: apple and cinnamon cake with brown sugar frosting." Eddie sliced the first cake and placed a piece of it on a plate.
"Diego and I will just share one, Eddie." The words just came out. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Levi's mouth gape.
"That'll be the same for us," Levi said. His voice did not waver.
I looked at Levi and Ophelia, who was still eyeing Diego and seductively licking a spoon.
Eddie stared at the two couples in front of him. He was as confused as ever. "Very well then." He proceeded to cut the next cake, a mocha-colored frosting over yellow cake. "Next, we have almond with mocha icing, chocolate drizzle, and pistachio crumbs."
The third cake was decorated more elaborately with Corneille lace piping, something I had become proficient in when I had worked for Eddie. "This is our blackberry and currant chiffon with raspberry filling and limoncello icing. My dear Nica's favorite." Eddie glanced at me, and I sent him a smile. "And last, but not least, dark chocolate with a whipped peanut butter mousse filling, and dark chocolate ganache. Rich, robust, and I believe it is still the groom's favorite."
"You're so good, Eddie. I can't believe you remembered," I quipped, even though I had reminded him about it yesterday when I confirmed this appointment. He passed along the plates, and I placed them on the table. Four cakes for Diego and me, and four similar slices for Levi and Ophelia. I hoped he choked. Well, not really. Maybe just a little.
Eddie had also provided carafes of water and glasses. Perhaps he could read my thoughts. "Bon appétit!"
Diego and I took a spoon and fork each.
I watched as Ophelia scooped a piece of the first cake, and lifted it to Levi, who slowly, like we had all the time in the world to eat cakes, opened his mouth to take the dessert. So this was his game. I copied Ophelia's actions and fed Diego a piece of the cake.
"Hmmm, very good. This is definitely a winner," Diego offered his opinion. He used his fork to lift a tiny slice to my mouth. "Here you go, my sweet."
My throat dried up upon hearing Levi's term of endearment to me coming out of Diego's lips. In my peripheral vision, I could see Levi's jaw drop. I made sensual sounds with my mouth. The cake certainly tasted divine.
"Good, huh?" Diego's eyebrows shot up. I nodded as he continued to feast on the cake. "So good."
"Sandrine's allergic to nutmeg. And if I'm not wrong, I detect a hint of it in the flavors," Levi told Eddie in a matter-of-fact way.
Damn, I dropped the ball on that one. I knew she was allergic to it. I had it in my notes somewhere. "Yes, that's correct. Thanks for reminding us." I sent a quick, shy look toward Levi. "Shall we try the next one?"
The same thing happened to the second cake. Ophelia fed Levi. Diego fed me, and I fed Diego. And every single time he did, Levi would move his head from side to side and rub the back of his neck.
Levi noted the complimentary flavors of the almond and the hint of coffee and chocolate of the second cake.
It was good, but it wasn't elegant enough.
When we got to the third cake, my favorite, I added extra oomph in my moan, closing my eyes as I let the flavors of fresh berries and the sweet-tart combination of the limoncello icing explode in my mouth. My hands were pressed against Diego's broad expanse of chest, and as I let the last bit of sweetness melt on my tongue, I fisted Diego's white shirt. I opened my eyes marginally in what I hoped was a seductive gaze and smirked at Diego.
"That good, huh?" Diego's face was plastered with a wide, knowing smile.
"It's a perfect cake for a summer wedding," I replied.
"It's a bit tart." From the other side of the table, Levi's words sounded petty.
With my hands still over Diego's shirt, I turned to Levi. "Tart?" I raised an eyebrow.
Levi crossed his arms over his chest, exposing the tanned, toned forearms under the sleeves of his light blue button down. He narrowed his eyes at me. I shot daggers at him.
"Why don't we have a sip of water before the last cake?" Eddie suggested. He poured us a glass each, even offered one to Oh-feel-yah.
After a couple of minutes, we continued. I'd had the pleasure of tasting this cake before with Jake when we were dating. Back then, he had always made me promise that I would buy this cake for his next birthday. I never had the chance. Not for his birthday, at least.
I was pretty confident that this was the cake he would want at his wedding. Eddie could add some elegance to it by using a different type of icing, rather than a ganache so that he could display his skills in cake decorating.
Levi grabbed a fork and spoon off the serviette, cut a small piece with his fork, and pushed with his spoon. He raised the piece to his own mouth, and I could tell that he loved it. He made a small moan of approval.
I gave Diego a piece, and his eyes rolled back in his head as he ate the cake. "Divine. Simply divine, Eddie. You've outdone yourself. Can we take this home? I can think of many ways I’d like to eat it." There wasn’t just a subtle hint in Diego’s eyes. He made sure that everyone in the bakery knew what he meant. My cheeks burned.
I swallowed the nervous anxiety in my belly, smiled at Diego, and took the smaller piece of cake on his fork. It was better than sex. Well, at least the sex that I'd had. The decadent bittersweet flavor of the moist cake paired with the sweet-saltiness of the peanut butter mousse and the rich ganache was to die for. I didn't close my eyes as I tasted. Instead, I trained them toward Levi.
He was raptly watching me. We held our gazes together. With the tip of my tongue, I licked ganache off the corner of my lips, and then bit my bottom lip. I might have seen him tremble, but it was so slight that I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined it.
He rubbed the back of his neck again and then lightly scratched the five o'clock shadow on his chin. A muscle in his jaw twitched. He took a big scoop of the cake and turned toward Ophelia. She had been surprisingly quiet throughout the whole exchange, and she hadn't tried a single piece of cake.
Ophelia sneered at the piece on Levi's fork. "I don't want that."
"Just try it," Levi said.
"I don't eat cake. You know that. I told you." Ophelia took a step back. Was she afraid that the cake would jump off of the fork and force itself into her mouth?
Levi sighed. "Oh, just try it. It's really good." He moved his hand closer to her.
"It's full of calories. I can't have any more calories for the day. I can only drink water."
No more calories for the day? It wasn't even noon yet. How could she survive?
"Just. Try. It." Levi looked like he was going to lose it.
"I can't. I have a shoot tomorrow!" Ah-ha! I knew she was in the industry.
Levi lowered his hand a bit, and huffed, "A shoot? I thought you said you only have an audition for a foot ad?"
Ophelia's mouth formed a large 'O'. "It could be my big break. What if they think my feet look fat from eating cake?"
A laugh escaped my mouth. I clapped a hand over it when Ophelia shot me a menacing look. Diego leaned forward to peek at her very skinny feet.
"Just try the damn cake!" Levi pushed his hand forward, getting the forkful of cake closer to Ophelia's face.
Diego, Eddie and I watched in horror as the dark chocolate cake slipped off the fork and splattered onto Ophelia's white dress. And it didn't stop there. The cake smeared down the short length of the dress and flopped on top of her fuchsia stilettos.
Ophelia shrieked. Her hands flew over her head, careful not to touch the mess on her. "This is a new dress! It's Versace! Do you know how much this cost?"
I never took interest in what Levi did for a living. He looked and acted rich. With the company he kept, it wouldn’t surprise me that he did indeed come from a wealthy family. Ophelia didn’t seem to know much about him either. Levi could probably afford another one of those. Heck, maybe even four!
"I told you I didn't want to come here. I told you I didn't want to have cake. Now look at me!" Ophelia pointed her sharp fingernails at Levi, who seemed both slightly entertained and shocked by what had happened. Ophelia huffed one more time, and tramped her way out of the shop, with bits of chocolate cake trailing behind her.
Levi looked at her retreating form, at Diego, and finally at me. He brushed his hair back, seemingly unsure of what to do next. He dropped the fork on the table and followed his date, muttering to himself.
“That wasn’t awkward at all,” Diego said when the door shut behind Levi.
“Sorry about that. How did you end up here?”
He replied, “Chase was at the gym when you called her. She told me you needed help. I didn’t know what I signed up for until I got here.”
I shook my head, embarrassed that Chase had to resort to asking Diego to get me out of what shouldn’t have been a stressful situation. If only I’d been honest with her.
“I gather he’s your flower guy?”
I rubbed my temple and was about to say more when people started to gather outside the shop.
Eddie and Diego hurried to watch through the storefront windows. I couldn't help but join them, curious to see what was happening.
Outside, Ophelia was alternately waving her arms around, and pointing her fingers at Levi. A couple of times, she also pointed toward the shop. Levi spoke to her with the same gusto. I wished we could hear what they were saying.
I felt horrible. If I hadn't been so petty, this wouldn't have happened. All I wanted was to give Levi a taste of his own medicine. "I should put a stop to this." As I said the words, I watched, bemused, as Ophelia stepped toward Levi, anchored one foot to the ground, and sharply brought her knee up into his groin.
"Oh!" The two men with me instinctively cupped their own crotches, as did a few men outside.
Levi collapsed to the ground and curled into a fetal position. He was clearly hurt.
"Levi! Oh, crap..." I stepped toward the door, ready to burst outside and help him.
Diego grabbed my arm to stop me. "You can't go out there, Nica."
"Why not? Look at him. He's hurt. And nobody's helping him." My eyes were welling up with tears. I had caused this.
"If you go out there, his family jewels won't be the only things hurting. You'll hurt his pride too," Diego explained. "I'll go."
He didn't give me a chance to argue. Diego pushed me carefully aside before going out of the bakery. Eddie wrapped an arm around me, as we watched the exchange between the two men.
Diego helped Levi to a seated position on the curb. They talked, nodded at each other, and then both looked behind them, seeing me. I backed away from the window.
Diego then got up and stretched out his hand. Levi grabbed it and slowly stood. He bent over for a bit, placing hands on his knees and tucking his head to his chest. A moment later, he straightened, said something to Diego, and shook his hand. Then he walked around the black, shiny convertible parked in front of the store, got in, and without looking back, drove off.
When he was clear out of range, Diego came back in, scratching his head.
"Is he going to be okay?" I was extremely concerned. My chest constricted, and I started wheezing.
Diego nodded. "He'll be fine. Nothing that a bit of ice and rest won't fix." I wrung my hands together. He stared at them. He wrapped his hands around mine and spoke, "Nica, that man is so into you."
“Into me?” I pointed a finger at myself. “Me? Him?” I tried to process this. That couldn’t be true. Levi had no business being into me. Not when I had feelings for Jake. “No. You’re silly.”
“Yes.”
“No,” I said defiantly .
T hen I laughed and said it agai n, although the second time, I wasn’t entirely sure what to believe anymore.
Eight
The Bridal Party
I might have been a little too excited to go to Paris, readily ignoring all the screaming questions in the back of my head. How could I have ended up in bed with Levi? How could I not have seen that he wanted to be with me? Did Jake know? How could I continue to plan this wedding if I still had some sort of feelings for the groom?
Well, I pled insanity. And Paris was my asylum.
After tying up some loose ends for events happening during the weekend I was away, I dragged myself home, packed for hours, since I couldn't decide what to bring for Paris, and dropped onto my bed to sleep. Three hours later, I was full
y awake but extremely tired.
Unfortunately, it gave me more time to rethink my wardrobe choices, and I had to go through my luggage again. By the end of it, the driver sent to pick me up had to rush so I would not miss the plane. I argued with myself that I might have packed too much, or too little. Were five pairs of shoes enough? Should I have brought another Little Black Dress?
When I arrived at the airfield, where a sleek private plane waited, I saw the bags being loaded and confirmed that I, indeed, hadn't packed enough. Counting at least three suitcases for Isobel alone, I panicked. I was going to look like a tourist.
Almost everyone was present, including Levi. I groaned at the sight of him. It was my first time seeing him since that dreadful morning at the bakery. I’d tried not to dwell on it, and busied myself with work. Good thing he was too busy on the phone to notice my arrival.
Isobel hugged me like we hadn't seen each other in years instead of just a few days. She insisted that we s it together, and I was more than happy to oblige. She couldn't stand to be around Levi, and I didn't think he'd ever warmed up to her.
We were promptly handed champagne as we took our seats, although I refused to drink mine since my last drinking debacle (cue Levi passing us). I asked for some sparkling water instead. As our plane was preparing to take off, I noticed that we were short two people.
"Aren't we waiting for someone else?" I queried.
Isobel looked around us. "Who? Everyone's here. Sandrine left yesterday to prepare for our grand arrival." She winced when she said Sandrine’s name and snorted when she finished.
"How about Olivier?"
She quirked her eyebrow. She seemed confused. "Olivier?"
"Yeah. Sandrine mentioned he was going to be here. Who is he anyway?"
Isobel laughed out loud, and I felt a blush color my face.
"But he's here. Olivier." Her fingers flicked in the air.
She pointed across the aisle where Jake was engrossed in a book, and Levi was animatedly talking in French to our striking flight attendant. I quickly averted my eyes before he noticed me looking. I turned back to Isobel with a look that said that I had no idea what she was saying. She laughed again, brushing a tear from her eye and slapping her hands to her thighs.
Confessions of a Wedding Planner (Bliss Series Book 1) Page 7
