With This Cake: A Meet Me At The Altar Novel

by Samantha Chase

  But once that was resolved, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he was going to do a little research into Meet Me at the Altar and the sexy little baker who he couldn’t get out of his mind.

  Fortunately, the drive was relatively easy with very little traffic and as he made his way toward Raleigh, he began to question just why it was that he couldn’t get Leanna out of his mind.

  She was beautiful–that was a given–but he’d been out with plenty of beautiful women that he’d been able to move on from once the night was over.

  Maybe it was his guilt for getting up and leaving her in bed this morning, he thought, and then immediately pushed that thought aside because, again, he’d done that countless times before without any regrets.

  “So where the hell does that leave me?” he wondered out loud.

  He got off at his exit and really forced himself to think about the weekend and for whatever reason, he knew talking about it out loud was odd but effective for him.

  “Okay, it’s not just her looks–even though she truly is beautiful. We do have a lot in common,” he went on. “We’re both workaholics who don’t like to delegate because we know no one can do the job as well as we do.”

  That actually was a strong point in her favor.

  “She has no trouble speaking her mind and I appreciate that.” He thought of all her snarky comments the day they met and found himself laughing softly at them. “So she’s no pushover, that’s for sure.”

  Throughout the entire weekend, there had never been a lull in the conversation and she wasn’t someone he felt like he had to pretend with.

  Which was ironic considering they were pretending to date all weekend.

  No, she accepted him for who he was–even in a fake relationship situation. His own family didn’t accept him for who he was and Brody realized how much it actually meant to him that Leanna did. And on top of that, it was something else they had in common because she struggled with the same thing from her own family.

  Just minus the open hostility his family threw his way.

  So they were compatible on many levels even before they got to the bedroom.

  He shifted slightly in his seat just thinking about all the ways she had turned him upside down last night. All weekend long he figured her to be quiet and reserved in bed. The kisses they had shared each night were amazing in their own right, but Brody had her pegged as a woman who either didn’t have a lot of experience or who would be shy in the bedroom.

  And it was just another way she proved him wrong.

  If he weren’t driving, he knew he could close his eyes and still see that sexy-as-hell dress slithering to the floor and the sight of her in nothing but panties and heels.

  He pressed the heel of his hand against his fly because apparently he didn’t need to close his eyes to still feel the effect of how she looked.

  With a groan, he turned into his gated community and sped toward his house. It was going to be good to have a little peace and quiet and return to his normal routine without having to walk on eggshells all damn day. He had given his brother what he wanted, but now that the celebration was over, it was back to business as usual, and in the offices of King Hospitality, he was the one calling the shots.

  Pulling into the garage, Brody shut off the car and let out a long breath. “Home sweet home.”

  And really, it was.

  The historical, mid-century modern home was a project he took on five years ago and only recently finished all the renovations on–including a massive addition. Now, at 6,000 square feet, the house had everything he wanted. His master suite was as big as the suite of rooms he had at his parents’ home, and the master bathroom had been featured in several architectural design magazines. There were four other bedrooms and five other bathrooms, an office, a gym, a gourmet kitchen, and a man cave that housed some of his favorite sports memorabilia that made him the envy of his friends. All of it was located on two acres of perfectly-manicured property that would never house a party tent or trailers.

  Just the thought of it made him laugh as he walked into the house.

  Everything was peaceful and quiet–just the way he liked it–and as he walked around the house, all he could think of was how much he appreciated having all this breathing room to himself.

  It was kind of glorious.

  Placing his satchel on the kitchen counter, he went and grabbed himself something to drink and contemplated whether he was going to relax now or later. He was sure that his father and brothers were still socializing with their remaining guests and winding down from the weekend, but there was still a crisis at hand that was hopefully being dealt with.

  He hated having to hold someone’s hand while they did their job and he trusted Greg to be doing what they had discussed earlier.

  So maybe he did have some time to turn on ESPN for a little while and catch some scores and call in for lunch to be delivered.

  “Probably should have stuck around for the brunch buffet, but…now I can eat in peace.” Pulling out his phone, he pulled up one of his favorite restaurant apps and decided to treat himself to one of his less-than-healthy favorites–burgers with truffle fries. Once the order was placed, he kicked off his shoes and made his way to the newer part of the house and his man cave.

  No sooner had he gotten comfortable than his phone rang. He groaned when he saw his father’s face but answered anyway.

  “Hey, Dad. What’s up?”

  “What is this about you threatening to fire Greg?” his father demanded. “He is one of our best employees and you are not to make demands on his personal time, do you understand?”

  “Dad, if he hadn’t dropped the ball…”

  “Seems to me this wasn’t his fault and as an executive at King Hospitality, you need to be the one in constant contact with the contractor, Brody! There’s a lot of money riding on this deal and I don’t want Greg Sweeny carrying the weight of it! Do I make myself clear?”

  Brody’s head fell back against the sofa as he mentally counted to ten.

  Apparently, there would be no ESPN or relaxing because now it looked like the only one working on a Sunday was him.

  Chapter 7

  It’s cupcake o’clock.

  Two weeks after the engagement party weekend, Leanna was walking into the Meet Me at the Altar offices with her arms filled with coffees and breakfast for her and the girls. Normally she only grabbed bagels for their Monday morning meetings, but today she ordered omelets and pastries from one of their favorite restaurants. They were celebrating their four-year anniversary in business and she had been assigned the breakfast portion of the day. Skylar was handling lunch, and Josie had picked the restaurant they were all going to for dinner.

  “I love happy days,” she mused as she walked into the conference room and set everything up.

  “Please tell me there’s some protein in those bags,” Skye said as she walked into the room looking a little green.

  “I thought you were over the morning sickness phase,” Lea commented as she slid a large foil-covered dish toward her friend.

  “It comes and goes but protein really seems to calm it down.” She opened the foil and smiled. “And bacon really really calms it down.”

  Josie breezed into the room with a big smile. “Everything smells yummy!! Did we get the chocolate croissants?”

  “Like I’d forget those,” Lea chided her before sliding another foil-covered plate in her direction. Once both her friends had their food, she sat down with hers. “Ooh…you got me the Western omelet! Thank you!”

  “You’re welcome and the croissants are in the white bag over there.”

  “Seriously, Whitney’s makes the best home fries,” Skye said with a very satisfied sigh.

  “I thought you were all about the protein?” Josie asked.

  “That doesn’t mean I’m not also all about these home fries.”

  They ate in silence for several minutes before Josie practically jumped out of her chair. “Oh, my goodness, I
completely forgot to tell you about the call we got this morning!” she said excitedly.

  It was rare that Josie got excitable in a happy way over anything, so Lea’s curiosity was definitely piqued.

  “Apparently people are still talking about your desserts from your cousin’s engagement party, because we just got an order for a hundred cupcakes for tomorrow! Isn’t that great?”

  Lea practically choked on a forkful of eggs and took a minute to calm herself. “Tomorrow? Are you crazy? You didn’t accept, did you?”

  “Of course I did! They don’t want anything difficult–fifty yellow cake with chocolate frosting and fifty chocolate cake with vanilla frosting–and no special decorating. You know you can do that in your sleep!”

  It was true and she knew she could, but the fact was that it wasn’t Josie’s place to take the order. And before she could mention that, Josie was talking again.

  “I looked at your schedule and you have nothing that you need to start working on until Thursday so I figured it wasn’t a big deal. Plus, it seemed like a big corporate thing and it would be very cool if we could branch out into corporate events, right?”

  “That would be amazing,” Skye chimed in. “I mean, I adore doing the weddings, but it would be nice to deal with clients who weren’t as high-maintenance as a bride.”

  “I guess…”

  “Why aren’t you more excited about this?” Josie demanded. “Two weeks later and people are still talking about your desserts! Plus, all you have to do is put them together. I already reached out to Emilie and she said she’d deliver them for you so it’s really not a big deal.”

  She took another forkful of her eggs while she considered it and she wasn’t sure why she wasn’t more excited. Sylvia had mentioned how impressed she was with the cakes and desserts so clearly she was just ready to utilize her again.

  “You’re right. I don’t know why I’m being weird,” she murmured. “Sorry.”

  Both of her friends stared at her, but it was Skye who spoke up first. “Is everything okay with you? You’ve been a little weird since that weekend.”

  That was incredibly accurate and she hadn’t mentioned to either of them about her night with Brody because she was embarrassed. And even though she had only talked to Skye about some of it over the course of the weekend, she knew Josie was aware of what had happened prior to the whole…fling.

  Did she bring it up now?

  “I’m fine,” she said, and for the most part, she meant it.

  Did she think that Brody would have reached out to see why she left without saying goodbye? Yes. Was she disappointed that he didn’t? Yes. Did part of her want to hunt him down and kick in in the nuts for being such a jerk? Also yes. However, she wasn’t a violent person and that she’d get over it.

  Eventually.

  But there was something she was curious about…

  “Who was the client?” she asked.

  “What client?” Skye asked.

  “The cupcake order,” she said with a huff. “Who is the order for?”

  “Oh, her name was Margaret Reading. Did you meet her at the engagement party?”

  Leanna had to think about it for a moment because she met so many people, but that name didn’t stand out to her. “I must have, but I don’t remember her.”

  “Well, it really doesn’t matter because she still ordered and seemed very excited about it.”

  “Then that’s all I can ask for, right?”

  “And I can totally help you bake today if you’d like,” Skye offered with a grin.

  “How about I just give you a bowl of frosting and you watch?” With a wink and a laugh, Lea reached for the bag with the croissants and handed them out to everyone.

  “I know I shouldn’t want to eat this on top of the omelet and bacon and home fries,” Josie said, “but I can’t help myself. They’re just too damn tempting!”

  “Speaking of tempting,” Skye said a moment later. “You never did tell us what happened with Brody, Lea.”

  Dammit! It was like her friend was in her head or something.

  With a shrug, she took a bite of her croissant and chewed it slowly.

  “Nice stalling tactic,” Josie told her. “But you’re going to have to talk eventually.”

  Swallowing, she nodded. “Okay, fine.” Then she let out a long breath and sat back in her chair. “I slept with him.”

  “What?!”

  “You did?!”

  “Was it good?”

  “Have you seen him again?”

  The questions were coming at her in rapid succession until she held up a hand to stop them. Gently, she cleared her throat. “Okay, so um…yes, I did sleep with Brody the last night of the party and yes, it was good–really good.” She groaned. “So stupidly good that I can’t stop thinking about it!”

  Her friends both cheered and clapped but she held up a hand to stop them again.

  “However,” she began carefully, “when I woke up the next morning he was gone and when I did eventually find him, he was…ugh…he was talking to someone on the phone and being so hateful that I was actually glad he left before I woke up.”

  “Oh, damn,” Josie said softly, reaching over to squeeze her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Skye asked, her expression sad even as she took another bite of her breakfast.

  “For starters, I’m embarrassed,” she admitted. “I mean I finally decide to do something out of my comfort zone and the guy sneaks out before I wake up.” She groaned again. “I should just give up and be a nun or something.”

  “Okay, let’s all relax,” Josie quickly interjected. “There’s no need to do anything drastic. It was one bad experience. You’ve hooked up with a lot of other decent guys. This was just a…you know…you said he was a jerk so…”

  “Just stop,” Skye said, tossing her fork aside. “Lea, don’t let this one bad experience drag you down. It’s his loss. And from what you overheard, maybe you dodged a bullet. Plus, you said the sex was good so…really…it’s a win for you. Good sex and you don’t have to see him again. Yay, you!”

  It sounded good in theory, but there was still a part of her that couldn’t forget the good side of Brody–the great conversations and the vulnerable side she was privy to. Why did he have to be such a complete ass in so many other aspects of his life?

  “So yeah, sorry if I’ve been in a funk. I guess I just felt weird about the whole thing and wasn’t handling it well.”

  “You have nothing to apologize for,” Skye said, picking up her croissant. “You’re an amazing person and if Brody King didn’t realize that then so what? You said his family hates him too, so you’re not alone.”

  “I guess.”

  “And you mentioned how he doesn’t like cake,” Skye reminded her. “I mean…clearly there is something wrong with him.”

  “I did get him to eat one cupcake, but after that he only ate the fresh fruit they put out with the desserts.”

  “I always thought that was just for show,” Josie said, looking at each of them for confirmation.

  “Not unless it’s plastic,” Skye replied.

  “Please, at an event like that weekend, no one was putting out plastic fruit. It was all real and it was so fresh it was hard to hate on it.”

  “Did you eat any of it?”

  Lea let out a small snort. “Please. If there is cake, that’s what I’m eating it.”

  Josie stood and tapped the table with her spoon. “Okay, no more talking about guys who are asses because we need to focus on celebrating! Ladies, it was four years ago today that we opened Meet Me at the Altar. How crazy is that? And now look at us! We are one of the premier event planners in this region! So who cares if one guy did something stupid? The thing we should be celebrating today is how we built this business from nothing!” She held up her coffee. “To us! And to many more years of planning events and to doing what makes us happy! I love you both like sisters and there isn’t anyone
else on this planet that I’d want to do this with!”

  “To us!” Skye cheered as she stood up with her coffee.

  And feeling more than a little emotional, Lea stood and raised her drink too. “Here’s to many, many more years of doing this!”

  “What do you mean it’s not Leanna?” Brody demanded.

  His assistant Margaret–who was almost old enough to be his mother–looked at him with mild annoyance. “You didn’t specify that it had to be Leanna,” she reminded him. “Her name is Emilie and she’s setting everything up in the conference room.”

  Raking a hand through his hair, he let out a long breath and a few curses as he paced back and forth and tried to think of what he was supposed to do next.

  “Okay, thank her and pay her and…I don’t know…tell everyone their afternoon snack is on me.”

  She gave him a knowing smirk before walking out and he wanted to throw something.

  The whole point of ordering the damn cupcakes was to get Leanna here. She had mentioned repeatedly how she was so hands-on with all her clients and felt the need to personally deliver her orders.

  Apparently, not all of them…

  Pacing, Brody tried to figure out what his next move should be.

  You could try calling her.

  Sure, he could do that but he had a feeling Leanna would hang up on him. And if she didn’t, then she’d refuse to see him or give him a chance to know what happened that morning.

  That’s why this cupcake order seemed so perfect! She’d come to deliver them, he’d invite her into his office, and because she was too polite to make a scene she’d follow and he’d have the chance to find out why she left without saying goodbye. He knew it would potentially work out better for him if they saw each other face to face rather than talking over the phone. So where did that leave him?

  Walking to the door, he yanked it open and watched as Margaret’s eyes went wide. “Is Emilie still here?”

  “No, she just left. Why?”

  “Call Meet Me at the Altar again and order more cupcakes for tomorrow. Double the order!” Then he slammed the door shut. There was no way Leanna wouldn’t come herself on such a big order.