To convince Jennifer he was into her would mean ignoring Harper. He would have to break her heart. Again.
But it was the only way to save everything: Harper, her family, the show, and his career.
“Okay.”
With a quiet squeal, Jennifer wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the mouth before he could stop her.
The morning had been a blur of setting up cameras and equipment in the bakery, and Harper was ready for a nap. But there was no time, not when she had five cakes to bake for the competition.
“Why did it have to be wedding cakes?” she moaned to Tiffany, who was going above and beyond, yet again, this time by helping Harper mix up the batter.
“Would you rather be making five hundred cupcakes?”
Harper snorted. “No thank you. Once was enough.” After the disastrous event the previous summer, when half the cupcakes had fallen to the floor, the Flour Girl Bakery only did wedding cakes. Harper knew she was missing out on a piece of the market, but there was only so much stress a person could handle in life. She drew the line at personalized cupcakes.
“When are the bridesmaids and groomsmen getting here?” Tiffany asked.
“Right now!” called a voice from the door.
The two women turned to see Reagan and Sienna walk into the kitchen.
Harper didn’t know if she was relieved or pissed. “Put on a hairnet before you touch anything.”
“But I just did my hair.” Sienna stuck out her lower lip. “Besides, we’re not here to help.”
“Of course not,” mumbled Harper.
Beside her, Tiffany giggled.
Louder, Harper asked, “So what are you doing here three hours early?”
“It was boring at the inn,” said Reagan, perching on a stool in the corner, hands folded neatly in her lap. “And we wanted to hear how your secret mission went.”
Harper cast a glance at Tiffany. “I think you’ve done enough overtime for one week. I can finish up. Thanks for all your help.”
Tiffany looked like she wanted to argue, but she hung up her apron on a peg by the door and washed her hands before waving goodbye. Harper knew she’d be happy with the extra money, but she was also barely out of high school. The girl had a social life, unlike Harper whose only plans outside work had been her weekly Sunday afternoons with Audrey. Until this wedding had taken over everyone’s lives, that is.
Despite the endless frustration caused by the reality show, thinking of her missing sister still made her stomach twist into knots.
“So what did you find out?” Sienna said eagerly, leaning over the work table, her long blond hair hanging over her shoulder.
“Sienna, I swear, if you get a single hair in these cakes, I will knock a tooth out.”
The youngest Hudson sister rolled her eyes. “Calm down, they’re just for the show, right? We won’t be eating them or anything.”
“Well, I take pride in my work. Would you only give half of your energy during a rehearsal so you could save it for opening night?”
Sienna clicked her tongue but backed off and took a seat next to Reagan. “Seriously, Harper, spill the details, we’re dying over here.”
Harper kept her eyes on the bowl of batter she was mixing a little too vigorously and shrugged. “He didn’t say anything about Audrey, he just told me about this cake competition.”
“You are the worst flirt ever, Harper,” her sister whined. “I should have done it myself.”
Harper huffed. “I’m sure Fox would just love that.”
At the sound of his name, Sienna lit up from the inside. “He would understand. I wish you could have seen him yesterday. He was spectacular. He says he doesn’t want to be a performer anymore, but I’d bet within a week of getting to New York he’s going to more auditions than me.”
Harper’s eyebrows shot up. “He’s going back to New York with you?”
“Of course. I’m not exactly made for life on a fishing boat.”
“He’d just give up his whole life for you? Just like that?”
Sienna laughed. “It’s not like working on boats was his big dream. It was just something he did to escape the life he thought he didn’t want.”
A tiny hole appeared in the little happy bubble that had been floating inside Harper ever since Austin had mentioned her visiting him. Of course she couldn’t expect him to give up everything for her. Working in TV had been important to him for as long as Harper could remember. He’d defied his parents to move to LA, had worked himself to the bone to move up the precarious Hollywood ladder, and was now finally within reach of moving into something big through his work with Bruce. Why would he give up all that hard work for her?
Harper shook her head and grabbed the cake pans from the cabinet. She tried to ignore Reagan and Sienna’s chatter as she poured in the batter with even, practiced movements. The familiar routine of balancing the heavy pans on her arms and placing them in the hot ovens was soothing. Austin wasn’t Fox, and Harper definitely wasn’t Sienna. What her sister’s relationship looked like—both of her sisters—didn’t define what hers had to be. She had her stolen moments and stolen kisses with him, that was enough for now.
“Anyway, Harper, what else did Austin say?” Sienna’s question pulled Harper out of her thoughts.
“What? Nothing.” She bit her tongue. Of course her voice would sound shaky now, of all moments.
Reagan raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. “He didn’t say why they’re doing this cake competition? Do they know Audrey’s gone?”
“I don’t think so, but Bruce is losing patience.” Harper felt a flutter of panic run through her but pushed it down before it got too close to her head. This was not the moment to lose her cool. “If she doesn’t show up today, I don't know how they’ll be able to finish the show.”
Reagan and Sienna exchanged a worried look.
“So what are we going to do?” asked Sienna.
Harper inhaled deeply. Her sister still expected her to have all the answers, even after failing to find Audrey. Harper had never felt so lost. So she did what she’d done when she was younger: rely on Austin’s plan to get her through. “We’re going to decorate cakes.”
Eighteen
4 Days Until Dream Wedding
“Alright, alright, welcome to the cake decorating competition.”
Jason Castle’s voice gave no hint that this was anything but a totally planned part of the show. Harper hoped her own face was just as convincing because when she looked around the room, everyone was in various states of agitation.
Reagan was looking at her hands, her red hair falling in her face. Harry was leaning against the counter, his arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Fox looked grumpy, but from what Harper had seen of him, that was his default mood. Only Wade and Sienna seemed to be just as unflustered as Harper was attempting to appear.
Sienna because she was such a good actress—actor, Harper corrected with a roll of her eyes—and Wade because he was just an easygoing guy. Harper held back a sigh. More than once Audrey had tried to push Harper toward Eli’s friend, without much success. Wade was a great guy, but not for her.
A sharp pang of guilt shot through Harper when she noticed Eli off to the side, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. She hadn’t even stopped to consider what the groom must be thinking right now. Had Fox told him that Audrey was sick or had he told him the truth? Eli would be worried either way, but only one scenario meant he wouldn’t be getting married in four days.
Sienna nudged Harper, and she returned her attention to Jason, who was explaining the rules. “Each bridesmaid and groomsman will get a cake and unlimited access to the decorating supplies so kindly provided by the Flour Girl Bakery in Wellspring, North Carolina.”
Harper bit the inside of her cheek to keep from scowling. “Unlimited” meant she’d be spending the next week restocking her supply. When someone had come by with a contract for Harper to sign earlier in the day, Austin had been nowhere to be found. She woul
d have liked for someone to take the time to let her know what was in it, but she’d been too busy to do anything but sign it. She had at least scanned it briefly. There’d been some mention of remuneration in exchange for her providing the space and materials, but now she wondered if all that meant was Jason saying the name of her bakery.
“You all will get a brief introduction from Tiffany, head of decorating here at the bakery, and then will have an hour to complete your cakes.”
Harper almost snorted, and she got a glare from Sienna. “Head of decorating” was a fake title she’d made up to get Tiffany to cancel her plans and come back to the bakery.
“The judge will be the groom himself, since this will serve as the traditional groom’s cake.”
“But won’t Harper win anyway?” Harry turned his eyes to Jason. “I mean, it’s her bakery. She’s a professional so why are the rest of us even trying?”
Jason’s smile didn’t even tremble. “That’s the second part of this. Harper isn’t participating as a contestant. She will spend ten minutes with each of you, lending her help however she can.”
After a few more directions and smiles at the cameras, Jason wished them all good luck and stepped away. Tiffany replaced him at the front of the kitchen and demonstrated how to apply the crumb layer, make buttercream flowers, and—for those daring enough to attempt it—how to roll out and apply fondant.
Harper bit her tongue to keep from jumping in once or twice, but overall, her young assistant did really well—especially considering there were three cameras trained on her every move. Despite Austin’s big dreams of Harper becoming a baking show superstar, she knew bubbly and bright Tiffany was much better suited for a life in front of the camera than her sarcastic and awkward boss.
When Tiffany was done, Wade and Sienna descended on the decorating supplies and started filling their arms with goodies like kids on Halloween. The others were more hesitant, their enthusiasm subdued.
“They need to be a little more interesting.”
Harper jumped a little to hear Austin’s voice in her ear. It was the first time she’d seen him all day, and a smile tugged at her lips. But it was wiped from her face the instant she turned and saw his face. She’d never seen Austin looking so serious. Or so angry. His eyebrows were drawn together so closely it was hard to tell that he had two. He’d leaned in close to whisper in her ear, but pulled back as soon as he’d given her the message.
“What am I supposed to do about it?” She hoped she sounded irritated and not disappointed. Of course he had to pretend not to know her, but this was a little extreme.
“Figure it out. The second Bruce gets bored, the questions about Audrey will start.” Then he walked away.
He walked away!
Harper stood frozen in place, her heart pounding in her ears. What had happened between this morning and now that would make him treat her this way? Doubt rolled around in her stomach. He said he wanted her to visit. She hadn’t made that up. Right?
Or maybe she’d just misunderstood. Maybe all he wanted was a baking lesson. Or maybe all he’d wanted was for her to agree to let him use the kitchen, and he’d do whatever it took for her to say yes.
A heavy pressure of tears built up behind Harper’s eyes, and she blinked to keep them away. While crying on camera would certainly be interesting, it wasn’t what Harper wanted Austin to see.
“Harper, are you okay?” Sienna asked. She was spreading frosting over her cake in giant globs.
“No.” She looked over her shoulder. The cameramen weren’t at Sienna’s station yet, but they were walking toward them. “We need to be more interesting,” she mouthed to Sienna quickly hoping her drama queen sister might be able to help.
Sienna winked so fast, Harper almost missed it, and then started scooping giant piles of frosting onto the cake.
When Sienna plopped the fifth heap on top, Harper snatched the large offset spatula out of her hand.
“You’re ruining this poor cake.”
“I’m not ruining it! More frosting is always better.”
“It’s too much. Just let me do it.”
“No.” Sienna pushed Harper out of the way and grabbed the spatula back. “You always think your way is the only way.”
“Give it back.” Harper swiped at the spatula, but Sienna held it behind her back.
“It’s mine,” she said, and feigned to the right before scooting the other way around the edge of the counter.
Harper hesitated for just a moment, threw up her hands like she was giving up, then lunged for Sienna.
The chase that ensued around the kitchen was met with delighted guffaws of laughter from Wade and Fox, and a few short bursts of cursing from the cameramen. Sienna flicked frosting behind her back, and a glob landed right on Harper’s forehead.
“Get back here!”
“Never!”
Wade and Fox were shouting out encouragement, while Reagan simply stepped out of their path whenever they flew by, calmly frosting her cake in between these breaks. It could have gone on for hours—neither Harper nor Sienna liked to give in easily—but what finally got them to stop was the voice of Bruce booming over the chaos.
“That’s enough for now.”
They were both breathing heavily and leaned on the counter by Sienna’s barely frosted cake. Harper felt proud that she and Sienna had pulled off something exciting, but when she snuck a glance at Austin, he looked unimpressed. He lifted his brows impatiently and jerked his head toward Reagan.
Harper couldn’t understand why he was being so mean—even the crew members who didn't know her smiled a little when they talked to her—but she playfully nudged Sienna and walked over to where Reagan was rolling out fondant like a pro.
“Feel better?” Reagan asked with a playful smile.
“Gotta have a little fun, right?”
Reagan’s eyes flicked briefly to where Harry was cussing at the frosting he smeared on his cake, and back to Harper. “Uh-huh.”
“Do you want any help?”
Reagan shook her head, causing her red curls to bounce. “No, I think I’m okay. But you might want to go check on the boys before they destroy their cakes—and your bakery.”
Harper followed Reagan’s gaze and saw Wade rolling the fondant into something that didn’t look appropriate for network television and gave Reagan a rushed goodbye before walking over to his space.
She smacked her hand on his creation, flattening the inappropriate sculpture. “What are you doing?” she hissed.
Wade shrugged unapologetically. “I figured you and Sienna shouldn’t be the only ones having fun.”
She smacked him. Hard.
But he only chuckled, a loud and deep rumble. “Remind me never to make you angry.”
“And remind me never to give you something you can mold again.”
“Did you come over to babysit me?” He gathered the smushed fondant and started rolling it into a ball.
“I get ten minutes with everyone, and I figure now is as good a time as any.” She snatched the fondant back. “And I just saved us from getting fined by the FCC.”
Wade eyeballed the ball of fondant before going for the buttercream. “The network would have been fined. Not us. But they would have blurred it out anyway.”
“Better safe than sorry though.”
“Speaking of sorry,” Wade said. “If I ever get married, which I won’t, I’d be really sorry to get a groom’s cake covered in delicate fondant flowers. Aren’t they supposed to be chocolate...and slightly more manly?”
Harper sighed. That was the same argument she made to one of the crew members when they gave her a list of items to have on hand. She’d wanted to talk to Austin about it, knowing he would understand and do his best to fix it, but she’d been afraid to hint at any relationship between the two of them.
Poor Austin. He must be so stressed out with the pressure of the show and keeping secrets from his boss. That was the only explanation for how snippy he’d been to her e
arlier. Harper’s eyes went to him to see if he’d relaxed at all since the last time she’d snuck a glance. But Austin wasn’t looking at her when she turned her head.
Harper’s breath caught in her throat when she saw him next to Jennifer. He put a hand on her back and whispered in her ear. But instead of pulling away, like he had with Harper, he leaned in. Jennifer giggled and put her hand on his cheek and Austin’s hand touched her waist. It was just for a second, and when Harper blinked, the two of them had separated and were on opposite sides of the camera, watching the contestants.
The floor vanished under Harper’s feet. She gripped the counter, steeling herself against the dizzy realization that everything had been a lie. This was a reality show, after all, so why was she surprised that the crew was so good at manipulation?
“Harper?” She felt a strong hand on her shoulder and looked up to see concern etched all over Wade’s features. He gave her shoulder a slight squeeze. “You okay?”
That was the thing about Wade. He seemed totally aloof and never serious enough on the surface, but under his playful exterior, he was considerate and genuine. Why, oh why, couldn’t Harper fall for someone like him? Probably because he felt too much like a sibling, like Reagan. It was the replacement family the Hudson sisters had created for themselves when their real one had begun to fall apart.
She cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah. Of course. Just thinking about how we should have done chocolate cake like you said.”
He lifted a brow waiting for the truth.
But Harper didn’t want to talk about the real reason she was upset. “Do you need any help with the frosting?”
Wade shook his head. “I think I’m good, and I promise not to do anything else to get anyone in trouble.”
Harper leaned in and gave him a hug. “Thanks. I’m sure Bruce will appreciate that.”
Harper continued to walk around the kitchen after that. No one wanted her instruction, and it was probably better that way anyway. Everyone was doing everything wrong, and it would have taken too much time to teach them the proper technique.
The Bridesmaid & The Ex (Wedding Games Book 2) Page 12