“Hey, guys, did I mention the main house has a pool and there’s a big old bridge down the road to the big pond, as in the Atlantic Ocean,” Tyler said laughing as he disconnected the call.
Chapter 59
WITH STAR AND TYLER staying in his boyhood bedroom, and the success with finding the perfect property for them, Cindy took one look at the couple and drew them aside.
“Star, you and Ty have a full plate—the move, buying a house, a new company to set up, and a wedding to plan, just to mention a few. I don’t want to interfere, but if you’d like your mother and me, and your grandmother to help with the wedding, be wedding planners, we’re ready to take on the role. What do you think?”
Tyler looked at Star. As the bride to be he felt it was her call.
Star’s eyes teared up. Tyler was ready with a fresh black and white checkered handkerchief. A sudden onslaught of tears happened a lot since the accident. Her emotions were on a rollercoaster over things big and small. The wedding planning was a big deal. She accepted Tyler’s handkerchief with a smile.
“Cindy, I can’t think of three women who would be better wedding planners. Please, if you have the time, plan my wedding—everything. Let me know when you have questions and run with it. Oh, I need a dress and promise me you won’t let Tyler see it,” Star said with a sigh of relief as she pocketed Tyler’s hanky. He grinned. He’d better buy a new supply.
“I promise, dear girl. That son of mine will not get a peek. I’ll make an appointment with a wonderful boutique bridal shop. I’ll set up a conference call with your mom and Gran so your wedding planners can get to work. How does that sound? Oh my, first we’d better set a date,” Cindy said smiling in anticipation.
“What do you think, Ty?” Star said.
“Today would be good.”
That brought a laugh and tears to both Star and Cindy’s eyes.
“Hey, don’t abuse our wedding planner,” Star said grinning. “How about three weeks? People we want to invite already know we were planning to get married in a few weeks…twenty guests, maybe twenty five at most. They’re just waiting for the date.”
“November first?” Cindy said.
Star and Tyler nodded.
“I have an idea for the location, if the date is open, it will be perfect—rehearsal dinner, wedding, and reception all at the same place. I’ll call your mom, Star. She and Gran…do you think she’ll mind if I call her Gran?”
“She’ll love it.”
“Good. I’ll call them now. I wonder if they’d like to come to Daytona Beach right away? They can stay in our guest room. There’s plenty of room for your dad whenever he wants to join us. What do you think?”
“Gran will be here as soon as she hears she’s a wedding planner. Mom, too.” Star reached in her pocket for the checkered oversized hanky. Blotting her eyes, she looked at Tyler. “Mr. Jackman, I think we have a meeting scheduled with Jane. Something about our corporation?”
“Right, Miss Bloom, we do. Take my arm, your chariot awaits.”
- - -
As Star predicted, her mom and Gran were on the first flight out of Newark Liberty International Airport the next morning for Daytona Beach. Newark was the closest airport to Hoboken, New Jersey. Cindy and Star picked them up in her SUV. Their excitement was palpable. It was if they’d been best friends forever. They loved their rooms at the Jackman’s, separate but next to each other.
While Mary and Gran settled in, Cindy checked with The Shores, restaurant, spa, and hotel, about the date. The manager, a pal of Cindy’s, said the dates were open she would hold it until the party planners made their final decision. And, yes, The Shores could host all of the events—rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception—and had rooms for out-of-town guests. But the rooms go quickly so let her know…the sooner the better. Cindy said the planners and the bride would arrive within the hour.
Cindy, Mary, Gran and Star thought The Shores was a wonderful venue. Star was thankful she remembered the checkered hanky.
The planners and bride then went to the bridal boutique. The owner prepared the salon with her prettiest chairs, a bottle of chilled champagne and crystal flutes. On the way back to the Jackman’s, the planners and Bride giggled at the experiences they’d had at the shop. Ultimately, Star felt she purchased the perfect dress. The three planners heartily agreed. Only one alteration was needed—a small nip in the waist. The owner said they could pick up the dress by the end of the week. What the three planners had not anticipated were they too purchased dresses. After all they were mothers and one even a really Grand Mother.
The bottle of champagne was a hit, helping the mothers along with their choice of dresses and the necessary alterations. Nips and tucks here and there.
After a nap the planners convened in the kitchen. Cindy showed Mary and Gran the maps she had drafted for their guests—airport, The Shores, two hotels, and the house Star and Tyler purchased. The Blooms thought the map was a good idea. Cindy then emailed a copy to the guest list Star and Tyler gave them. Guests flying in were renting cars, and with the map they could drive to The Shores or another hotel. Their choice.
- - -
Star and Tyler decided they didn’t need to travel for a honeymoon. They were both exhausted from their whirlwind trip to the West Coast, the move, wedding plans, and buying the house to say nothing of several meetings with Jane and her lawyer. Luckily, the owners of the house had moved to Italy and were more than happy to accept the cash offer from a reduced price. The owners said they could have immediate access to the property but there would be a hefty penalty if the Jackman’s backed out or there was a hitch in the sale. The couple agreed they wouldn’t make any changes until the sale closed. Cindy, as the broker, agreed to handle the sale.
- - -
At the second meeting with Jane Haliday and her lawyer, all the documents were edited for the new corporation. The bank accounts were set up, registration of the business, and a myriad of legal documents ready for the partner’s signatures. Jane suggested that documents requiring the couple’s signature should be prepared but not signed until after they were married. Star’s last name would become Jackman. The corporation was set up in the name of the partners, Star Jackman and Tyler Jackman. Star was going to do business as Star Bloom, author of future books and credits listed for television or films springing from her books or vice versa.
Tyler designed a temporary logo and printed business cards. His team had yet to come up with a name and logo for his end of the business. However, S&T Jackman Corporation was up and running.
- - -
The Washingtons met at the new house two days before the wedding. Jenny Sue was beside herself with excitement having been chosen to be Star’s flower girl. Star had told them about the pool, so it wasn’t long after Jenny Sue showed Star her new dress for the wedding that she changed into her swimsuit. The Washingtons and Star and Tyler retreated to Star’s office to go over the status of The Baker Girl Reality television show. Stuart said they just signed a deal with Star’s publisher who was shopping the TV show to her contacts. Grace Turnbull already had two bids for Washington’s proposal of the Baker Girl episodes.
Star had a surprise for the Washingtons. Tyler agreed with her decision to set up a foundation, Jenny Sue nonprofit Cancer Charity for Children, with an initial contribution of $500,000. The Washingtons could handle the charity or involve the Children’s Hospital. However they wanted to handle it, Jane Haliday and her lawyer were ready to assist them. The Washingtons were stunned with Star’s generosity. Trying to process the enormity of the gift, they tabled all discussion until after the wedding.
Smiling, Tyler took the shocked Washingtons to the cottage to meet his team, Ben and Sam. They marveled at the setup for Tyler’s business and that of the main house. The house came furnished but Star explained she rearranged her office replacing some things with what she needed. Tyler had rented, on a temporary basis, what he and his guys required for the cottage.
- - -
It was to be a small wedding with their closest friends, colleagues and family. Two attendants—Jenny Sue, the flower girl, and Benny the best man.
Benny was sitting in his wheelchair at his usual table the day Star entered the diner to apply for the waitress job posted in the window. Tyler was the diner’s waiter who drew cartoons for the customers. All the memories of when they met at Charlie’s Diner seemed so long ago.
To do lists were checked one last time.
All was ready for the big day.
Chapter 60
The Wedding
THE CEREMONY WAS to be held in a private alcove bordered by Palmetto bushes and a riot of flowers. White chairs were lined up festooned on the back with large blue bows the color of the baker girl’s eyes. Of course, the Atlantic Ocean played its part producing a special sparkle to the waves gently rolling ashore.
The Butterworth sisters sat on one side behind the Blooms with Gran, and good friends Elizabeth Stitchway and husband Manny. Ben and Sam and the Washingtons sat on the other side behind Cindy and Tony.
Jenny Sue, in her delicate blue dress the color matching the bows and the sky, carefully stepped down the path to the alcove in her shiny black Mary Jane’s. She smiled at her parents as she passed and then at Tyler as delicate pink rose petals fluttered down from her fingers.
There wasn’t a dry eye when Star, a fairy princess declared by Jenny Sue, floated down the path in a puff of white tulle and lace on the arm of her father. Gran had picked the flowers for her bouquet from the flowers outside Star’s office window.
A hush fell over the group, the only sound were the waves sweeping over the pristine white sand bordering the alcove.
The minister took his place, and with a smile received the couple’s vows as they exchanged rings. Tyler held Star’s hand in a warm strong grip as she spoke.
"I, Star Bloom, take thee, Tyler Jackman, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."
Star slipped the ring on Tyler’s finger.
"I, Tyler Jackman, take thee, Star Bloom, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."
Tyler slipped his ring on Star’s finger.
“Tyler, you may kiss your bride.”
The End
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A BIG thanks to all of my reviewers. You each look at the manuscript from a different perspective—big picture, subject matter, timeline, order of events, and punctuation—so critical in the presentation of the words forming sentences and paragraphs. Your questions are helpful—alerting me that something in the manuscript requires clarification.
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Sofia Valastro makes cupcakes with a twist! Watch how she makes tie dye cupcakes in ice cream cones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBcw5SmJHRo
Copyright
A CUPCAKE TO DIE FOR
Copyright © 2019 by Mary Jane Forbes
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, locations, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author.
Printed in the United States of America
Todd Book Publications: 11/2019
Port Orange, Florida
About the Author
Cozy romantic mysteries wrapped in suspense.
My goal is to entertain, to transport you away from the stress of the day, to live for a short while in someone else’s world—at times to shed a tear, other times to set your heart beating, and always to add a few chuckles.
Fodder for my books is ripped from headlines of the day from news stories—cybercrime to tiny houses, the stock market to the emergence of bitcoins, family to ancestor’s DNA, cookie baking contests to terrorists. Unearthing the facts buried under the headlines sends me on fascinating journeys gaining insight into the stories behind the news. I weave my research, what I learn along the way, into my plots making them richer.
Back to work. My mind’s swirling with notes tacked on another storyboard. Twists and turns as I tackle a new plot in my studio loft…a space overlooking a pond edged with palmetto bushes in Port Orange, Florida.
Please drop me a line, a review is always welcome…enjoy!
[email protected]
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GRAB A COPY ON AMAZON
Books by Mary Jane Forbes
DroneKing Trilogy
A Toy for Christmas
A Ghostly Affair
Love is in the Air
Bradley Farm Series
Bradley Farm, Sadie, Finn
Jeli, Marshall, Georgie
The Baker Girl
One Summer, Promises
A Cupcake to Die For
Twists of Fate Series
The Fisherman, a love story
The Witness, living a lie
Twists of Fate, daring to dream
Murder by Design Series
Murder by Design
Labeled in Seattle
Choices, And the Courage to Risk
A Cupcake to Die For Page 16