by Cat Lavoie
“Daddy,” she says, stretching her arms out to Ollie.
“Do you know where Auntie Roxy was?” he asks, picking her up and holding her high above his head. “An airplane.” He zooms her across the room and she laughs so hard it gives her the hiccups.
“Wow, Izzie. You’re huge.” I should have known from watching Steffi that pregnant woman can grow bigger by the minute, but the sight of a waddling Izzie catches me off guard.
“I know. I think we have a future football player in here.” Gareth puts a hand on Izzie’s belly and she beams up at him.
I look across the room and watch as Steffi scrubs a juice stain off Cameron’s face using her thumb and bit of spit—just like our mother used to do. I’m so proud of my baby sister. I’ve watched her struggle and lose sleep and work hard to be there for her daughter. It hasn’t been easy but—when I see her face light up as she holds Cameron—I can tell she doesn’t regret a thing.
“We have a surprise,” Adam announces, coming out of the kitchen followed by Emma and Tali. “We were craving your famous chocolate cupcakes with strawberry buttercream so we made some for the party.”
“I helped,” Emma says.
Tali shrugs. “I watched.”
“Try one,” Adam says, shoving the plate in my face.
I try to smile as I examine Adam’s creations. His cupcakes look more like chocolate pancakes with a dollop of pink goo. Obviously, something went wrong with the recipe but I’m sure they taste fine.
Everyone stares at me as I pick up a cupcake and take a tiny bite. The bitter taste almost makes me gag but I force myself to swallow. Will they believe me if I say I filled up on airplane food and can’t eat another bite? I look at all the familiar faces surrounding me. These people know me and my appetite—I can’t fool them.
“I had to make a few adjustments to the recipe,” Adam says. “We didn’t have any baking powder but the recipe only asked for a teaspoon. It can’t be that important, right?”
I nod. “It is, actually…”
“And I didn’t have any cocoa powder so I used the chocolate milk powder we have at the Quid.”
I remember seeing a dusty can of chocolate milk powder tucked away in the Quid’s pantry and I’m pretty sure it expired before anybody in this room was born. Did Adam use it for these cupcakes? I can’t let anyone else eat these.
“You know what? I can make these cupcakes in my sleep. Let me go whip up a quick batch.”
“Oh no, Roxy,” Mom says, shaking her head. “This is your party. You should sit down and relax.”
“I’m sure these are fine,” Dad says, reaching for a cupcake.
I swat his hand. “No. Don’t eat those.” I love Adam and I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but there’s no way I’m letting my family eat these cupcakes.
“I understand,” Adam says, his eyes glued to the ground. “I should have known better than to mess with your recipe.”
“It’s okay, Adam,” I say, heading to the kitchen. “I’ll make some. It’ll only take a second.”
I tie an apron around my waist and reach for my bowls and measuring cups. After gathering all of the ingredients on the counter, I notice that everyone has assembled in the kitchen and is watching me.
“We figure you’ve learned some new techniques in Paris,” Tali explains. “We want to see.”
I nod and turn back around to face my ingredients. I hate to disappoint my friends and family but there’s nothing special about this recipe. Just a bit of mixing. I’m about to dump a cup of flour into my favorite red mixing bowl when I notice something resting at the bottom.
A box.
I pick it up and slowly turn around to face everyone. Ollie comes out from behind Emma and takes the small velvet box from my hand.
“Roxy Rule,” he says, dropping to one knee. “I’m pretty sure I’ve loved you ever since our moms forced us to share a crib when we were babies. You’ve been by my side for the good and the bad. This last year with you and Cameron and everyone in this room has made me happier than I ever thought I could be.” He takes a breath while I hold mine. “Will you marry me?”
I hear Emma squeal but I can’t take my eyes off Ollie’s face. I love that face with its giant grin and sparkling eyes. I want to marry that face. And the rest of him too. Before I can answer Ollie’s question, the cup of flour I’m still holding slips through my fingers and sends a cloud of white dust into the air as it drops to the floor.
“Is that a yes?” he asks.
I smile and reach down to brush off some of the flour that has settled on Ollie’s hair. “Yes,” I say, feeling numb all over.
Everyone cheers and Ollie takes my hand and places the diamond solitaire around my finger. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. He leads me into the living room and we go around accepting congratulations and giving out more hugs and kisses. Steffi, Izzie and I hold on to each other for the longest time. I can’t remember the last time all three of us had a group hug. It might even be a Rule family first.
“How long have you been planning this?” I ask Ollie. We’ve left the commotion of the apartment and are sitting on the front steps of our building.
“Since you left for Paris,” he says.
“So, Adam’s awful cupcakes…”
He laughs. “All part of the plan. It was fun deliberately messing up a recipe. I think we put five teaspoons of salt in there.”
I hit him on the shoulder and he winces. Even though I’ve had a few glasses of juice to try and wash it out, the bitter taste is still lingering in my mouth. “And you let me eat it?”
“I’m sorry. We had to make it believable.”
I shake my head. “Well, you got me. I didn’t suspect a thing. Who knew Adam was such a good actor?”
Ollie smiles. “You know they’re all up there planning every single detail of our wedding, right?”
“Let them,” I say, taking a deep breath of chilly evening air.
“But what if the tablecloths end up clashing with the napkins? It might look weird.”
Turning my eyes away from the quiet street, I look into Ollie’s face and see he’s about to burst out laughing at any second. He couldn’t care less about the details. And neither could I.
I stretch my neck and kiss him. “So be it. Since when are we afraid of being weird? Your daughter is my niece and my future stepdaughter and if we have kids, she’ll be a sister and a cousin. Let’s face it, Mr. Frost. Weird works well for us.”
Ollie laughs and helps me get up from the steps. “You’re right, Mrs. Frost. It does.”
“Mrs. Rule-Frost,” I correct with a smile. “I think. I don’t know. I have time to think about it, right?”
“We have all the time in the world.” Ollie opens the door for me and we step inside the lobby. The faint sounds of laughter and music waft down to us from somewhere above our heads. I grab Ollie’s hand and—after taking a few seconds to enjoy the silence—we head upstairs to join the beautiful chaos waiting for us.
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THE END
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to the following people for their support, encouragement and general awesomeness:
Despina Kartsakis & Kathy Michopoulos: Thank you for reading an early draft of this novel and giving me the confidence to let other people read it too.
Samantha March: Thank you for taking a chance on me and for being so enthusiastic about my story.
Maryknoll Fojas: Thank you for being an awesome cheerleader and for believing in this book and—most of all—for believing in me. I am lucky to have you as a best friend.
About the Author
Cat Lavoie lives in Montreal, Canada with her tempestuous cat, Abbie.
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If Cat isn't reading or writing, she's most likely watching too much TV or daydreaming about her next trip to London.
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To find out more about Cat and her books, please visit www.CatLavoie.com and follow CatLavoieBooks on Twitter, Facebo
ok, and Instagram.
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Also By Cat Lavoie
ZOEY & THE MOMENT OF ZEN
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PERI IN PROGRESS
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NINE LADIES DANCING – A HOLIDAY NOVELLA