“That’s Daniel.” Ruby said, in her southern belle twang. “He’s Emmy’s friend.”
“Boyfriend.” Daniel stated.
“Right.” Ruby bit her lip and smiled.
“Oh wow, great to see you man.” Edward shook his hand and turned to Emmy. “We’re so glad to finally meet you! Ruby here wanted to keep our real personalities a secret because she’s such a fan of surprises.” He laughed.
“I bet she is.” Emmy said nonchalantly.
“So, is everything going okay?” Edward asked. “Did some cake tasting already happen or should we have coffee or what?”
“Everything’s going great.” Ruby said. “In fact, we were just talking about how awesome it would be to get married here because it’s such a nice place. And, we’ll have the wine tasting tonight and cakes tomorrow.” She clung on to Edward’s arm like a high school cheerleader would to her Quarterback boyfriend. “You got to let Emmy breathe—they just came here. Oh, and I’m going to see my gown later, too, right?”
Emmy could not speak for a while. She wanted to get out of there but she also knew that she couldn’t let Ruby get to her. Plus, she also wanted to give her dad his business back. She wanted to revive his career so he could be happy again and could forget about the pains of the past.
“Right.” Emmy finally said. “You’ll see your gown tonight, Ruby.” She said. “And we’ll drink some wine, too.”
“Cool.” Ruby smiled. “That’s amazing.”
“We’ll just…we’ll be going to our room first, settle down and all that…”
“When you say all that, you mean have some private time together, right?” Edward asked. He laughed, too, which made them feel awkward. “Sorry about that.” He giggled. “We’ll see you later.”
Emmy and Daniel then got out of the shop to face this new kind of trouble in paradise.
CHAPTER 4
WELCOME TO MY LIFE
“Emmy, wait.” Daniel said as Emmy opened their room at the resort. He was holding their bags and some of the things that were going to be used for the wedding. “Will you talk to me, please?” He said and took some of the things that Emmy was holding when they finally got inside the room.
He knew that Emmy was trying so hard not to snap, but her anger was so obvious, it was enveloping the air. She was shaking a bit and she would not even talk to him. She just opened the shutters and looked at some of the people who were lounging by the beach.
“Emmy.” Daniel said as he held her by the shoulders so she would face him. “Please.”
“What do you want to talk about, Daniel?” She said. “That it’s so amazing that I’m going to work for your girlfriend who’s actually had a lot of memories with you here?”
“I didn’t know it would be her, I swear.”
“Really? So, the reason why she chose me to work for her was because she believed in my talent, and not because she knew about our relationship? You believe that this is all just coincidence?”
“I don’t know what she’s playing at, Emmy, but don’t worry. I’ll try my best to figure it out. You just have to trust me.”
“Oh wow.” Emmy said. “You think this is easy for me? Knowing that what? You probably slept with her in this room? That you made love to her and she’s probably only trying to lure you back by being here and all that?”
“You don’t know that.”
Emmy laughed. “Right.” She said. “I don’t know anything. Welcome to my life.”
“Can you just calm down for a second?” He said. “Look, you saw how I reacted over there. If I knew about this, and if I knew Scarlet was Ruby, I wouldn’t have allowed you to work with her. It’s just that I basically had no idea that this would happen and come on, Em, I don’t have any feelings for her anymore.”
“Are you trying to convince me, or are you just trying to convince yourself?”
“What?” He said. “That’s preposterous.”
“I just can’t believe that this is happening.”
“We can go home if you want.” He told her. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Then what?” She asked, smoothing down the pristine white bed cover. “Then she’d feel like she won? Then she knew that she totally got to me? Nu-uh, I’m not going to give her the satisfaction.”
He took a deep breath. “See, that’s the problem with you. Sometimes, you’re just like Annabeth. You’re too competitive when in fact you know that you are so much more than that.”
“Your ex’s getting married and now you’re comparing me to the dead girl who’s been my forever frenemy? Get out.”
“I’m just saying that you should control your temper. Let me deal with Ruby.”
“Get out.” She said. “I need to be alone. I’ll see you later.”
He threw his hands in the air. “Fine.” He said. “Do whatever you want.”
Daniel went out of the room, leaving Emmy alone. Emmy plopped down on bed and closed her eyes. She knew she would not be able to sleep but she wanted to lie down for a long time and forget about everything.
But, she knew that it was impossible. She knew that no matter how hard she tried to evade reality, she would have to deal with it sooner or later because that’s the only way you can live life.
It is during times like this that she missed her mother the most. She wished that she would be there to comfort her and that everything would be better after eating cupcakes and listening to fairy tales but life is certainly not like that anymore.
She just had to be strong through it all. She hoped with all of her hope that she could.
Later that evening while Emmy was arranging the table for the wine testing, she got the chance to talk to Rhoda, one of their oldest helpers who had been there ever since the coffee shop was established back when Emmy was six. Daniel was also helping but they still weren’t speaking to each other.
“You’re really beautiful.” Rhoda told her. She had gray her, kind eyes, and a smile that melted your heart. “I always knew that you would grow up to be beautiful and amazing. You were a bright child.”
Emmy smiled. “Thanks, Rhoda.” She said. “How have you been? I miss your banana cakes!”
Rhoda laughed. “I bet you’re better than me now.”
“No, I’m pretty sure I’m not.” She said humbly.
“Is he your husband?” Rhoda asked, pertaining to Daniel.
“What?” Emmy said then looked at Daniel. She took a deep breath and turned to Rhoda again. “No, no he’s not.” She said.
“But soon, he’ll be?” Rhoda smiled.
“Who knows?” Emmy smiled. She still did not want to talk to Daniel but deep down, she hoped that they could work things out.
“He’s a good man. I can see it in his eyes.”
Just then, the doors of the shop opened and in came a crying Ruby who was holding her wedding dress—the lacy one that Emmy made for her, running towards them.
“Ruby!” Edward who was trailing behind her said.
“I can’t believe this!” She shouted. “I absolutely cannot believe this! Who would do this? Who the hell would have the heart to do this?!”
“What’s going on?” Emmy asked. “What happened?”
“It’s my dress!” Ruby answered, her face smeared with tears. “Someone ruined my dress!”
“What?”
CHAPTER 5
SNIP SNAP
“My dress!” Ruby repeated. “It’s botched up! It’s ruined.”
“I don’t understand.” Emmy said. “I basically just gave that to you like, an hour ago.”
Emmy couldn’t understand what Ruby was talking about because when she gave her the dress and helped her fit it just an hour back, it was all perfect.
The lace organza gown was one of the best that Emmy has made. It was low cut in front, as Ruby, still going by the name Scarlet requested, and had lots of layers of tulle for the skirt. It would match Ruby’s red shoes perfectly, as she showed her a photo of it before. Emmy was proud of that dress.
“Look!” Ruby said. “Look at that! It’s slashed in half!”
Emmy took the dress in her hands and saw that the back of it had been split perfectly in half, like a knife was used for it. “Oh no.” Emmy muttered. She could not believe what she was seeing because she’s sure that that cut wasn’t there before, and she would have noticed if it was. It’s not exactly the kind of cut that’s easy to hide.
“Someone cut it in half!” Ruby cried. “Oh god, why would someone do this to me? I can’t believe it.”
“Are you sure you didn’t accidentally cut it or something?” Emmy asked. “Because that certainly wasn’t there when I brought it to you a while ago.”
“Maybe the dress wasn’t made from a good material.”
“It’s a good kind of lace. The fabric is from Paris. And that tulle is the best that you can get, too. And you saw that dress earlier, Ruby. It was perfect. There was nothing wrong with it. You even fitted it, right?”
“So, you’re saying that I am inventing things?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Emmy just wants to say that she did her best for your dress, Ruby.” Daniel said. “And I know her. She wouldn’t deliver a project if it wasn’t perfectly made. So you have to cut her some slack.”
Emmy looked at Daniel and gave him a small smile. Daniel gave her a nod.
“Wow, you want me to cut her some slack but you do not want to listen to me?” Ruby said. “What do all of you want? Do you want me to just say that this is okay and that it’s alright for me to wear a wedding dress that’s cut in half? That’s not fair!”
“We’re just saying that this could be an accident.” Emmy said. “Because I am sure that I gave you the best kind of dress that I could give.”
“It’s not an accident.” Ruby said. “Someone did this. Look!” She said as she pulled out a small piece of card from her pocket. “That note was in the box of this dress!”
Emmy took it from her and was shocked at what she read.
“I can cut this dress in half and I can cut you in half, too.
Be very careful.”
“That is horrible!” Rhoda said as she read the note, too.
“That’s insane.” Daniel said. “You sure this was in the box?”
“What? You think I planted it there?”
“No one’s saying that.” Edward tried to calm Ruby down. “No one’s saying that at all, hun.”
“I can’t believe this.” Emmy said. “Why would this even happen? That card was not there when I gave it to you. I’m sure about that.”
“But whoever put that there is threatening me.” Ruby said. “Maybe someone got hold of the box and put it there to drive me away from here.”
“Honey, who would think about that?” Edward asked. “And why would they want to drive you away from here?”
“I don’t know.” Ruby said. “Maybe because whoever this person is, he or she must hate me a lot or might be threatened by me.”
“We’ll ask for an investigation.” Emmy said and took a deep breath.
“No, I don’t want that.” Ruby said.
“What?”
“I’m just saying that it would delay the wedding and I wouldn’t want to see any cops around here. They’re going to freak me out.” She then looked at Emmy. “I just want you to make me a new dress. A prettier one…a safer one. Can you do that?”
“You want me to make you a new dress?”
“That’s your job, right?” Ruby said. “I’m not going to wear a dress from Target or anything.”
Emmy took a deep breath. “Fine.” She said. “I’ll make you a new dress then.”
“Okay.” Edward said. “So...should we start the wine-tasting now or—“
“I think I’ll pass on that.” Ruby said. “You take care of that, Edward, you know how alcohol should taste. Let’s just move on to the cake testing tomorrow, okay? I’m going to bed now.” She dropped the dress on the floor and got out of the shop.
“Good lord.” Rhoda said. She could not believe that someone could just drop a dress on the floor and walk out like that.
Edward was embarrassed, too. He was an annoying, argumentative and overly confident man but somehow, he also cannot take the fact that Ruby was acting that way. “I’m so sorry about that.” He said as he picked up the dress from the floor. “I’ll just—“
“No.” Emmy said as she took the dress from him. “Leave it. Maybe we can use it as a tablecloth or something.” She said sarcastically.
“I’m really sorry.” Edward told her. “She’s never really been that way. I mean, she could be a bitch sometimes but she’s never been as bratty as this. I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”
“Maybe you should try to know what.” Daniel said.
“Yeah, maybe.” Edward said. “But you know, maybe this is just the bridezilla in her that’s acting up.” He laughed. “She wants to be hands on with everything and of course, seeing her dress that way really ticked her off.”
“Of course it did.” Emmy said.
“So…I should go now.” Edward said. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Go ahead.” Emmy said and they watched him walk out of the room, too. She then looked at Daniel and Rhoda. “You guys fancy a drink?”
CHAPTER 6
I NEVER DID ANYTHING WRONG TO YOU
The following day seemed to be a good day. The air was crisp and the sun, although it was high up in the sky, wasn’t as hot as they thought it would be. The buffet table was all set in the coffee shop for the cake testing.
Emmy almost didn’t sleep as she prepared a variety of cakes for Ruby. There were her famous lemon cupcakes decorated with red shoes and miniature diamonds, a ruffled blue one-tier cake with a red shoe on top, a chocolate blue and yellow cake with yellowbell decors, a three-tiered peach and white cake with seashells, and also some green tea cupcakes. She knew that she did her best and that if she was the one getting married, she’d probably choose all of those. She also hoped that today would be different than last night and that there would be less stress because she just wanted to get things done. Plus, she has no idea how she would react if she sees Ruby acting like a spoiled little child again.
It was ten in the morning when Ruby went inside the coffee shop with Edward. She looked like nothing wrong happened last night with her red hair up in a bun and in her lacy peach dress. Emmy thought that she looked lovely, if only she wasn’t so much of a brat.
“So…those are the cakes?” Ruby said. Apparently, she didn’t know how to greet people around her without sounding bitchy.
“Yep.” Emmy said. “Have a taste, they’re all for you.”
“Great.” Ruby said. She started tasting each one, but it was as if she never liked anything because after a bite or two, she would stop and looked as if she was disgusted. Finally, after taking a bite of the lemon cupcakes, she spoke. “Well,” she said, “these are decent but they’re not exceptional.”
“Excuse me?”
“I think you cannot outdo yourself, Emmy.” Ruby said. “I have to admit that I’m disappointed. When you were just selling cakes online, I was really impressed but now…it’s like the pressure’s getting to you. I don’t know if you can still do this.”
“Of course I can do this.” Emmy said, trying so hard not to snap. “I worked hard for this, Ruby.”
“She did.” Daniel said. “Emmy always works hard and does her best. And come on, those cakes were amazing.”
“They were.” Edward agreed.
“Still,” Emmy said, “I am the bride here and I should get what I want. I mean, I am only going to get married once.”
“What do you want me to do now?” Emmy asked.
“I want you to make the best cake for me. I want one in shades of peach and mint with red velvet chocolate inside and with a red shoe on top. I also want some miniature diamonds around the cake. Can you do that?”
“Well, if you already know what you want, why didn’t you te
ll me right away? I mean, that would have saved us a lot of time, right?”
“I just wanted to try your work but apparently, you lacked a lot of effort.”
“Wow.” Emmy said. “Just wow. I never did anything wrong to you. I have no idea why you’re doing this.”
“Ruby, come on. Don’t be so ridiculous.” Edward said.
“No, no, it’s okay.” Emmy said. “I’ll just do what she wants. She’s the bride, after all.” She said in a mocking tone.
“Don’t use that tone on me.” Ruby said. “You’d be this way too if ever you get married.”
“Right.” Emmy just said. “Oh well, I’ll make your cake and let me just fix all this mess. “
“I’ll be out for a while.” Edward said. “I have to check some things at work.” He then kissed Ruby on the lips. “See you later. And you guys, too.”
They watched him leave then Ruby looked at Emmy. “Are you working on my dress already?”
“That’s enough, Ruby.” Daniel said. “I won’t tolerate you treating her like that.”
“Dan—“ Emmy said.
“No, wait.” Daniel said and looked at Ruby. “I know you can be such a bitch, Ruby, but you can’t do that to Emmy, okay? I’m trying hard not to flare up while your fiancé’s here, but now that it’s just the three of us, you can drop the act. I have no idea why you’re doing this but I’m telling you. If you act like the crazy brat that you are one more time, I’m going to tell Edward about us and let’s see how he reacts.”
“You don’t know him.” Ruby said. “And besides, what good would that be, Danny? You seriously have no idea what you’re doing.”
“And you don’t either.” Daniel said. “So back off.”
“Whatever you say, Danny.” Ruby said. “You both suck.” She then stormed out of the shop.
Emmy was quiet for a while as Daniel tried to help her clean the table. “Thanks.” She told him. “But you shouldn’t have done that. She’s…crazy.”
William Jarvis - Sky Valley 02 - Beaches & Coffee Page 2