She didn’t have to worry. What I’d drink during the tasting was the last thing on my mind.
While she ran for the water, I quickly called him once more, but like all the other times that day, it went directly to voicemail. After listening to his deep voice tell me to leave a message, I did just that, my tone full of concern about why he hadn’t arrived yet.
“Alex, it’s after three and I’m at the wedding cake tasting appointment. I’ve called a bunch of times today, and you haven’t called me back yet. I’m beginning to get worried. Are you okay? Please call me back when you get this and let me know you’re okay. Love you.”
Just as I clicked END, Sherry returned with a glass pitcher of water. Setting it down on the table, she smiled and said in a voice that sounded almost as worried as mine just had, “I hope you don’t think I’m not prepared. I am. I just always forget the water.”
Her nervousness made me want to ease her mind, so I smiled and waved away her concerns about the water. “It’s fine. To be honest, I’m not sure if I hadn’t read up on these tastings that I would have thought of having a glass of water, but I guess with all the tastes and all the sweetness, water’s a good idea.”
My words made her relax, and she sat down at the table with me. “Thank you for saying that, Poppy. I sometimes get a little flustered with things. Now, are you ready for some cake tasting? I have what you and Alex asked for, in addition to a few that are a little wilder and a few of the more traditional choices. Feel free to ask me anything you want. I’m here to make sure that you get the cake you absolutely want for your big day.”
I took one last look out the windows to see if Alex had arrived and my heart sank. I’d have to do this cake tasting without him.
“Okay, let’s do this,” I forced myself to say.
The last thing I wanted to do at that moment was eat sample of eight different cakes.
“Great! We always start off with the lighter and fluffier cakes first. The fillings and frostings are separate, so once you find a cake you like, we’ll move onto those. You’re definitely going to need the water then.”
Sherry jumped up from her seat to bring over the tiniest and cutest piece of white cake I’d ever seen. I looked at the table behind me and saw all the pieces were the same size. They looked like someone had baked eight little doll-sized cakes and cut a wedge from each. Obviously made for just a few bites, probably enough for the groom and bride to try each variety, they were the cutest little things.
Placing it in front of me, she explained, “This is angel food cake. It’s definitely light and fluffy, and for a warm weather wedding, it’s quite popular. Give it a try and see if you like it.”
I picked up the fork sitting on the plate and sunk it into the first cake sample to cut off a bite. As soon as I tasted it, I had to admit it was delicious. Sweet yet not sickeningly so, it practically melted on my tongue.
“Oh, I like that. I’ve never had wedding cake that tasted like this. Most of the ones I’ve tasted are heavy.”
Sherry shook her head, making her curls swing left and right. “Oh, I know. And then they put on that frosting that makes you feel like you’re going to be sick. But this is so light. I love it for wedding cakes!”
Her enthusiasm began to push away my unhappiness that Alex had stood me up for our one and only cake tasting appointment, so I took another tiny piece of the angel food cake and had to admit it might not be necessary to try any others I loved it so much.
Pointing at it with the fork, I nodded. “This is definitely going to be in the running, no matter how great the other ones taste. I just love how light it is.”
Thrilled I’d found one I liked already, Sherry beamed. “Okay. Great! I’m going to put this over to the side in the area I’ll call definitely a possibility.”
She poured me a glass of water and stood up from her chair again. “Let me get another one, but take a drink of water to cleanse your palate.”
The next cake she placed in front of me instantly made me think of the beach. I didn’t even have to taste it to know it contained coconut as the scent wafted up to my nose. Another white cake, this one looked a little less fluffy and a tiny bit denser.
“This is a coconut cake, and it’s usually paired with a lime frosting, but that’s entirely up to you. Take a taste of the cake and see if you like it,” Sherry said as she poured more water into my glass.
This one tasted creamy and rich and reminded me of a piña colada. It wasn’t bad, but I didn’t think it would be right for our wedding.
I pushed the plate away after just one bite. “I don’t think that will work. Neither of us are huge coconut fans.”
For a moment, Sherry looked disappointed, but her buoyant attitude toward this whole cake tasting thing rebounded almost immediately. Shunning the coconut cake to the other table, she returned with a third variety that looked nothing like the first two as I washed away the remnants of the coconut flavor from my mouth.
A slice of red velvet cake sat in the middle of the plate in front of me looking decadent and heavier than the previous two choices. I knew almost instantly that I didn’t want a red colored cake for my wedding, but I humored Sherry, who looked like she wanted to explode she was so excited about this cake.
“It’s a little wilder, but it tastes divine!” she squealed as I took my first bite.
I had to admit it did taste good. I couldn’t place exactly what it tasted like since it wasn’t chocolate or vanilla or even like the angel food cake.
“It’s very good, but I don’t think I’m a red velvet kind of bride,” I said with a smile, pushing the plate toward her to place it in the banished section with piece of coconut cake.
Sherry carried away the unwanted cake to the other table, and I took another drink of water, wondering how people drank so much water and ate so much all in one setting like this. At this rate, I’d be floating away or bouncing down the road after so much water and cake.
As I considered telling her that I’d already made up my mind and wanted the angel food cake so we could move on to the frosting that would work with the flowers I wanted, I saw Bruno Carter come through the front door of the bakery and walk up to the counter. As handsome as the last time I saw him, now he wore a grey dress shirt with black dress pants instead of jeans and a t-shirt, but his nicer clothes hid nothing of his very muscular body.
After she put down another plate in front of me, Sherry looked behind her to see who I was watching and whispered, “That’s Eliza Morrow’s driver. He doesn’t look like any driver I’ve ever seen. He’s not exactly Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy, is he?”
No, he wasn’t.
I didn’t respond to Sherry’s question, which encouraged her to keep talking. “I heard some people say at Diamanti’s last night that they thought he might have killed poor Mr. Morrow. I guess since he’s walking around looking like that and not wearing a prison jumpsuit that the police haven’t been able to arrest him yet.”
Although I knew I shouldn’t say anything about the case, I didn’t want Sherry to think that anyone guilty would be allowed to walk around free by the Sunset Ridge police, so I whispered, “I don’t think he’s a suspect so much as a person who might know something. But don’t worry. The police will find out who did that to Samuel and put them away for a long time.”
Bruno Carter finished buying whatever he’d come to Charming Cakes for and walked out without looking over at Sherry and me. Once he’d left, she turned back toward the table and said, “What do you think a man who looks like that is doing driving around Eliza Morrow?”
I honestly had no good answer for that, but I had my suspicions.
“Have you ever spoken to him?” I asked Sherry while she looked out the window as he drove away in Eliza’s silver Mercedes alone.
When he was out of sight, Sherry looked at me and shook her head. “No. I just see him around every so often. Sometimes he comes into Diamanti’s for a drink late at night just before the restaurant closes.
He never seems to speak to anyone.”
As I filed that information away to tell Alex later, I said, “Well, he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, if you know what I mean. Maybe that’s why he’s working as a driver.”
Nodding, Sherry smiled knowingly. “Big and dumb, huh? Isn’t that always how it is? The gorgeous ones are dumb, and the brainy ones who can make good money look like something only their mama can love. But you got a man who’s both good looking and smart with a great job. Alex is definitely a keeper.”
I smiled even as I wondered why my keeper had stood me up for our cake tasting date. “Yes, he is. I think I want to go with the angel food cake, so let’s move on to the frosting that will work with the flowers I want on top of the cake.”
The cake tasting behind me, I drove past the police station and didn’t see Alex’s car parked out front, so I headed home. He wasn’t at the house when I got there either, though.
Something felt wrong. Alex never just disappeared for an entire day like this.
I began to worry that he may have been hurt, so I called Derek to see if he’d heard anything. He hadn’t and didn’t seem particularly concerned. That didn’t mean anything, though. The world could be blowing up around him and Sunset Ridge’s police chief wouldn’t be worried.
But I was.
I brewed a pot of coffee to add to my nervousness and called my father. He hadn’t seen Alex at the bar in days and certainly not in the two hours since I left.
Ending the call, I tossed my phone on the kitchen table and began to pace back and forth through the house from the front door to the back door. Had Alex found a clue in the Samuel Morrow case that he left to follow? That would definitely be something he’d do, but if so, why had his phone kept going directly to voicemail?
As the minutes turned into one hour and then two, my mind began to play its usual tricks on me. On one pass through the house, I finished my second cup of coffee and wondered if Jared had been right.
Maybe Alex had gotten cold feet.
Maybe that’s why he didn’t show up to the wedding cake tasting appointment.
Maybe he didn’t want to get married.
Or more correctly put, maybe he didn’t want to marry me.
I needed to talk to someone before my doubts took over. Grabbing my phone, I called Holly and prayed to God she had a few minutes in between patients to chat so I didn’t let my worry run away with me.
“Hey, Poppy! What’s up? Oh, I meant to call you today. The bridesmaid dress will be ready this Friday, so I’m going to drive down and do one last fitting on Saturday. I don’t think you need to be there, but if you want to grab lunch, I’d love it.”
Continuing to pace toward the front door, I said, “Yeah, that sounds great.”
“Is something wrong? You don’t sound okay.”
I stopped at the front door and peered out the tiny windows at the top to see outside. Still no Alex.
“Yes. I mean I don’t know. Alex didn’t show up for the cake tasting appointment at Charming Cakes this afternoon. I’ve been calling him all day and it keeps going to voicemail, and he hasn’t answered not one of my texts.”
I took a breath and then said the words that had settled into my mind. “I think something’s wrong.”
Holly remained silent for a moment and then asked, “Do you think he’s been hurt? It is Sunset Ridge, and while you have some crime, I doubt anything’s happened to him.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about. Alex can handle himself on the job. I’m worried it’s something else,” I said, hating how self-doubt had already begun to overwhelm me.
Why did Jared have to show up in my life today and say those things?
But Holly wasn’t believing any of it. “Something else? Like what? Like you think he missed the cake tasting on purpose because he doesn’t want to get married? That’s it, isn’t it? You’re thinking he’s going to do what Jared did.”
Quietly, I admitted that’s exactly what had worried me for hours. “Maybe he got cold feet, Holly.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. Alex isn’t Jared, so whatever you’re thinking, don’t. The man is crazy in love with you. Don’t worry. He’s probably out doing something for work. That’s all. I’m telling you, Poppy, don’t worry.”
As much as I wished I didn’t believe that, my mind raced with possibilities, and they all involved Alex deciding he didn’t want to get married, just like Jared had a few weeks before the wedding.
What if the past was repeating itself?
Knowing Holly wouldn’t hear of Alex doing anything like that, I lied and pretended like our conversation had helped me. “Okay. You’re probably right, Holly. I’m sure you are. Thanks.”
“Okay, honey. Lunch on Saturday when I come down to Michelle’s?”
“Sounds good. Text me what time you’re coming.”
I ended the conversation and checked my messages for a text from Alex. Still nothing.
Walking into the kitchen, I looked up and saw the clock said it was almost five o’clock. According to what Derek told me, he’d been gone since before ten that morning. Where had he gone and why?
And was it to track down a lead on the Morrow murder case or for some other reason I couldn’t bear to even think about?
Where could he be that he hadn’t gotten any of my voicemail messages or texts?
Chapter Fifteen
After another thirty minutes of pacing, I heard a noise outside and looked to see his car in the driveway. I watched Alex walk up the front steps and onto the porch, not seeing any outwardly visible reasons why he wouldn’t have gotten my calls or texts. He didn’t look injured or like he’d just spent the day at the hospital, thankfully.
That reason eliminated, I still wondered what had happened to him.
He opened the door and walked in, surprised to see me standing there in the middle of the living room. Closing the door, he smiled like nothing was wrong.
That alone made my emotions turn from worried to angry. If nothing was wrong, why did he miss the cake tasting?
“Poppy, I didn’t expect to see you standing right there when I came in.”
“No? Where should I be then?” I asked, my anger at him being perfectly fine and still missing the appointment rising by the second.
I knew it made no sense, but there it was. If he had been hurt, I would have been devastated, but at least I would have known why he stood me up at Charming’s. Since he was perfectly fine, all I had left was anger that he’d left me waiting for him there with no text or call to say why.
He walked up to me and cradled my face in his palms before kissing me softly on the lips. “I’m sorry I missed the cake tasting thing today. Did you still go? I know whatever you picked out will be fine.”
Leaning back, I stared up at him in amazement. Did he think that’s all it would take to make this okay? An apology and telling me whatever I chose would be fine?
“Why didn’t you show up, Alex? We waited for you. It was embarrassing to have to do that without the groom-to-be.”
He pulled me into a kiss and said quietly, “I know. I’m sorry. I wanted to be there. I did. I just got stuck in traffic.”
My mouth dropped open in shock at his lame excuse. “You got stuck in traffic? That’s why you couldn’t text me or return one of my calls all day? I called you like five times today, Alex. You were stuck in traffic all day and couldn’t use your phone? That sounds like one hell of a day. Too bad mine was worse.”
Alex let me step away from him and shook his head, clearly confused about why I seemed so unhappy. That he didn’t understand only made things worse.
“I know I was supposed to be there at three, Poppy, but it’s not like I missed the actual wedding. As for my phone, it’s been dead since this morning. I forgot to charge it last night, so I’ve been without one all day.”
His casual way of saying that he didn’t care about the cake tasting made me want to scream. “That meant something to me today, Alex
. I get that you don’t care what kind of cake we have at our wedding, but I do. Just like I care about the bridesmaid’s dress and the invitations and everything else I’ve taken care of for our big day, which is starting to feel like my big day and your whatever day.”
Just like every other time in my life when I became that angry, tears filled my eyes, threatening to spill out and make me feel stupid. I hated that when I got mad this happened. It made people think I was sad when I was actually enraged.
Especially men, who never understood that my tears were a sign that I wanted to yell and throw things more than be held like some pathetic creature who didn’t have control of her emotions.
I turned away and began walking toward the kitchen to give me a chance to dry my eyes, hopefully before he saw any evidence that I’d started to cry. I didn’t want to be hugged. I wanted answers.
He came up behind me and did exactly what I didn’t want him to do. He tried to put his arms around me, but I turned out of his hold and shook my head.
“Don’t treat me like I’m some breakable thing you need to coddle. Just tell me why you couldn’t make it to the one thing I needed you to do with me today?” I asked, refusing to look at him while my emotions still ran rampant inside me.
Alex didn’t speak for a few moments and then quietly said, “I drove to Georgetown to see why Eliza Morrow was at the library the day Samuel was murdered. It took me a long time to get the person who was working that day so I could ask him some questions. On my way back, I got stuck in a traffic jam and sat there for three hours while some ten car pile-up was cleared from the highway.”
I listened to every word he said, each one measured and calm like always. Typical Alex. I believed every word too. I had no reason to think he’d lie about what he’d been doing. My self-doubt was in full blown mode, but I wasn’t insane.
When he finished, I wiped under my eyes and turned around to face him. He stood there looking at me like he worried I might break into a million pieces, but he said nothing. So as calmly as he’d told me about his day, I reported to him about mine.
The Finest Hour Page 15