Marry Me at Christmas (Fool's Gold #19)(20)

But as he took his coffee and headed for Paper Moon, he savored the possibilities. The what-ifs. And unexpectedly, the woman he pictured wasn’t his usual faceless stand-in. It was a pretty blonde with an easy laugh. One who had bluntly told him that when it came to weddings, she had no idea what she was doing.

He found Madeline wielding an industrial-size clothing steamer. When she saw him, she turned off the machine and grinned.

“Thanks for rescuing me. Rosalind had a sudden rush of shoppers Wednesday afternoon. That generally ends with wrinkled samples. They have to be fluffed back to perfection for the next customer, which means steaming. On the bright side, I’m sure the warm, moist air is good for my skin.”

He liked the combination of practicality and optimism. She was, he had to admit, a temptation. Were they on a movie set, with a predetermined time limit and a clear understanding that this wasn’t going anywhere, he would be making his move. But they weren’t. And Madeline was a forever kind of woman. She deserved a man who understood that. A man who could believe in forever.

She led the way to her office. “What’s up?”

“I spent a little time online this morning and found some wedding favors.” He pulled a couple of sheets of paper out of his jacket pocket.

“I’m impressed that you know what wedding favors are,” she admitted.

“I’ve been reading up.” He shrugged out of his jacket, then pointed to the papers. “There’s a company that makes custom cookies. They come individually wrapped and can be in different shapes. Ginger and Oliver can have their initials on the cookies or have them shaped like a wedding cake.”

Madeline looked at the pictures he’d downloaded. “They’re charming,” she said. “I love the little cookies in the shape of a wedding cake. That’s perfect. And because they’re wrapped, the guests can take them with them.”

She pulled out a notepad and wrote down the information. “I was going to email Ginger later. Let me include the links. We should have enough time, but I want to get the order in quickly. Just to be on the safe side.”

“I also found a couple of ideas for cakes.”

He handed over the two photos. Madeline looked at them both. The first was pretty simple. Just three round layers with a few flowers scattered across the icing. There was a band of color at the bottom of each layer that could be customized.

“I didn’t know if Ginger had picked colors yet,” he said. “The cake could be made to match the decorations.”

“Pretty,” Madeline said. “Kind of big but—” She turned to the second cake and her mouth parted. “Seriously?”

“I know it’s a little larger.”

“A little?”

She turned the paper so he could see the picture. Jonny shrugged.

“It’s for my sister.”

“It’s five layers. It would feed three hundred. The guest list hasn’t hit fifty.”

“It’s a statement cake.”

He liked how the individual flowers cascaded down the sides. There was a huge spray of them on the top, and more clustered around the bottom.

“The work is all custom,” he said. “Normally you have to reserve about two years in advance, but she had a cancellation and we can get one made in time.”

“It’s huge,” Madeline said. “You know this isn’t anything like Ginger’s described. It’s massive and ornate.”

“It’s beautiful and Ginger deserves the best.”

Madeline stared at him for a second before murmuring, “Okay. I’ll send her the link.”

“We need an answer by Monday. To reserve the big cake.”

“Ginger usually gets back to me really quickly. Once she tells me which one she likes, I’ll get it ordered. Along with the cookies.”

She paused and looked at him. “You know the specialness of the day is about Ginger and Oliver and having the people they love around them when they say their vows. It’s not about the cake.”

He got the message, and while he knew Madeline was right, he didn’t want to scrimp. “I want her to be happy. I want her to know she’s important to me.”

“Don’t you think she already does?”

“The cake will seal the deal.”

“If you say so.”

FIVE

LATE AFTERNOON ON Saturday Jonny was done pretending. He’d spent the day at his house, reading scripts and working out. The usual stuff. But he’d been restless and watching the clock. A little after four he drove to town and found parking, then walked through the growing crowd.

The Christmas tree lighting was at six. Before then there were carolers in the street and a couple of bands. Food carts lined the edge of the park. Lots of local businesses had put up their own trees with different themes. The one by Jo’s Bar had pet ornaments that represented several dog breeds, including a dachshund ornament.

Several people he passed called out greetings. He recognized a lot of couples from the party at Madeline’s house. All the while he chatted and ate a pretzel, he found himself looking for someone.

She had to be here. It was a family tradition. But try as he might, he couldn’t spot Madeline anywhere.

At five-thirty, he’d about given up. Just when he was thinking he might as well head home, a familiar voice called his name. He turned and saw Loretta walking toward him.