chapter Eleven
After wiping her eyes and doing her best to repair herself, Claudia walked out to the front of Decadence, zeroing in on Nate, right outside the front window, adjusting that tool belt that made her mouth water and her legs quiver. He raised a hand and smiled at her just as the front door opened and the bride came in with her mother in tow.
The timing could be better, but Claudia’s first duty was to her work right now. Nate—and fantasies about him—would just have to wait a little while longer. She had cake tasting of her own to look forward to, and the freedom to truly enjoy it without the threat of Peter hanging over her head any longer. She hadn’t realized how much his presence in town had weighed on her and how much she had feared he would want visitation rights. The thought of sharing her son with his father when she’d never had to do that before had ridden her like a nightmare. But now it was gone.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” Claudia said as she took a hand of each. “It’s so good to see you again.” This was another bride who had been here with all of her female relatives a few short weeks ago. She had been in for flowers since then, but the cake decision had been put off for a while longer. With the wedding only weeks away, Claudia should have been frantically calling her to reschedule, but honestly, with all the turmoil recently she had forgotten until an e-mail from the bride came in this morning, requesting the meeting.
“I just love this place,” Penny Plinks said, twirling round in a circle for a second. She was at least forty even if she was acting like one of those teenage girls the ten-year-old Claudia had followed around looking for tidbits about boys all those years ago.
“We’re glad you do, Penny,” Claudia said. “We’ve really enjoyed working with you for this special event. You’re going to be stunning in your dress.” Claudia’s smile was genuine, but it widened when she caught Nate waving at her from the front window. She discreetly flicked her fingers at him behind her back and then returned her attention to the people in front of her.
Leading them over to a small café table, Claudia seated both ladies on tall, cushy chairs, then brought out seven plates, each with a different cake she had made this morning.
“I shouldn’t eat too much.” The bride, Penny, eyed the cake plates like a cat after the canary.
“Oh, these samples are calorie-free,” Claudia said, smiling at the nervous woman. “May and I have an agreement that any cake tasted in here doesn’t go anywhere near hips or butts. It’s forbidden.”
Picking up the fork, Penny hovered the utensil over each individual plate while licking her lips. “Before I try it, I have a question.”
“Hopefully I have an answer.” Claudia smiled at the mom and then the bride, while inside she braced herself for a request for a cake shaped like a particular continent or an outline of the bride and groom. Both had happened in the past and were more of a challenge than an inconvenience.
“Do you have anything with sprinkles?”
Claudia had heard stranger questions but couldn’t name any at the moment. “I could add sprinkles, if you want. May I ask why?”
“Oh, Penny, I thought we had discussed this. A proper wedding cake does not have sprinkles, my dear.” Betty Plinks patted Penny’s hand and turned to Claudia. “She has this thing about sprinkles. It’s lovely but silly.”
“I’d be interested in hearing it.” Claudia smiled. “We like to know our clients and what’s important to them for their special day.”
“Thank you, Claudia. You came very highly recommended by a friend. And that’s one of the reasons I insisted we come to you. Your attention to detail.” She turned to Betty. “And it’s not silly, Mother, it’s true.” Penny, her brown hair shining and her lightly lined face glowing, faced Claudia, her hands clasped at her chest. “I want sprinkles because they symbolize the way I feel about my Matt. I was a plain cake kind of girl for so many years, and then he walked in the door at my parents’ hardware store and introduced me to sprinkles.”
Her brown eyes had gone dreamy, and Claudia waited for the gushing to start about how strong he was and the broad shoulders that made her melt, or the fact her biological clock was winding down and he had come just in time. But Penny surprised her. “He took me from plain cake straight past the icing and on to the sprinkles. He makes me smile and laugh and puts that little extra something in my life I’d thought I could live without.”
“That’s lovely,” Claudia said, thinking she had been that kind of woman one day a long, long time ago. She’d never thought of the special moments with someone as sprinkles, but at some point she’d started settling for stale cookies. Now she wanted cake with Nate. Just cake by itself was good. After all, not everyone could stand the sprinkles, and some people even scraped the icing off the cake before eating it. Both could be too much to handle.
Penny tittered nervously after her mini-trip down lovers’ lane, and Betty just smiled. “We’re so excited you could fit us in.” She took a forkful of the marble cake and nibbled at it.
“It’s my pleasure, Mrs. Plinks. I wouldn’t miss working for this wedding for the world. We appreciate you coming in.”
Betty waved an obscenely jeweled hand. “Pshaw! We wouldn’t even think of going anywhere else.”
Thank God, Claudia couldn’t help but think. They’d been working hard for years to build their reputation. And the boost to her personal confidence was very welcome, especially after the debacles of the last couple of weeks.
The conversation moved away from sprinkles and on to the plates of cake. Claudia detailed the types and the icings that would best complement, but through it all she couldn’t stop thinking about Nate. Was he sprinkles? Was he more than just cake? Was she cheating herself by thinking she would be happy with only cake? As much as she didn’t want stale cookies, perhaps she was looking for more. He did all the things Penny seemed to think were sprinkles. His attention to Justin, to her, the way he made her feel tingly with just a glance, the care he took with her and her son. The way he had always been around and never made it seem as if they were infringing on his time. Maybe all along she had already had her cake sitting on the plate in front of her without taking a nibble until Nate had rocked her carefully managed world with his kiss.
After four more samples, Betty gripped Claudia’s hands like a vise and, despite the pain, Claudia kept a smile on her face. The sheen of tears in Claudia’s eyes probably passed for happiness, but her only concern was a brief foray into the little she knew about blood and how long it would continue circling in her hands before they started to tingle from the woman’s death grip. They chose the Double Deluxe Chocolate Fantasy with Butter Cream Icing, just as Claudia had known they would.
“Thank you, thank you,” the matronly Betty said, sniffing into her lace handkerchief. “You don’t understand how much this means to us.”
Claudia could just imagine. The bride-to-be was forty if she was a day and had confided in Claudia that this was her first wedding. May had taken special pains to create a dress that would flatter the plump woman and make her feel fifteen—well, maybe five—years younger. Claudia had made it a point to get as much information as she could regarding her likes and dislikes. This would probably be the only wedding for the younger Ms. Plinks, and Claudia, May, and Zoe wanted to make sure it was really special. “It was my pleasure, Mrs. Plinks. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of Penny’s wedding.”
Claudia stretched her face into a full-fledged smile regardless of the continuing pain in her hands. She was going to have to deal with those damn prickly tingles once the woman let go, and she wasn’t looking forward to it.
The second they walked out the front door, Claudia vigorously rubbed her hands together to get the needle-like sensation to fade. She watched Nate walk up to Penny and hug her, and she was reminded that he had been the friend who recommended that Penny come to see her and Decadence if she really wanted to have all her dreams for her perfect wedding happen. Penny wiped something from her eye as she stood back and held onto Nate’s arms. She said something, and they both turned to where Claudia stood in the window shamelessly taking the scene in. Penny waved, gave Nate another hug, and left.
She and Nate stared at each other through the big pane of glass. He was backed by a blue sky and the trees across the road. It was a normal, everyday sight, and yet it set her heart racing. It wasn’t some romance novel cover, it wasn’t even romantic in the least, except that it was Nate, the fulfillment of every one of her needs and desires, if she would admit that he was the sprinkles. Not just cake, not just icing, not just a body to satisfy her desires or a shoulder to lean on when times were tough. Not just a best friend who had stuck by her all these years.
He was her helpmate, someone who believed in her when she didn’t believe in herself. Someone she did the same for and would continuously over the years. He was someone she wanted to grow old with, not just as besties with different paths that would lead them back to each other over and over again through the years. She didn’t want him to belong to anyone but her.
The breath backed up in her lungs, and she felt lightheaded. She was going to change all the rules to a game that hadn’t even really started yet. She was going to tell him what she wanted and let him tell her he wanted the same.
That thought made her feel a little sick in the stomach. She sought out the chair where the happy bride had recently sat tasting cake for her wedding day. She had been so happy and so sure in what she was doing. Knew that Matt was it for her for the rest of her life.
But Claudia had thought the same thing long ago. Long enough that she knew things like that didn’t always last, no matter how much you wanted them to. Life would have been much different and less rich if Peter had stuck around, she knew that. She also knew what it felt like to be abandoned and never wanted to experience it again.
“Emergency girl meeting!” she yelled, startling the only customer in the building. Mrs. Beecher gave her a smile.
“I know all about those girl meetings, and I hope this one is about that yummy hunk outside, dear. I heard you were kissing him and thought it was about darn time that you got a clue. Go get him!”
When Mrs. Beecher patted her arm affectionately and told her she’d be back after lunch to continue shopping, Claudia gave her a weak smile. It was all she could manage as she headed for the small back office with its new comfy chairs. It was last on the list for expansion. Nate was going to build out the office into the back yard to allow for them to have three desks, bookshelves, and filing cabinets. She’d miss the coziness of this current room, probably, but not right now as she tried to pace and found it frustrating to have to wind around the bigger chairs and the desk, all arranged tightly in the small space.
May and Zoe showed up within seconds and took a seat. They both brought their feet up off the floor and sat in the Criss-Cross-Applesauce position to avoid Claudia’s strides.
When Claudia looked over at them, they were both smiling at her smugly.
“What?” she said, standing still for a moment.
“Penny told you her sprinkles story,” May said first, with a smirk that turned into a huge smile.
“Um, yes.” How did she know that?
“She told me the same story when I was making her dress, and I told her to come in and make sure she told you, since Zoe had already made the cake announcement after hearing Penny’s sprinkles story, too.”
Zoe’s smile was even bigger, if possible. It looked like she would split her face in half at any moment. Looking at May, she said, “I told you that would get to her!”
Claudia started sputtering. Once she regained control of her tongue, she just stood there with her mouth open.
“The carp impression is not doing you any more favors than it did me the other day.” Zoe let her feet rest back on the floor. “You were ripe to finally see Nate as something more than a friend. I’ve been waiting forever for you to get with him. My fifteen-year-old heart went pitty-pat every time he held Justin, and I knew he was the one for you even then.”
“I didn’t see it that early, Claudia,” May confided. “I was still hoping you would get back together with my brother, but once I heard the sprinkles story and you told me about Nate being your cake, I knew it was going to work out for you. It’s one of the reasons I told Peter to back off before he took himself back to Ohio.”
“But, I…”
Zoe cut in. “That’s why Mom hasn’t been introducing you to any more of those supposedly eligible bachelors. She never meant for you to actually get involved with them, because she kept hoping you would see Nate differently.”
“So, you…”
“Conspiracy!” Zoe yelled. “I love conspiracies that work out right!”
May laughed, but Claudia gave Zoe the evil eye even as she smiled. “Just you wait until it’s your turn.”
“Eh, I’m not worried, and neither is May, since she’s already married.” Zoe shrugged. “I’m not falling, but it’s been such a pleasure watching you realize what was right in front of you from day one.”
“So, do we still have an emergency?’ May asked, rising from her chair. “Because I have a dress order that needs to be done this, and I have an ultrasound scheduled for this afternoon.”
“How exciting!” Zoe said, far overusing her limit of acceptable exclamation points for the day.
Claudia used one of her own. “Yes, we still have an emergency!”
“How do you figure?” Zoe asked, looking honestly perplexed. May joined her in the look, and they resembled a pair of bookends. Did they seriously not see how this would change her whole life and her plan? The potential hazards of not just cake but sprinkles? Of putting faith in the whole sprinkles thing? In her possibly moving toward marriage and a true shared relationship for the very first time in her entire life?
“I am scared shitless.”
That was all it took for both of the other women to crowd around her and say soothing things. But it was Zoe who finally stepped back and took Claudia’s chin in her hand. “You can do this. You have chosen the one man in the world that I trust your happiness to completely. Now don’t screw it up.”
She and May shoved her out of the office before she was ready and then continued on with the shoving, straight out the door. Once on the sidewalk, Claudia looked at Nate, really looked at him in profile as he was checking the measurement of a window.
His hands were solid and big; his heart was the same. He had been with her through everything, every milestone, every setback, every hurdle, every triumph. And she wanted him, heart, mind, and body, more than she had ever wanted anyone.
She strode purposefully over to him and tapped his shoulder. He turned toward her with a smile and a hello on his lips that she promptly took into her mouth.
This was no exploratory kiss, it wasn’t one that was testing or teasing. This was her pouring her soul into him, and him breathing his back into her.
****
Nate broke contact with Claudia, feeling as if his world had just spun off its axis, been jerked back, and now was turning the opposite way.
“I love you,” Claudia said before he could catch his breath. “I love you and I want everything. I want the cake, I want the icing, I want sprinkles and cake toppers, sugar flowers, plastic ribbon, those fake confection sugar things you can buy at the grocery store. I want all of you. And I want you to have all of me.”
“Claudia…”
But he was cut off by a shrill whistle from over his left shoulder. “All right, bro!” Logan called out from the ladder to the second floor. “Finally going to reel in the one you never actually fished for. Long damn time coming, man! But it should be that much better, right?”
Nate very deliberately went to the ladder and shook the bottom just enough to scare his younger brother.
“Okay, okay. Man,” he said, but he was smiling, and so was Claudia.
“I know I should have waited for tonight, or at least somewhere more private, but I wanted you to know as soon as I did. I love you. I’m hoping that was what you were going to say, back before your rude brother interrupted us.” She shook the ladder a little harder, hard enough for Logan to hold onto the window sill of the second floor, just in case.
Taking her hands in his, he looked into the eyes he had seen change time and time again, from flashing with anger to drowning in sorrow. From loving and kind to hurt and distraught. And through all of it she had been his Claudia, no matter how many times he had tried to pretend otherwise. “I love you with all I have, Claude, and I always have.”
“What the hell took you so long to say anything then, you big bozo? You could have saved me a bunch of stupid dates, not to mention those awful flats that I will never wear again, if you’d just spoken up.”
“See you got yourself a live one,” Fred called out as he helped his girlfriend out of the car across the street. Now they had even more witnesses. Great.
“What are you doing over here?” Nate loosely held Claudia’s hand while he got a good look at the woman who had snagged his neighbor’s heart. Big pinkish hair dominated a petite, rounded woman. Glasses perched on her small nose and only slightly dimmed the vibrant twinkle in her faded eyes.
“Edna wants to do a little decadent shopping, since I told her we should get hitched, and I can’t say no to my loveykins, can I?”
“You did not tell me, Fred Watson.” She turned to Nate while smacking Fred in the arm with her purse. “He got down on one knee and asked for my hand in marriage. He said he wants to grow old together, the silly thing. I told him I’d grow older with him but I was already old.”
Fred’s big laugh was accompanied by her tinkling laughter, and it was beautiful.
“Now, son,” Fred said. “I have some business to attend to with this young lady there in your arms, but we can do the flower thing first, if you need to take a little time.” Fred waggled his eyebrows.
But there was no way Nate was going to drag her upstairs and have his way with her, frantically, when Justin would be home in less than an hour, by his watch, and Logan was in the window, and Fred was downstairs. Talk about witnesses.
“I’m going to walk Claudia around the block, and then she’ll be right back with you.”
“Take your time there, son. It’ll give me more time to make eyes at Edna and talk her into trying a few things on for me out of Ms. May’s collection.”
“Take a lesson from that man,” Claudia whispered in his ear.
“Yeah, take a lesson from me and get that girl around the corner where you can kiss her senseless without all these eyes watching.” Fred laughed and Claudia blushed.
“We’re going.”
Nate had taken three steps with Claudia’s hand in his when Fred’s next words stopped him in his tracks. “Always thought that girl was made for him. Circled each other for years, but they have that kind of time. You, my dear Edna, were smart enough to talk me into things much sooner.”
And then Fred was in Decadence and Claudia and Nate stared at each other on the front sidewalk.
“Let’s go to the park.”
Nate eyed her short black dress and the way it hugged her every curve. The benches were mostly clean at the park, but she might regret her decision. If she needed to do this out there, though, who was he to complain?
He led her through the concrete entryway and waited for her to take a seat on the wooden bench under an oak tree. She continued to stand and pace.
“You go ahead and have a seat. I need to stand for this. I’m too agitated to sit.”
He did as she asked, wanting to make sure she wasn’t going to bolt.
“I’m hoping you heard every word I said and believe them all. I heard about sprinkles today, and it changed things for me.”
“I’ve known you loved me. But aren’t I just the cake? What is the significance of sprinkles?” He braced himself for the answer. He wanted to be the sprinkles, whatever it meant. He wanted that badly.
“No!” She yanked at her hair, pulling the pins out of her beautifully arranged waves. “God, how stupid am I?”
He didn’t think he was supposed to answer that question, under penalty of death.
“I mean every word and regret every moment I haven’t recognized you as more than Nate-my-friend.”
“I’ve liked being Nate-your-friend, though. Maybe it just wasn’t time for us.”
“I think it’s time for us now,” she said.
“This doesn’t have anything with Peter leaving, does it? I don’t want you to settle because you’re panicked.” Though it was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to say, there was no way he was going into this with his eyes clouded. Though it was many years since she and Peter had last been together, he was her last significant relationship and Nate did not want to be the rebound.
“There is no Peter. He just wanted to see if he could get a ready-made family without any of the work. Without any of the work you’ve done all these years without me even realizing it.”
“Oh no.” He held up his hands. “You’ve done all the work with Justin. He loves you and is a great kid because of you.”
“And because of you. You always have been there for him and for me.”
“So I’m the sprinkles?” He was almost afraid to ask in case his hearing had been faulty earlier.
“I don’t know if I’d call you sprinkles, actually.”
He felt his face fall into a frown. Why couldn’t he be her sprinkles? “I want to be the sprinkles.”
“No, Nate, what I need is the sugar.”
“Huh?”
She came and sat on his thighs, snuggling into him as if his lap had been made for her. And maybe it was.
“Sugar is the base for the cake, for the icing, for the sprinkles. It’s the thing you need for all of it to come together. I’d call you the eggs, since that’s the binding ingredient and I want to be bound to you, but I don’t think that’s nearly as romantic, and it doesn’t sound as good as calling you my sugar.”
“Does this mean I’m going to fatten you up?” he joked, squeezing her and wanting to kiss her until neither of them could breath.
“Only if you plan on getting me pregnant.”
His breath backed up in his lungs. “Do you want that?” God, to watch Claudia grow big again, this time knowing it was his child living and kicking inside her. Rubbing her belly again, knowing it was his son or daughter rolling inside her womb. Talking to the baby and loving it as much as he loved the son she already had.
“I want it all, Nate, and I want it with you.”
“What about Justin?”
“Are you kidding? Justin is going to be over the moon. He’s going to be home soon, so if you’re planning on kissing me again, you’d better do it quick before we have to sit down and explain all this to him.”
He passed a gentle hand over her hair. “I don’t know what kind of family we’re going to make, Claudia, but we’re going to do our damnedest to make it as close to our dreams as possible.”
“That’s all I want. You’re all I want.”
“Same goes, babe. Now lay one on me so we can go back to all those people spying on us from down the street and tell them the news.”
“What news is that?” Claudia asked coyly.
“The news that you’re finally going to make an honest man out of me.”
She laughed, and it was music to his ears and his heart.
****
That night, Claudia and Nate sat Justin down in the living room above Decadence. Claudia asked Zoe to find something else to do so that she, Nate, and Justin could talk together as the family she hoped they would soon be.
“What’s up, guys?” Justin said, coming into the living room with his ball and mitt in his hands. “Is Nate going to take me to the batting cages? That would be really cool.” He slyly looked at Nate out of the corner of his eye, and Claudia couldn’t tell if Justin was just trying to get one over on them or if someone had told him about the display in front of Decadence before she got a chance to lay it out for him herself.
Nate laughed and held Claudia’s hand. Justin’s eyes zeroed in on the motion in a split second. His face squinched up, and Claudia wasn’t sure if he was about to cry or cheer.
“Justin, Nate and I would like to talk to you.”
“Why is he holding your hand? I’ve seen him hold your hand to help you over a short fence or something, but not just hold your hand when you’re sitting down.” He looked skeptical, and she couldn’t blame him.
“Well, honey, this is what we wanted to talk to you about.” Claudia cleared her throat, not sure where to actually go with the conversation now that she had started it. “Um…”
Nate jumped in. “Look, guy, what your mom is trying to say is that…um…”
She and Nate both laughed, looking at each other. They weren’t going to be able to wade slowly into this. “Nate and I are dating,” Claudia blurted out, hoping it wouldn’t rock Justin’s world in a bad way. As happy as she’d been to tell Nate she loved him today, she’d also feared what it would do to Justin. But she couldn’t ignore her heart anymore.
“Cool.” Justin sat back against the chair and smiled at both of them.
“Just cool? You don’t have anything else to say?” Claudia peered at him closely to make sure he wasn’t hiding his real feelings. She glanced at Nate, who was doing the same thing.
“Yep, just cool.”
“Okay,” Nate said, then kissed the back of Claudia’s hand. Was he testing the waters?
Justin laughed, right before he groaned. “Oh, man, I’m not going to have to watch you guys be all lovey-dovey and stuff, am I? I told Grandma when she said she wanted the two of you to get together that I didn’t know if I’d be able to handle that. I guess it’s okay, though, as long as I don’t have to watch too much smooching.”
Claudia burst out laughing, and so did Nate. “Did you just say that you and Grandma orchestrated this whole thing?”
“I don’t think I’d use that big of a word, but sure.” Justin grinned at them. “She told me all about her plan to introduce you to all those stupid guys so you might see what was right in front of you. I didn’t know what she meant at first, but then she said Nate. At first I thought it would be gross, because Nate’s like my best friend. But then I thought about it some more, and the more I thought about it the cooler it got. Who else gets to have their best friend living in their house all the time and making their mom happy? It’s going to be so cool! Don’t date too long, though,” he said, looking at them both head-on. “I want to be able to call him Dad and live in his house with all those flat screen TVs real soon!”
And then he threw down his ball and mitt and jumped onto the couch with them, screaming about how happy he was.
Claudia sat shell-shocked for a moment before being dragged into the first family hug of many. Life was good and would hopefully only get better.
****
Hours later, with Justin finally in bed and Zoe home for the night, Claudia felt like a schoolgirl, sneaking over to Nate’s house. She was going to have her cake and eat it too, and she was going to do it tonight. Zoe had shooed her out of the house without even a farewell, telling her to get her groove on and not to look back.
She hadn’t had sex in so many years, it hurt her girl parts to think about it, but she had dressed the part under her blouse and capris and hoped Nate would love it. The tiny, pink, silky panties perfectly matched the push-up bra clinging to her boobs. She’d shaved, waxed and lotioned to her heart’s content.
Yes, this could be a huge mistake. Yes, it could ruin her friendship of many years with a man who meant the world to her. But it could also enhance it a thousandfold. Nights with Nate wrapped around her like gift wrap, days of sharing with him across the kitchen table, snatching kisses and quick caresses when Justin wasn’t looking. This was her chance at making the family she’d always wanted, and with a man who made her heart sing a song like never before.
Of course, she still had doubts and anxieties about the whole thing. Nothing in life was a sure bet. Even making a cake while following the recipe to the last letter didn’t always produce the same result every single time. But you had to try before you could fail. And that was just what she was going to do tonight and hopefully for the rest of her life. She was going to grab this chance with Nate, the chance she thought she’d never have or want again, and run with it as far as possible.
Her hands were sweaty on the wheel of her car when she pulled up in front of his house. God, what if she had forgotten how to have sex?
But when Nate opened the front door and barely let her all the way into the foyer before giving her the first orgasm of the night, with his hands in her pants and his tongue doing wicked, wicked things to her neck and earlobe, she knew her fears were ridiculous.
It was the first of many, and she returned the favor over and over again throughout the night. It was only as dawn peeked in through the upstairs curtains that she fell into an exhausted sleep. As she hovered between this world and dreamland, she had a vision of herself at Decadence in the coming months.
Tears would be going around even before it was time to see the dress May would make over bowls of cornflakes and endless reruns of old shows. The wave of laughter and tears would come, and when it did, Mona would have control of the volume and intensity. When it quieted and when it swelled. The flowers would be made by her sister from the loveliest blooms.
And her cake would have sprinkles, and be made with the finest sugar.
A word about the author...
Misty Simon lives in Central Pennsylvania and is happiest when she is creating stories that make you laugh out loud. Everyone needs some laughter in their lives and she is all too happy to provide.
You can find her on the web at:
www.mistysimon.com.