My sister continued her conversation with Sienna in hushed tones, but I couldn’t help but overhear. “It’s okay, Sienna. Really. I understand.” A pause was followed by, “Oh, we’re still sampling cakes.” Another pause. “Who? Oh, me, Phillip, Mari, and Derrick.”
I could hear the squeal come through the phone. Crystal pulled it away from her ear and made a face, then put it back. “You’re hurting my ear, Sienna.” A long pause on Crystal’s end followed. “Okay, okay, I’ll give him the phone.” Crystal held out her cell to Derrick and sighed. “She wants to talk to you. Is that okay?”
He shrugged. “Guess so.”
A lengthy conversation followed between best man and maid of honor. I couldn’t tell from the expression on Derrick’s face if he was just tolerating Sienna or if he actually enjoyed talking to her. Either way, he handled the back and forth bantering with grace and ease. My sister seemed more than a little put off by the distraction from the cake tasting, and I didn’t blame her, though it certainly wasn’t Derrick’s fault.
When the sales rep returned with a large piece of the dark chocolate hazelnut cake, Derrick ended the call. He handed the phone back to Crystal, jabbed his fork into the new cake sample, and took a bite. Another look of near delirium appeared on his face. “Mmm. Okay, I’ve changed my mind. Forget the white with raspberry filling. I’m going with this one.”
I laughed and then reached for my fork, ready for a taste. I took one bite. Then another. Then another. Derrick jabbed his fork into the cake sample once again, our forks battling it out for the last tidbit of yummy goodness.
“Out of the way, Southpaw.” He gave me a wink as he nudged my hand away. “I let you win the first round with the nacho dip, but this one’s all mine.”
“First round?” Phillip seemed perplexed.
“Nacho dip?” My sister gave me a curious look.
I didn’t take the time to explain. I was too busy looking at Derrick and trying not to giggle as I remembered that night we’d met over the nacho dip. “Oh yeah?” I gave him a playful “You’d better watch out” look, then pushed his hand away. “Over my dead body.” I took another bite, then licked my fork clean. “Mmm.”
Okay, so maybe I flirted . . . a little. Who would blame me?
Across the table, Crystal cleared her throat. “Mari?”
I glanced her way and realized she was glaring at me. “What?” I wiped my lips with a napkin.
She pointed at the empty plate. “Excuse me, but Phillip and I didn’t even get one bite of the chocolate hazelnut. You two ate the whole thing.”
“Oops.” I laughed.
“Guess you’ll just have to trust us that it’s the best.” Derrick flashed a boyish smile. “And if you can’t trust your best man and maid of honor, then who can you trust?”
“I . . . I’m not the maid of honor, remember?” A little shrug followed as I fought the temptation to allow jealousy to surface. The look of compassion in Derrick’s eyes brought comfort and wiped away any feelings of angst that might threaten to rise up. Was this guy great, or what?
It took him a moment, but he eventually nodded. “Oh, right. Well, you might as well be, Mari.”
Thank you! I knew I liked him.
Crystal mumbled something under her breath about Sienna, but I didn’t hear all of it. I was too busy staring at the smudge of chocolate frosting on Derrick’s upper lip. I gave him a little nod and gestured to it. He reached for a napkin and wiped his mouth, then leaned back in his chair with a satisfied look on his face.
I felt pretty satisfied, too, but it had nothing in the world to do with cake. It had everything to do with the handsome guy smiling at me from across the table.
On the first Saturday in March, all the bridesmaids met Crystal at the All Things Wedding boutique. Finding her wedding gown was my sister’s main goal, but selecting our bridesmaid dresses—in a lovely shade of pink—was also high on the agenda. I’d never cared much for pink, but I vowed to keep my opinions to myself, at least in my sister’s presence.
We arrived promptly at ten. Well, all but Sienna, who was noticeably absent. She came meandering in several minutes later with a massive shopping bag in her hand.
“Sorry!” She giggled. “I just can’t come to the mall without going to the shoe store. They have the best sale going on right now. Aren’t these adorable?” She pulled out a shoe box and opened it to reveal some strappy sandals with high heels. Very, very high heels.
“Shoedipity.” Cassie whispered the word in my ear. When I turned to give her a curious look, she added, “Wearing ridiculously uncomfortable shoes just because they look good.”
I bit my tongue to keep from laughing.
“They’re cute shoes, Sienna,” Crystal said. “But we really need to stay focused. Today’s all about the wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses, remember? We can talk about shoes another time.”
“Right, right.” Sienna gave the shoes another glance and then closed the lid on the box and pressed it back into the shopping bag. “What did I miss?”