“From life,” he said. His expression shifted for a second, like there was a story there he wasn't ready to share. Then he straightened. “Also, I think they listen to me because I pretend to know more about lighting than I actually do.”
“You do come across as very knowledgeable when you want to” I mentioned.
“Really?” he asked, tilting his head in surprise.
Voices drifted from the lobby. High, excited, slightly shrill laughter. The sound of many heels on hardwood. Kitty gasped. “They’re here! Positions, everyone.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “We aren’t in a play.”
“Tell that to the cameras,” Kitty whispered back, then plastered on a bright smile and hurried toward the entrance to greet them.
I stepped back to my side of the table and smoothed my apron. Meri took up a post near the beverage station, ready to refill cups with silent efficiency. Mom hovered just outside the room, straightening a framed picture that had not needed straightening in an attempt to keep apprised of what was going on.
The first bridesmaid walked in with wide eyes and a delighted gasp. “Oh, this is so cute. Look at the cookies.”
The rest of the group followed, filling the room with the rustle of dresses and the scent of too many perfumes layered together. They crowded around the table, pointing at the different shapes and colors. One of them clapped her hands and declared she was going to make the most artistic snowflake anyone had ever seen.
The cameraman lifted his lens. The assistant director leaned in to whisper something to James, who was already planning how to insert himself into the fun.
Braxton moved a half step closer to the equipment, ready to intervene if necessary. I gripped a piping bag, took a breath, and smiled at the bridesmaids. “Who wants to start?”
The room hummed with anticipation, the kind that comes right before everything either goes exactly right or gloriously sideways.
Chapter Eight: Sugarcookie Shenanigans
Jane
The first bridesmaid to sit down held her piping bag like it was a live animal she wasn't entirely sure she trusted. She looked at me for reassurance. “So I just squeeze?”
“Gently,” I said. “Think of it as drawing with icing. Slow and steady.”
She nodded with exaggerated seriousness. “If this goes wrong, I am blaming my previous art teacher.”
“That’s fair,” I easily agreed.
The rest of the group crowded around the table, chattering and picking up cookies, setting them down again, changing places, and then changing them back. The bride stood at the center, radiating joy. I showed them how to outline a simple tree shape and fill it in, how to make a snowflake if they didn’t overthink the lines. There were all sorts of sugar cookies in all sorts of wedding and holiday shapes.
Lucy moved along the opposite side of the table like a very cheerful game show host, pointing to bowls of sprinkles andmaking suggestions. “These are great for the ornaments. The lighter ones look good on the doves or little chapels. If you choose these, they will roll under every piece of furniture if you use too many.”
She pointed to another. Several bridesmaids laughed and immediately reached for the third bowl.
Kitty hovered near the end of the table, watching everything with wide, anxious eyes. “This looks wonderful, festive, and fun.”
“Mostly it’s controllable,” I murmured to her, glad the bride was okay with a simple activity.
Kitty made a sound that might have been a laugh and hurried toward the doorway as the crew shifted their equipment to capture “authentic joy,” as the assistant director called it.
The cameraman edged closer to the table, angling his lens toward the bride. Another crew member adjusted a light that cast a bright glow across the white frosting. It wasn't quite enough to melt anything, but it made the room warmer than it needed to be.
I kept my voice light as I answered questions.
“How do you do the little dots without them turning into blobs?” one bridesmaid wondered.
“Stop squeezing a second before you think you need to. Less is sometimes more,” I said.
She tried it and smiled when the dot actually looked like a dot. “I did it!”
“That is your superpower now,” I told her.
