Not that they would have been any better. In fact, they would have been worse. All three of them would have tried to take over and the damn cake would probably end up on the ground. I loved them dearly, but they were disasters waiting to happen.
I double checked that the case was locked into the back of the van then released the front latch again. “Please cooperate with me,” I whispered. As Ripley came up behind me, I turned myhead. “Hey, can you grab the black bag in the truck. It has all my emergency supplies.”
He nodded and shouldered it with a grunt. “Got a body in here?”
I laughed. “Also has my dress and girl junk.”
“You don’t need any of that,” he said under his breath.
“Thanks. Nice to hear, but these curlers under my bandana definitely need to come out before the wedding.”
He laughed. “Curlers? I was wondering what was under there.”
“Yeah, I was hoping to get some decent photos for my website. Now I just want to live through this delivery.”
“We’ll get you there, don’t worry.” He squeezed my arm then hurried over to the car. He stowed my gear in the trunk to make a little pen for the cake. I tucked blankets around it and hoped we could at least stop it from sliding around. Before I went back for the big cake, I opened the driver side door, flipping the driver side seat down for easy access.
I bent at the waist and breathed through the sudden swimming black dots.
My cake was going to go on my lap?
God.
This was going to go so wrong.
“Hey, none of that. We’re going to be fine.”
“Since when are you the voice of reason and support?”
“Since you’re the secondary star of my brother’s wedding. Nothing is going to ruin his big day.”
“Agreed.”
“Now move over.” He handed me a blanket to put over my lap.
When another two cars came blasting by and nearly knocked me back a step I sighed. “If you drop that cake, I will murder you.”
“Understood.”
“I have no backup. Truly.”
I’d spent forty hours creating the lace, not to mention the other tiers. This was legit my life’s work to date. I’d taken my own photos for my website of course but seeing it in the pavilion was going to be the new cover of my website. If it made it to the wedding intact.
He briefly touched my shoulder. “Then we’ll make it work.”
I climbed into the back seat. When I turned back around, he’d already lifted the cake out of the case. His body in stark relief from the headlights.
I squeaked and rushed toward him.
“Get in the car, Hart.”
I scrambled back into the back seat. “Just don’t?—”
“Mercy.”
“Sorry.” I wanted to shut my eyes, but the anxiety in my chest wouldn’t let me look away. It was a heavy cake and his arms were shaking with the strain of keeping it away from his chest as to not smudge the delicate icing.
He stopped at the side of the car and braced as a beast of a semi roared down the hill. The massive lights blinding him.
