I laughed. “Almost there.”
“Thank, God.” She perked up. “Is that Billie?”
“Sure is.”
“Turn it up!”
I shook my head with a chuckle and turned up “Bad Guy” from Billie Eilish. The bass heavy song pushed us along another mile and we turned heads as I rolled into the park.
My ragtop Caddy was a sight to behold, but holding a cake that was almost as tall as Mercy’s torso was one for the books. I beeped at the stretch limo and the moonroof opened and Sully peeked out. I gave him a thumbs up and passed them as I took the winding road around to the service entrance.
“How’s the cake?”
“Heavy and still somehow perfect.”
“Don’t jinx us, Hart!”
“Sorry!”The song flipped over to a Taylor Swift song that made Mercy cackle. “I didn’t take you for a Swiftie.”
“I like all music.”
She bopped her head and her wide, red mouth widened into a smile as the lyrics to “Style” matched her look. And just like the song, I couldn’t keep my damn eyes on the road. I kept glancing back at her and not because I was worried about the damn cake.
And because I was looking at her, I hit a crater of a pothole and shook the whole damn car.
She swore and the cake slid.
“Fuck. Sorry!”
“Shit, shit, shit. Stop!”
I resisted the urge to stomp on the brake and slowly came to a stop. I turned my head. “Everything okay?”
She was peering around to the front of the board. “I can’t tell.”
I put it in park and twisted around to check. “It’s damn close to the edge, but we’re good.”
“Slow, please.”
I turned the stereo down and I inched my way around to the back entrance where a fleet of catering vans were lined up. I craned my neck to find a gap. I needed to get us closer. There was no way I could carry that beast of a cake across the parking lot and not have an accident.
One of my future sister-in-law’s stepped out of a patrol car. Chief Parker Olsen’s blond hair was pinned up into an impossible height and her long legs were showcased in a dress that reminded me of a glass of claret with matching spiky heels. She wore her Indigo Valley Police Department jacket over the whole ensemble that was Parker down to the marrow. She was never not on duty. She paused, then turned around and stared right at me.
“What is going on?”
“Cake emergency,” I shouted.
She picked her way over to my side of the car and peered at the cake then my passenger. “Hey, Mercy.” She glanced at me. “Rip. How’s it going?”
“Not great. My van broke down.” She craned her neck. “Think you can get us close to the venue?”
“Oh, boy.” Parker held up a finger and jogged away. Pretty impressive that she could make tracks in those damn heels.
“I can’t believe this.” Mercy’s eyes were hot and intense.
“We’ll get this done. I promise.”
“How the heck are you going to promise me that? We’re like fifty zillion yards away from the dessert table.”I opened my mouth and she pointed one finger at me. “If you tell me to calm down, you’re going to wear cake.”
