I’d worked on the upper tiers of the cake well into the night.
“I need your help for the big sheet cake part that has to feed all the animals.”
Shannon laughed as she stood. “Understood. Hope you left a little decorating for me.”
“I sure did. I saved the groom’s cake details to you.”
Shannon clapped her hands. “I’m so excited.”
“Good, you can make all the little freaking tools. I’m an absolute idiot for offering that as an add-on to this beast.”
She pulled a bandana off the pile I kept on a shelf and tied it around her head before tucking the rest into a hair net. “Let’s do this.”
My dark hair was a puffy mass of sock curls trapped under my hairnet. I was going to the wedding as a guest as well and figured it was just easier to shake out my hair before the ceremony when I swapped my uniform for the red dress in my truck.
At the moment I was wearing black cargos with pockets for all my tools, my Chuck Taylors, and a Sweet Beats T-shirt, along with my good bra. It was digging the hell out of the side of one of my tits, but it hoisted the girls up and showed them off for later.
I cracked my knuckles and rolled my shoulders. “Let’s do this.”
Shannon helped me feed the gray fondant through the sheeter so I could keep it hydrated and not freaking crack. It took us a full hour to smooth it out over the massive sheet cake. The bride and groom had requested half black forest cake with rum soaked cherries and half strawberry champagne for a more traditional option for those who didn’t like a rich dessert.
The tiered cake alternated both flavors giving the bride and groom the option of freezing their cake for their one-year anniversary as some couples did.
I’d also made sixty tiny strawberry and champagne tarts with a mousse that actually tasted fizzy on the tongue. It took me six weeks to figure out just the right ratios of smooth, silky mousse and keeping that champagne specialness. And an ode to the parents with two cheesecakes in a decadent salted caramel andtiramisu.Luckily, I’d already delivered the smaller treats and they were being kept in the on-site fridge.
I’d worked with the caterer before. I was pretty sure he was a little afraid of me which was a good thing, it meant he’d keep them safe.
I was going to need a week to recover from this damn wedding, but my desserts were going to be exceptional.
But I wanted Sweet Beats first wedding cake to shout exactly what I could do.
Since female badassery was the deal of the day, I played Within Temptation after Evanescence and as we were finishing stabilizing the cakes, the Pretty Reckless vocals soared through the empty bakery.
Four hours later, Shannon and I stood side by side, both of us covered in sugar and frosting and no small amount of sweat and tears.
“We kicked ass.”
I glanced over at her. “We damn sure did. Thanks so much for coming in to help.”
“I’m so glad you asked. I know this one is pretty special to you.”
I hip bumped her. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Liar, but I appreciate it.”
“Okay, ready to get this in the truck?”
She nodded. “Ready.”
I rolled out the stainless-steel cooler box I’d had since my company’s inception. It was covered in tour and band stickers with the nicks and dings to match. The most nerve-racking part of a delivery was getting it safely to its destination. Bettie, named for the famous pinup girl, worked great for my larger desserts, but this was the first time the case would hold something as important as a wedding cake.
I carefully loaded the intricate tiered pieces, and the groom’s cake, into the cart and we slowly rolled it out to the truck and locked it in. Then we loaded up the rest.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to ride with you?”
“No. You have plans with Danny tonight.”
“He’d understand.”
