picked up her coffee cup.
Meredith’s grip on her pen tightened. “Huh?”
“Candy hearts,” Nanette Ogilvy said.
“You mean no frosting?”
“Oh, definitely frosting, but all along the sides of the cake and around the bride-and-groom topper…” Julia gestured expansively with her cup. “…candy hearts.”
“You don’t mean hearts made out of frosting or plastic?”
Julia gave a decisive head shake. “No, I want candy hearts.”
“Chocolate candy?” Meredith persisted, trying to get a clearer idea of what she meant.
“No. Those candies with sayings on them. You know, the ones that are so popular on Valentine’s Day.”
Meredith nodded as Julia’s meaning finally came clear. “Of course. The candies with sayings on them.”
She tried to envision a six-tier wedding cake awash in lovey-dovey sayings and found herself nodding again. All right, it was doable. Buy some packages of candy hearts and stud the cake with them. No problem. The candies would provide interesting points of color against a backdrop of basic white frosting and the guests would have fun seeing what sayings were on their slices of cake. Now that she thought about it, it wasn’t a half-bad idea.
“Very good,” she told the beaming Julia. “Candy hearts it is, with a variety of sayings.”
Julia stopped beaming. “Oh no. No variety of sayings. I want each of them to say the same thing.” She put the cup down and sat back in her chair, her eyes taking on the besotted glow of a woman thinking about something much more fascinating than frosting and wedding-cake toppers. “I want them to say, ‘Adore Me’.”
Meredith felt the breath whoosh out of her and dropped the pen onto her pad. “All of them have to say ‘Adore Me’?”
“Definitely. The cupcakes, too. I want dozens of cupcakes with luscious fillings, so we can be sure everyone gets something if we run out of wedding cake.”
Meredith retrieved her pen and scribbled “dozens of luscious cupcakes” on her pad as she tried not to think about how many boxes of hearts she’d have to troll through to find enough that said “Adore Me.”
She swallowed a silent sigh. “That’s really thoughtful of you to have dozens of extra cupcakes.”
Dozens of extra cupcakes that each had hearts with “Adore Me” emblazoned across its surface .
She took a deep breath, warning herself to keep calm, stay focused, and try like hell to regroup. After all, she wanted customers who were happy with her work. Equally important, she needed customers who were happy with her work. God, did she need them, especially if they could also steer other customers her way. And soon.
“You know why I want that exact saying?” Julia asked, her voice turning hushed with memory. “Because of the way Kevin proposed. It was so romantic. It happened on my birthday a few years ago. Kevin and I were alone in the living room sitting on the sofa, and suddenly he took out a ring box and offered it to me. So I thought, this is it. He’s proposing. But when I opened the box the only thing inside was a candy heart with the words ‘Adore Me’ on it. Then he pointed to it and said, ‘Do you? Because that’s how I feel about you,’ and I held his hand and said, ‘Oh, I do.’ And he said, ‘That’s what I was hoping you’d say.’ Then he pulled out another ring box, the one with this inside.”
She waved her left hand in the air, and the behemoth of an engagement ring on her finger flashed enough watts of power to light up a small room.
“Then he got down on his knee and proposed.” Julia smiled dreamily and let out a sweet giggle that made her look and sound about twelve years old. “Isn’t that the most romantic thing you’ve ever heard?”
Meredith nodded. “It’s a wonderful proposal,” she agreed, trying not to be blinded by the glow from the ring.
But at least now there was one thing she knew for sure. After that revelation, any suggestion she made about alternate cake
Meredith’s grip on her pen tightened. “Huh?”
“Candy hearts,” Nanette Ogilvy said.
“You mean no frosting?”
“Oh, definitely frosting, but all along the sides of the cake and around the bride-and-groom topper…” Julia gestured expansively with her cup. “…candy hearts.”
“You don’t mean hearts made out of frosting or plastic?”
Julia gave a decisive head shake. “No, I want candy hearts.”
“Chocolate candy?” Meredith persisted, trying to get a clearer idea of what she meant.
“No. Those candies with sayings on them. You know, the ones that are so popular on Valentine’s Day.”
Meredith nodded as Julia’s meaning finally came clear. “Of course. The candies with sayings on them.”
She tried to envision a six-tier wedding cake awash in lovey-dovey sayings and found herself nodding again. All right, it was doable. Buy some packages of candy hearts and stud the cake with them. No problem. The candies would provide interesting points of color against a backdrop of basic white frosting and the guests would have fun seeing what sayings were on their slices of cake. Now that she thought about it, it wasn’t a half-bad idea.
“Very good,” she told the beaming Julia. “Candy hearts it is, with a variety of sayings.”
Julia stopped beaming. “Oh no. No variety of sayings. I want each of them to say the same thing.” She put the cup down and sat back in her chair, her eyes taking on the besotted glow of a woman thinking about something much more fascinating than frosting and wedding-cake toppers. “I want them to say, ‘Adore Me’.”
Meredith felt the breath whoosh out of her and dropped the pen onto her pad. “All of them have to say ‘Adore Me’?”
“Definitely. The cupcakes, too. I want dozens of cupcakes with luscious fillings, so we can be sure everyone gets something if we run out of wedding cake.”
Meredith retrieved her pen and scribbled “dozens of luscious cupcakes” on her pad as she tried not to think about how many boxes of hearts she’d have to troll through to find enough that said “Adore Me.”
She swallowed a silent sigh. “That’s really thoughtful of you to have dozens of extra cupcakes.”
Dozens of extra cupcakes that each had hearts with “Adore Me” emblazoned across its surface .
She took a deep breath, warning herself to keep calm, stay focused, and try like hell to regroup. After all, she wanted customers who were happy with her work. Equally important, she needed customers who were happy with her work. God, did she need them, especially if they could also steer other customers her way. And soon.
“You know why I want that exact saying?” Julia asked, her voice turning hushed with memory. “Because of the way Kevin proposed. It was so romantic. It happened on my birthday a few years ago. Kevin and I were alone in the living room sitting on the sofa, and suddenly he took out a ring box and offered it to me. So I thought, this is it. He’s proposing. But when I opened the box the only thing inside was a candy heart with the words ‘Adore Me’ on it. Then he pointed to it and said, ‘Do you? Because that’s how I feel about you,’ and I held his hand and said, ‘Oh, I do.’ And he said, ‘That’s what I was hoping you’d say.’ Then he pulled out another ring box, the one with this inside.”
She waved her left hand in the air, and the behemoth of an engagement ring on her finger flashed enough watts of power to light up a small room.
“Then he got down on his knee and proposed.” Julia smiled dreamily and let out a sweet giggle that made her look and sound about twelve years old. “Isn’t that the most romantic thing you’ve ever heard?”
Meredith nodded. “It’s a wonderful proposal,” she agreed, trying not to be blinded by the glow from the ring.
But at least now there was one thing she knew for sure. After that revelation, any suggestion she made about alternate cake