Part 6
2268 Words
The pain in my ankle had subsided as I woke up the next day, the bandage Edward had wrapped lying neatly on the bedside table. At the memory of the moment, my lips twitched. He was something else. The mere mention of him bought made my belly flutter. Was that normal?
A startled knock on the door brought me back to reality. I blinked only to see Francesca walk into my room, my body sagging in relief. I have been trying to get her alone so that we can talk but it seemed almost impossible.
“Ahh! Finally!” I rushed her in, shutting the door behind me and tugging her to bed. My friend let out a squeal, resting her back against the headboard, appearing bewildered.
“Are you okay?”
“Am I okay?” I blinked at her, echoing her tone. “Are you? What do you mean you are getting married in two weeks Fran? This is crazy.”
She let out a sigh. “Aria…I don’t…I am happy.”
“Huh?”
For the first time in forever, I saw a shy smile on her lips. “Roman…He treats me well. Please do not worry about me. I promise I know what I am doing.”
I opened and closed my mouth, at a loss for words at her answer. There were so many things going on in my mind ever since I heard about the wedding but never did I imagine her saying this. The last thing I wanted was to rain on her parade.
“If you are sure…”
“I am. Trust me on this.”
“Okay.” I shakily said. “B-But anything happens and you tell me, yeah?”
“Of course.”
“Good. So what’s up?”
Francesca made a sound, looking around as if realising that we were in my assigned room. Her hand reached out and she took my wrist, giving me a look. “Please do me this favour. Consider this my wedding gift.”
I raised my brow at the sudden shift in her behaviour but kept my calm, nodding my head along. “Okay…”
“You have to pick my wedding cake and a few other desserts for dinner parties…” The voice became a blur as she started going into detail about the situation. All I heard was she wanted me trapped with Edward for a whole day. The idea made me shudder.
“Fran I love you a lot but please don’t make me do this…”
“Ari please!” She pouted. “You are the only one who knows what I like and Edward doesn’t even eat sweets.”
“So why am I going with him?”
“Do you want to drive around this unknown city alone? Besides he’s a good negotiator. He will talk money with them.”
“Do I have a choice?” I let out an exasperated sigh while she jumped over and wrapped her arms around me, my body sagging. What did I sign up for?
***
I covered my face as the harsh sunlight filtered through the windows. Even though the net was covering the majority of the rays from peeking inside, they still managed to surpass through gaps.
Letting out a sigh I turned around and picked my tote bag which was bulky for no reason at all. After Francesca requested with stars in her eyes, and a puppy look on her face I did not have the heart to deny her request.
A knock sounded on my door and I looked up only to see Edward. He was dressed like a posh boy in a crisp white button-down shirt and brown chinos, a soft cream sweater wrapped around his shoulder, with bright white sneakers. He looked like those catalogue models with hair messy, the strands falling loosely on his forehead.
I stifled my whine as his eyes narrowed in my direction.
“Hi.” I squeaked, trying to sound unaffected while stuffing more things into the overweight tote.
He shuffled inside my room when I noticed that you had nothing except his phone in his hand.
“So how long do you think this trip is for?” He teased while staring at my tote bag.
In my defence, I packed a puffer jacket in case it started raining or worse snowing. It’s December and it won’t hurt to be cautious, especially with the wedding date so close. I couldn’t afford to fall sick.
A water bottle and some snacks were also stuffed in along with my iPad for directions. Also, a book to keep me distracted for the rest of the trip.
“All of these are my essentials.”
He hummed, not saying anything but his eyes were accessing my every motion.
“Are we leaving already?” My eyes automatically shifted towards the clock behind me. It was only seven in the morning and I was pretty sure that no bakery opened before nine.
“That's exactly what I thought.” He licked his lips. “But according to the map, there’ll be a lot of traffic on the way to town. Besides it won’t hurt to go early. Fewer customers.”
I shrugged and walked out of my room with Edward in tow.
***
“You have no idea how much this means to me, Ari,” Francesca said as we were waiting outside the garage while Edward was in the car.
“Don’t mention it, Fran.”
“I don't know what I would have done without you two.” She turned to Edward and then stared at me, a grateful look on her face, pressing her hand firmly against mine.
“Would have cried I guess.” Edward snickered from inside the car to which she shot him a look.
“Ari please hit him if he acts like this during your trip. You have my full permission.”
“I was going to.” I giggled.
“I hate you two.” He muttered while turning on the ignition.
***
Two hours later and four rejections from the bakeries we were lost. It was ridiculous how difficult it turned out to get the bakers to bring out tasting cakes. At first, the two of them refused to serve on short notice while the other two made a face when we clarified we were not the couple. Why did it matter anyway?
“It's too late to back out now,” Edward said as if he could read the thoughts going in my head. His other hand went up to his shirt, fiddling with one of the buttons. If he's thinking about undoing it I would have smacked him - he's already got the first two undone, and that's more than enough nudity to start off the trip.
"I could just murder you and tell our families that it was an accident. They would feel sorry for me and put this all behind them.” I muttered while looking at the huge sign on the wall. Deena’s Cakes. That’s what it read in pastel colours on a huge cupcake drawing. According to the people in town, it’s one of the top bakeries.
“You have it all planned huh?”
“Of course.”
“I am scared for my safety now.”
“Well, you should be.”
“But I brought you coffee. Iced latte with vanilla syrup. Just like you said.” He protested, while still fiddling with the button. I smacked his hand away, irritated.
He did. On the way over I was cribbing for missing breakfast and not getting my morning coffee. Edward like any sane individual pulled over a highway at the first coffee takeaway and ordered one.
“Is this necessary?”
“Well at our current success rate, it’s the only option I am afraid.”
He came up with the brilliant idea of pretending to be a couple so that the bakers would sympathise with our story and accept the order.
“This is a terrible idea," I repeated.
He tugged one of his rings off of his pinkie finger, taking my hand in his own and clasping it tight. My face turned beet red, palms turned clammy at the touch. I stuttered.
“You're the light of my life. I love you with my entire heart, and nothing would make me happier than pretending to be your husband for the next hour.” With that, he slid
the ring onto my ring finger, beaming, clearly proud of himself.
“That should sell it.” He added.
“I hate you so much right now.”
***
The inside of the bakery was massive.
I patiently waited for Edward as he was trying to find a parking spot. The past two hours with him passed very quickly without having to turn on the music or scroll through my phone. He kept the conversation naturally flowing and surprisingly did not add any flirty remarks.
"Ready?" Edward asked coming behind me.
I gulped, suddenly feeling my hands sweaty and cold. My stomach was in knots and I could feel it spreading all over my body, legs rooted on the spot.
“I know it’s not our real wedding but I am stressing." I nervously laughed, rubbing my palm against the fabric of my skirt.
He let out a low hum.
As soon as we pushed the door, the sugary smell of dough hit us. His hand immediately came to clasp my wrist, his warm touch making me sag my shoulders.
I arched my eyebrow.
“Do you always think about that? Your wedding?” He questioned, his lips pressed together.
I shrugged, not trying to look at him and staring at the decor instead. It was not something obsessively thought about but merely a passing thought. Mostly things I would avoid at my wedding. People I would never invite and the kind of man I would end up with. Sometimes I fantasised about dancing to my favourite song with my future husband and making sure everyone watched us and was awed.
“Sometimes…” I cleared my throat.
“What about you? Don't you ever have these thoughts?”
He burst out laughing as if I made a joke. It was not intentional judging from the immediate apologetic look taking over, “Sorry... I am sorry I didn't mean to laugh.”
"It's fine"
Edward gritted his teeth, “No I…I never thought about those things before and your question just made me laugh at how much I don't think about it.”
"Never?"
He shook his head.
Huh. Why would he not think about his wedding? Did he not meet anyone in his life that made him change his decision? I found it extremely difficult to digest.
"Is there any reason why?" I curiously asked him.
"Any reason?" He snorted and shook his head. “Maybe because I have not found the right one. The one that would make me want to settle."
I felt my chest tighten at his tone, just thinking about some lucky girl who would be his future wife. An ugly feeling swarmed at the pit of my belly.
“And what if you find this one you have been looking for?” I asked in a small voice.
He grinned, the crinkles by his eyes deepening, “Then I will marry her.”
***
We walked for several minutes, taking in the various sections and displays of desserts. There was a queue to get to the counter and a lot of people stood with their baskets. No wonder the locals kept raving about the place. Everything looked so fresh and hot, the smell of butter and sugar floating around.
They also had a mini savoury section with cold cuts, frozen pizzas and sandwiches.
“Hello. Welcome to Deena’s!” An older man greeted us with a huge smile on his face. Too bright for ten in the morning. “How may I assist you two today?”
Edward was quick to wrap an arm around my waist, pulling me flush to his side. My mouth slackened at the action, no words dying at the tip of my tongue.
“You see…I and my lovely bride here are looking to order a wedding cake and some pastries for our happy day in two weeks. Our baker cancelled at the last minute and we heard so much about this place.”
His eyes glimmered at that. “Congratulations! We would be happy to cater for you two.”
“Excellent!” Edward let out a sigh. “Okay, so we need…”
“Unfortunately sir it’s not possible at the moment. It’s rush hour and all our bakers are extremely busy at the moment. I can give you an afternoon appointment so you can do a tasting and give your order. Will that work for you?”
We both looked at each other. It’s not like we had any other choice.
“Yes!”
“Perfect. Let me take a note of it.”
As the man pulled out a notepad and started getting details from Edward I slowly slipped away from his hold. My feet wandered towards the huge display of macarons, my mouth watering but with one look at the queue I resigned.
“How long do we wait?” I asked as Edward came to stand next to me.
“5 hours.”
“What are we supposed to do till then?”
***
- Writer
