She slipped into the bathroom to freshen her makeup and hair, then buttoned on a cropped jacket, and changed out of her kitchen shoes into heels.

When her clients rang the buzzer, she was ready for them.

“Steph, Chuck, it’s good to see you again. How was the shoot?” she asked as she gestured them in.

“It was fun.” Stephanie, a cheerful brunette, hooked her arm with her fiance’s. “Wasn’t it fun?”

“It was. After I stopped being nervous.”

“He hates getting his picture taken.”

“I always feel goofy.” Chuck, sandy-haired and shy, ducked his head as he grinned. “I usually am.”

“Mac had me feed him a cookie because I’d told her we’d had cookies on our first date. When we were eight.”

“Only I didn’t know we were dating.”

“I did. Now, eighteen years later, I’ve got you.”

“Well, I hope you left room for cake. How about some champagne, or wine?”

“I’d love some champagne. God, I love this place,” Steph enthused. “I love everything about it. Oh, is this your kitchen? Where you bake?”

She made a point of bringing clients through her kitchen, so they could get a feel for it—and see it sparkle. “It is. It was originally used as a secondary or caterer’s kitchen. Now it’s all mine.”

“It really is beautiful. I like to cook, and I’m pretty good at it. But baking ...” Steph fluttered her hand side to side.

“It takes practice, and patience.”

“What are these? Oh, they’re so pretty!”

“Crystallized flowers. I just made them. They have to set several hours at room temperature.” Please don’t touch them, Laurel thought.

“You can eat them?”

“You sure can. It’s best not to use any flower or garnish on a cake, I think, unless it’s edible.”

“Maybe we should do something like that, Chuck. Real flowers.”

“I have a lot of designs that incorporate them. And I can customize for you. Why don’t you come in and sit? I’ll get you that champagne, and we’ll get started.”

It was easy when the clients were inclined to be pleased, as these were, Laurel decided. They seemed to love everything, including each other. Her hardest job, she realized after the first ten minutes, would be to steer them toward what made them the happiest.

“They’re all delicious.” Steph spread a bit of white chocolate mousse on vanilla bean. “How does anyone ever pick?”

“The best part is there’s no wrong choice. You like the mocha spice,” Laurel said to Chuck.

“What’s not to like?”

“It’s a good choice for a groom’s cake, and it’s fabulous with the chocolate ganache. Manly,” she said with a wink. “And in this design, it resembles a heart carved into a tree, with your names and the dates piped on.”

“Oh, I love it. Do you love it?” Steph asked him.

“It’s pretty cool.” Chuck angled the photo for a better look. “I didn’t know I got a cake.”

“It’s up to you. No wrong choices.”

“Let’s do it, Chuck. He can have the manly, and then I can go completely girly on the wedding cake.”

“That’s a deal. This is the ganache, right?” He sampled, grinned.

“Oh yeah. Sold.”

“Yay! This is fun, too. People keep telling us planning a wedding is a huge headache, and how we’ll fight and get edgy. But we’re having such a good time.”

“It’s our job to have the headaches and fight and get edgy.” Steph laughed, then lifted her hands. “Tell me what you think. You hit it dead-on with Chuck.”

“Okay. Valentine’s Day wedding. Why not go full-out romance? Now, you liked the idea of crystallized flowers, but this design uses sugar paste. Still, I think it’s romantic and fun and really, really girly.”

Laurel found the photograph in the album, turned it.

Steph slapped her hands over her mouth. “Oh, oh, wow!”

It was, Laurel thought, definitely a wow. “Five graduated tiers, separated by dowels to give it that open, airy look. And the dowels are covered with sugar paste petals, more petals and blossoms overlaying the top of the tiers and spilling over for abundance. These are hydrangea blossoms,” Laurel went on, “but I can do any kind. Rose petals, cherry blossoms, name it. Any colors or tones. I use royal icing on this, generally, piping it out on each tier to form the crown. But again, I can customize. Using fondant for a sleeker look, doing ribbons or pearls, in the white, or in the color of the flowers.”

“It’s my colors, the blue and that lavendery pink.You knew that. You knew that and showed me the perfect cake.” Steph let out a reverent sigh. “It’s so beautiful.”

“It is,” Chuck agreed. “But you know what else? It’s really charming. Like Steph.”

“Oh. Chuck.”

“I have to agree. If you like this direction, you could go with more than one flavor and filling.”

“I don’t like this direction. I love this cake. This is my cake. Can we still do a topper? The bride and groom topper.”

“Absolutely.”

“Perfect. Because I want us to be on top. Can I have another glass of champagne?”

“You bet.” Laurel rose to pour.

“Can’t you have one, too? Are you not allowed?”

Glancing back, Laurel smiled. “I’m the boss, and I’d love to have one.”

The champagne and the clients left her in an excellent mood. And since she was done for the day, she decided to pour herself a second glass and make herself a little fruit and cheese platter to go with it. Relaxed, she sat at her counter sipping, nibbling, and making a list of supplies for Parker to pick up.

Greek meant butter, butter, butter, and lots of nuts. She’d have to make phyllo sheets—a pain in the ass, but the job was the job. Honey, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, bread flour.

While she was at it, it wouldn’t hurt to list her staple bulk items, then the supplies she’d need to order soon from her wholesaler.

“Now this is the kind of work I want.”

She glanced up to see Del in the doorway. Full lawyer mode, she thought, with the tailored suit—charcoal with subtle pinstripes—the elegant tie in a precise Windsor knot, the serious leather briefcase.