The Cinderella List (17 page)

“Y
ou’re a great sport, Tildy, to hang around and lend a hand to get us through this wedding.” Marlo sank onto a stool in the Divas’ kitchen for a quick respite from slicing vegetables for the lasagna.

Tildy, her sleeves rolled to her elbows, was patiently working on the handmade mints. “Not a problem, but you are still going to need more help than I can give you.”

“I’ve been trying to come up with a solution—who does a caterer hire when she needs catering? It seems a little redundant.”

“You don’t need temporary help, Marlo. You need someone permanent, a partner in the business. I’ve seen your calendar. You and Lucy will wear yourselves out if you don’t make changes.”

“I agree. But who…” An idea came to her, but it would never work unless she made the offer tantalizing enough. Marlo dusted her hands on her apron. “If you’ll excuse me, Aunt Tildy, I have an errand to run. Maybe I do have a solution for this problem after all.”

When she returned later, Tildy and Lucy were sipping tea in the back room. “I leave and you two quit working? Is that how it is?”

“Our feet were killing us,” Lucy said plaintively. “Besides, we’re talking about you asking Jake to the wedding.”

“Great. Date by committee. This whole thing is giving me a headache.” She made tea for herself and started to move a stack of recipe books off a chair, so that she could sit down.

“Sometimes a committee can be a good thing,” Lucy said smugly.

Marlo never trusted her friend when she had that tone in her voice. It always meant she was up to something. “What does that mean?”

“It means that Jake called with some questions about a fundraiser he’s considering for the hippotherapy program. I told him that he should come in and talk to you.”

Come in? “But you said you’d take over the Hammond account, remember. I don’t need to get involved.” At that moment the doorbell rang at the front of the shop.

“It’s the perfect time for you to ask him to the wedding. Don’t keep him waiting.”

Marlo slunk to the front, dragging her low self-esteem behind her. How humiliating…and unfortunately, since the wedding was nearly upon her, how necessary.

Jake was studying a book of wedding cake photos and appeared particularly interested in one with a bride and groom trotting around the outer rim of the cake in an old-fashioned horse and buggy. He looked up when she entered, and a smile broke across his features.

He was more handsome than any other man she’d ever seen, Marlo thought.
Why me? Why now?

“You appear to have the weight of the world on your shoulders.” His expression softened into concern.

“It’s because I have something very embarrassing to ask you.”

One of his eyebrows arched slightly.

“It’s a business proposition, actually.” Marlo’s voice quavered
a bit, and she steeled herself. “I never meant that volunteering at Hammond Stables should require any payback, but I need a favor and I’ve run out of options. I thought you might help me…just for a few hours….” Her voice trailed away. “It’s a business favor, really.” She scowled. “I’m sorry. I’m doing this very badly.”

He smiled, seeming to enjoy her discomfiture. “Why don’t you just spit it out? You’ve been a lifesaver at the stables. I probably owe you hundreds of hours. What is it you want me to do?”

“I…ah… The Divas are catering a wedding this weekend. The bride is a friend of Lucy’s and mine, and she insists that if we don’t bring dates we’ll throw off her table settings. It’s not convenient to have a date, because we’ll be in the kitchen most of the evening, so it won’t be much fun for whoever escorts me.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “And I don’t have anyone else I can ask.” There. It was out. Pathetic 101.

Jake looked mildly confused. “Don’t have anyone? What about your boyfriend, Bryan?”

Things were going from bad to worse, Marlo decided, but she might as well get it all out on the table at once. “Bryan’s not exactly my boyfriend. He’s a dear friend, but he’s in love with my cousin. I’m just ‘man-sitting’ him for her while she’s in boot camp in the army. Bryan’s very lonesome, and Kelly thought it would be good for him to hang out with me. We’ve known each other forever.”

His lip was quivering with either a laugh or a frown. “I’d be honored to escort you to your friend’s wedding,” he said formally, “on a purely business level.”

Relief seeped through her body. “Thank you. You have no idea how silly I feel about this.”

“No worries, just give me the time and address, and I’ll be there. By the way,” Jake continued, “do you let everyone call you ‘pookie’?” Marlo flushed crimson from head to toe.

“That was embarrassing,” Marlo said, when she returned to the kitchen after Jake had left with his fundraiser questions answered. “I hope I’m not going to hurt Sabrina by doing this. It is purely business.”

“We know that and God knows that,” Aunt Tildy said. “Let Him handle it. You are obviously willing to do whatever He requires of you, and you certainly keep getting thrown in with this man. Maybe it’s coincidence and maybe not. Time will tell.”

“I’m surprised at you, Tildy.”

“Everyone always is.” Her aunt smiled serenely.

It wasn’t going to be an issue, having Jake as an escort, Marlo decided on the day of Angela’s wedding. She’d been at the reception hall since 6:00 a.m., and Jake would drive here alone, sit in the seat next to hers and go home alone. She doubted she’d even have much time to talk to him. It couldn’t get much more businesslike than that. Despite Angela’s difficult and demanding ways, particularly about the escort issue, Marlo gave her credit for one thing—the bridesmaid dress. Finally, one of her friends had gotten it right. Angela had chosen black, a trend Marlo thought a bit funereal, but liked anyway. The dress was a simple sheath that skimmed her figure and accented her height and slenderness. She was happy to have a dress that was a real keeper.

An hour before the wedding was to begin, Marlo, Lucy and the individual who Marlo had begun referring to as “the solution to all our catering problems,” were checking details and discussing timing. None of them even heard Jake until he cleared his throat to announce his presence.

He was in a classically cut, dark navy suit, and wore it with a white shirt and silk tie that reminded her of an impressionist painting. He nearly took her breath away. She opened her mouth
to speak, but realized that Jake wasn’t even looking at her. He was looking past her to the short man in a tall white hat.

“Franco?” he said, sounding stunned. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at your restaurant?”

Franco, in a pleated chef’s hat and apron as white as Jake’s shirt, beamed. “Your friend Marlo hired me to work here tonight.” He gestured toward the meticulously laid-out kitchen. “I am enjoying it immensely. It reminds me of my days on the cruise ship.”

“You are full of surprises, aren’t you?” Jake said to Marlo.

“Franco is a genius. I knew that from the first moment I tasted his food. Lucy and I have decided to work smarter, not harder, and Franco was the first person who came to mind. In fact, we’re already discussing a way of bringing Franco in as a partner in Dining with Divas. We could easily double our business with his help. And possibly get a day off,” Marlo added, suppressing a yawn. “We’ve been working twelve-hour days all week.”

“Is that the reason I haven’t seen you at the stables much lately?” Jake asked softly.

“Partly. I….”

Franco walked up to them with a dish towel in hand to shoo her off. “It’s time for you to dress for the wedding, Marlo. Lucy, too. I’ll take over now.”

“We can’t leave yet—it’s too much.”

“Nonsense. Everything is ready. I can handle an experienced waitstaff. If I need you, I’ll find you.”

“But dishing up the plates…”

“I brought my most experienced people from the restaurant and hired temps, remember? Things should run like clockwork.”

Gratitude flooded through Marlo. “Are you single, Franco? If not, I’d ask you to marry me so you don’t get away.”

Franco threw back his head and laughed. “I enjoy working
with Dining with Divas. You may have a difficult time getting me to leave.”

Marlo was still saying “thank you” as Jake dragged her off to get dressed.

“I’ll be seated while you change clothes,” he said. To her surprise, he leaned forward and kissed her on the tip of her nose. “The wedding party will be lining up soon.”

“How do you know so much about weddings?” Marlo asked.

“Always a groomsman, never a groom,” he said, giving her a gentle nudge in the back to get her moving. “Now hurry. I’ll see you at the reception.”

Lucy was waiting to help her. The dress slipped over Marlo’s shoulder and hips in a luxurious cascade of silk. She turned to have her friend zip up the back.

“It’s not fair,” Lucy pouted. She observed Marlo’s lean arms and legs, her golden, sun-kissed skin, garnered from her hours working with My Own Pony, and short-cropped pixielike hair, which enhanced the long, slender curve of her neck. “You look like a model and I look like a…a…a big hunk of black licorice!”

“Hardly. You’re darling.”

“That’s a euphemism for short, isn’t it?” Lucy hiked herself onto her tiptoes for another look in the mirror.

Jenny stuck her head through the door. “We’re lining up, ladies…Marlo.”

Marlo took a deep breath and told herself to smile. This was Angela’s day, and she didn’t deserve a bridesmaid who looked like a rain cloud. She wouldn’t show that she was feeling sorry for herself just because the most unlikely of her single friends was getting married and the only man she cared anything about was off-limits. Straightening her shoulders and forcing a smile, Marlo glided out to join the others.

The other bridesmaids were chattering like magpies until they
spied Marlo. Then their words drifted away as they stared at her in silence.

“What? Have I got a strap showing? Why are you all staring at me?”

“Because you are a vision,” Tiffany said. “You’re stunning, Marlo.”

“Don’t be silly, everyone is wearing the same dress.”

“We’re not wearing it like you are,” Becky said. “That dress is
you.
”

It did feel good, after all the fashion disasters she’d worn, she had to admit. She glanced to her side and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. At least she
thought
it was her. Somewhere between the kitchen and their gathering spot, a transformation had taken place. She didn’t recognize the glowing woman in the mirror.

“I’ll have to write Angela a thank-you note,” she said lightly, hoping her voice was steady. “Now what are we waiting for? There’s a groom out there having a nervous breakdown. Let’s get this show on the road.”

She didn’t remember much about the wedding, she realized later. Halfway down the aisle, marching to Handel’s “Largo,” she caught sight of Jake. More important, Jake caught sight of her. She saw his eyes widen. Once he gained his composure, his gaze continued to lock with hers. It was as if he were the groom waiting by the altar.

If only,
Marlo thought.

There were songs, she recalled vaguely, a homily and vows. The flower girl stepped on her toe and Angela, in a case of jitters, nearly dropped her bouquet. Other than those faint recollections, Marlo remembered nothing other than the expression in Jake’s eyes.

B
y the time Marlo and Lucy returned to the kitchen after the ceremony, Franco was looking wild-eyed and barking orders to anyone who would listen. Servers in black trousers and white jackets were milling about like bees near a hive.

“What are you doing out here?” he demanded. “You are part of the wedding party!”

“Until we get the food out, we’re Dining with Divas. You didn’t think we’d leave you alone with all this, did you?” Marlo grabbed the apron she’d brought—a large one that covered most of her dress and might have been a circus tent in another life.

“Can I help, too?” a familiar voice asked. They all turned to stare at Jake, who stood in the kitchen door, looking more like groom on the top of the cake than a worker bee.

“That’s very sweet, but how much experience have you had waiting tables and dishing food?” Lucy demanded.

“More than you think. I paid for two years of college working as a fry cook in a little restaurant just off campus. I thought the experience of being a working college student might serve me someday. And obviously it has. Do you have an apron for me?
This is an Armani suit, and I’d hate to wear it home covered with salad dressing.”

“We need all the help we can get. Time to start serving.” Franco cut off any protest either Marlo or Lucy might have made. “Let’s go.”

Jake was as good at serving meals as he was at everything else, Marlo noted. Better yet, no one in Jake’s section seemed to mind waiting for food, at least not the women. They were all happy to feast their eyes on Jake.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Marlo found herself accidently bumping into him on far too many occasions. She and Jake worked well together. He seemed able to read her mind just before she was about to speak. It was probably that horse-whisperer thing he had. He understood things without words ever being spoken.

“This is quite a workout,” Jake commented, even though there was not a hair out of place on his head.

“Fortunately, we don’t have to continue.” Marlo nudged him toward the door. “Picking up empty dishes is easier than serving hot food. It’s time to sit down.”

He caught her by the hand. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you how lovely you are tonight. You are as elegant and sophisticated as Audrey Hepburn, as glowing and…”

Marlo’s insides lurched as she put a silencing finger to her lips. He was Cary Grant and she was Audrey Hepburn. Oh, how she loved those old movies—and their happy endings.

“You’re just accustomed to Sabrina. She’s always perfect. I’m considerably more ordinary.”

“Is that what you think? That you’re ordinary?”

“I’m a realist, that’s all.” She tugged on his hand, which felt warm and right in her own. “Come, the bride and groom will be speaking soon.”

After the mention of Sabrina’s name, Marlo kept busy at the
reception, managing to be mostly where Jake was not. It was nearly eleven when he finally cornered her.

“If I had self-esteem issues, I’d think you were avoiding me,” he said, holding tight to her wrist so she couldn’t skitter away again.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so busy. You can see it’s been crazy here.”

“But it came off like clockwork. Now we need to talk privately.”

It was not a good idea. Jake’s nearness messed with her mind. He made her insides go all goopy and her brain into a glob of cottage cheese. “I don’t see that there is anything you need to say to me that can’t be said in front of a crowd.” Marlo wasn’t quite sure from where this mulish attitude had come. Maybe she’d caught something from the stubborn little donkey that was new to My Own Pony.

“Well, I do. You’re scheduled to volunteer at the stables tomorrow until six. Plan to stay late. We’re not putting this off any longer.”

She watched him leave, her own mind spinning with confusion. Though it was right for her to keep her distance, she was incredibly curious about this conversation he wanted to have.