“OK, I'm liking that,” Charlotte said. “Tell me more.”
Sydney went on to suggest they go with a three-tiered square cake designed to look like silver-and-white gift boxes stacked on top of each other. The design was simple, clean, and elegant, which fit the conservative, traditional nature of the couple Charlotte had described to her.
Sydney got Wendy to bring out a slice of their two-layer vanilla white cake with buttercream filling for Charlotte to sample and also boxed up a slice for her to take away. By the time they were done, Charlotte couldn't stop talking about how glad she was she had come in.
“I'll call and confirm later this evening, but I am almost positive that you'll be making the cake for this event,” Charlotte said as the sheets Sydney had handed to her disappeared into the huge purse, along with several of Sydney's business cards.
“Sounds great,” Sydney said. “And when is this event?”
Normally she would have gotten that information on the phone before the consultation, but there wasn't much ânormal' about her meeting with Charlotte.
“On the fifteenth,” Charlotte said, shouldering her bag.
Sydney blinked as she tried to speak through her rapidly contracting throat. “Wow. That's barely a week away. We usually take ten days for this kind of order.”
“We're offering fifteen hundred dollars.”
“The fifteenth it is.”
Both women stood. “So I'll hear from you later, then.”
“Definitely,” Charlotte said, heading toward the door. “In fact, I think you'll be hearing from me quite frequently from now on.”
Sydney smiled as she waved to Charlotte. She liked the sound of that. In fact, the thought of the fifteen hundred dollars coming her way kept her smiling as she headed around to the offices.
“Whose canary did you swallow?”
Sydney paused to stick her head through the half-open metal double doors.
“A very special someone's,” Sydney answered. “I think we just got a big job, and probably a new regular client.”
Mario Santos, the only other trained pastry chef at Decadent, smiled even as his hands continued sifting flour. “Oh yeah? How much are we talking?” he asked.
“Possibly around fifteen hundred for a single job.”
“Cha-ching,” Mario said with a little dance. “I hear a bonus coming my way.”
“Then you should get your ears checked out.” Sydney leaned against the open door. “Where is everybody anyway? Are you so good now you don't need any staff to help?”
“Funny,” Mario said. “I sent Jones to the grocery to pick up a couple items and Michelle is out back shortening her life with cigarettes.”
“Don't be too hard on her,” Sydney said. “There was a time when you used to be out back, too.”
“That was a long time ago,” said Mario. He suddenly paused and turned to Sydney. “And speaking of a long time, when you gonna hook me up, Syd?”
“With what?”
“With your sister,” Mario said, pausing from the sifting to focus on Sydney. “Come on, you know a brother's been trying to get on that train.”
Sydney laughed. “Exactly. You've been trying and you know Lissandra's been shooting you down.”
“I know, I know.” Mario wiped his hands on a dish towel and stepped forward. “That's why I've been thinking that maybe if you put in a good word for me, she might give me a chance.”
“She already gave you a chance,” Sydney said. “You took her to Burger King.”
“I was seventeen!”
“And now you're twenty-six,” Sydney pointed out. “Don't you think you should grow out of this crush you have on my sister?”
Mario shook his head. “I thought I did, Syd, but since I've been working here . . .”
He took off his cap and held it to his chest dramatically. “It's like she's hijacked a brother's heart all over again.”
Sydney rolled her eyes.
“Besides, it's more than just a crush.” His tone grew more serious. “I knew your sister from back in the day. Before she got so crazy. You know, when she was a good girl. I know she can be like that again with some motivation.”
“Come on, Mario,” Sydney said. “
I
don't even remember when Lissandra was a good girl. And you're crazy if you think you can change her.”
“You don't have enough faith in people, Syd,” Mario said, pointing his hat at her knowingly. “I know I can't change her. But I can help guide her in the right direction, you know? That's why you gotta hook me up, Syd. Tell her I'm a good man.”
“I don't know. . . .”
“Come on, Syd, I give good love. I'll buy her clothes. I'll cook her dinner, too. . . .”
Sydney laughed. “If you start singing, I'm gonna fire you.”
“You're not taking me seriously,” he said, putting his cap back on and heading back to the counter.
“OK, fine.” Sydney let out a sigh. She had known Mario since they were teenagers, when he used to sweep the floor for her father. Even after he had gotten his culinary degree, he had come back to work for her dad. He was loyal to a fault. And she knew he would be a good influence on her wild sister.
“I'll talk to her,” Sydney said with a small smile.
“You will?” His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as he turned back to Sydney. “Thank you, Syd. You're a real down girl.”
“Gee, thanks,” Sydney said dryly.
“I mean it,” Mario said, pulling out some cinnamon and sugar. “In fact, I know a brother who would be perfect for you. I'ma hook you up.”
Sydney leaned off the door. “Please don't,” she said as she headed back to the hallway.
“He's a ball player andâ”
The door swung closed on whatever else Mario had to say, and Sydney was glad. She had met Mario's friends, and even though she had faith in him, she wasn't as sure about the rest of his crew.
She shook her head as she thought about the idea of Lissandra and Mario. That would definitely be an interesting combination. She was about to pursue the thought further when she came to her office door.
Her open office door.
She pushed it all the way open and stepped inside cautiously. When she saw who it was that had invaded her privacy, she let out a sigh of relief.
“Dean,” she said. “You scared me half to death!”
“Did I?” Dean turned around and grinned. “Looks like someone's getting jumpy in her old age.”
“Boy, you better come over here and give me a hug before I beat you down for calling me old,” Sydney threatened.
Dean laughed, but came over anyway, pulling his older sister into a warm embrace.
“Oh my goodness, look at you.” Sydney shook her head as she held Dean back from her. Her eyes drank in his lean six-foot frame, draped in a henley, slim-fitting jeans, and a leather jacket. Add to that his carmel skin and straight teeth and he was definitely a catch. And of course, he had the trademark copper eyes that all Leroy's children had inherited.
“Wow, you're looking more and more like Dad every day,” she said finally.
“Thanks.” He rubbed the five-o'clock shadow on his chin. “I think.”
“Don't worry, it's a good thing,” Sydney said with a laugh. She pulled him over to the overstuffed pastel couch at the side of her office. “Come, sit. I want to hear all about U of D.”
“You know what, Syd, it's been great,” he said as he folded his long, lanky frame into the couch. “I know for sure that music production is what I want to do. I learned so much over the four years, even made a few contacts. Now I'm ready to get out there and do my own thing.”
Sydney nodded as she listened to her brother talk about school. He had shocked them all when he had told them his plans to complete a bachelor of music degree at the University of Denver. Jackie had almost had a stroke when she thought of her only son being so far away from her, but she had eventually gotten over it when she heard how passionate he was about what he wanted to do. Even now, several years later, Sydney could still hear the passion in his voice.
“I can't even believe four years have gone so fast. When you left, you were just a kid, and now, here you are, grown, with a degree. And a wife.”
Dean rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. “Yeah.”
“So.” Sydney turned in the couch to face her brother more fully. “Tell me about her. How'd you meet her, what's she like?”
Dean's eyes lit up. “I met her here actually, after the fall semester when I came up for Christmas. A couple guys I knew from high school invited me to a party by the waterfront and she was there. . . .”
“So she went to high school with you?”
“No, she just knew some old friends of mine. She's actually going to school here in the city,” Dean said.
“Oh.” Sydney paused for a moment. “So she graduated this year with you, too?”
“Uh, no.” Dean rubbed the back of his neck again. “She took a semester off. She's trying to get some things together so she can go back next year and finish up. You know, she's actually working downtown pretty near here?”
“Really,” Sydney said, trying to keep the judgment out of her voice.
“Yeah.” Dean nodded. “Things haven't been easy for her, but she's working hard to make it on her own and be independent. Just like I am.”
Sydney raised an eyebrow but stifled her comment.
“We're so much alike,” Dean continued. “We like the same food, the same music, the same movies.”
“Wow, you guys could be twins.”
Dean shot her a look. “Syd.”
“Sorry, go on.”
Dean stood and began pacing. “Look, I know you guys never really got a chance to meet her before, but once you get to know her you'll love her as much as I do. She's so kind and caring. When I got sick in January, she came all the way up to Colorado to take care of me. Every time I got a gig to play, she was there. She understands me. She's supportive of my career dreams, she's . . . she's everything I could ever want in a woman.”
Sydney watched her brother get starry eyed as he talked about Sheree.
“I've never met someone I wanted to be with all the time like I do with her,” he said, sitting back down beside her. “I've never felt like this about a woman before. Never.”
“OK, OK.” Sydney held up her hands. “I get it. You're in love with her. But Dean, you're twenty-one. You've known her for less than a year. Don't you think it was a bit soon to marry her? What do you even know about her? Her family? Her childhood?”
“I really love her, Syd.” He focused puppy-dog eyes on his sister. She wasn't buying it.
“Dean.”
“What?” he asked, standing suddenly. “I do!”
“Dean.”
He let out a sigh and his hand went to his neck again. “OK, fine. She's pregnant.”
“Dean!”
“Damn, Syd, how many ways can you say my name?”
“Uh-uh, don't cuss at me,” Sydney said, her brows furrowing.
“Then stop looking at me like that!”
“You just told me you knocked up your girlfriendâ”
“Shhhhh!” Dean stepped over to close the office door. ”And she's my wifeânot my girlfriend.”
“Yeah, she only became your wife because you knocked her up.” Sydney rubbed her palms over her face. “I can't even believe this. My twenty-one-year-old brother is having a kid. I didn't even know you were having sex!”
Dean snorted. “Yeah. I am not talking to you about that.”
Sydney's hands fell to her lap as she glared at Dean. “Would you rather talk to Jackie?”
His eyes widened. “No! You can't tell Mom. Or anyone else for that matter. Only Zelia knows.”
Sydney squinted at Dean. “Really? Zelia?”
“She promised she wouldn't say anything.”
“OK, Dean, I get it. You freaked out about her being pregnant, but this is not 1954. You didn't have to marry her.”
Dean's eyes narrowed. “Are you serious? Do you know what Mom would say?”
“Our mother?” Sydney leaned forward to look at Dean. “The one with six children, by three different husbands, none of whom she is currently married to. You thought
she
wouldn't understand. Are you kidding me?”
Dean said. “OK, maybe she would, but . . . you know how she is. I couldn't deal with the disappointment from her.”
He sat down and took Sydney's hands. “And despite the circumstances, I really do love Sheree. She was my wifey even before she was my wifey.”
Sydney groaned and sat back in the chair, running her fingers through her silky locks.
“So what now, baby brother?” she asked. “What are you gonna do?”
He shrugged. “That's what I'm trying to figure out. We're staying at the guesthouse at Mom's for now.”
“You think that's a good idea, given the whole pregnancy thing?” Sydney asked.
“No,” Dean said. “That's why we're looking for a place. But it's kinda hard when your financial situation isn't stable.”
Sydney tensed. This was it. This was the part where he was going to tell her he wanted to take over Decadent.
“A friend hooked me up with a regular gig playing keys at this lounge downtown,” Dean continued. “And there are some other small jobs in the works. But I really want to open my own studio. I know a couple guys getting ready to launch their careers who are thinking of putting together some demos. I figure this is how I can get started, you know? And once they go big, my studio will profit. Plus there's always some up-and-comers looking to buy studio time. I really think this could work.”