Ain't She Sweet (Seven Brides for Seven Mothers #2) - Whitney Dineen Page 0,91
I’m more nervous.” I am, too. I’m not the kind of person who enjoys making a public spectacle, but here we are.
We see the crowd in the dining room before we get there. Pterodactyl-size butterflies start flapping through my stomach. I slow my pace slightly, but Tara just drags me along with her. She spots Romaine and Cash the second we walk in. She doesn’t pause for a moment.
She walks right over to them and with a huge smile on her face greets, “Good morning! I hope you both had a great night's sleep.”
The photographers go nuts taking pictures of Tara. They call out her name and questions start to fly like machine gun fire. “Tara, what are you doing here? Tara, are you here to get Romaine back?” On and on they go until Tara waves her hands to gain the floor.
I swear if she ever wants to give up baking, she could be an award-winning actress. She calmly announces, “I’m happy to answer all of your questions, but first there’s something I want to say.”
Cash looks equal parts mad and scared. She jumps up and grabs Tara’s wrist like she’s going to pull her away, but Tara doesn’t let her. In fact, she opens her arms and embraces Cash like a long-lost sister. Then she turns to the press. “When my dear friend Cash told me she and Romaine had started dating, I couldn’t have been happier for them. They are both wonderful people and they deserve each other.”
“But you and Cash hate each other!” someone calls out.
Tara laughs. “That’s the story the press has always tried to sell. The truth is, I adore Cash and always have.”
Cash’s mouth is wide open in shock. She doesn’t seem capable of adding her own sentiment, so Tara continues, “In fact, when Cash and Romaine told me they were engaged, I suggested they have their wedding here, where I work. I wanted nothing more than to make their wedding cake as my gift to them.”
“You work here?” several people call out at once, followed by “Cash and Romaine are getting married?”
I wouldn’t be surprised if actual steam started to pour out of Cash’s ears. She looks like a Looney Toons character about to blow. Clearly, this is not how she saw announcing her engagement to the world. Tara is stealing her thunder and she’s livid.
“As most of you know, Romaine and I were going to be married this very weekend, but thankfully, we discovered we weren’t meant to be.” She looks fondly at Romaine, who appears to be in as much shock as his fiancée.
Tara gently pushes Cash aside and pulls me up next to her. “I’d like you all to meet my new boyfriend, James. You can read all about us in this morning’s Tattler.”
If there were a commentator for this scene, he would be yelling, “And the crowd goes wild!”
I notice Syd Byerly walk into the room, so I gently nudge Tara. She calls out to him, “Syd, over here!”
When he joins us, she says, “I’m sure you and Romaine would love to chat with the press about his upcoming album.” Then she turns to all the cameras and announces, “James and I are just going to grab a quick bite to eat before I get to work. I have a load of pies to make for Thanksgiving.”
Tara and I sit side-by-side in an empty booth and nuzzle up to each other. “You were perfect,” she praises me.
“I didn’t say anything,” I tell her.
“Which was perfect. Now all I have to do is keep up the façade of being Cash’s friend, and you need to keep from hitting anyone—and by that I mean Romaine. If we can do that, I predict we’ll be victorious by the end of the weekend.”
A reporter asks, “Are you two going to Cash and Romaine’s wedding?”
“Of course!” Tara declares excitedly. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Wait until Cash hears that bit of news.
Tara locks lips with me again before turning back to the reporter. “I’d be happy to chat with you later, but right now my boyfriend and I would really like to eat.”
No one quite seems to know what to make of Tara’s relaxed and upbeat demeanor. She’s thrown everyone for a loop and it’s a beautiful thing to witness.
My mom comes over and hands us Penny, who’s as happy to see us as we are her. I ask my mom, “Do you want me to put her in the office?”