The Wedding Reject Table (Choc Lit) (Nashville Connections Book 2) Read online

  ‘You haven’t done anything!’ Emily shrieked and Maggie nearly dropped her knife. ‘We’ll start taking around the prawn cocktails in another ten minutes. How long do you think I can drag out serving the rest of the meal?’ The hysterical edge to her sister’s voice didn’t do anything for Maggie’s confidence.

  ‘Fiona originally wanted a cupcake tower and her mother talked her out of it. But she’s the bride so we’re going to sort of give her what she really wants,’ Maggie explained with as much patience as she could muster, all the while cutting cake and fitting it into paper cases she’d discovered in one of the kitchen cupboards.

  ‘You can’t do that. How’re you going to explain …’

  Maggie snorted. ‘I’m not going to. You are.’

  ‘Me?’

  If Emily wasn’t so young and fit Maggie wouldn’t have been surprised to see her sister have a fatal heart attack on the spot.

  ‘Yes, you,’ Maggie stated firmly. ‘People always believe you. They think you’re sweet and innocent and never lie.’

  Emily’s mouth flopped open and closed like a goldfish.

  ‘You’ll take Fiona to one side and explain that the cake won’t look as she expects because it will be so much better. Tell her we always put the bride’s wishes first and we felt she wasn’t happy with the original plan.’ The explanation tripped off Maggie’s tongue and she wondered if she should’ve gone in for politics instead of cake decorating.

  Emily rolled her eyes in horror. ‘You’re mad.’

  ‘Do you have a better idea?’ she challenged, a tiny bit satisfied when her sister shook her head. ‘I didn’t think so. This is how you’re going to describe it.’ Maggie ploughed on before she lost her nerve. She’d come up with the brilliant idea of calling the new design “deconstructed cupcakes” – deconstructed was the new culinary buzz word and she’d do whatever was necessary to get away with this.

  ‘Fine.’ Emily sighed. ‘When do I have to humiliate myself?’

  Maggie ignored the sarcasm and proceeded to make herself very clear. Nothing was to be said until the main course had been served so there was no time for Fiona to throw a wobbly. ‘Now get on with the prawn cocktails and leave me to salvage our reputation.’

  Emily swung around on her heels and headed for the other end of the kitchen. After picking up a loaded tray she turned and glanced back at Maggie with a mischievous smile.

  ‘Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you I spoke to your admirer earlier.’

  A fierce rush of heat flooded Maggie’s face.

  ‘The hottest single man in the room and you’re stuck in the kitchen mending cupcakes. Not fair is it?’ Emily breezed out, leaving Maggie to bite back a curse that would’ve shamed a sailor.

  Chapter Three

  Chad gave a swift glance towards the Reject Table at the back of the room and a bleached blonde in a skin-tight red dress met his gaze, shamelessly ogling him. Emily and a tribe of waitresses carrying silver platters emerged from the kitchen and began to circulate. Time to make a detour.

  He sidled around the edges of the room until he reached the kitchen door and sneaked inside. Chad’s gaze homed in on Maggie, bent over a table and completely engrossed in her work. It gave him the opportunity to admire her shapely figure from behind and he swiftly decided he’d been right the first time. Thank goodness he was an observant man because her tempting curves were well-disguised under the hideous green dress. Scarlett O’Hara’s curtains would be a distinct improvement.

  ‘How’s it goin’?’

  She startled at the sound of his voice, dropped a spoon on the floor and jerked around with a fierce glare. ‘What on earth are you doing in here?’

  Not the warmest welcome he’d ever received from a woman, but Chad sauntered across the room watching Maggie’s cheeks flame as he got closer. ‘I thought I’d see how you were getting on and whether there was any chance of you coming back out and rescuing me any time soon?’

  A tiny smile pulled at her mouth. ‘I don’t have time to … talk.’

  Flirt. You were going to say flirt. The charming deep pink colour creeping all the way up your neck says that for you.

  He checked out the table behind her, strewn with cake, icing and something red and jelly-like, and let out a long, low whistle. ‘What the heck are you goin’ to do with that?’

  ‘Turn it into an amazing creation that will be the talk of the wedding,’ Maggie declared, defiantly lifting her chin.

  ‘Oh, they’ll be talkin’ about it alright, honey.’

  She pointed her finger at him. ‘Get out, now, or …’

  ‘Or what?’

  ‘Do something useful.’ The challenge in her sapphire eyes uncurled a coil of desire in Chad and he fought to squash it back down. Appearing to be nothing better than a sex-starved, mouthy American wasn’t going to win over this straight-talking woman.

  Chad shrugged off his coat and hung it on the back of a chair. While she continued to watch he removed his engraved platinum cufflinks and slipped them in his trouser pocket before rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. ‘I’m yours. Tell me what to do.’

  She stared in complete disbelief and then burst out laughing; a rich warm sound that heated every inch of his skin.

  ‘You’re a guest. You’re supposed to sit between Tonya, the desperate divorcee, and Fiona’s sharp-tongued Great Aunt Audrey. Charming them and keeping the peace is your job for today.’

  He grinned. ‘And you know this because?’

  ‘I helped Fiona with the seating plan.’

  ‘But didn’t arrange to sit next to me yourself?’ Chad lowered his voice and closed the gap between them. Catching a drift of Maggie’s unique scent made him want to nibble her neck to see if she tasted as good as she smelled. ‘Slipped up there, didn’t you?’

  I knew exactly what I was doing. She’d told Fiona it was pointless to assign her a seat because she wouldn’t have time to use it, but her friend insisted. Maggie wasn’t intending on explaining to Mr Tempting about her abysmal record with men. She’d had more dating disasters than the Queen had planted commemorative trees and wasn’t ready for another round anytime soon. Maggie allowed her gaze to drift down over him, all smooth, pressed and yummy. She guessed he could lure a woman away from her good intentions with one kiss, but she wasn’t planning on finding out.

  ‘I assume Tonya is the blonde vixen waiting to make me her lunch?’

  Maggie stifled a giggle and nodded. ‘You spotted her?’

  ‘She spotted me all the way across the room.’ Chad rolled his eyes.

  ‘So you decided I was a safer bet?’

  The searing look he gave her could have barbecued a steak in three seconds flat. ‘Oh, honey, there’s nothing safe about you.’ If he was a cat he’d be purring. Maggie should have found his obvious, in-your-face flirtation hilarious but the grin spreading across his face told her Chad was doing this on purpose. She wasn’t sure why, or if she wanted to find out.

  ‘Leave me alone,’ she whispered, ‘I’ve got to get this finished.’

  ‘And I’ve offered to help.’ He folded his arms and planted his feet slightly apart making it clear he’d no intention of moving any time soon.

  ‘Fine. Put this on or you’ll ruin those pretty clothes.’ Maggie tossed him a “Two Hearts” apron and smiled as he held it up to examine it, not quite managing to hide his dismay. She was proud of the design but had to admit nothing about it was manly. The fine white linen was softened with red lace ruffles and strewn with entwined scarlet hearts along with hers and Emily’s initials.

  Chad’s dark eyebrows rose but he didn’t say a word, only slipped the apron on over his head and gingerly stretched the wide red satin belt around his waist before tying it in a loose bow at the back. ‘Give me instructions. I’m all yours.’

  She bit her tongue on the response that’d randomly popped into her brain – something along the lines of “I wish you were.” She’d wasted five precious minutes she didn’t have and forcibly swi
tched back into work mode. Maggie pointed to the small square cake set over on one side of the table. ‘I managed to salvage that and am turning it into a cake for the bride and groom to cut. Everyone else is having my version of a cupcake.’ He scrutinised her hard, as if she was explaining how to make an atom bomb instead of a simple cake. ‘Just shape whatever cake you can find from the pile into these cases. I’ll ice them when you’re done.’

  ‘Uh, won’t they fall apart when people try to eat them?’

  His sharp question hit on the flaw in her plan and she tried to come up with a reasonable reply.

  ‘I don’t suppose you have any ice cream cones?’ Chad asked.

  ‘I don’t know, but that’s a brilliant idea.’

  He beamed and her stomach did a few heart-stopping somersaults.

  ‘Happy to be of assistance,’ he declared and started rifling through cupboards. Maggie followed suit. No luck of course. That would’ve been too easy and nothing in her life was ever simple. Maggie ran into the store cupboard and stared in vain at the rows of canisters, huge bags of potatoes and industrial sized bottles of ketchup. One of the main reasons Fiona chose to have her reception here at Polvennor House was because she’d had the option of using the usual hotel staff or bringing in her own caterers. Taking over a kitchen for a day was a huge challenge, not the least of which was the fact that Maggie’s habit of knowing exactly where everything was didn’t apply.

  ‘Eureka!’

  She glanced over her shoulder and stared at Chad now grinning like the proverbial Cheshire Cat and waving a jam jar in the air.

  ‘Serving food in small jars is the latest craze in Nashville. All the hip restaurants are taking what we call Mason Jars that are used for canning, and either baking in them or layering the stuff in unique ways. They charge a ridiculous amount and everyone thinks they’re cool.’

  She hated to put a damper on his enthusiasm, but being the realistic one was her slot in life. ‘That’s great, but I doubt they’ve got a hundred of those things and that’s how many I need.’

  ‘Use glass tumblers as well.’ He suggested. ‘You don’t strike me as a givin’ up sort of gal. Use your imagination. Part of the supposed charm is that they don’t have to all match.’

  His challenge hit a nerve. Maggie prided herself on always finding a solution to whatever problem threatened to trip her up. ‘I did tell Emily to describe them as deconstructed cupcakes and you can’t get much more taken apart than cramming what’s left into a glass.’

  ‘Right. How about I try to rustle up enough containers while you get on with the main cake? You can give me instructions when I’m ready.’ His smooth drawl sharpened and stopped Maggie in her tracks. Appearances certainly could be deceptive. People would no doubt mark this man down as laid-back and easygoing, but she’d guess that was a million miles from the truth.

  ‘Sounds good. Let’s get busy.’ She gave him a shy smile. ‘Thanks. I’m not sure why you’re doing all this for me but for now I’ll consider you my guardian angel and leave it at that.’

  For the second time today Chad was struck dumb. No one had ever called him their guardian angel before; his clients used far pithier names if he failed to get the deal they thought they were entitled to. Even his family considered him to be a typical self-serving attorney, while still loving him. So why did smart, funny Maggie think differently of him?

  He managed to nod and bent down to pick up the box of jars he’d found. Luckily by the time he stood back up she’d disappeared back into the kitchen. Chad took a few slow, deep breaths and headed back in to get busy. No way was he letting Maggie down.

  Chapter Four

  ‘What’s he doing?’ Emily’s shrill voice broke Maggie’s concentration. ‘Are you so desperate you went out there and dragged him into the kitchen?’

  Chad held his breath and mentally counted to ten. If he didn’t control his rising temper Miss Emily would be wearing the tub of icing in his hand, and that would be the least of her problems. The back of Maggie’s neck turned a violent shade of scarlet and he hadn’t felt as sorry for anyone in a very long time.

  ‘I came to see Maggie and offered my help, no coercion needed,’ Chad explained. And to think he’d envied their apparent closeness earlier.

  ‘Why?’

  He raised an eyebrow and put on his best unreadable legal face. ‘Why not?’ Always throw a question right back at them. A mentor told him that at his first internship out of law school and it’d never let him down yet.

  ‘Please get on with serving the main courses, Emily.’ Maggie’s icy tone sent shivers through Chad, but her sister only snorted and flounced off. Bending her head Maggie clutched at the edge of the table and waves of unadulterated fury shimmered in the air around her. He hurried over and placed his hands on her shoulders, gently easing her around to face him. A film of tears glazed her pretty eyes.

  ‘That was the meanest thing I’ve heard in a while.’ He rubbed a finger slowly down her cheek, briefly registering that her skin was as soft as he’d expected. ‘You don’t deserve being spoken to that way.’

  ‘How would you know?’ A deep vein of sadness ran through her voice and he dropped his hands away. ‘I need to get back to work.’

  ‘That’s it?’

  Maggie stiffened. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Fine, if that’s the way you want it.’

  ‘It is.’ Turning away from him she picked up an icing bag.

  For now he’d let her get away with it, but they weren’t done discussing what was going on between the two sisters by a long chalk.

  The swirl of noise and chatter coming from the other end of the kitchen where Emily and the rest of their staff were busy was in complete contrast to the throbbing silence filling the air between her and Chad. She didn’t intend to explain herself to a complete stranger, even a handsome one who’d done nothing but be kind to her.

  She needed to push everything from her mind apart from the task in hand, but it wasn’t easy. Maggie started to smooth out the icing she’d put on the small cake and concentrated on getting the sides right. An earlier dig through the freezer had unearthed a bag of frozen raspberries and she’d shaken them out into a colander to thaw while she worked. Now she dried them off and took her time arranging them around the base of the cake. Luckily when they’d arrived this morning she’d put the flowers for the top in the fridge so they’d escaped the carnage. Maggie sensed Chad’s eyes boring through her back as she retrieved the small arrangement of deep pink roses and set it down in the centre before standing back to see how it looked.

  ‘It’s beautiful.’ His husky words forced her to turn around and look at him.

  ‘Thank you.’ Maggie managed a tight smile. ‘You’re doing well,’ she conceded, noticing the long line of cupcake filled glasses in front of him.

  ‘Not sure I’ll be giving up the law to start my own bakery anytime soon, but it’s always useful to have another talent.’ His enigmatic reply was unsettling.

  ‘Yes, well, I’ll start icing the ones you’ve finished while you carry on with the others.’ Chad’s intense gaze unnerved her and she dropped the piping bag she was holding. He leapt forward and caught it a second before it could hit the floor.

  ‘Butter fingers,’ he teased.

  ‘Butter cream icing actually.’ Maggie grinned, unable to keep up her cool attitude any longer.

  Chad placed the bag in her outstretched hand, but before she could whip it away wrapped his long, lean fingers around hers and held on tight. The warmth rising from his tanned skin made her hotter than she’d any right to be. Maggie’s gaze slid to the soft dark hairs on his muscular forearm, itching to stroke her fingers down over them.

  ‘Do you know what I think?’

  No. Pretty sure I don’t want to. She shook her head and waited, nibbling at her lip while he did the staring thing again.

  ‘I think we need to get back to work.’

  Maggie exhaled slowly and caught the hint of a smile lurking in his eyes. He’d
done all that on purpose. Chad sauntered away and her shoulders sagged with relief, at least that’s what she’d claim if anyone asked. Are you sure you aren’t disappointed because he didn’t kiss you? She refused to answer the naughty voice in her head and went back to work. Dealing with inanimate icing was much safer than this flesh and blood man who appeared to see right through her.

  Years of practise at concealing his emotions stood Chad in good stead now. His gut was in tortuous knots but he was sure no one would guess by looking at him. He wasn’t sure what just happened but suspected he’d fallen hard for Maggie Taylor. While his mind spun around in circles Chad continued to fill jars and glasses, smoothing off the tops before pushing them to one side. Kissing her would’ve been so easy, but at the last second he’d drawn back. Harmless flirting was part of his easy-going persona, but it wasn’t good enough for Maggie. He realised that now.

  Chad worked on steadily and steeled himself not to keep glancing over at Maggie who was equally intent on her speed-icing. ‘How much longer do we have?’ he asked and she frowned up at the large black railway clock on the wall.

  ‘Not long enough. The cake should be in place by now for people to admire. Thankfully Fiona and Peter decided they weren’t going to do without pudding after the meal so we’ve got miniature chocolate cheesecakes and lemon granitas ready to go out next.’ Maggie gave him a quizzical look. ‘Why are you looking confused? It’s not complicated.’

  ‘I’m guessin’ it’s a language thing. I’m imagining you serving the childish chocolate pudding out of a box that I would’ve lived on if my Mom let me but I’m guessin’ pudding to you is any sort of dessert, right?’ Chad ventured.

  ‘Of course.’ Her words had a slight edge but the sharpness was mitigated by the hint of pink colouring her cheeks. For the second time in a few short minutes it almost took more willpower than he possessed not to give in to the urge to kiss her.

  With a flourish he finished filling the last glass. ‘There you go. All done.’