One Funeral (No Weddings Book 2) (26 page)

“Oh, no. Thank Mr. Cade. He ask us.”

I turned to her. “What do you mean he asked you?”

The older woman tilted her head, assessing me for a moment. Her aged face crinkled at the edges of her eyes as she smiled wide. “I think you ask Mr. Cade. See you tonight, Miss Hannah.”

She disappeared into the back kitchen without another word.

On my way home, I swung by Cade’s. Partly to ask him about what Ling alluded to, but mostly to see Cade and Ava. He’d offered to keep her at his place, and as a busy new pet owner, I’d gladly accepted.

I knocked but let myself in when there was no answer. Cade had to be home since his bike was parked in his driveway. “Hellooo…”

A muffled yip chirped out, then another. I followed the sound through the house to the kitchen. Outside in the backyard, Cade and Mase played catch, Ava chasing the airborne ball back and forth. Grinning in silence, I crossed my arms over my chest and watched them awhile.

Cade and Mase wore expressions of boyish joy on their faces, laughing every time Ava jumped for the ball with their low arcing tosses. Every few catches, they’d purposefully drop the ball, letting it roll on the ground and cheering her on while she chased it.

Two weeks ago, their backyard had been barren. Since that time, beds of cedar mulch had been installed, bordered by a wavy, gray brick border. A few young trees had been planted in the back corners with space around them large enough to allow for growth, and sod had been half laid across the yard, including where they played.

Mase dropped down to the ground, and Ava perked her head up before sprinting over and jumping onto his chest. He fell back, laughing, letting Ava shower his face with licks.

Knowing I’d no longer be interrupting their play, I stepped outside. At the opening click of the door, Cade glanced up, a wide grin spreading on his face as he waved.

I made my way down, laughing as Mase rolled around with Ava while he took care not to crush her little body. “Looks like you’re having fun.”

Cade nodded to his roommate. “Mase especially. You might regret keeping her at our place.”

I arched a brow. “Ah, but you boys scoop poop far better than I. I’m good.” I smirked.

“Wily woman. You just might’ve outsmarted me.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve found brawny guys walking their dogs, picking up dog poop in blue plastic bags, undeniably sexy.”

Cade scowled. “What guys?”

I scrunched his cheeks together with flattened palms and planted a kiss on his lips. “You da guy, silly.”

He glowered at me.

But I ignored him and smirked, then leaned up on my toes and kissed him long and slow until he let out a low groan. I pulled back, watching Ava and Mase once more before glancing at Cade. “Why would Ling mention that you’d asked her to do the dragon cake?”

Cade shrugged, his expression impassive as he watched Ava chase the ball Mase had tossed. “Don’t know. I can’t remember the conversation.” He turned to me then. “Cake’s all set?”

I nodded, yawning, unable to fight the exhaustion pulling at me. “It’s waiting in the dining room. Ling has it cordoned off.”

“Good. You’re tired, Maestro. We’ve got four hours ’til showtime. Why don’t you go home and catch a nap? I’ll send you a wake-up call around 3:30 p.m.—plenty of time for you to get ready for tonight.”

Too tired to argue, I nodded again. “Sounds great, actually.”

Hours after my head crashed onto the pillow, an incessant buzzing roused me from heavy sleep. I lifted my phone up to see the time: 3:49 p.m.

Flying up from the bed, I rushed into the bathroom, phone in hand. I turned the shower levers to just below scalding and stripped naked with one hand while scrolling through the dozen cute texts from Cade after his single missed call.

Wakey, wakey.

Hannah, are you there?

Earth to Hannah.

You know, I could come over.

. . .

Wonder if you sleep naked.

Or if you sleep so soundly, I could strip you naked.

Without you knowing.

Then make you very aware.

. . .

WAKE!

UP!

I laughed at his text barrage and smiled, sending him a single text.

I’m awake. And smiling. And naked.

And very, very wet . . .

I got a single reply as I tossed the phone onto the counter.

*DEAD*

Laughing, I imagined him falling to the floor stiff as a board, in more ways than one. Then I jumped under the spray, soaped up, shaved, and rinsed off, completing the fastest shower I’d ever taken.

While blowing my hair dry, the phone buzzed, lighting up. I leaned over to see the alert.

Pick you up in twenty?

I calculated what twenty minutes would buy me. No more blow-drying, that’s for sure. A quick ten for basic makeup. Five to dress. Two minutes for brushing teeth. Ninety seconds for jewelry.

Twenty. No less.

With record speed, and while watching the time tick by on my phone screen as I kept pressing the control button, I was ready in nineteen minutes. I gave myself a last once-over in the mirror, scrunching my wavy hair up on each side and then dropping it into loose curls.

A rap at the door signaled time was up. I raced through the house, grabbed my keys, and opened the door.

I stopped cold at the sight on the other side.

Cade looked spectacular. His dark hair had one sexy, rogue lock falling onto his forehead. His electric-blue eyes held mine with stunning intensity.

“Wow. You look incredible, Hannah.”

I smiled, a little nervous yet unsure why. “Thanks. Amazing what twenty minutes can do.”

His gaze roved down my body and back up. “Burlap bag, baby. Your beauty shines through anything you put over it. And I like the lighter makeup and loose waves in your hair. Makes you look like you’ve come in from the beach.” His eyes glittered.

I turned him around by the shoulders and pushing him out the door. “Your words make me sound wholesome, but your lustful gaze says something entirely different.”

He shrugged, glancing back as I finished locking the door. “I can’t help it if the thought of you on the beach makes me think of you in a string bikini. Then me tugging on those flimsy little ties…”

I smirked, pushing him again toward his bike. “Did you just think of three naughty little dots?”

He snorted. “Fuck yeah, I did.”

Shaking my head, I laughed softly and put on the helmet he handed me. He fastened my chin strap, then stood there staring at me for the longest time. “What?”

He gave an imperceptible headshake. “Nothing. Just looking forward to a great time tonight.”

He turned and climbed onto his bike without giving me a chance to respond. I stood there for a minute, thinking I’d missed something. His demeanor seemed off, but I couldn’t figure out why. Tonight was an event we’d worked together on, just like every other Invitation Only event.

We arrived at Summer Palace at 5:15 p.m. after the doors had opened, which was late for us. “You sure we weren’t supposed to show up early?” I hooked my helmet to his bike and shook out my hair. “Don’t you normally orchestrate every detail hours prior?”

“Not this time.” He held his hand out to me, and I took it, hopping onto the sidewalk beside him. “Kristen offered to play point on this one.”

A long line of people stretched along the entire front of the restaurant but flowed slowly in past the golden, carved wood double doors. We sidled past the entering guests, making our way through the front entry and into the main dining room. Red lanterns dangled from hooks in the ceiling and illuminated the space. Twice as many plants filled the interior since this morning, transforming the place into manicured gardens with dining tables nestled throughout.

The intimate seating spilled out onto a back patio and edged a koi pond, brimming with the orange and ivory fish. Rhythmic oriental drum music streamed out from speakers affixed to the eaves. Beyond the patio was a quaint garden lit with more lanterns, this time in colors of pink and light blue.

Through the dining room from the patio, along the back wall in the cordoned-off area, was my dragon cake. Just before that section along the right wall, a shallow stage with a curtain had been erected.

Cade led me to a secluded table for two in a corner of the patio. We had an unimpeded view of the stage yet the intimate privacy of being off in a nook toward the back, cool breezes dancing around us.

“Hey, you two!” I turned to see Kiki and Kendall weaving their way through the tables toward us. “Saw the cake, Hannah.
Gorgeous
.”

“You’ve outdone yourself.” Kendall clapped. “Bravo.”

“Thanks.” I beamed, but then I caught a wink from Kendall to Cade. When I glanced over at him, he turned toward me, smiling, acting as if nothing was amiss.

I glanced back at the girls. “Do you need help with anything? Does Kristen need us?”

Kiki and Kendall both shook their heads. Kendall threw her arm around Kiki’s shoulders. “Nah, we got this. Ling has her staff handling the food, liquor, and music. Kristen’s making sure everything else goes off without a hitch. And you’ve already spent dozens of hours on that amazing creation. Take the night off. Kick back. Enjoy.”

They disappeared before I could argue. Then Cade distracted me, sliding his hand along my thigh. He continued until he reached my hand in my lap, then slipped his inside, lacing his fingers with mine.

I gave him a sidelong glance. “What are you up to, mister?”

He scoffed, lowering his brows, doing his dramatic best to look highly offended. “I don’t know what you mean, Maestro. Can’t a guy take advantage of the moment to relax and enjoy it with his girl?”

I smiled. When he put it that way, it sounded chivalrous. And romantic. And amazing. “Yeah, a guy can do that.”

He grinned. “Good. Then sit back and enjoy the night.”

A trolley cart arrived moments later, loaded with shelves of round tins with lids. Cade leaned forward, scanning our slim menu quickly. “I’ll have two chicken dumplings, two pork pot stickers, and vegetable fried rice. She’ll have—”

“The same. Plus a spring roll.”

“Two.” He held up two fingers, making certain the waiter understood.

While we dug into our food, the dining room came alive with chatter from every filled table. “The cake does look amazing, by the way. I can’t wait to see it up close.”

I beamed at him. “Thanks.”

“How did it feel to create something you’ve wanted to for so long?”

Swallowing down the bite I’d chewed, I thought about it. “It was a blast. The entire process was incredible from beginning to end. I experimented with base layers to create the body, eventually running support wires up through where I thought the structure needed it. But by the end, I think the curve of the arches hold themselves up.”

“Huh. Like the roman arches in architecture.”

I nodded. “Exactly, although theirs were constructed from marble and granite. Mine are made of cake. Not exactly earthquake-proof.”

He gave me his full attention while I spoke, his blue eyes holding my gaze. “Earthquakes in the form of cake cutting. Nothing like cutting into your beautiful monster only to have it crumble apart before your eyes.”

“Yeah, Daniel and I discussed how to best cut it while he helped me build it. It’ll have to be disassembled in a certain sequence to maintain the shape for as long as possible.”

“Those two hires for your shop have been working out really well for you.” He cut another dumpling in two with the side of his fork, then popped the larger piece into his mouth.

I smiled. “Yeah, they are. Hiring help was an excellent suggestion.”

He smirked. “You have a genius advisor.”

Shoving him gently on the shoulder, I laughed. “Ego much?”

Light floral music that had been streaming into the room shifted to another drumbeat rhythm, and the room hushed while the lantern lighting dimmed. Spotlights flared on, lighting up the stage, and the curtains drew back. I leaned into Cade to get a better view around a couple who had scooted far to the left. Cade grabbed under the seat of my chair and dragged me the rest of the way over.

Puppeteers illustrated a story of a royal advisor, Qu Yuan. Accused of being a traitor, he was exiled for suggesting an alliance to strengthen against an enemy state. He continued writing and teaching about his ideas, becoming a great poet. Nearly three decades later, when the enemy state captured his homeland, Qu was so distraught, he flung himself into the Miluo River.

I nudged closer against Cade, absorbing his warmth as miniature wooden dragon boats bobbed from left to right behind blue wooden waves on the front of the stage. The female narrator, who stood beside the stage, told the story in Chinese, alternating with an English translation.

When villagers heard of the tragedy, they raced to the spot in their fishing boats to try and save him. As they searched over a period of days, they tossed
zongzi
—balls of sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves—to feed the fish in hopes of recovering his body. The Dragon Boat Festival, called
Duan Wu Jie
in Chinese, celebrates the life of Qu Yuan, China’s first known poet.

By the time the show ended, we’d finished dinner. Cade immediately scraped his chair back and grabbed my hand, pulling me up. “I want to see your dragon before a crowd forms.”

“But I haven’t eaten my fortune cookie yet.”

Cade scooped both cookies off the table, bundling them into a cloth napkin. “A treat for later.”

Staying mostly to the walls, we beat most of the crowd to the back of the room. Holding our heads high while nodding to the guests, we bypassed the line and snuck behind the ropes, looking like the official event planners we were, instead of mere party guests.

Sudden movement behind the cake startled me, and I blinked in surprise as Daniel and Chloe approached from the opposite wall. “What are you doing here?”