Take the Cake (50 page)

All done. Come home xK

Michael put the phone away, and then looked at the traffic around him. There were no cabs in sight, and so he broke into a run. Arriving home, Michael fumbled with the keys, cursing under his breath when he dropped them in his haste. As soon as he was inside, he was looking for Kate.

“I’m in here,” he heard her call, and he headed for the bedroom, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw her.

Kate was curled up against the pillows, a pile of crumpled tissues beside the now completed book.

“Hey.” She gave him a tremulous smile.

“Kate …” Michael paused and swallowed hard as he walked toward her and stopped at the foot of the bed.

“You’re too far away.” Kate held up her arms. “I need you here.”

Michael shrugged off his jacket and kicked off his shoes before crawling across the bed to take her in his arms. Kate turned into his embrace with a sigh, and he only realized she was crying when he felt the damp warmth on his chest.

“Hey.” He kissed the top of her head. “Hey, now.” He reached down and gently tipped her face up so that he could look at her. Her eyes were pink and puffy from crying, and her bottom lip trembled as she looked at him. “Is it really that bad?”

“Michael.” Kate reached for him, and he was surprised at the intensity of her kiss.

“I guess you liked it.” He offered her a lopsided smile as she hiccuped.

“I love it.” Kate nodded. “Really, Michael. I love it.”

“Then I’m glad,” he answered as he pushed her hair off her face with gentle fingers. He felt his whole body relax as Kate smiled and settled herself against him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“He lived,” Kate said after a moment of peaceful quiet. Michael’s hand stilled on her hair, and she propped her chin on Michael’s chest to look up at him. “Jack lived, in your book.”

Michael resumed stroking her hair. “Is that okay?”

“Better than,” she confirmed, and then snuggled into his chest again. “It was perfect.” She thought back over the story and gave a sad smile. Michael had been truthful; there was enough characterizations and anecdotes in the book for Kate to recognize herself, but done in such a way that her privacy remained intact. Jack was in there too, alive and well on the printed page along with Paul and Gwen. There were even shadows of Emily, Wren, and David that she had smiled over. They weren’t lifelike portraits, but after knowing the real thing, she had recognized each of them when they had ghosted across the pages. Michael pulled Kate closer and kissed her again, feeling more relief than he had imagined possible.

“I sent Paul a copy,” Kate offered after a contemplative silence had descended over the room again.

“You did? I thought you’d been here all day,” Michael said, surprised.

“I called Alistair and got him to send Bear a copy. He’s reading it now,” Kate explained. She patted his chest with a reassuring hand. “He’ll love it too.”

“You called Alistair?” Michael’s surprise was growing. “I’m surprised he agreed to do that.”

“Well, it came at a cost,” Kate admitted.

“Ah.” Michael nodded. “Which was …” He raised an eyebrow and smiled as Kate’s shoulders shook with silent laughter.

“Oreo cupcakes,” she replied. “He wants some this week.”

“He’s a pushy bastard.” Michael sighed.

“Yeah, he told me that too.” Kate pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked at Michael after knuckling her tired eyes. “I figured I’d make some over the weekend, and we can take them into his office on Monday.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Michael nodded. “It’s probably about time you two met each other.”

“That’s what I thought.” Kate looked at him for a moment, and then shifted herself so that she was straddling Michael, rocking herself gently against him. Michael reached up and grabbed her hips out of sheer reflex.

“Anything else you’re thinking?” he asked as Kate settled herself comfortably against his core, and then reached up to pull off her shirt in one fluid gesture.

“One or two ideas come to mind,” she offered with a smile. “Shall I tell you about them?”

“Words can be overrated.” Michael gave an elaborately casual shrug. “How about you show me instead.”

“If you insist,” Kate murmured, and then bent her head to kiss him.

~~~

“Morning, boss,” Emily greeted her as Kate breezed into the store the next morning.

“Emily, don’t call me boss.”

“Sorry, boss.” Emily gave a delighted laugh. “I can’t tell you how weird it is to be a part of that routine.”

“What routine’s that?” Kate asked as she rounded the counter to go and collect her apron from the kitchen.

“The Wren routine you guys always had going,” Emily explained. “First the cupcakes and quotes, and now the morning greeting. It felt strange at first, but on the days Wren isn’t here, it still feels like she is, you know?”

“I do.” Kate stopped and gave a fond smile.

Wren was following her dream, and the promise her talent had always foreshadowed at the store was at last coming to fruition. She had worked with Christine on getting a stand at the market, and within weeks had established herself. Christine had reported back to Kate that Wren’s fashions were generating a lot of buzz, and she was acquiring herself a small-but-devoted following. She was still working at the store and thoroughly enjoying herself, but everyone involved knew that it was only a matter of time before Wren’s fashions would be able to keep her financially self-sufficient.

Yielding to the inevitable, Wren had moved in with David before Easter, and although the stress of sharing her life with someone on such a permanent basis had created some memorable fireworks, Kate had never seen her happier. Michael and Paul had helped with the move, and Michael had watched as David had lugged boxes upstairs with the tired but happy smile of a man who held a winning ticket.

Emily and Brad’s relationship remained as steady as ever, and it had been bolstered further after Brad had at last met Michael at the Christmas party. Brad had been quick to secure Michael’s presence for a special literary event at the bookstore, which had been well publicized in the weeks leading up to the book’s release. In literary circles, the opportunity to meet the somewhat reclusive Michael Forrester had made it one of the hottest tickets in town. Kate had avoided the event, as she hadn’t wanted it to spoil any surprises before she read the book for herself, but Emily had made sure she was there at Brad’s side. Listening to Michael’s voice as he read an excerpt from the book, Emily had reached out to find Brad’s hand already seeking out her own. They had stood there hand in hand, spellbound at the words Michael wove around them.

“Kate,” Emily had told her the next day, “when that book comes out, you are going to drop everything. You are going to do
nothing
until you have read it. Have I made myself clear?”

“Crystal.” Kate had nodded and then after a pause. “So, it’s good?”

“I’m not saying another word about it.” Emily had pointed an admonishing finger at Kate. “Now you make the coffee, and I’ll get the chalk.”

“So …” Emily began as she got down some cups and slid them over to Kate, “now that you’ve had a chance to read it, what did you think?”

“Oh.” Kate blinked at the coffee machine in front of her, and then gathered herself to start making coffee. “Well, it was … unexpected.”

“Unexpected how?”

Kate moved as if to speak and settled for frothing the milk instead. When the coffees were made, the conversation resumed.

“Unexpected in a sad and beautiful way,” Kate said after a long pause. “It made me laugh, cry.” She paused and sipped at her coffee again. “It made me think.” Another pause as she gave the book some more thought and then offered a short laugh. “I don’t know that I’ll ever look at fluorescent lighting in the same way again.”

“Huh?” Emily looked blank.

“The argon,” Kate clarified.

“Oh, right.” Emily gave a knowing nod. “Michael read that part out at the store.”

“What did
you
think?” Kate was the curious one this time.

“Beautiful,” Emily sighed. “That part really … ” She waved a hand. “I mean I’ve always admired writers and artists and all their creations over the centuries. Now I realize that I’m connected to them. Even if it’s only on a cellular level, it’s all connected. What did Michael call it?”

“The eternal breath,” Kate said quietly as her throat tightened.

“Yeah,” Emily sighed. “That’s it.”

“Beautiful,” Kate added, and both women nodded in thoughtful silence.

~~~

“Oh, my God.” Alistair’s eyes all but rolled up in his head as he took another bite. “Beautiful, incredible.” He licked crumbs off his lips, and then called out for his assistant. “Molly, could you take some of these to Fiona with my compliments.”

True to her word, Kate had baked a batch of cupcakes for Michael’s editor over the weekend, and he had escorted her to the office for the delivery and introductions.

“Will do.” Molly nodded as she scooped the proffered cupcakes onto a small plate and disappeared.

“Fiona?” Michael raised an eyebrow.

“Food Editor,” Alistair clarified as he licked some frosting off his fingers. “Seriously, Kate, if you weren’t already a married woman—” he began, breaking off when Michael gave a low growl and reached out to interlace his fingers with Kate’s.

“She’s taken,” Michael stated.

“Quite taken,” Kate affirmed as she gave her husband a fond smile. They had been married for five months now, and the novelty still hadn’t worn off. They were still exchanging small talk when a smartly dressed woman appeared in the doorway.

“Alistair, where did—” She stopped when she saw that he had company. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were with someone.”

“Fiona.” Alistair leaned back in his chair and waved her in with a proprietary grin. “I’d like you to meet Michael Forrester and his wife, Kate.”

“It’s a pleasure.” Fiona nodded and shook their hands. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but, Alistair, where did you get those cupcakes?”

“Kate here brought some in for me as a thank you.” Alistair smiled. “She has a bakery in the Village that you might be interested in.”

“I am.” She nodded. “Especially if there are more where these came from.”

“Plenty,” Michael confirmed with a pleased nod. “Kate’s becoming famous for them.”

“Really.” Fiona looked thoughtful now. “Ever thought of publishing?”

“Huh?” Kate blinked at Fiona, and then looked over at Michael. This was an unexpected development. “Well, uh …” she floundered, and then looked at Michael again. “Help,” she peeped.

“Maybe it’s best if you pay the store a visit sometime,” Michael suggested, “see where these creations come from. I can tell you now,” he went on with a proud grin, “they just keep getting better.”

“Good to hear.” Fiona nodded. “Let me get you my card, and we’ll arrange a time.”

“Okay.” Kate nodded. “Sounds good.”

The three of them watched Fiona depart, and then Michael caught Alistair looking very pleased with himself.

“You knew what you were doing,” he accused.

“What?” Alistair tried to look surprised.

“Getting Kate in here with cupcakes, sending some to Fiona. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“Just the next phase of something that could be very exciting,” Alistair said, and then looked disappointed. “Of course, it’d be even more exciting if you told me you have another story in the works.”

“Oh, give me a break.” Michael leaned back in his seat with a tone of exasperation that made Kate laugh. “Can’t this book keep you occupied for at least a few more days before you start hounding me again?”

“Don’t worry.” Alistair waved him off. “Once that book hits the stores, my phone is going to be running hot. I’ll be kept busy for a while. Just don’t get too relaxed.”

~~~

“Kat,” Paul was saying as Kate paced around the apartment with the phone, “I read it before I went to work and on my breaks; I wanna get off the phone to read it now.” There was a pause as he replayed his words in his head. “Not that I don’t wanna talk to my baby sister,” he added hastily.

“It’s okay, Bear,” Kate assured him as she tried not to laugh. “I was the same way.”

“They’re in there, Kat,” Paul went on in a quiet voice. “Mom and Dad, they’re there. They’re alive and they’re together.”

“I know.” Kate swallowed hard.

“Hey, you remember the time Mom decided she wanted the family to go camping?”

Kate gave a whoop of laughter at the memory. “Oh, my God, and you ate so many s’mores you nearly threw up. What about the time when you …” The conversation between brother and sister went on late into the night, punctuated with tears and laughter on both sides. Michael appeared at her side from time to time with a fresh drink or a quick kiss, but he left the siblings alone with their memories, grateful that he had in some small part been the medium to encourage it.

It was late when Kate finally got off the phone, and her expression was peaceful when she strolled out of the bathroom to see Michael turning down the bed for the night.

“All good?” he asked as he got into bed and watched Kate finish her bedtime ritual. She plumped her pillows and brushed her hair before getting into bed and nodding at him to lift up his arm so that she curl up beside him.

“Better than good,” she assured him with a smile. “Paul and Christine are getting
real
serious.”

“How serious?” Michael looked down at her, curious.

“He’s-got-a-ring type of serious,” Kate confirmed. “Now that he’s finished reading, he’s going over there to propose tonight.”

“Now?” Michael was astonished. “But it’s ten o’clock at night.”

“He said there was no time like the present, and now he’s got the ring, he wants to start spending the rest of his life with her as soon as possible.”

“Good man.” Michael nodded. “I know the feeling.”

“Now that you mention it, is there something else that you know?” Kate peered up at him.

“I don’t know.” Michael yawned. “Name your subject, and we’ll take it from there.”

“Alistair and Fiona,” Kate stated. “Anything going on there that you want to tell me about?”