Recipe for Romance: A Bucky Barnes Story

13: Hello, Handsome

"Do you still want it naked?"

Wanda's eyes widen as she pauses mid-sip of her cocoa. "Naked?" she repeats, more than slightly confused at the question I've just asked Laurie.

"It's a style of cake," Laurie explains hurriedly. "Yeah—I do. I'm thinking six tiers now."

"Six? I thought you decided on five tiers?" I question. I can already feel the anxiety starting to build in my chest.

Laurie waves her hand around—the shiny diamond ring catching the light from above us on the café ceiling. "We've extended the guest list again. We'll need more cake!"

I sigh, taking a lengthy drag of my almond milk latte. "Okay. I'll just need you to decide on a final guest count soon, Laurie. The wedding is only two months away." There's a gnarl between my eyebrows as I hastily jot down something in my pink notepad—the one that I carry in my bag with me wherever I go. I've got lists, notes, and phone numbers inside it.

"Plenty of time," Wanda says. She grins with pride as Laurie nods. She's in a cheery mood because just this morning on our way to our weekly café meeting point Laurie had asked Wanda to be one of her bridesmaids. Oh lord—I've never heard a creature squeal so loud. The Sokovian girl nearly started crying with glee. Needless to say, she's going to be in the wedding party now too.

"April third is the wedding. I've got to start baking three days ahead. So that means April first. Today's February first. Then there's the shopping and designing and math that I've got to do—"

Laurie clasps her hands over my shoulders to stop me mid-rant. "Sadie. You're gonna be fine. The cake is going to be perfect. Everything you make is perfect, okay? So calm down."

Wanda nods.

A stifled snort comes out of me. I roll my eyes, dropping my pen back to the table. The sound of a bell at the front counter drags me out of my whirlwind thoughts. "Right. Right. It'll be fine."

Laurie grins. "Of course it will be. And that's why I called Emily to help you with the maid of honor duties, remember? You don't even have to worry about planning the bachelorette party."

I stare at the lumps of remaining foam at the bottom of my mug. "I still feel shitty about that."

"What for? You're making the damn cake, Sade. That's much more important than a stupid bachelorette party."

"What exactly are we going to be doing at this party?" Wanda infers. She's got her hair pulled back into two buns and a loose cable knit sweater over her body the color of poppies.

"Nothing good, probably," I chuckle lowly.

Laurie tilts her head back with a loud laugh. Her blonde hair falls to one shoulder. "Oh please, Sadie. You could use a bit more excitement in your life."

"I've got plenty of excitement, thank you."

Laurie grunts. "Placing hypothetical bets on Iron Chef Episodes with your coworkers over Facebook Messenger doesn't count as excitement."

"It's plenty exciting!"

Wanda and Laurie both laugh at me. I'm blushing when I try to hide my face behind the mug, only to remember that it's empty now. I search the messy tabletop of our dirty plates and napkins for my wallet. "Hold on girls. I'm gonna get me another cup..."

Before I can even grab ahold of my ratty wallet, a barista girl appears over my shoulder. "Almond milk latte with peppermint syrup and extra foam?"

I blink—looking up to Wanda and Laurie with a confused lip tilt. "Umm, yes?"

The barista chuckles before setting it down in front of me. "Here you go."