Fated (A Chris Evans Series)

Cake

Birds chirped outside the bedroom window as the sun rose over the horizon, arousing Chris from his sleep. He lifted his head and looked at the clock hanging on the wall, groaning when he realized it was only 6:03AM. His head fell back on his pillow and he turned towards Denise. Just as he was about to succumb to sleep again, he caught her pretty face in his sight and decided he'd much rather watch her sleep. He tucked his hand under his face and smiled in reminiscent of how their night had been spent. They'd pizza by the fireplace while discussing wedding details, and after- well, dessert, sweet kisses, and then some. It was no surprise things between them had grown more passionate since they started planning their wedding. The post-engagement glow that had been put on the back burner had resurfaced now that their wedding was actually happening. And boy, were they using it to their advantage behind closed doors.

Chris gently pushed Denise's hair out of her face, whispering, "ten more weeks." He leaned forward and planted a tender kiss on her forehead. "I can't wait to be married to you." He sighed with a great deal of satisfaction then settled back down in his original position and continued to admire his future bride. To him, she would always be the most beautiful person he'd ever laid his eyes on.

Denise woke shortly after Chris did. As quiet and gentle as he was being with his whispering, hair brushes, and forehead kisses, she was still awoken by it. She peeked at him through one eye and stifled a giggle when she saw him smiling at her. "I know we're engaged and hopelessly in-love, but waking up to you staring at me is still incredibly creepy." She teased and he chuckled, turning onto his back with his gaze still on her. "What time is it?" She asked mid-yawn, stretching her limbs.

"Time to get started on our day, I suppose." He rested one hand on his chest and yawned when he saw her yawn again. "Didn't you say we've got wedding cakes to taste today?" He quizzed and she sighed, noising confirmation. "What's with the sigh?" He chuckled. "We're going to four of the best bakeries in Los Angeles to eat cake. All kinds of cake. I'm excited and I'm not even as huge a cake person as you. It's going to be a very yummy day."

"I know it is," she sighed again as she sat up. She remembered how excited she was when she first told Chris about their cake tasting plans, her stomach practically growled when she saw the email responses from each bakery. But for some unknown reason, she wasn't excited anymore. In fact, just thinking about tasting cake- any kind of cake- made her feel like hurling. "But- I don't know, Chris." She turned back to him and he sat up, looking concerned. "I feel weird, I just-" she licked her dry lips. "I don't really feel like cake."

"That's okay," his hand rubbed her back soothingly. "You don't have to eat much, just a bite of each." As soon as he suggested that, she felt herself make a face. Her mouth became dry, her cheeks and jaw sore, like her body was preparing for her to puke. "That is- um," he chuckled then pursed his lips together at her expression. "That is not a face you want to see before a cake tasting." Every time Chris said the word 'cake', Denise felt her stomach churn. "Do you want me to call the bakeries and postpone the cake tasting?"

"I want you to stop saying the word 'cake'," Denise begged. Just thinking about what her day was going to consist of was starting to make her feel a little lightheaded. "And no, because we can't postpone. We have so much to do and so little time to do it all, we can't afford to lose this meeting." He nodded understandingly, sighing. "It's already the middle of July, Chris. We haven't even gotten quarter of the way through our checklist. You haven't even sorted our your wedding party, you've just got Scott and Sebastian so far.

"To be fair, neither have you." He pointed out then winced at her deadpan expression. "What? I'm just saying you've only got Luca as your maid of honor, so technically- I'm ahead by one person." She grabbed her pillow and whacked him with it. He laughed and she smiled. "Relax, okay? We've got plenty of time. On the bright side, our band is sorted already." Her smile widened as she shook her head. That was a tactic, every time Denise looked like she was about to flip out Chris would remind her that, "Ed Sheeran is coming to sing for us" knowing very well it'd calm her.