With This Cake: A Meet Me At The Altar Novel Read online

  Sooner rather than later.

  Brody knew he was the workaholic in the family. His grandfather started King Hospitality more than fifty years ago. Then his father joined him and they branched out into corporate convention centers and took their business across the U.S. Once Brody was old enough to join the team, he took them global.

  Maybe it was middle-child syndrome, but he always felt the need to work as hard as he could to stand out–to make an impact. His family didn’t mind when he was making them millions, but as soon as he speaks up against something his brothers are doing, suddenly he’s the problem.

  Groaning, he wondered how he was supposed to handle everything.

  Or rather…the next five days.

  Even though the party didn’t technically begin until Thursday evening, the entire family was told to show up today–Wednesday. He didn’t have a part in the wedding–thank God–but for some reason, he was still expected to be there for everything as if he did.

  His backup reminder chirped and Brody knew he had stalled long enough.

  The drive to the family compound in Chapel Hill would take him less than twenty minutes. King Hospitality’s main office was also located there and it was a fairly direct route. His own home was in Raleigh–which wasn’t that far away and it seemed silly that he wasn’t allowed to sleep in his own bed for the next several nights–but again, he was trying to do what everyone asked.

  No matter how inconvenient.

  Fortunately, he had a suite of rooms at his family’s home and knew he could retreat to them at the end of the day and have more than enough privacy away from the throngs of people who were going to be staying there.

  He shuddered at the thought.

  There was a knock at the door and he looked up as his father walked in.

  Great.

  “Brody,” he said in his usual booming, commanding voice. “I expected you to be gone by now.”

  Standing, he stretched. “I was just getting ready to leave,” he replied respectfully. Walking around the desk, he slid his phone into his pocket.

  “Good. That’s good. I’ll follow you out.”

  For the love of it…

  “Dad, you don’t need to do that. I really am planning on leaving. I just need to grab my laptop and some files and I’ll be on my way.” To prove his point, he gathered up his belongings and put them in his satchel.

  “How’s the training going?” his father asked as he watched his son move around the office. “You were here pretty early this morning.”

  “I came right from the gym and showered up here. It’s preferable to doing so in a public locker room.”

  “When’s the triathlon?”

  “Eleven weeks,” he replied. “And if I keep up this pace, I should beat last year’s time.”

  “Good for you, Brody. Personally, I don’t know how you do it. Don’t you ever just sit and rest?”

  “What for? I don’t see the point in simply sitting around the house.” It was true, he hated to be idle, but what he wouldn’t admit to anyone was that his current training was kicking his butt. He was even considering not training next year.

  “Maybe you’ll relax this weekend at the house and do a little less training.” He paused. “You tend to go to the gym at night, too, don’t you?”

  “I do, and before you ask, I’m heading straight to the house and don’t plan on going anywhere, so you don’t have to worry.”

  “Yeah, about that…”

  Brody stopped in his tracks. “Is there a problem?”

  “Charlene’s cousin is staying in the house this weekend. She’s in charge of the desserts.”

  “O-kay…”

  “Her room is in your wing so…please be on your best behavior and don’t scare the poor girl. She was at the house Sunday and heard you having your meltdown and…”

  “It wasn’t a meltdown, Dad,” he said with more than a hint of annoyance. “I was simply giving my opinion. Last I checked, that was still allowed.”

  Pinching the bridge of his nose, Marshall King tensed. “We’re not doing this again. Just…please be nice to her. If anything, be overly nice to her. Do I make myself clear?”

  It was pointless to argue so he simply nodded.

  “Excellent,” his father said, his relief palpable. “Now let’s get going.”

  As soon as they were out of his office, Marshall talked about all the plans for the party–as if Brody cared–and all the preparations that were currently underway. It sounded like there were going to be hundreds of people there setting up, and again he had to wonder why his presence was needed or required today.

  It felt a little like walking to his execution and Brody knew he was dragging his feet a bit–literally and figuratively. Still, by the time they were down in the parking garage, he was more than ready to be alone in his car. “I’ll see you at the house, Dad,” he said with a small wave, and once he was seated behind the wheel of his Aston Martin DB11, all the tension left his body.

  “And I’ve got all of twenty minutes to enjoy it…”

  Glancing up in his rearview mirror, he spotted his father’s BMW idling and knew the old man was waiting for him to pull out of his spot.

  With a muttered curse, he obliged.

  “So much for relaxing,” he muttered and slowly drove out of the garage. It wasn’t until he was out on the highway that he forced himself to forget about who was following him and why. Turning on the radio, Brody let himself indulge in some loud music from his youth. A little Foo Fighters was exactly what he needed to clear his head. By the time he turned onto the long, tree-lined drive of his childhood home, he felt like he just might survive the weekend.

  Then he spotted the long line of trucks and vans lining the driveway–caterers, electricians, florists, linen rentals, tents. His shoulders tensed and he had to remind himself that he could be in the house and up in his wing in just another few minutes. Being that he wasn’t part of the bridal party, none of this chaos had anything to do with him.

  So he parked his car and grabbed his satchel before getting out. He waved to his father as he walked toward the house, and once inside, he kissed his mother on the cheek while she talked to the florist about her displeasure over the color of the flowers.

  Just another day in the King household…

  He was halfway up the grand staircase when his little brother and groom-to-be came jogging down toward him.

  “Hey, Brody! You made it!” They met on the landing and Travis gave him a brisk hug. “I was afraid we were going to have to send someone to force you to leave the office!”

  Brody knew he was teasing, but it still irked him. He took a moment to roll his shoulders and mentally count to ten so he didn’t respond negatively.

  With a smile, he shrugged. “Well, Dad came in and walked out with me so…” They both laughed. “So where are you off to?”

  “Oh, Charlene’s down at the tent and doesn’t like the lights they’re installing. I’m going to go see what we can do about it.”

  “They’re just…” he started but noticed his brother’s glance hardening and simply bit his tongue. “They’re just doing their job,” he corrected mildly. “If they don’t have anything they can swap out, maybe see if the florist or someone has something that can dress them up.”

  Travis’s jaw dropped slightly before he smiled. “Wow, thanks, bro. I never would have thought of that!” Then with a clap on the shoulder, he took off down the rest of the stairs and Brody was blessedly by himself.

  Jogging up the stairs to the third floor where his rooms were, he whistled. Once in his suite, he shut the door and placed his satchel down on the coffee table in his sitting area. Loosening his tie, he wondered what he should do with himself. There was no way he was going to go down to the tent or risk running into anyone who might want his input on anything. The brief conversation with Travis was enough.

  “So now what?” Yanking his tie off, he tossed it onto the sofa before unbuttoning his shirt. Walking ove
r to the French doors that led out to his balcony, he looked out over the property and sighed.

  People. Everywhere.

  At least…over on the east side of the property. To the west, there was one lone trailer and tent set up by themselves, but other than that, it was nothing but acres of green grass, a paved path his parents used to get to the tennis court, the lake, and the nine-hole golf course.

  It was also a great spot for jogging.

  The thought of going for a run put a smile on his face because it would be a great way to let off steam, relax, and stay out of everyone’s way.

  And that last one was for everyone’s benefit, not just his.

  Plus, it was a way of keeping his word about not going to the gym but still getting his training time in.

  With a renewed sense of purpose, Brody stripped down to his boxer briefs and rummaged through his chest of drawer to find a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and some socks. Next, he pulled a pair of wireless earbuds out before pulling up a playlist on his Apple watch. Sneakers were in the closet and once he was dressed, he spent a few minutes stretching before heading down the back stairs that led directly to the kitchen. Once there, he maneuvered through the crowd working there, grabbed a bottle of water and made his way out the door.

  After that, it was pure bliss.

  The sky was still blue, the temperature was in the sixties, and the best part was that no one was around.

  He started out walking across the yard–around the pool, the pool house, and the large outdoor kitchen. Once he passed them, he started with a light jog and within a few minutes, he had a great eight-minute mile pace going. Brody had been a runner since middle school. He’d been an all-star on the track team back then, and now he only managed to get his runs while on a treadmill. Being outside was a total game changer and he made a mental note to himself to start getting up earlier so he could get a run in before work.

  But for this weekend, he knew he was going to utilize this path as much as humanly possible.

  Music played, the perfectly manicured scenery passed him by, and by the time he was approaching the house again, he had a good sweat going on and felt invigorated. If it were a little warmer, he would have considered going for a dip in the pool and doing some laps, but he’d have to settle for a shower and possibly a few minutes in the sauna or something.

  While he walked around to cool down, he drank the rest of his water and looked over at the lone trailer, frowning.

  Why was it on this side of the yard? Why wouldn’t it get placed with all the rest? What other unnecessary attraction was being added to this spectacle?

  “Brody? There you are,” his mother called as she walked outside and spotted him. “We were wondering where you were.”

  Sylvia King may be the mother of three grown men, but she didn’t look a day over forty.

  Which is what she told her plastic surgeon every time she saw him.

  “I’m not late for anything, am I?”

  “No, of course not, sweetheart. Dinner’s in an hour and no one knew where to find you. We’re having Italian tonight. Lasagna. I know it’s one of your favorites.” She looked up at him with a big smile and he couldn’t help but smile back.

  “I guess it’s a good thing I went for a run, huh? Now I can have two helpings,” he said, winking at her.

  “Oh, stop. You could eat a whole tray of it and not worry–run or no run.”

  “I’m not so sure about that.”

  “Oh, and we have some very decadent dessert! Charlene ordered some tiramisu and a New York cheesecake, and I had Mrs. Grayson make her famous chocolate lava cake. You know how I love something sweet after we have Italian.”

  Brody made a face. “You know sweets aren’t my thing, Mom, but you enjoy them. Actually, you can have my dessert.”

  Shaking her head, she made a tsking sound. “I don’t know how my own son doesn’t eat dessert. It’s not right!” It was a conversation they had all the time and he knew she was teasing. “Just know that I love you anyway.” She went to hug him but pulled back. “But you really should shower first so…go.”

  Kissing her cheek, he grinned. “I’m on it. See you in an hour!”

  Chapter 2

  A balanced diet is having a cupcake in each hand.

  Thursday morning, Leanna climbed into her delivery truck–which was white and refrigerated and currently housing five hundred cupcakes–fifteen trays worth. Two of them were frosted and ready to serve; the rest were unfrosted. After that, it was gallons upon gallons of frosting, frozen layers of cake to be decorated tomorrow, and all the tools and ingredients she was going to need to continue baking on-site. Meanwhile, she had her staff at Meet Me at the Altar working on making more cupcakes that they were going to deliver to her later today.

  “Eight a.m. and I’m already exhausted,” she murmured as she pulled away from the building. Both Josie and Skye had volunteered to come with her to help get everything unloaded, but she turned them down. Showing up at the King’s estate early meant she had almost the whole day to get set up. Plus, she had scoped everything out and knew exactly where to park and how she was going to transfer everything she had with her from the van to the trailer and then ultimately to the party tent. When she was there last time, the tent Charlene promised her hadn’t been set up yet so hopefully it would be there today. The trailer was great, but the space was far too limited for all the assembling she was going to have to do.

  The drive took a little over an hour because of the morning traffic–not that she minded. It gave her a little extra singing time with her favorite playlist to put her in a better mood. She was just finishing her ABBA playlist when she turned into the King’s gated community. Once she turned onto the long and winding driveway, she could already see how much more had been done since she was here only days ago.

  “What is it like to live like this?” she whispered and noticed there was already a steady stream of people rushing around doing things. It hit her again that if it was like this for an engagement party, the wedding would be so much crazier. “A circus. Definitely a circus.”

  Slowly, she drove past the main party area and looked for the turn that was going to take her around to the back of the house. It was a narrow road that was primarily for utility workers, but Charlene and Mrs. King had assured her that she was the only one with permission to use it this weekend.

  Well, her staff too.

  Carefully, she made her way around to the back of the house and found a place to park that didn’t require too far of a walk to the trailer.

  And immediately noticed that there was no tent for her yet.

  “Well, drat.” As much as she hated to bother her cousin, Leanna needed to know sooner rather than later if the plans had been changed.

  Once she was out of her van, she stretched and made her way over to the trailer. It was unlocked and when she stepped inside, she couldn’t help but smile. Everything was to her exact specifications and would really make everything she had to do go so much smoother. Her staff was going to be doing the bulk of the baking and then transporting everything un-decorated, but Leanna knew there was a certain amount of baking that needed to be done right here on the premises.

  She just prayed there weren’t any mishaps.

  The trailer itself was sixty feet long, had multiple ovens and tons of stainless-steel prep and work space. There was a massive walk-in refrigerator that had all the shelves she was going to need to store everything. As she walked around touching everything, she made note of the three sinks and how she had a private bathroom too.

  “That is certainly going to make things easier than having to run to a porta-potty.” There was a Keurig coffee maker on the counter with a little red bow on top. Walking over, she spotted the card from her cousin.

  “Just a little something to keep you caffeinated while you create your magic!”

  Beside it was a box of pods in her favorite Starbucks strength.

  “She’s certainly thought of everything, tha
t’s for sure.”

  Working like this wouldn’t be a hardship, but it was going to be weird to work in another kitchen for so many days and not see Josie and Skye.

  That’s what phones and Zoom calls are for.

  Which reminded her…

  Tapping out a quick text to Charlene asking about the tent, Leanna tried to think if there was anything else she needed to know.

  Her phone rang and she laughed softly when she saw her cousin’s face.

  “Good morning, Char!”

  “Hey!” Charlene said, already sounding super bubbly. “You’re here nice and early. I love it!”

  “Yeah, well…I wanted to get the lay of the land so I wouldn’t feel rushed this afternoon.”

  “Good thinking.”

  “So…about the tent…”

  “There was a slight miscommunication with the rental company and they are going to provide us with a small tent to go right next to the trailer. The larger tent was placed over by all the other food prep ones.”

  “Oh. Um…”

  “But don’t worry! The small tent is still a decent size–twelve-by-twelve–and we’re providing you with a Work UTV. Isn’t that great?”

  “What’s a Work UTV?”

  “Oh, Lea, it’s going to be awesome for you! It’s like a golf cart on steroids! Imagine one with like a giant box on the back. It’s refrigerated and has a rack system–all stainless steel–that can hold up to sixty-eight trays or sheet pans! It will be perfect for transporting everything from the trailer to the party tent!”

  “Wow!” she replied, still trying to figure out what that was going to look like.

  “It’s being delivered at noon and someone will show you how it all works so you don’t have to worry.”

  “Okay, great. I can’t wait!”

  “Unfortunately, I’m booked solid all day otherwise I’d come down and have some coffee with you,” Charlene said excitedly. “You saw the coffee maker, right? Isn’t it adorable?”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “It is perfect. Thank you for thinking of me like that.”