Page 64 of The One You Want

“So this is all that’s been going on? He’s just been weird because he thought you’d tell me and I’d be upset?”

“I think so. I mean, he doesn’t come off very well in the story. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t changed because of his love for you,” she reminded Maggie.

“I’ve had no reason to believe he’s ever been unfaithful. Except with his phone,” she teased, returning to her old self.

Rose held Maggie’s gaze. “Are we okay?”

Maggie nodded. “Yes. We’re good. But don’t tell Marc you told me about the two of you. I’m going to give him a chance to tell me himself.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” What if Marc lied to spare her feelings? “It feels like a test when all he wanted to do was keep you from getting hurt and upset.”

“He didn’t want me to know he’d cheated in the past.”

Rose gave her a diplomatic answer. “We don’t know the circumstances and why he did what he did.”

“There’s no justification for cheating.”

“No. But testing him or tricking him into lying isn’t a great way to treat your fiancé, either.”

Maggie sighed. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’ll just ask him about it. Get his side. Make sure it’s out in the open so we don’t have any secrets or misconstrued feelings about it. You two slept together before I met him. I don’t like that he asked you not totell me and that he manipulated things so that you wouldn’t know he was dating me.”

“If it helps, I think he liked you so much he didn’t want to jeopardize things over something that happened in his past. We’ve all done things we’d like to forget.”

“And if that’s how he feels about it, too, then we’ll never mention it again.”

“I’m all for focusing on Maggie and Marc’s big day and you two as a couple from now on. As far as I’m concerned, it never happened.”

“Agreed.” Maggie picked up her cell. “Now, let’s start calling about the cake. If we can’t find someone to do it in time, then we’ll have...” Maggie turned thoughtful for a moment. “Hot fudge sundaes.”

“Now that’s an idea. Or pie.”

“Exactly. We have options.”

Rose read Maggie’s face. “But you want the cake.”

Maggie sighed. “I really do. It’s tradition.”

“Then we’ll find you a beautiful cake.”

They spent the next hour calling all the bakeries from the list in the email and then some. No one in a thirty-mile radius had the time and availability to make a wedding cake on such short notice.

“Where do you think we can get a billion gallons of ice cream and hot fudge?”

“Maybe the caterer will know?” Rose suggested, picking up her phone the second it rang, hoping it was one of the bakeries calling back to say they had a last-minute cancellation and could do the cake. She sighed, dejected. “Sorry. It’s Gray.”

Maggie grinned. “I won’t tell him how disappointed you look right now.”

“I wanted it to be your fairy god-baker.” She slid her finger across the screen and answered the call. “Hey.”

“What’s wrong?” The concern in Gray’s deep voice soothed her.

“I need a cake and I can’t get a cake.”

“What kind do you want?” He sounded all too ready to fulfill her wish.

“The wedding kind.”

“What?”