Free Commitment: The Beauty in Between (A Beautiful Series Novella) by Lilliana Anderson

surprise.”  
    “Well, I hope you’ll show me some photos afterwards. I’d
love to see how it all turns out.” I nod to let her know that I will. “Are we ready
to try some cake?” she asks.
    “We sure are,” I tell her.
    She turns around and collects a tray filled with a selection
of bite sized pieces of cake. Trina and I aren’t huge cake eaters, so I’ve just
asks to try a little bit of everything.
    Simone explains what each one is as we test them. They vary
in names like Dark Chocolate fudge, black forest, traditional
dark fruitcake, mud cakes in dark and white chocolate, cherry and caramel.
There’s carrot cake, flourlesss orange and almond, orange poppy seed, red
velvet, sticky date, marble cake, something called croqembouche, butterscotch
and of course, lemon.
    I think my mum just loves that she’s eating cake before
lunch. I’m not sure that she’s actually tasting them per se. But she’s enjoying
them – so that’s a good thing.
    “I can’t choose. They’re all good,” she says when she’s
finished.
    “Well, I think she’ll like the black forest one best. It’s
always been one of her favourites,” Carol puts in.
    “Agreed. It’s my favourite too actually. That one or the
orange poppy seed.”
    Simone brings out a full slice of each of the cakes we’re
deciding between. I taste a bit of each and Carol does the same. As we’re
talking about which one would be best to suit everyone in attendance, my mother
slowly polishes off both slices.
    “I still can’t decide,” she says around a mouth full of
crumbs. “I just love cake. You can choose any flavour and I’ll be happy.”
    Eventually we decide on the orange poppy seed with the
citrus cream cheese filling. It’s nice and fresh tasting and suits the warmer
temperature that summer brings.
    “Great choice,” my mum says as I finish going over the
details with Simone. I put my arm around her and kiss the side of her head.
    “Thanks mum.”
    I also grab a strawberry cheese cake to take for dessert
tonight before walking outside with both mothers.
    “Ok, so are we all set now? Is there anything else we need
to organise?” Carol asks, her aging blue eyes filled with nerves and
excitement. “I have the dress by the way. It’s beautiful. It’s in the car.”
    “Thank you. And no, there’s nothing else to organise. All we
have to do is get her there without her knowing what’s going on.”
    “How are we going to do that?” my mother asks.
    “Well, I have an idea about that,” I say, lowering my voice
conspiratorially as I fill them in on the final part of my plan.
    There isn’t long now.

Chapter Seventeen
     

Katrina
    “That was the longest purchase of a cheesecake in the
history of all cheesecake purchases,” I comment when David finally arrives home
and shows me what he bought.
    He’s been gone so long that I’ve already gone for a run,
returned home, showered, changed, and had something to eat.
    He puts the cheesecake in the fridge and comes to stand in
front of me. “Don’t pout princess. You know I can’t tell you what I was doing.”
    I pout anyway.
    “Here, let me fix that for you,” he says as he brings his
mouth to mine. I quickly forget to sulk as I feel my insides swoon over his
kiss.
    “I do love that you’re doing all of this you know,” I tell
him, my voice sounds thick with desire as I wrap my arms around him and press
our bodies together. “I only pout because I can’t wait to be your wife.”
    He leans in and sucks my lower lip, gently into his mouth.
“Do you want to go and practise for the wedding night?” he murmurs in my ear.
    I answer him with my mouth as I press it up against his,
sliding my tongue inside as he parts his lips and reciprocates, moving his deliciously
against my own. That’s when I taste it.
    My head snaps back and my eyes open wide. “You’ve been
eating cake!”

Chapter Eighteen
     

David
    We arrive at Paige and Elliot’s just before seven and park kerbside,
not