“I don’t think they’re home.” Laurel checked her watch. “She had an outside shoot, and she was going to drop him off at Coffee Talk. He’s meeting his friend. Bob?”

“Oh.Well. Next time.”

Laurel walked outside to wave them off, and decided it had been one of her most satisfying consults. Not only would she enjoy creating that cake, but they were so happy with it—and each other, she thought, catching the way they leaned into each other for a kiss as they approached their car.

In tune, she thought. That’s what they were, even though Sherry’s beat was often blindingly quick, and Nick’s more deliberate and thoughtful. They complemented each other, got each other, and best of all so obviously enjoyed each other.

Love was lovely, she thought, but being in tune? That spoke of the long haul.

She wondered if she and Del were in tune. Maybe you couldn’t tell, not for certain, when you were inside the dance. They got each other, she mused, and certainly they enjoyed each other. But did they, could they, find a way to match their different beats?

“I missed them.” Parker hurried outside in time to see Nick’s car make the turn from top of the drive to road. “Damn it. I got stuck on the phone and—”

“Shock! Disbelief!”

“Oh, shut up. Friday night’s bride just found out she doesn’t have a bad case of the nerves or a stomach bug.”

“Pregnant.”

“Yeah, you bet. She’s a little panicked, a little thrilled, a little stupefied. They’d planned to start a family within the year, but this is a lot closer to the beginning of their time frame than the end of it.”

“How’s he feel about it?” Laurel asked, knowing the bride would have told Parker everything.

“He had a moment of speechless huh? and now he’s excited. And apparently very attentive when she’s dealing with morning sickness.”

“It says a lot about a guy if he can stick when you’re puking.”

“He gets the gold star there. She’s told her parents, and he’s told his, but that’s it. She wanted my advice on if she should tell her MOH, the BM, anyone else. And so on. Anyway, I was hoping to get down before Sherry and Nick left. How did it go?”

“I can’t think of a single way it could’ve gone better. It was one of those times when you’re done, you just can’t imagine being in another business. Or why anyone else would be. In fact, we should go in, pour ourselves a glass from the bottle of champagne I opened for Sherry, and toast ourselves for being so damn good.”

“Wish I could, so save me a glass. I’ve got a meeting in Greenwich. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”