Sara got up. “I swear I didn’t know until a little while ago. Dawn never mentioned Andrew when she called and placed that order. I promise I would’ve told you had I known.”

“Why would Dawn surprise me like that?” Her hands shook. “I wasn’t prepared to see him. I was caught completely off guard.”

“Are you okay?” Sara got up and came around to her side. “I’m so sorry. I came in to get the timesheets done for tomorrow, and a couple of the workers were talking about having come from the party and how great it was to see Andrew there. It was too late to warn you.”

“What was she thinking?” Kelly turned her back on Sara and sighed.

Sara got up and closed the door. “Did you two talk?”

“Me and Dawn? Or me and Andrew?”

“Andrew. Of course.”

Kelly nodded. “Sort of, but I can’t be thinking about that. He’s one big, fat distraction.” Why after all this time did he still get under her skin?

“How did it feel to see him again?”

“Shocking. Heartbreaking. Maddening.” She stared at the ceiling. “Stupid. Why did it even bother me?”

“It’s not stupid. What you’re feeling is just…nostalgia. And surprise. I mean, who wants to see an ex? Pleasant or otherwise. I mean, without the right outfit or makeup, that’s never good.”

Kelly laughed. Sara was so great at helping her maintain perspective. “You’re probably right.”

“Why don’t you go home for the night?”

“No,” Kelly insisted. “I’m going to do some baking. That’s the only thing that calms me.”

“I’ll be here for another hour or so if you need me.”

“I’ve got that groom’s cake to work on, but quite honestly I feel so frazzled I’m almost afraid to mess with it. I think I’ll make some small specialty cakes.” She wrung her hands. “He’s only going to be in town a few days. I’ll just avoid him until he disappears again.”

An hour later she was pulling mini cake layers out of the oven to cool when her mom walked in. “How’s it going?”

“Hey, Mom. Good. I’m experimenting with a few new flavors. I’m trying to mimic a caramel macchiato for a wedding cake flavor. We’ll see how that tastes.”

“I’m sure it will be wonderful,” Mom said. “Everything you make always is.”

“Thank you for always encouraging me. I love you. You’re the best mother a girl could ask for.”

“I’m very proud of you, honey. It’s easy to encourage you, because everything you bake is amazing.”

“You might be a little biased, though,” Kelly said with mock resignation.