I hesitated before I motioned with my hand. “You said strawberry.” I paused. “Was that not a joke?”
Coralie’s eyes widened even more. “Why would I joke about the filling for myweddingcake?”
I blinked as I tried to process what she was saying. “Asher is deathly allergic to strawberries.” I glanced over at him. Did he not tell her? How could she not know?
Coralie’s lips fluttered for a moment before she turned to Asher. “You’re allergic to strawberries?”
He nodded. “Yeah.” But then he wrapped her hand up with his. “But if you want strawberry coulis, I just won’t eat the cake.”
Coralie stared at the tabletop for a moment. “I always dreamed of strawberry coulis in my wedding cake.”
“Babe, if that’s what you want, it’s okay.” Asher glanced over at Hudson. “Can you make me a small cake without the strawberry coulis?”
Hudson nodded. “Sure.”
Asher turned his attention back to Coralie. “See? Problem solved.”
Coralie studied him before a smile emerged. She leaned in and pressed her lips to Asher’s. Unable to watch, I dropped my gaze back to my phone, where I’d been jotting down my notes. It was strange to see my best friend kissing his fiancée. But what was even more strange was seeing him completely change who he was for this woman.
It almost felt like our friendship had been a lie, and who Asher really was, was the man sitting at this table, making all the concessions in the world to this woman. Why wasn’t he standing up for himself? Why was he changing himself to make her happy?
I didn’t like it.
“See why I’m marrying this man?” Coralie asked Shelby as she pulled back and wrapped her hands around his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. “He’s just so good to me.”
“I’m happy for you,” Shelby said before her gaze flicked over to me.
“I can’t imagine any woman turning this man down. He’s just so perfect.” Coralie reached out and flicked the tip of his nose with her finger.
Asher’s face paled for a moment before the color in his cheeks returned and he smiled down at her. If I hadn’t been studying him, I would have missed it. But I saw, and I knew what it meant.
Coralie’s statement had brought back the memory of what he’d said to me. It had done the same for me. And if he remembered, maybe there was still a chance that I could intervene. I wanted my best friend to be happy. And the longer I spent with Coralie, the more convinced I became that she was the last woman who could do that for him.
Coralie needed to go.
11
ASHER
Coralie was upset.She was quiet through the rest of our meeting with Hudson. She was quiet while Shelby told us where we were going next. And she kept quiet as she walked next to me across the parking lot and stood in front of my truck.
I wanted to ask her what was wrong. I’d agreed with everything she said in the bakery. She wanted an eggless cake, I’d agreed to it. She wanted strawberry coulis, I’d asked for a smaller cake just for me. I was doing the things that a fiancé should do, so why wasn’t she happy?
I was only doing all of this to make the people around me happy. I didn’t want to fail.
She was waiting by the passenger door as I came around the truck to open it. She didn’t meet my gaze as I held the door open and waited for her to climb in. I made sure all her limbs were inside the cab before I shut the door and jogged around the bed of the truck.
Shelby and Ella were walking out of the bakery, and my gaze met Ella’s. She held it for a moment, her expression unreadable. The memory of her snort in the bakery pierced my mind. She was disappointed in me. I could tell that much. But I was trying so hard not to care. I wasn’t hers, and she wasn’t mine. I was Coralie’s, and Coralie actually wanted me.
I forced a smile and waved as I pulled open the driver’s door. Both Ella and Shelby returned the wave. “See you at Blooming Beauty,” I called out, and Shelby shot me a thumbs-ups.
I climbed into the truck and started the engine. Coralie was quiet as I pulled out of the parking spot and headed to the main road.
“Everything okay?” I asked as I turned on my blinker and waited for a white minivan to pass before I pulled out.
“Yeah,” she said in the least convincing tone ever.
I glanced over at her before I returned my attention to the road. “Really? Coralie, what’s wrong?”
