Read Online Diva 02 _ Diva Takes the Cake, The by Krista Davis - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Krista Davis
Tags: Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Women Sleuths, Mystery, Mystery Fiction, Cooking, Large Type Books, Crimes against, Weddings, Sisters, Cookery, Divorced women, Winston; Sophie (Fictitious Character), Women Cooks, Divorced Women - Crimes Against
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installed a moon and star weathervane on top of the cupola. I opened the arched double doors. Inside, someone had whitewashed an ancient stone wall years ago. Mars and I theorized it might have been part of a summer kitchen once. The chipping paint complemented shabby chic weathered cabinets. Flecks of green and brown hinted at the colors they’d been before the cream paint that covered them now.
Jen brought round bowls to the rustic work table, and we sorted flowers into vases.
After setting bowls of peonies on the outdoor tables, we retreated to the house with the now shamefully incorrect pink blooms in a collection of mismatched silver, glass, and crystal vases.
Ignoring the cloths Natasha had given me, Jen and I spread a pink jacquard tablecloth over my banquet-sized table. I set Natasha’s gigantic heart topiary in the middle. I had planned to use a peony-filled sterling silver trophy of my grandfather’s there, but reluctantly relinquished that honor to the topiary and found a place for the trophy in the living room.
The knocker sounded on the front door, and I hurried to the foyer in time to see Jen open it for Tucker.
“Now that you’re grown up, you probably don’t like Gummi Bears anymore.” He pulled a package from his pocket, and Jen pounced on them.
While I arranged cups and saucers on either side of a vintage silver samovar, Jen told Tucker all about her new dress for the wedding. She continued chattering and placed tiny glass vases of delicate pink roses among the cups.
Meanwhile, I clustered an assortment of liquors on a brass tray for those who wanted to spike their after-dinner coffees.
Tucker was about to help himself to Grand Marnier when Joel ambled by. He cried, “Joel!” and embraced Phoebe’s boyfriend, clapping him on the back like a long-lost friend. “I heard about your father. I’m really sorry.”
It was the first sincere thing I’d ever heard him say. “How could you two possibly know each other?” I asked.
Tucker’s arm hung around Joel’s shoulders. “I was married to your sister, dimwit. How do you think Joel and Phoebe met?”
Flashing Tucker a dirty look, I fetched a couple of footed cake stands and positioned one on each side of the heart topiary, then added three empty Christmas cookie tins of different heights, all slightly shorter than the cake stands. They didn’t match in size, but that would provide additional interest.
“This guy’s father got me out of more than one jam in Atlantic City,” Tucker said. “Sold me three or four engagement rings, too.”
“Three or four?” said Jen.
“They didn’t all work out, sweetheart.”
“Where’s Craig?” I asked. The first meeting between Craig and Tucker might be interesting.
“We split up when we left the bar.” Joel took sunglasses off the top of his head and shoved them into his pocket. “I wanted to go over to the apothecary where George Washington shopped. Have you been there? It’s so cool.”
I tuned him out and concentrated on the table. To disguise the cookie tins, I draped them with white napkins and added smaller pinkish ones shot through with metallic thread for a punch of color. When I brought out the dessert goodies later on, the upside-down tins would provide large stable surfaces to hold the plates.
Moving a tall crystal vase of long-stemmed pink and white lilies, I arranged it on the bombe-style commode in the foyer as Joel disappeared to the half bath at the end of the hall.
“His father was a great guy,” Tucker said sadly.
“What happened?”
Whispering, he said, “They owned a snazzy jewelry store. High roller kind of stuff. A bit of bad luck resulted in Joel’s family losing the store. The stress of it all caused his father to have a heart attack that killed him. A real tragedy for everyone.”
After a last look at the dining room, Jen and I high-fived and returned to the kitchen, where the guests seemed to be in shock. I wasn’t quite sure
Jen brought round bowls to the rustic work table, and we sorted flowers into vases.
After setting bowls of peonies on the outdoor tables, we retreated to the house with the now shamefully incorrect pink blooms in a collection of mismatched silver, glass, and crystal vases.
Ignoring the cloths Natasha had given me, Jen and I spread a pink jacquard tablecloth over my banquet-sized table. I set Natasha’s gigantic heart topiary in the middle. I had planned to use a peony-filled sterling silver trophy of my grandfather’s there, but reluctantly relinquished that honor to the topiary and found a place for the trophy in the living room.
The knocker sounded on the front door, and I hurried to the foyer in time to see Jen open it for Tucker.
“Now that you’re grown up, you probably don’t like Gummi Bears anymore.” He pulled a package from his pocket, and Jen pounced on them.
While I arranged cups and saucers on either side of a vintage silver samovar, Jen told Tucker all about her new dress for the wedding. She continued chattering and placed tiny glass vases of delicate pink roses among the cups.
Meanwhile, I clustered an assortment of liquors on a brass tray for those who wanted to spike their after-dinner coffees.
Tucker was about to help himself to Grand Marnier when Joel ambled by. He cried, “Joel!” and embraced Phoebe’s boyfriend, clapping him on the back like a long-lost friend. “I heard about your father. I’m really sorry.”
It was the first sincere thing I’d ever heard him say. “How could you two possibly know each other?” I asked.
Tucker’s arm hung around Joel’s shoulders. “I was married to your sister, dimwit. How do you think Joel and Phoebe met?”
Flashing Tucker a dirty look, I fetched a couple of footed cake stands and positioned one on each side of the heart topiary, then added three empty Christmas cookie tins of different heights, all slightly shorter than the cake stands. They didn’t match in size, but that would provide additional interest.
“This guy’s father got me out of more than one jam in Atlantic City,” Tucker said. “Sold me three or four engagement rings, too.”
“Three or four?” said Jen.
“They didn’t all work out, sweetheart.”
“Where’s Craig?” I asked. The first meeting between Craig and Tucker might be interesting.
“We split up when we left the bar.” Joel took sunglasses off the top of his head and shoved them into his pocket. “I wanted to go over to the apothecary where George Washington shopped. Have you been there? It’s so cool.”
I tuned him out and concentrated on the table. To disguise the cookie tins, I draped them with white napkins and added smaller pinkish ones shot through with metallic thread for a punch of color. When I brought out the dessert goodies later on, the upside-down tins would provide large stable surfaces to hold the plates.
Moving a tall crystal vase of long-stemmed pink and white lilies, I arranged it on the bombe-style commode in the foyer as Joel disappeared to the half bath at the end of the hall.
“His father was a great guy,” Tucker said sadly.
“What happened?”
Whispering, he said, “They owned a snazzy jewelry store. High roller kind of stuff. A bit of bad luck resulted in Joel’s family losing the store. The stress of it all caused his father to have a heart attack that killed him. A real tragedy for everyone.”
After a last look at the dining room, Jen and I high-fived and returned to the kitchen, where the guests seemed to be in shock. I wasn’t quite sure
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