“Then you should have some of each,” she whispered back.
“Brilliant idea, though this dress doesn’t leave much room for indulgence.”
“How about small slices?”
“Perfect. And can you add some of the Capitol on Mark’s plate? The hummingbird spice cake is his favorite.”
“Of course.”
Honor moved around to the back of the table where plates, silverware, and four cake knives were laid on a rolling cart. Awareness prickled along the back of her neck as she made a few efficient cuts in the individual cakes to serve the couple of honor first. She fought the urge to glance over her shoulder at Asher and kept her focus on her task.
After she handed the cake plates to Celia and reached for the knife to cut more slices, a hard, warm body brushed up against her side.
Her swift inhale flooded her senses with the scent of Asher’s cologne. Her heart lodged high up in her throat as he asked in a low voice, “Do I tell you what I want or just take it?”
Oh, sweet mother of—
“No!”
The alarmed cry jerked Honor’s head up in time to see Roxanna lunge past Celia, toward the governor and his wife. Janine’s start of alarm made the slice of chocolate cake tumble off her plate, straight down the front of her snow-white gown.
Gasps sounded all around them as Celia exclaimed, “Oh, Mom!”
Asher darted around to the front of the table. “Rox—what the hell?”
“I am so sorry, but I couldn’t let you eat that,” she said to his parents. “Neither of you can.”
Janine stared down at her ruined dress as she asked, “Why ever not?”
“It’s jinxed.”
“It’s what?”
But Honor had heard her loud and clear. So she hadn’t imagined it earlier when she sensed the woman didn’t like her work. She braced her knuckles on the table as she glared at the brunette. “Excuse me?”
“You shouldn’t be baking anniversary cakes, and most certainly not wedding cakes,” Roxanna accused. “Not when you don’t believe in love.”
From one breath to the next, it seemed like all the heat lamps had been cranked to high. “All I said was they were the exception, not the rule. I never said I don’t believe in love.”
Except you don’t.
One sharp glance from Asher chilled her blood and turned her stomach. An apprehensive look from Celia fed the spark of panic. The rest of the family and nearby guests were avidly watching and listening, casting her smack dab in the center of a huge, blinding spotlight. Her belief in happily ever after—or lack thereof—appeared to be a major deal.
“Your cakes are jinxed.” Roxanna shifted her gaze from Honor to Asher. “I told you something was off about them. I felt it when I touched her.”
“Here we go,” Loyal muttered.
Honor scoffed in disbelief at the brunette’s crazy claims. “That’s absolutely ridiculous.”
“Ty and Jules. Carson and Hannah. Adam and Amy.” The woman ticked off names two by two. “You baked their cakes and none of them are together anymore.”
Lifting her hands in a so what? gesture, she argued, “I’ve baked hundreds of cakes for hundreds of couples. How is it my fault if a few of them split up? That’s just the law of averages.”
And totally par for the course anyway.
She shoved the cynical thought aside. She needed to refute the woman’s absurd allegations, not reinforce them. Not even in her mind.
Governor Diamond murmured something in his wife’s ear, and Janine nodded while handing her plate to Shelby. “I need to go change.”