Ruth's POV
From the moment we got out of the car, my best friend, Serena, has been complaining about how her mother is trying to control her wedding plans. As her best friend and maid-of-honor, I do my duty and listen to her rant.
"I cannot believe my mother!" Serena shouts, stomping her feet heavily on the sidewalk as we walk the streets of downtown Seattle. "She got to pick the invitations, the colors for the bridesmaid dresses, and now she wants to pick the wedding cake? No. That's where I draw the line."
As much as I love Serena, she sure does babble a lot. For the past two months she has been talking my ear off about every little thing in regards to her wedding that is set for June this year. Recently, she has been fighting a lot with her mother about different major decisions that need to be made and Serena is sick of it just as much as I am sick of her complaining. This is what she gets for planning a wedding in only six months.
Unfortunately, her fiancé, Calum, couldn't get off work to come with her to find a cake today, so she called the next person in line: me. We are currently looking for some small bakery that Serena found online. We've already gone to several different bakeries, but none of them were up to her standards. You'd think after visiting five different stores, one of them would stand out to her.
"Maybe you should order a cake without her knowing." I suggest, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind my ear and out of my face. "Then she won't have any say in what cake you get."
Serena adjusts her black flowing skirt that rises up slightly as the forceful wind sweeps past us. She thinks that if she dresses more professional, people will take her seriously when she tells them that she is getting married at the age of twenty. So far it hasn't worked. And it doesn't help that she's freezing her legs off in this chilly, 'it's-finally-spring-but-it-still-feels-like-winter' weather.
"That's what I'm planning to do," she says and snaps her head left and right in search of the bakery sign. "If I get to make any decisions for my wedding, it will be for my dress and cake. I won't have her take that away from me."
"Do you think she's trying to make your wedding the wedding of her dreams?" I ask. Her parents got married within a week of their engagement, so there wasn't a lot of advanced planning. It wouldn't be surprising if her mom is using Serena's wedding for her own benefit.
"That seems like the only logical reason as to why she's butting in as much as she is." Serena pushes her round sunglasses from the bridge of her nose to the top of her head and lets them rest on her sleek jet black hair. She stops in front of a small red-brick building with large glass windows displaying a variety of desserts and treats that are irresistibly mouthwatering. "Here it is!" she says and pulls open the door, causing a bell that is attached to it ring as we step inside.
"I'll be with you in a second!" a disembodied male voice yells from the back of the shop.
As we wait for him, we take a look around. Inside, it looks like a little girl's playhouse. Pastel colors and girly décor consume the space, making me slightly uncomfortable by all the girly-ness. It's a bit too much for me. I feel bad for the guy who works here.
In the glass display case by the register, a variety of sweets catch my eye. The aroma of sugar and chocolate fills my nostrils as I inhale the decadent smell of the pastries. Saliva builds in my mouth as I stare at these beautifully decorated desserts. There is everything from cheesecake to cookies that I've never even heard of. As someone who is a sweets enthusiast, I need to get away from these before I spend all my money and gain extra calories that I don't need.
"Ruth," Serena calls me over to where she stands by a small white bookshelf that holds several binders full of pictures of different cakes that were made in this bakery. "Come look at this one." She points to a picture of a four tier circle cake with white fondant and small frosted red roses lining each layer. It's simple and elegant, but it doesn't fit the rustic-theme of her wedding.
"It's cute, but-" Serena cuts me off.
"But it's not going to work with my theme," she says, finishing my sentence. "I know Ruth. I'm just showing you the picture." She flips the page in the binder, revealing more pictures of cakes of all colors, shapes, and sizes; each one getting more elegant by each turn of the page. For a small business, this bakery has talent when it comes to cake decorating.
"So, how can I help you girls?" a thick accent asks from behind us, startling us both and making Serena drop the binder onto the floor. I didn't even hear him walk over to us. His feet are either as light as a feather or he purposely wanted to catch us off guard.
Serena apologizes and swiftly picks up the large binder before placing it back on the bookshelf.
I turn to meet the face of the voice and I am surprised to see that he is young for a baker. It's obvious that he's not from here judging by his accent, so he must be from out of the country. A lilac apron covered in fresh flour, most likely from working in the kitchen, protects his clothes. His curly hair is pushed to the side and out of his face and I am immediately drawn to the various shades of brown and green that encompass his eyes. The boy smirks and gives me a subtle wink.
He may be attractive, but he looks like an asshole.
"We are actually looking to get a wedding cake," I tell him, trying my best not to look him straight in the eyes and ignore his overly-friendly expression.
"Oh," his voice lowers into what I think is disappointment before returning back to cheeriness. "Congratulations!" he beams, mistaking me for the bride-to-be.
I shake my hands in front of me and correct him. "No, no. I'm not the bride." I point to Serena who stands behind me. "She is."
He stands still for a moment with his eyes wide and his face reddening with embarrassment. He looks between the two of us and is quick to apologize. "Sorry! I didn't know. I just kind of assumed..."
Assumed what? That just because I told you we were looking for a wedding cake, it automatically makes me the bride? No. I'm just telling you what we came here for. Do you see a ring on my finger? I'm not getting married anytime, mister.
"It's alright," I assure, even though I find it pretty rude for him to assume that I am getting married.
Serena comes between the two of us, nudging me out of the way and taking charge of her position as the bride and customer. "Hi, I'm Serena," she says and shakes his hand that basically swallows her small one.
"Nice to meet you, Serena. I'm Ashton," he replies. Ashton congratulates her and apologizes once again for the mix-up. Even if you were deaf, you would be able to see how thick his accent is just by the way his mouth moves with when he speaks. He holds his hand out for me and I reluctantly take it in mine.
"Ruth," I say, shaking his hand firmly.
He smiles brightly, revealing craters in his cheeks that actually add to his attractiveness. "Pleasure to meet you, Ruth." His smirk makes an appearance again and I narrow my eyes. The way he addresses me is much more formal and full of sincerity in comparison to the way he speaks with Serena.
"Likewise," I say, removing my hand from his grasp and letting it drop to my side.
Ashton ruffles his hair, turning it into disheveled mess before pushing it back to the side to its original position. His eyes stay focused on me as I take a step back and let Serena handle her business here. "So you're looking for a wedding cake?" he asks.
Serena nods. "That's right. Can you tell me who made those cakes in that binder over there? They were beautiful and I would love for them to design mine."
I'll admit, they are gorgeous and I'm eager to meet the baker who made them because for someone to put so much time and detail to decorate these cakes, they deserve praise for creating such masterpieces.
"That would actually be me," Ashton says. Of course it is. It would be the cute guy who winks at his customers and makes it blatantly obvious that he's trying to get my attention. But I must say, he does earn some points for being a good baker. "Would you like for me to be the one to work on your cake?" he asks.
"Yes, that would be great!" Serena exclaims. "I've been looking for the perfect bakery to have my cake made at and I'm glad I found yours! I know that you will be able to make my dream cake."
"Well then, let's see what I can do for you." His statement is directed to Serena, but his eyes stay on me with a devious grin plastered on his face. I feel the heat rise to my cheeks, embarrassed that he's focusing so much on me.
We come in for a cake, but in a turn of events, I encounter an asshole baker that I don't like, but for some reason, he piques my interest.
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A/N:
First chapters are so hard for me...Anyway, new story! I literally came up with the idea for this as I was waiting for my best friend to pick me up to go taste test her wedding cake. (She's getting married in November and I'm the maid-of-honor...you probably don't care but I thought I'd share). I thought the idea of this would be cute and I'm really excited to plan this book out.
I don't know how fast I will update this story just because I really want to focus on 'Paint You Wings'. I never realized how difficult it is to write two stories at once. As I was writing, I wanted to write Emmie's or Julia's name (two characters from my other story if you're unfamiliar with their names), but I caught myself and made sure to use the proper names for this story.
I hope you guys like this first chapter. I made it short just to give you a little sneak peak and hopefully get you pumped for future chapters! Please vote, comment, and share this story. Let me know if like it! If you don't like it, let me know as well.
Thank you guys for reading!
--Rebecca xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
P.S. Also, if you want, you can follow me on twitter @rdysasi I don't really tweet much, just some replies to the 5sos boys and random thoughts here and there, but yeah :)