Always the Baker, Finally the Bride Read Free Page A

and opened it on the desktop. He’d been preparing all week to meet with Rod Bingham, and he probably didn’t need to review the notes yet again. But he did anyway.
    The possibility of franchising The Tanglewood into a start-up of six wedding destination hotels across the country flicked the back of his brain with excitement. Who could have ever imagined such a thing just a couple of years back when they’d opened their doors?
    Desi
.
    More than likely, Desiree would have imagined it. The place had always been her dream more than his, but the death of his late wife had choked the life out of things for a while. Once his sisters, and eventually Emma, hopped onboard, however, he’d caught the fire, and The Tanglewood Inn had become a well-known and successful venture. Now someone wanted to clone the place, setting up Jackson for making a fairly obscene amount of money in the process. Maybe it would allow him to become a little more hands-off for a while and to pursue other interests and challenges. Maybe after the wedding, he and Emma could even travel a little and leave The Tanglewood in other capable hands for a bit now and then. Not forever. Just for a while. They’d swum around in that Paris-for-a-year dream often enough that it surfaced almost immediately every time he considered cutting back on hours and responsibilities.
    “Jackson Drake! How are you, my friend?”
    “Rod. Good to see you,” he said, standing to shake Bingham’s hand.
    “I’m really enthused about our meeting, Jack.” Tapping his briefcase with a grin, Rod added, “I think I’ve got something here that’s going to put some real wind in your sails. Are you ready to talk?”
    “I’m ready,” he said, and they both sat down and faced each other from opposite sides of the large maple desk. “Tell me what you’ve got.”
    “Well, first of all,” Rod blurted, “this thing is bigger than even I had guessed. Hold on to your hat, Jack. And tell me what you think about this idea. Not only would Allegiant Industries be interested in planting wedding destination hotels all across the United States, Canada, and Europe over the next five years—while making you a very rich beneficiary in the process, by the way—but they would also be interested in purchasing the original hotel from you.”
    “Purchasing . . . this place?”
    “That’s right, buddy. Allegiant wants to buy—”
    “The Tanglewood?”
    “Yes, indeedy.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “What do you mean, what do I mean? They want to buy—”
    Jackson gulped back the bubble of air stuck in his throat. “You want me to sell?”
    “Yes. And not just for a song, Jack. For a
symphony
!”
    He sat there quietly for a moment and rubbed his temple while the idea settled down on him.
    “You want me to . . . 
sell The Tanglewood
?”

    “Dude. What is wrong with you? Have you had a mental break?”
    “No, I haven’t had a mental break, Fiona. And you’re not helping.”
    “Just decide. It’s not like this isn’t your forte, right? I mean, cakes are what you
do
. Picking a wedding cake design should be a piece of it for you.”
    The conversation was momentarily sidelined by the ghastly slurping sounds Sherilyn made from where she sat across from them, cradling a bowl on her basketball-shaped belly and scraping out the leftover chocolate muffin batter with a large rubber spatula.
    “Sher, you’re gonna make yourself sick,” Emma scolded.
    “No, I won’t. It’s just what was left in the bowl after you poured the rest out.”
    “Still. That can’t be good for the baby.”
    “It’s fine. It won’t make me sick.”
    “Then it’ll make
us
sick,” Fee cracked. “Dude, you’re gross.”
    “
Any
way,” Emma said with the shake of her head. “It’s just not that simple, Fee,” she retorted. “I’m a cake designer. How am I supposed to pick just one for . . . Oh, you just don’t understand.”
    “No. You’re right. I don’t understand. You’ve got