Double Blind Read Online Free PDF Page A

marzipan fondant. I personally prefer the taste of almonds to corn syrup, but that’s just me.”
    Where the hell is he?
    The glass door suddenly opens and I whirl around to see Vince, looking fresh in his black suit. A dark look weighing on his face brightens slightly when he sees me. He walks inside and gives me a strained smile.
    “Hey.” He wraps an arm around my waist and gives me a quick peck on my cheek.
    “There’s our angry young man!” Maria gives him a half amused, half exasperated look.
    He does look angry. Last night, he came home and didn’t speak a word to me. I know better than to ask questions, but still. I can’t help but wonder if I did something wrong. Then he notices me watching him and his eyebrows lift slightly.
    “I’m not angry, just busy.” He straightens his suit. “Where is this broad?”
    I elbow Vince’s ribs, but it’s too late.
    “I’m right here!” A cheerful voice with a heavy, Jersey accent emerges from behind the counter. The woman belonging to the voice is dressed in a leopard print, skintight one-suit. She wears large, golden hoops for earrings and her face looks like she dived headfirst into a makeup bag.
    “Holy shit,” Vince mutters under his breath.
    She extends a claw-like hand to Maria, who takes it immediately. “We’re so happy you could fit us in for today. I’ve heard so much about the bakery.”
    “Of course! Are you the lucky bride?”
    “No, I’m the maid of honor,” Maria blushes slightly as she looks at me.
    She gestures to me with very long, fake fingernails. “Hello, how are you? I’m Danielle.”
    “Adriana,” I say quickly, taking her hand lightly.
    Vince extends his hand. “Vincent. Nice to meet you.”
    Danielle clasps her hands together. “Oh, you two are so cute. You must be so excited!”
    We’re slightly at a loss for words.
    “Yeah—uh, we are.”
    Maria’s eyes bulge at me and her fingers whiten on the clipboard.
    “—and I’m really grateful that you fitted us in last minute.”
    “No problem, no problem. Well, come in. We have a lot of different flavors for you to try. This is so exciting!”
    She seems more excited by this than I am. Honestly, this is probably the part of wedding preparations that I looked forward to the most. Who doesn’t like eating a bunch of free cake? The only one who doesn’t look happy to be here is Vince, who sits down around the table with a long sigh, like it’s a waste of his time.
    Geez. What’s wrong with him?
    The table is already set up with at least two dozen small slices of cake. Some of the cake slices are red, some look like chocolate, others are white. I salivate as Danielle places glasses of water and a fork in front of us. I grab mine eagerly.
    “All right, so we have a lot of flavors here and I really want you to try everything. The white cakes will have different flavors than the chocolate, and the same goes for the red-velvet. We have a chocolate salted caramel, chocolate strawberry, champagne strawberry, lemon flavored cake with a lemon buttercream, lavender…”
    And she goes on and on until I feel like my brain might combust. She points at each slice as she names the flavor, and I have to inwardly applaud her for her amazing memorization skills.
    I stab my fork into a random chocolate one and taste it. An explosion of rich chocolate and slightly salted caramel melts over my tongue. It’s delicious.
    “Vince, you gotta try this one.”
    I take it with my fingers and bring it to his mouth. Vince looks forbidding, but I press the cake against his lips and he takes a bite. He chews and swallows, his shoulders lifting up slightly in a shrug.
    “Yeah, it’s good.”
    Disappointed, I turn back towards the cakes. Maria shoves three of them towards me. “Try them, Ade. I’m thinking since you want lavender bridesmaid dresses, it’ll look fabulous in your wedding photos. It’ll complete your theme.” She gestures towards the white cake with the light purple filling.
    “