Ganache with Panache: Book 2 in The Chocolate Cafe Series by Valley Sams Read Free Book Online

the rescue. So kind of her, especially seeing what she’s having to go through right now. She said her brother was really excited about working with me and she wanted to be sure that he was still a part of it, in a way. She drew these up for me last night.”
    The pages depicted a stylized plan for a simple, but stunning wedding gown. More bohemian than princess, it reminded Mac of the turn of the century Pre-Raphaelite paintings she had studied in her first year at Harvard. With the controlled chaos of the garden and Amelia’s copper hair, it was absolutely perfect.
    “It’s beautiful,” Mac breathed, passing it to Brie.
    “Wow. She’s just as talented as her brother.” Brie said, equally impressed.
    She passed the sketches to Vanessa, who seemed to freeze as soon as she saw them. Her eyes widened and she looked up sharply at Amelia.
    “These. Did you say his sister did these?”
    Amelia nodded, puzzled at Vanessa’s intensity.
    “Yes. Last night. What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
    Vanessa forced an awkward laugh. “I’m fine. I’m great. I’m a designer, too. Just professional jealousy, I guess.”
    “Vanessa just opened a boutique downtown,” Brie explained. “She’s pretty talented herself, you know.”
    Amelia wasn’t buying it. She was about as intuitive as Harper was affected, and she could easily see that whatever was troubling Vanessa, it wasn’t jealousy.
    “No. That’s not sour grapes. There’s something else. What’s wrong?”
    Vanessa hesitated. She looked at each of the women staring at her expectantly, and took a deep breath
    “These aren’t his sister’s designs,” she told them, warily. “These are his.”
    “What?” Mac said, “That’s not possible.”
    “Exactly,” Amelia cut Mac off in her excitement, “She told me she did them last night and Zach died over a week ago now.”
    “I swear to you, I’m not lying. Look…” Vanessa practically bounded over to the table and laid the images out. She took her phone from her pocket and began furiously typing something into the search engine.
    The other girls gathered around her, breathless, as images began popping up.
    “I only remember this because one of the first reports I did in design school was on Zach Lau. I didn’t do too well, but I did my research. Look…” She held the phone so that the others could get a clear look.
    Amelia gasped.
    There on the screen was the exact same design. Under it was the date and the name of its creator…Zachary Lau.
    “But…why would she do that? Why would she try to pass her brother’s work off as her own?”
    “Maybe she needs the money?” Brie said, shrugging.
    “Maybe she couldn’t come up with her own design?” Vanessa suggested.
    “Well, that ends it then.” Amelia said. “There’s no way I’m paying her that kind of money for something that she copied.” She crossed her arms, freckled and warm from an afternoon in the garden. She stared over their heads for a second, then her face lit up with a sudden, apparently wonderful idea.
    “Would you be able to come up with some ideas?” she asked, turning to Vanessa. “I mean, I haven’t seen your work but if you’re friends with these two, I can only imagine that you’ve got some pretty impressive skills.”
    Vanessa was taken aback. Brie wasn’t. She whooped with enthusiasm.
    “Fantastic idea. This girl is gifted! You won’t be sorry.” Vanessa, obviously embarrassed, shot Brie a pained look.
    “I mean, if you don’t mind, I’d love to. I can get some drawings to you by tomorrow if that’s all right.”
    Amelia embraced her again, as if she had just found a new best friend. “Tomorrow is more than all right. Everything happens for a reason. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”
    “Speaking of that…” Brie took the cooler she had been carrying and placed it firmly on top of the forged drawings. “You’ve got some more chocolate tasting to do, young lady. And we’ve got to start thinking