This Love

Chapter 5

HARRY STYLES

The last order of business for my and Gabrielle's wedding is the cake. I initially told her that I trust her to choose a flavor that we'd both like, but she absolutely insisted that this should be the one thing that we do together. I agreed because it felt like the right thing to do at the time, but I didn't realize the process would be so tedious.

"So here we have the chocolate chai flavor," the associate at the bakery brings us each a cube of the sponge cake with buttercream icing.

While I'm nodding and chewing to show that I like it, even though I'm not necessarily the biggest fan, Gabrielle makes the same face she's been making for the last two hours to show me that she's not sure how she feels. I'm losing patience simply because I have a sugar headache, and it seems impossible to me that she hasn't liked a single flavor that we've tried yet.

"It's a bit strange," she says for the millionth time. "What do you think, baby?"

"I like it," I sip from my water.

Gabrielle offers some kind of tired laugh. "You've said that about all of them."

I nod, running my tongue across my teeth. "Because I liked all of them for the most part. They're all really good to me."

"But which one did you like the most?"

I sit back and cross my arms over my chest, thinking it over. "The key lime one? I think I liked that the best. It was different."

"That's so basic, though," she pouts and pokes at the chocolate chai cube with her fork. "Isabella had a key lime cake at her wedding, so if we do that then she'll think that I'm copying her."

"Well, what about the ginger spice one? That was good."

"We can't have a ginger spice cake for a summer wedding, H. Ginger spice is for the fall or winter."

"Okay, then I don't know, babe," I can hear the impatient clip in my tone as I rub my eyes, but I'm not sure how much longer I can sit here and eat cake before I get sick.

As expected, Gabrielle just blinks at me from behind her Dior prescription glasses. "I'm sorry, did you have somewhere else to be? Something more important to be doing?"

Choosing my words carefully, I say, "No, but we've been here for two hours and I've lost count of how many different cakes we've tried, and you don't like a single one of them. How is that even possible?"

"Harry," she scoffs with wide eyes, "this is one of the most important decisions we're going to make!"

"I don't agree," I shrug and finish off my water. "I think the cake is just the cake, and I think we've tried a million great flavors already."

"Well, you know what I think?" She speaks bitterly but keeps her voice low so that the girls in the shop won't know that we're fighting. "I think that you haven't wanted anything to do with this wedding at all, and I think it's only been me planning every single part of it."

"I thought we both decided that's how you wanted to do it," I gesture to her. "I asked you loads of times if you wanted my help with anything, and you just laughed and said you could handle it on your own. The thought of me helping was laughable to you."

"That's because I knew you wouldn't care what my bridesmaids' dresses looked like, or what colors and flowers I picked, and you said that I could follow my dream wedding ideas, but this is something we're supposed to do together."

"We are doing it together, Gab," I sit forward against the table. "I just physically don't think I can eat any more cake, and I don't know how you've disliked every flavor the way you have."