Chapter 133

Colson shook his head, then seemed to remember the crisis at hand. "Since you've thrown Roman to the wolves, the least you can do is help me with the cake situation."

As we walked into the house, I was struck by the organized chaos inside. Every surface seemed to be covered in some form of party preparation – half-inflated balloons, piles of party favors, what looked like enough candy to give diabetes to half of Manhattan. A harried-looking woman with a clipboard hurried past us, speaking rapidly into a headset about "princess protocol."

"So," I said, stepping over a box of party hats, "Exactly how many people are coming to this party?"

Colson's laugh had a slightly hysterical edge to it. "Originally? About twenty of their little friends from preschool. But then Lisa overheard someone at the park talking about a sweet sixteen, and suddenly they both decided that four was basically sixteen, so..."

"So now it's..."

"A full-blown extravaganza with about a hundred guests, three b