Page 52 of Love in Bloom

“Pick me! Pick me!” London raised her hand, but Emily shook her head.

“Too late. I’ve delegated it,” Emily said.

“Emily, food is really important and frightfully expensive. I don’t think you should delegate that. There’s too many ways to go wrong,” Wren advised. She remembered the endless tasting sessions with her ex mother-in-law. Everything had to be just right. Nothing short of perfection was acceptable.

“And let’s not forget food tasting needs lots of opinions,” London piped in. The argument stalled as the server delivered their food.

“Seriously, Emily. I don’t think you should delegate this,” Wren reiterated.

“I think she can trust me to handle this,” Krista said and sat back with her arms crossed. Again.She’s madder than a three-legged dog trying to bury a turd on an icy pond.

“Yep, Krista’s handling everything and I am so relieved.” Emily smiled at Krista and it was easy to see the relief and gratitude on her face. “I was obsessing about having everything perfect for everybody. I was even dreaming about food in my sleep.” Emily took a sip of coffee. “One night, Jackson found me sitting on my kitchen floor mindlessly eating ice cream straight from the container.”

“What’d he do?” Wren asked, feeling guilty. Emily’s history with binge eating disorder was no longer a secret in their group.I should’ve been paying closer attention, Wren berated herself. She reached out and squeezed Emily’s hand. Emily squeezed back.

“He grabbed a spoon and joined me. We talked it out and when I said I wasn’t comfortable thinking so much about food, he suggested I delegate it. So I did and there haven’t been any more episodes, so you can all erase the worried looks off your faces.”

“Does that work for you, Wren?” Krista asked in a saccharine tone. Wren took a deep breath to quell the desire to dump her ice water over Krista’s head.

“If Emily’s happy, I’m happy.” Wren added a large dollop of strawberry jam to her English muffin. “Care to tell me why you’re unhappy with me today?” Krista had been giving her the cold shoulder on-and-off ever since the bachelor auction when her friends had discovered her marriage/divorce. Wren was all done placating Krista and her mercurial moods. Krista stared at her as though deciding whether or not to be honest and address Wren’s concern or to brush it off.

“You were late this morning, and you’re never late. And you ordered and ate enough food to feed a Viking linebacker, like you hadn’t eaten in a really long time. Also, not your norm.” Krista shifted in her seat. “Makes me wonder if you’re keeping secrets from us, again,” she accused.

“You forgot to mention the whisker burn on her neck in your list of damning evidence,” London said with a slow smile as she nudged Wren in the ribs. Wren felt the heat climb up her neck as she remembered last night and why she’d missed dinner.

“Care to share with the class?” Krista smirked. She seemed amused by Wren’s obvious discomfort and proud that she’d discovered her secret. Wren liked the sullen Krista better than the gloating one.

“Sorry, I’m late,” Nelie apologized as she slipped into the vacant chair, flipped over her coffee mug, and smiled at the server filling it. “I had to open up, but then I left. What’d I miss?”

“Krista’s overworked, Rica’s underworked, Emily’s still in love, and Wren’s about to explain the love bites on her neck,” London said.

“You don’t know where love bites come from?” Nelie teased.

“No, it’s been too long.” London sighed and pushed the oven fries around her plate.

“Well, when a man and a woman really like each other, they get real close—”

“Stop!” Wren held up her hand. London and Nelie chuckled. “Please, stop. We all know where love bites come from.”

“One-night stand?” Nelie asked as she speared potatoes from London’s plate and a sausage from Krista’s.

“No.” She took a big breath and wiped her palms on her jeans. “I am seeing someone.”

“Spill,” instructed London.

“There’s nothing much to tell. We’ve been seeing each other for a while, but it’s not going to go anywhere.”

“Who is it?” London asked as she handed her plate to Nelie.

“I can’t say.” Wren rushed on when Krista gave her the stink-eye, “But he’s not married, don’t worry. I’ve been on the other side of that and there’s no way I would ever get involved with a married or even a separated man.” Krista sat back in her chair and swatted Nelie’s fork away from her remaining sausage.

“This is a restaurant. They have food. Order some, and stop eating everyone else’s,” Krista hissed before waving their server over to the table.

“Sorry. I’m starving and this way I get to sample everything,” Nelie said sheepishly. Without looking at the menu, she ordered a chocolate croissant, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage. She stabbed Krista’s lone sausage and bit into it before Krista could stop her. “Don’t worry. I’m replacing them,” Nelie assured her. Krista narrowed her eyes at the sausage stealer before moving them to Wren.

“You were saying?” Krista encouraged Wren to continue her story.

“I don’t remember.” Wren rubbed her chin as though she were puzzled. She hoped to stall the interrogation.

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