Page 58 of Whisking It All

He’d been promising himself ‘just ten more minutes’ for hours.

His office door opened, a cloud of Chanel rushing through the small crack before Helen shouted triumphantly, “Found him!” She threw the door open and Ruth, Judy, and Dot appeared at her side, disapproval on all of their faces.

He forced his most charming smile on his face, though he felt anything but charming, and affected the posture of someone who had been casually working rather than hiding out. “Good morning, ladies. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“We have a bone to pick with you,” Ruth said, her tone thick with disappointment, the kind he suspected she’d used to great effect when scolding second graders.

“Was there something wrong with your meal?” he asked. It was unlikely with Anabel at the helm, but anything was possible.

“The food was wonderful. As always,” Dot said with a smile. She suddenly seemed to remember that they were supposed to be angry about something, and her smile quickly morphed into furrowed brows and pursed lips.

“What are you doing here?” Ruth asked.

Jamie glanced around. “In my restaurant?”

“He’s hiding, that’s what he’s doing,” Judy said.

“Hiding?” Jamie asked, his eyes darting between the women as he tried to keep up with their rapid-fire accusations.

“Yes, hiding,” Judy repeated.

“You weren’t at Sugar Grapes this morning,” Ruth said.

“For the grand opening,” Judy added.

“The grand opening, Jamie,” Dot repeated, each word dripping with the kind of guilt trip that only a grandmother could bestow.

“I haven’t gotten there yet, but I was just getting ready to head over,” he said. It was sort of true.

“You should have been there when Tessa Jayne unlocked the doors,” Ruth chastised.

“Gavin and Baz were there when she unlocked the doors,” Dot added.

“I know.”

The guys had texted him and invited him to go over with them, but he’d said he was too busy helping Anabel prep for brunch. And he had been, though he could have let Brodie take over the prep work—it was Brodie’s job, after all. There was a part of him that was afraid that if he walked into Sugar Grapes with his friends, Baz would see what Gavin had seen on the beach, and the last thing he needed was anyone else knowing how goddamn much of his brain space was occupied by Tessa Cordeiro.

“How was it?” he asked.

“You should go and see for yourself,” Judy said.

“I’m sure Ethan and Tessa would both appreciate it,” Dot offered with an encouraging smile.

He got to his feet to emphasize the point. “I’m on my way, ladies. Thank you for stopping in.”

Dot, Ruth, and Judy turned and disappeared down the hallway, Judy’s voice trailing behind. “Oh! We have to stop back at the table. I forgot my leftovers. I hope they haven’t thrown them away yet.”

Jamie chuckled to himself. Judy always forgot her leftovers. His staff knew to mark the container and stick it in the fridge for when she inevitably circled back later that day to retrieve them. The fact that she’d remembered before she left the premises was an improvement.

He glanced up to see Helen still standing in his doorway, watching him, her lips screwed up to the side and emphasizing the deep lines around her mouth where her pink lipstick had smudged.

“Was there something else, Helen?” he asked.

She took another step into his office and leveled him with the kind of look that he knew had gotten children to confess to misdeeds for generations. His heart pounded, as though she could somehow read every inappropriate thought he’d ever had about Tessa all over his face, but he kept his expression blank. She gestured to the box on his desk with a bob of her perfectly penciled eyebrows. “You need a ribbon,” she said.

Of all the things he thought Helen White might say, he hadn’t anticipated a criticism of his gift-wrapping skills.

“Then I’ll find some ribbon,” he said.

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