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“Hey, you said you like this design,” Ethan reminded her. “And you like the colors we picked out when we did the interior.”
“I do,” she agreed. “But I still can’t believe I let you talk me into quitting my job to work here and I think that’s the part she probably isn’t actually thrilled about.”
“Hey,” Myles bumped her shoulder with his. “You came up with a great menu for the kitchen.”
She couldn’t deny that she was happier than she’d ever been, even if this wasn’t the future she’d always envisioned for herself, but she was always going to be the type of person who was nervous about new adventures.
“If nothing else, it will give you something to do while you explore your options,” Ethan said. He’d been thrilled when she’d quit the job, but she knew he worried about her feeling pressured to work at the bar now that they lived together full-time.
“Maybe I’ll become a pumpkin farmer,” she teased.
“If that’s what you want to do, then I’ll support you.” He managed to keep a straight face, though only just barely. “I do have one question, though. Can you farm pumpkins in Louisiana?”
“I don’t think so.” She dissolved into laughter as Myles rolled his eyes. “I guess that’s not the right job for me then.”
“You’re gonna have to do better than that if you want to get out of working here.” Ethan kissed her and she clung to him, grateful he was still there and not locked in a prison somewhere. All those favors had gotten him and Myles probation. Ethan had gotten three years for pleading guilty to various crimes Dylan had confessed to them committing, Myles had gotten an additional two years for a conspiracy plea for his limited involvement in the embezzlement.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she promised.
“I know.” He smiled and leaned his forehead against hers. They stayed that way for a long moment, still awed that they had each other after coming so close to losing their lives and their freedom.
“Are Sarah and Chloe coming to the big reopening tonight?” Myles asked.
“They said they’d be here.” Eloise squeezed Ethan’s hand as a newly developed nervousness hit her hard. It had been rough for them since everything had come out into the open. She’d done her best to make sure they didn’t suffer the same fate as Dylan, but their betrayal had cut her deeper than she’d originally realized. She couldn’t find it in her heart to hate them after what they’d been through, but she couldn’t trust them either. “Jackson and David, too.”
“Those two wouldn’t miss it for all the money in the world.” Ethan laughed at her skeptical expression. “They’d crawl over hot coals to make you happy.”
“Just me?” Eloise pinned him with a hard look. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but you’re their favorite friend since you moved in and started going over there to talk about man stuff.”
“Man stuff? The last time I was there, they gave me wine and cheese and made me watch a chick flick.”
“They told me you cried, so I want you to know that your secrets are not safe with them.”
She heard him mutter under his breath, something about traitors, and laughed as he pulled her inside to finish the prep work. They were expecting a packed bar for the opening night. Not just their friends but the people from the community coming out to show support for the business.
Paula had been pressing fliers into the hands of every customer that came through the door of her restaurant and the response had been favorable. They wanted more legitimate businesses in the neighborhood to support the revitalization effort. Property in nearby areas had been bought up by big investors and they didn’t want that to happen in their own backyards.
Now Ethan and Myles would get to be part of that, and they’d already arranged to have monthly donations made available to the local youth center. It was important to both of them that they do what they could to make sure other kids had better opportunities than the ones they were given.
Eloise had been worried that keeping the building would be difficult for all of them after what happened, but the inside had been gutted and completely renovated. The scuffed old floors and warped bar top were gone, along with all the tasteless naked women decorating the walls. They’d put in new pool tables and created a space for a dance floor beside an old-fashioned jukebox. There was a stage for the weekend bands or brave Wednesday night karaoke singers.
Ethan had insisted they splurge on all new glassware and an upgrade to all the bar’s service systems, while Eloise and Myles had gone for décor and new kitchen appliances. Top of the line stainless steel made the old kitchen space shine and before long the bar had begun to feel more like home than a place where terrible things had happened to her.
Of course, she suspected that maybe some of the money Ethan was pumping into the business hadn’t actually come from selling his house, but if he and Myles had a secret bank account stashed away somewhere with the money they’d gotten working with Dylan, she didn’t want to know about it.
It had bought her a lovely new stove and that was all that mattered at this point. Well, mostly. It had also bought her a fryer and a walk-in freezer.
All of which she had put to good use when she’d designed the new menu for the now functioning ‘grill’ part of the business. Despite what she’d said to Ethan outside, she was perfectly happy in the kitchen. Coming up with new recipes was a thrilling way to exercise her creative mind and she enjoyed the monotony of the prep work almost as much as she enjoyed knowing people were going to be eating the food she’d made.
The idea of the kitchen being swamped with orders was a little unsettling since she hadn’t worked a rush shift since she’d finished college, but this time there would be no angry man in an apron shouting orders and trying to grope her ass. She was in charge here and that made all the difference.
Sarah and Chloe showed up just before opening and found her standing in the walk-in, doing a final check to make sure everything was in place before the first customers started arriving.
“You came.” Eloise stepped out of the freezer and closed the door behind her. She hadn’t seen them since they’d finished their six-month stint of house arrest and she wasn’t sure what to do with herself. A handshake seemed too formal and a hug too awkward.
“You know we wouldn’t miss it.” Sarah smiled and handed over a cup of iced coffee. A small peace offering or a gesture of goodwill. “It’s a little late in the day for coffee but I thought you might need this.”
“Yes.” Eloise took a long sip. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
