“See you tomorrow!” I waved back.
I said a few quick goodbyes to the customers still sitting in the café as I made my way out the door. It was in the low fifties today, which I hoped meant that spring was around the corner.
I made the short walk to the empty storefront and pushed open the door, seeing Gabe and Jules.
“Hey!” Jules said as she turned to face me. “How’d the batch of macarons turn out?”
I smiled proudly. “Better, I think. I brought some for us to try.”
The previous business that had been here had been an active wear clothing store. The owners had left all the interior infrastructure intact, and we’d been in here a few weeks ago to clean the place up. I walked over to the counter and opened the box.
“Oh, these looksogood! And they’re pink!” she exclaimed with a wide smile.
“I had a feeling you’d like that.” I grinned. Gabe and I both reached for one, too.
As we were about to take a bite, the door opened, and Eliza walked in. I tilted my head, brows furrowing. I hadn’t expected her to show up.
“What’s up? Is everything okay?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she groaned, tipping her head back. She then amended, “Well, yes, everything isoverallfine.” She walked over to where we crowded around the box of macarons and took one with ease, popping it into her mouth.
“Fuck, Lil. That’s amazing.” She tipped her chin. “Why haven’t you guys tried it yet?”
“Uh, because you barged in and it seemed like something was wrong,” I said with a laugh, looking over at Jules, who looked as confused as I was. Gabe was completely clueless.
Eliza finished chewing and pulled out a water bottle from her tote bag. She then took a gulp, swallowed, and finally startedtalking. “Colin’s brother applied for the head chef job…and Wes wants to hire him.”
I…wasn’t following. “That’s great, right? Hasn’t he had a successful career in the city?” I remembered Wes telling me after the interview how the interview went well, and that Leo was excited and intrigued about Wes’s ideas. My brother wanted to work with local farmers to source ingredients and also minimize food waste while embarking on the journey of adding a food menu to Lake Ridge.
“I mean, yeah, his career is impressive. From what I’ve heard, at least. It’s not like I’ve spoken to him.” Eliza ran a hand through her hair, gently tugging on the strands. I watched as she swayed on her feet and twisted her gold rings on her fingers.
My eyes widened. “You’re nervous!”
My best friend looked at me and sputtered, “No fucking way. I’m not nervous.”
Jules and I both raised our brows.
“Okay,fine!” Eliza finally exclaimed, raising her arms and letting them fall to her sides. “Maybe I’m a little nervous and very unsure. I think he’s going to be great for Lake Ridge—that’s not the problem. The problem is…we nearly kissed when I last saw him.”
“What?” the three of us—Gabe included—exclaimed, our jaws nearly dropping.
“Colin and I had recently broken up, and…” Eliza waved her hand. “It didn’t happen, and it doesn’t matter. He was going off to Portland and didn’t respond to my text, and it’sfine. It’s been a few years. I doubt he even remembers me or knows that I’m in Golden Falls.”
A teasing smile came across Jules’s face. “Or he knows you’re here, and that’s why he wanted the job.”
Eliza rolled her eyes with a groan. “No damn way. Plus, that would be stalking.”
“Well,” I said with a smile of my own, “we’ll have to ask him when he gets here.”
“No!” Eliza exclaimed, pointing at the three of us. “None of you will mention this. You too, Gabe. You’re all sworn to secrecy.” She reached for another macaron. “I need to get going, but I’ll keep you updated…not that there’s anything to be updated about.” She backed away toward the door. “Everything’s going to be fine!”
“You’re not off the hook! We have questions, and you can’t avoid us forever,” I called after her.
Eliza pushed the door open and left—but not before flipping us off.
“She’s screwed, isn’t she?” Gabe asked.
Jules and I both nodded, saying in unison, “Very much so.”
