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Tommy’s grin widens as he throws an arm around his new wife’s shoulders and pulls her against him, almost like he’s marking his territory all over again. He always had this weird thing with thinking I was interested in Pen and while I can’t deny she’s cute, she’s not really my type. Plus, a blind man could tell she was obsessed with his grumpy ass.
“Spectacular,” he says, his eyes sparkling with amusement as Pen blushes a little at his side.
“Great,” I reply with a nod, not needing any more details about that. “Anyway, I gotta get to work. Tess,” I say, quieter now as I turn back to her, “see you for lunch?”
She hasn’t said anything since they walked in and when I face her, she’s looking up at me, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed and a nervous look on her face. I can’t tell if it’s because we’ve been busted by two of our co-workers or because she isn’t sure if I’m suddenly going to deny what they clearly saw going on between us.
I lean in and press a soft kiss to her lips in answer to her silent questions. “See you at noon, babe,” I whisper, before turning and walking out, deliberately not looking at Tommy or Pen as I walk past them.
As predicted, about twenty seconds later, both Tommy and Jack appear in the shed, huge grins on their faces as they stop just inside the door.
Sucking in a deep breath, I let it out in an overly annoyed huff as I turn to them. “Alright, let’s just get this over with,” I say, waving my hand at the pair of them.
Jack glances at Tommy, chuckling before he turns back to me. “Get what over with?” he asks, the mock confusion in his voice even more exaggerated with his accent.
“Yeah,” Tommy chimes in. “What are you talking about? We just came in here to start work.”
I roll my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest as I hit both of them with a hard stare. “Bull. Shit.” I say pointedly, not caring that I’m technically speaking to my bosses.
“Whoa, someone’s got their panties in a wad,” Jack says, his grin widening. “Still not getting laid, huh?”
I close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose as I try not to let my annoyance show. “Not that it’s any of your business,” I say, tipping my head in his direction. “But I do recall you telling me to take it slow and to, and I quote, use some charm and romance.”
The look on Jack’s face has me immediately regretting me opening my mouth and when Tommy actually laughs, I know I am seriously never hearing the end of this.
“Well, at the risk of saying I told you so,” Jack says, rocking on his heels a little. “I’d say it’s apparently working, and we all know how fucking good I am at getting people together, right Tom?”
He claps Tommy hard on the back now and Tom shakes his head, smirking as he replies, “Honestly Jack, it’s a wonder you get through the door at times, your head is so fucking big.”
“It’s not the only thing,” he says with a wink. “Just ask Lu.”
“Fuck,” Tommy groans, shoving Jack. “Right, piss off, we need to work.”
Jack laughs, shaking his head as he heads for the door. “Jesus, Tom, and I thought a week of non-stop sex might have made youlessgrumpy.”
“Fuck off,” Tommy repeats, laughing this time as he flips Jack off and walks over to where I’m working at the labeling machine. “Right, now he’s gone, you wanna fill me in on what’s really been happening since you and Tessa pretended not to be into each other at my wedding?”
Just before midday, I finish up what I’m doing, wash my hands at the small work sink in the shed before making my way back to the cider tasting room. Tessa isn’t here yet, so I head into the kitchen to say hi to Leo.
“Hey,” he calls out with a grin as he juggles a couple of pots on the stove.
Watching him at work reminds me of the conversation I had with my sister the other day. “Hey,” I reply. “You busy?”
He lifts a shoulder in a shrug, even as he yells out an order to one of the other chefs who looks like he’s standing around doing fuck all. “Nothing I can’t handle,” he says.
“Well listen, if you are looking for help, my sister, she…” I trail off as Leo stops what he’s doing and looks over at me.
“You have a sister?” he asks in an intrigued tone.
“Yeah,” I say, narrowing my eyes a little. “She’s a chef down in San Fran…” I trail off, remembering Hannah’s request that I see if Somerville’s or Apple Jacks has any openings. I want to help my sister out, but it also feels kind of weird, like I’m looking for favors.
Leo’s grin widens as though he’s thinking about something I really don’t want to know about. “Cool, where’s she working?”
I shrug, not able to remember the name of the place. “Dunno, but it’s for some asshole, apparently.”
Leo laughs. “Doesn’t narrow it down, a lot of chefs are assholes.”
“You’re not,” I point out.
