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“Yes, it’s called Steaming Hotties.”
Her eyes sparkled and she pointed a garlic press at me. “I love it! What fun. Tell me more.”
So I told her as I filled the other two glasses, then leaned against the counter and watched as she pulled together a vinaigrette, then poured it over a salad in a large wooden bowl.
“Pink t-shirts?” she asked. “Oh, I must have one.”
“You want to wear one of my shirts?” I asked, completely surprised.
She tucked her hair behind her ear, then went to the wall oven to peek inside.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
She grabbed oven mitts and pulled out a tray with garlic bread.
“Well, um…”
I didn’t want to tell her my mother wouldn’t be caught dead in a t-shirt, my store or not, and definitely not a pink one.
She set the tray on a wooden cutting board, then yanked off the mitts.
“You will send me one, and for my two daughters as well. The perfect stocking stuffers for next month, don’t you think?”
I could only nod because my throat was clogged with tears. Ridiculous, but she wanted my t-shirts. She was interested in my shop. She was interested in me, just as I was.
The men came in then, Silas coming to my side and kissing the top of my head. “Okay?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“That tray of lasagna has been sitting there for thirty minutes. Don’t make me wait any longer,” Robert said, going to it and peeking beneath the foil.
Kathleen laughed and smacked his hand, then passed him the oven mitts. “It had to rest.”
He carried the dish to the table and said, “Eat your fill, Silas. When Kathleen cooks, I’m on dish duty and you will be too since your wife helped. This happens every night because I can’t cook.”
“I’ll have you, Eve, make the coffee later since you’re the expert,” Kathleen said.
“Eve told you about her shop?” Silas asked Kathleen. It seemed he wanted to make sure the woman knew about me and my business.
“Oh yes. She’s sending me a t-shirt.”
Silas laughed. “My brother wears one. I think it’s his favorite shirt. You should see the place, James. It’s busy all the time. Eve’s made a deal to stock the James Inn in Hunter Valley and we hope to add the other inns around the country next year.”
I blinked. We did?
“Impressive,” James added, giving me a smile that only looked… proud. He took a slice of garlic bread and passed the plate to Silas.
“We’ll need to work with the distributor for a larger supply, but Eve has plans with them in Costa Rica.”
“Maybe another honeymoon. I’m sure after the blizzard you just had you’d like somewhere warm,” Kathleen suggested, using a spatula to put a huge portion of lasagna on a plate and handing it to Silas.
“Good thinking,” he replied. “We can go there and–”
“No more talking business at the table,” Kathleen advised, plating another section of lasagna. “Although I thought I’d have to warn you two off about the buyout, not Eve cornering the coffee market.”
Cornering the coffee market? With a huge smile, Kathleen handed me the plate and I set it in front of me.
What was happening? Did Silas saywe?That we’ll need to work with the distributor? That we hope to add other inns?
