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His chuckle grew into a full-out laugh when Mrs. Yoshida pinched Joe’s cheek, causing his friend to flush a bright embarrassed pink.
“My word,” Mrs. Yoshida said to Mrs. Abbot. “Now, isn’t he just the most handsome thing you’ve ever seen?”
“You’re a doll, Mrs. Y.” Joe grinned and wagged his eyebrows, causing both women to titter. “Make sure O’Conner over there doesn’t hear you, though. He might get jealous.”
“Now, Joe,” Mrs. Abbot gently scolded, “why have you stayed away for so long? You know your dad misses you.”
“I know, Mrs. A.” Joe’s blue eyes twinkled. “I actually get to see Dad quite a bit, though. We meet up every few months down in Palm Springs. Heclaimshe misses me and that the warm weather does him good, but between the three of us, I personally think it’s the wineries, golf, and, of course, all the retired young ladies milling about.”
Both women erupted in giggles.
Roxie walked through the front door, arching a brow as she looked for the source of the commotion. When she spotted Joe, she scowled.
Quinn bit back a groan.
“Yikes,” Alex muttered.
Roxie completely ignored Joe, giving Quinn and Alex a stiff nod before storming past the counter and into the back.
* * *
Alex wasn’t sure if she should be concerned about Roxie or not. Though she hadn’t known the woman for very long, she’d never seen her friend this out of sorts. There were obvious long-standing issues between Roxie and Joe, but something told her that whatever was currently rattling Roxie went deeper than usual.
She reached for Quinn. As if reading her mind, he helped her down from the chair.
Entering the kitchen area, she found Roxie pacing back and forth, her expression flitting between frustration, anger, and sadness.
She could guess at the source of her friend’s irritation and anger. But the sadness? She had no clue. That made her heart ache.
“Are you okay, Rox?”
A few moments of silence passed as Roxie’s emotions continued to battle one another for dominance. Anger seemed to win out, and Alex let out a sigh of relief. She’d rather see her friend angry than sad.
“He has some nerve, you know that?” Roxie hissed. “After the way he’s been treating me these past few years, he has the fuckingnerveto step foot into my shop?” She came to an abrupt stop in front of the sink. With jerky movements, she snapped on the faucet.
Alex winced as Roxie scoured her hands under the steaming water.
“Then he sits there with Mrs. Abbot and Mrs. Yoshida as they just... freaking dote on him and coddle him like he’s the best thing since sliced fucking bread. Ugh!” She spun around, dried her hands, and took out a large round of dough from the refrigerator. “I can’t even think, I’m so mad. And the fucker just sits there with that smarmy grin—eating it all up, like the world just happily revolves around his stupid ass. He has the nerve to callmeconceited and self-centered?”
Her eyes widened as Roxie pounded the dough with a rolling pin. Hard. Way too hard. She almost felt bad for the dough. “No, sweetie, you aren’t conceited at all.”
And Roxie truly wasn’t. Yes, her friend was the tiniest bit self-absorbed, but that was because she was so focused on her business. It wasn’t malicious. It was just that Comfort Food meant everything to her.
Roxie’s face lit up at Alex’s affirmation, and she took another whack at the dough.
The poor, poor dough.
“Thank you, Alex. See, that’sexactlywhat I’m talking about. The little shit gets on his damn high horse where everything has to behisway or not at all. That’s it.” She slammed down the rolling pin, wiped her floured hands on a towel, and flew past Alex. “He’s out of here.”
With reflexes she hadn’t known she possessed, she seized Roxie’s passing arm. “Whoa. What are you going to do? Go out there and yell at him? Scream at him to leave your café? Make a scene in front of your customers? Bethathysterical female? Act like a self-absorbed princess and prove him right?” She strengthened her grip on Roxie’s arm as the woman tried to pull away. “Take a breather, Rox. Just take a deep, deep breath.”
Mouth hanging open, Roxie looked like she wanted to tell Alex to shove it, but she grudgingly obeyed.
Still holding Roxie’s arm, she walked her friend into the office and nudged her toward her chair. “Roxie, you need to take the high road on this one. I don’t know what Joe’s deal is. And neither do you. But guess what? If he hasn’t told you by now, chances are he’s never going to. Ever.”
She paused, taking the seat across from Roxie. “So instead, Joe’s just going to be a jerk. What’s worse is that he’ll continue to be a jerk to you in front of other people—people who care aboutbothof you. But no matter how much you may want to, you can’t just run out there and yell at him. You’re not kids anymore. This is your business. You don’t want to do anything to jeopardize it, do you?”
Roxie looked at the ceiling, shoulders tense, and took four deep breaths. She opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it. Then took two more breaths. At last, she said, “Of course not, Alex. But he makes me so damn mad. Quinn’s pissed me off before, but never like this. Look.” She held out her trembling hands. “I’ve never been this mad at anyone before.”
