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A few turned into many, and many turned into a lot.
I cooked all night long.
By the time the sun rose, I’d destroyed the kitchen of Isla Iberia. Every dish I could use was dirty, and every item on the menu was made. I finished the last meal around eleven in the morning. My eyes were tired, and I had fourteen missed calls from Noah.
I shot him a text message.
Alex: I’m okay.
Noah: Show up today, or I’ll come find you.
Leave it to your best friend to worry about you when you were completely fine. It was beyond normal to cook for hours through the night, not taking a break to think or feel. I didn’t need to feel or think. I needed to bury myself deeper into cooking. But unfortunately, Yara caught my attention across the street. She was pacing back and forth, holding some kind of dish in her hands.
It was as if I couldn’t get far enough away from her. She was everywhere and seemed to talk to everyone.
Tatiana mentioned that Yara was like the town’s golden retriever. That might’ve been why she stared at me with massive puppy dog eyes the last time I saw her. She looked at me as if she knew a secret I didn’t, all giddy. It drove me bonkers.
Still, I couldn’t stop staring at her. I couldn’t stop taking her in and her erratic pacing outside my building. I studied her so much that I ended up burning my empanadas.
I. Burnt. My. Empanadas.
I didn’t burn items. I prided myself on that fact. I’d never burnt anything, but there they were—burnt to a crisp empanadas—all due to the weird woman from across the way.
CHAPTER 10
Yara
“Just drop it off and go, Yara,” I said as I stood in front of my shop with the water dish for Alex’s restaurant. “Stop, drop, and roll,” I muttered. I started walking to cross the street but paused and shot back to my side of the road. Why was I dealing with such a heavy level of panic over the idea of dropping off a freaking bowl? It was just a dish. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Hey, Yara!” Milly said, rounding the corner from her morning walk. “What’s that you got there?” she asked loudly as she wore her huge red headphones over her ears that matched her outfit. I swore Milly had a set of headphones to go with every outfit she had.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I was—”
“Oh my gosh, are you putting out a doggy dish for that monster of a new restaurant? Don’t tell me you’re supporting that place, Yara.”
“It’s a tradition, Milly. Every store on Main Street gets their own water dish.”
Milly shook her head in disappointment. “You can’t be serious. That dish is more than just a dish. It’s a sign that our town accepts this kind of development. That’s the last thing we should be doing!”
The way Milly’s voice carried made my skin crawl. I hated how she drew in attention when all I was trying to do was stop, drop, and roll.
“You better get back to your walk, Milly. We don’t want your heart rate to drop below the cardio zone,” I said.
She glanced at her watch and shook her head. “Well, you’re right. But reconsider leaving that dish in front of that restaurant. We have to stand in unity,” she scolded before looking toward the building across the street. “Is your sweet father working today? I wonder if he’d like this outfit, too.”
I pushed out a smile. “Not today, Milly. They finished up with the project over there.”
“Oh? Well, maybe he can come help me with a plumbing issue I’ve been having with my sink.”
“He’s not a plumber, but you can probably call Eric to get some help.”
She waved me off. “Oh, Eric’s company charges too much. I’m sure sweet Matthew would do an assessment for free. Even though he’s not a plumber, rumor has it he’s great with his hands.” I shivered in disgust as Milly hurried away. As she traveled, she shouted, “Ditch that dish, Yara!”
I grumbled to myself before rolling my shoulders back and marching over to Isla Iberia. With haste, I went to set the dish down, and as I was kneeling, a voice boomed over my shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
I turned to find Alex staring at me with a stern look of judgment. His brown eyes pierced me with an intensity that made my skin crawl, yet I wasn’t sure if it was in a good way or bad. That man made me feel things I wasn’t sure how to decipher.
“Oh. Hi.” I stood and smoothed my hands over my pink A-line dress. “I was just placing your water dish in front of the restaurant.”
“I’m not buying that.”
“You don’t have to buy it. It’s a gift.”
“I didn’t ask for a water dish.”
