“I got one too,” Kia managed. “I’m sorry. I’m the one to blame. I got you into this fake marriage, and now we’re both in hot water.” It came out in one breath.
“Did you read the complaint?” Sullivan demanded.
“Some of it.” There were so many legal terms and they all meantyou’re fucked. Kia blew on a forkful of kale and tasted it.
“Let me get this straight… you’re named in a lawsuit. And now you’re cooking?” Sullivan said with all the incredulity of a news anchor announcing some clickbait story. Sullivan picked up a clean spoon, touched it to the barbecue sauce, and tasted it. “What is that? Burnt high-fructose corn syrup?”
“Grape jelly and kale.”
“You’re burning grape jelly and kale while we get sued?” Sullivan paced around the kitchen floor.
“I had to stop reading the complaint. I got overwhelmed.”
“They’re accusing us of fraud.” Sullivan’s pacing continued. “And you’re making kale grape jelly. And so much cabbage.”
“It’s my therapy. Don’t you cook to calm down?”
Sullivan looked at the cabbage shreds bursting out of the food processor.
“I cook to make food.”
“I’m not out-the-box ready to fight.” Kia grabbed a handful of cabbage and clutched it hard enough that her knuckles went white. “I’m processing.”
“Your feelings or the cabbage? And this isn’t food,” Sullivan added. “This is a cruciferous massacre.”
“I know I fucked up.”
“You’re a tornado. You’re an earthquake. You’re climate change. You’re ruining everything. And you’re taking the healthiest vegetable and turning it into a blackened Jolly Rancher.”
It was too much. Kia felt her whole face tremble.
“I’m trying to pull it together. I know it’s bad. I’m sorry. I came crashing into your life, snatching your Bois and your hand in marriage all so I could chase my crazy dream. I’ve promised too much to too many people.” Kia focused her eyes on the floor, because looking at the anger in Sullivan’s eyes would make her cry for sure. “I know I’m going to hurt everyone. And I should call Gretchen, my publicity manager, but I know she’s busy, and I haven’t, and my cousin’s in love, and my dad’s on a yacht with a million spaniels and no cell phone, and you hate me.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, still clutching the wad of cabbage. “And I didn’t need the American Fare Award. It should have gone to someone else, but I’m still a great cook.” She stifled a sob. “You can’t judge my panic kale. You can’t make fun of someone’s kale when they’re… they’re…”Crying.
Sullivan laughed, low and deep in her throat. Kia looked up, ready to tell her that it was mean to laugh, even if it was all Kia’s fault. But when she met Sullivan’s eyes, Sullivan’s expression was soft and rueful.
“Come on, Jackson.” Sullivan walked over, gently took Kia’s hand, and eased her fingers off the cabbage. It fell to the floor likesad, damp confetti. “Obviously someone likes candied kale. You won the American Fare. That’s huge.”
“It doesn’t feel like a win.”
“It is.”
And Sullivan hugged her. Sullivan, who was still wet from the rain. She smelled of soil. It was a tender hug. Sullivan pressed her hand to Kia’s back, not patting her, just holding her close. Kia’s body warmed in ways it shouldn’t. Her heart warmed too. She needed this hug, and she needed it from Sullivan.
Sullivan whispered, “I’m proud of you.”
Then Sullivan stepped away quickly, her scowl reasserting itself, but it felt like Sullivan directed it at the two ominous manila envelopes, not at Kia.
“I don’t understand the whole thing either,” Sullivan said. “But I know we’re both fucked if we don’t address it. My last relationship was a train wreck, and I got screwed. I won’t stand for it again. We’re fighting this crap together.”
Sullivan might have meanttogetheras indon’t think I’m going to handle this mess alone, but it almost sounded likewe’re a team.
“This lawsuit is offensive on so many levels,” Sullivan added.
“They don’t know who they’re messing with,” Kia ventured.
They’d been a team in school. That’s what their classmates didn’t get until their kiss. They only wanted to beat each other after they’d beaten everyone else.
“What are we going to do?” Kia asked.
