“And? How’d it go?” Brody’s voice was curious and worried and skeptical and hopeful all at once, and Adley loved her for that. She was in her car on her way to her shift at Chumby’s and talking to her sister through the Bluetooth.
“It went…great. Super. Like, really, really well.”
“Yeah? Tell me.”
“It’s almost too good to be true, which is the only thing that has me worried because what’s that saying? If it seems too good to be true, it probably is?”
“I get that, but give me the details anyway.”
“The pay is generous. Very. There will be health care and eventually some kind of retirement benefit. Those things seem important to her, even if the business is a small one. I get the impression that being good to her employees is a big deal.”
“I like her already.”
“She kept referring to me as her business partner.”
“Seriously?” She could picture Brody’s dark eyes going wide with surprise.
“Yeah. She wants me to get a feel for the place and the job, and if I decide I’m happy, she wants to talk partnership. Like, me owning part of the business.”
“Wow. How do you feel about that?”
“It feels fantastic. And weird. And scary. And awesome. And I’m honestly waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Brody was quiet for a long moment.
“What?” Adley prodded.
“I mean, the other shoe’s already dropped, don’t you think? It’s your past with her. Can you set it aside?” Her voice went softer. “Do you even want to?”
Goddamn it, Brody knew her so well. Sabrina had looked beautiful today. Stunning. Gorgeous. As always. Seriously, did the woman ever look messy? Unkempt? Even Casual Sabrina was more beautifully put together than anybody else she knew. She gave a shrug, even though Brody couldn’t see it through the phone. “Well, I’m gonna have to, aren’t I?”
And that was it and all about it. That was the fact of the matter. Yes, they’d had a thing. Yes, it had been incredible while it lasted, but itdidn’tlast. It had crashed and burned and that was life. Now, they had to leave their past in the rearview mirror and look forward instead. Simple.
She could do that.
Couldn’t she?
They ended the call just as she pulled into Chumby’s parking lot. She was going to need to talk to Cassandra and put in her notice this week. She wasn’t looking forward to that, but only because she hated to be an imposition, not because she’d miss the job. She wouldn’t. In fact, she’d already been rolling around different flavor combinations.
Later that night, when she was home from her shift and texting with Scottie, she thought about that again, about the flavors running through her head.
You know, it’s like after the Scoop closed, I put a lid on my creativity and stored it in a dark corner someplace because I couldn’t bear it.Shesquinted into the dim light of her bedroom as she thought about it.And now that this job is here, the lid has popped off and all those ideas have just come flowing back out. I can’t stop them.
The gray dots bounced as Scottie typed her response.I’m so happy to hear this! You sound so much better than you have the past few months…and I have missed being your taster.That was followed by several ice cream cone emoji and a tongue.
Adley laughed. And Scottie was right about her sounding better. She felt better. Like she’d been tightened into a ball and had suddenly been loosened up, finally able to stand and stretch and reach again. It was delicious. And she owed it all to Sabrina.
Which was something she grappled with a bit. Because the tightening was also owed to Sabrina. Sort of. Kind of. Okay, not really. Something else she’d been grappling with.
I can’t wait for you to be my taster again. Soon…And she sent back the tongue emoji, then signed off with a good night, and set her phone on the nightstand. She was tired, but her brain wouldn’t settle, so she clicked on the TV and snuggled down into her covers. Then she grabbed up her phone again, opened the notes app, and jotted down the flavors that had been on her mind the past couple of hours.
Chocolate and cherry and cayenne, oh my…
Chapter Twenty-three
Sabrina sat at her desk in her small office off the kitchen and smiled. In the monitor before her, she could see Kirby Dupree up on a ladder, painting the interior wall out front a happy, soothing peach color. Across from her, the other wall was going to be more of a rust orange. The idea was to make the interior of the shop feel earthy and comfortable and joyous, all at once. She and Adley had chosen happy colors. At least, that’s what Kirby had called them.
In the kitchen, Adley was flitting about, grabbing different ingredients from shelves and the fridge and the freezer. She was mixing and blending and grinding, and Sabrina found herself mesmerized by her in ways that went far beyond just how beautiful she was.
