Regardless, she had better things to do than primp in front of a mirror all day. It was almost time to serve lunch. They had plenty of volunteers to help with that task, so it wasn’t imperative that she show up. However, passing out pizza was the one chance she had to personally thank everyone who had shown up to help today. The foundation might be footing the bill for the project, but the volunteers made it happen. She liked letting each of them know that their efforts were appreciated.
She headed down the hall and grabbed an apron. The kitchen was already bustling with activity. She automatically sought out Rosalie Earle in the crowd. The older woman ran the kitchen like a benevolent drill sergeant, marshaling her forces to operate with amazing efficiency. The kitchen had been one of the first areas to be renovated in the building. Instead of the bunch of mismatched appliances that had been hopelessly out of date, the place was now filled with gleaming stainless steel counters and a commercial-grade refrigerator, cooktop, and dishwasher. She was rather proud of what they’d accomplished in what would be the heart of the community center.
She wove her way through the others in the kitchen to reach Rosalie. “I’m here. Put me to work.”
Rosalie held up a finger to acknowledge that she’d heard her. Natalie hadn’t realized she was talking on the phone and stepped back to afford the other woman some privacy. A few seconds later, Rosalie ended her call.
“Sorry about that, but I’ve been reaching out to other restaurants in the area where we might be able to order food for future work parties. I think it’s important to spread our purchases around the neighborhood.”
“Good idea. I’m sure they would all appreciate the business.”
Natalie pulled on a pair of disposable gloves. “Is everything set for lunch?”
Rosalie nodded. “We should be ready to go at the stroke of twelve. I’m assuming you want to serve the pizza again, so I’ve saved that spot for you.”
“That’s great. By the way, I promised Clarence I’d set aside a couple of the brownies for him. Where can I stash them?”
Her friend rolled her eyes. “He can come get his own brownies if he wants some that bad.”
But even as she spoke, Rosalie grabbed a small paper plate and stalked over to the counter where the desserts had been set out. She picked out three of the brownies, two of the chocolate chip cookies, and a lemon bar. After covering the goodies with plastic, she wrote Clarence’s name on a sticky note and stuck it on top.
Natalie hid a smile. Rosalie and Clarence circled each other like a pair of feral cats trying to establish their territories. Natalie suspected that there was more to it than that. Like maybe they were both fighting a strong attraction that neither of them was ready to acknowledge. She knew for certain that Clarence was a widower and Rosalie was divorced, so there was nothing keeping them apart except for sheer stubbornness. It was tempting to play matchmaker, but she didn’t want to risk her own friendship with each of them if things didn’t work out.
One of the other women called out, “Heads up, everybody. The hungry mob has arrived.”
Natalie took her usual spot at the head of the line and opened the first three boxes of pizza. They always ordered an equal number of pepperoni, cheese, and vegetarian pizzas. It would be interesting to see which one Tino would ask for. She was betting a big guy like him would go for the pepperoni, the only one with meat on it. She spotted him making his way toward her as the line snaked forward.
He noticed her looking at him and nodded with a smile. She smiled back. At the same time, she had to fight to keep from checking her hair to make sure it was behaving itself. When his tray was finally in front her, she asked, “What kind of pizza do you want, and how many slices? We always order more than we need, so don’t hesitate to take as much as you like.”
He studied the selections. “In that case, I’ll have two pieces of the veggie.”
Okay, so she would’ve lost that bet. She dished up two of the bigger slices and handed him the plate. “There you go, and thanks again for volunteering today, not to mention the lesson in repairing drywall.”
“Anytime. Let me know if there are any other skills you’d like me to demonstrate.”
One problem with having such fair skin was that she blushed too easily. Right now, she suspected her cheeks were bright red, because the skills that came to mind had nothing to do with fixing up the community center. He knew it, too, because he winked at her as he continued down the line toward the salad bar.
“He’s new, isn’t he?”
Natalie glanced over her shoulder at Rosalie. “Yep, it’s his first day here. I’m hoping he comes back. He’s definitely got the kind of skills I covet.”
When her friend started laughing, Natalie replayed what she’d just said. Once again, she wanted to bang her head on something. “Lady, you have a wicked mind. The man knows basic carpentry, plumbing, and stuff.”
Rosalie patted her on the shoulder. “You just keep telling yourself that’s all you’re interested in if it makes you feel better. I might be old enough to be that man’s mother, but I’m not blind to his particular…skill set.”
Normally, Natalie loved Rosalie’s husky laugh, but not at this particular moment. For one thing, she was pretty sure she was blushing again, not to mention Tino had just glanced back in her direction. Had he figured out that he’d been their topic of discussion? From the small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, she suspected the answer was yes.
To make matters worse, she’d fallen behind in her duties. Time to get her head back in the game. She turned her attention to the next person in line. “Thanks so much for coming today! What kind of pizza would you like?”
—
Tino had a call to make. As he waited for his brother to answer, he guarded the empty spot next to him and kept an eye on Natalie Kennigan. The long line of volunteers was finally winding down, and he wanted to see if she would make good on her promise to join him for lunch. When he’d glanced back at her while he’d still been filling his tray, she’d looked almost guilty, like maybe he’d caught her and her friend talking about him. If so, he wondered what they’d said. Something interesting, for sure, considering the way she blushed.
He realized he’d missed hearing his brother answer. “Tino, I’m guessing you called me for some reason other than so I could hear you breathe in my ear. Because, I’m telling you straight up, that’s kind of creepy.”
“Stuff it, Jack.”
His brother laughed, something he seemed to do a lot more lately. Tino tried not to envy his brother’s newfound happiness with his wife and adopted teenage son, but it was hard. Once again his gaze wandered over toward Natalie, the reason he’d called his brother in the first place.
