Читать книгу A Recipe for Reunion - Vicki Essex - Страница 10

CHAPTER TWO

“HI, AARON.” STEPHANIE’S voice sounded brighter than she’d intended. Aaron Caruthers had grown up quite a lot and... Well, wow. “Remember me?”

His expression shuttered so quickly, she swore she heard doors slamming. “You’re still here.” His tone was flat, almost angry.

That wasn’t exactly the response she’d been expecting from a guy who used to have a crush on her. “Yup. Still here. And I brought friends.” He stiffened as she introduced the burly men behind her. “This is Devon and Manny. Devon runs the computer shop on Main, and Manny—well, he does everything. They owe me and Georgette a few favors.”

“But we came for the pie,” Manny said, rubbing his hands.

“Is Georgette around?” Steph tried to peer past Aaron.

“I’m right here. Thank you so much for coming.” The elderly woman stood in the kitchen entryway clutching the door frame.

Steph went straight to her, taking her hands. “How are you feeling? Can I get you anything?” She started to lead her toward the sofa.

“No need to fuss around me in my own home, dear. Just tell me, how have things been at the bakery?”

“Everything’s going smoothly. The new girl, Kira, is working out great.”

“And you’re handling the orders fine?”

“Piece of cake.” She winked. “How are you?”

“Bored.” She sighed. “And I miss all my grandchildren.”

Steph smiled. Georgette called everyone under the age of forty her grandchildren. She’d been Everville’s self-appointed grandmother since before Steph was born.

“She works for you?” Aaron’s strident tone made Steph’s hackles rise.

“Stephanie’s been working at the bakery for... What has it been now?”

“Five years.” She challenged him with the brightest grin she could manage. His face ticked—just like her girlfriends’ had at Christmas. The corners of his mouth turned down.

“How about we start moving stuff in?” Devon suggested.

“Of course.” The two frequent customers had been promised treats in exchange for their help, and in this chilly weather with darkness creeping in at barely five in the evening, she wanted to get this job done quickly, too.

The three men went out to the truck. Aaron unloaded boxes and directed Devon and Manny to carry them to their assigned rooms while Steph ensured no one tripped over anything. She was grateful to be inside, though Aaron’s reception had been colder than the February weather. Not that she’d expected a hug or anything. She just didn’t think he’d be so surprised to see her, considering how long she’d been working for his grandmother. She knew he visited at least once a year at Christmas. Georgette always talked about him and what he’d been up to. Had she not mentioned anything about her longtime employee to him?

Then again, why would she? It wasn’t as if Aaron should care about her after all these years. They’d barely known each other back in high school.

She peeked out the window as the last of the boxes was hauled out. Aaron closed the truck’s door, his long, lean form stretching to reveal a flat stomach and lean hips beneath his sweater. He was still kind of geeky-looking with his tousled brown hair and long limbs, but gone completely was the chubbiness of his high school days. He looked like a young professor, or maybe a grown-up Harry Potter in jeans and loafers. Mercifully, he didn’t have those big wire-framed glasses anymore, though she’d noticed a pair tucked in his breast pocket. A certain type of girl might find that brainy look attractive, she decided.

The guys came in, and Steph helped Georgette set out the coffee and treats. Most of the boxes had been placed inside the empty guest bedroom, which she supposed had once been Aaron’s. She wasn’t sure why she was surprised not to find a trace of him there, though it made little sense for Georgette to keep his room intact after all these years. Packing up everything and leaving home for good was an alien concept to Steph. After she’d moved out just last month, Mom and Dad had promised to keep her room exactly as she’d left it so she wouldn’t have to worry about finding storage space for what couldn’t fit into her tiny apartment. They hadn’t been happy about her leaving the nest, but she’d made it clear they couldn’t stop her. And they hadn’t.

After the coffee and spinach-and-goat-cheese pastries were laid out, Steph went into Aaron’s room and started unpacking. She didn’t feel as though she’d earned a treat yet, considering all she’d done was shuffle boxes around.

Three boxes into her digging, she discovered pretty much all Aaron owned was books. She exhumed the heavy law textbooks from the first box—the spines thoroughly bent and the pages marked with multicolored Post-it notes—and placed them on the bottom of the big brown bookshelves. The next box had an assortment of trade paperbacks, a lot of them with long titles about things she didn’t know anything about. Peak oil, electric cars, global economics, science, history...

“What are you doing?” Aaron asked from the doorway.

“Just thought I’d help you shelve some of this stuff.” She hefted one of the boxes, letting out an “oof!” It was a lot heavier than she’d thought.

Aaron rushed toward her. “Good God, you’re going to break your back doing that.”

“What, lifting this?” She bent her knees and jiggled the box. “Nah. I carry fifty-pound sacks of flour all the time.” She’d always been at the bottom of cheer pyramids, too. Mom had never liked that other girls were standing on her, but she hadn’t minded.

Georgette’s grandson gave her a stern look. “Still.” He gently slipped the box from her grasp and set it down with ease. “You don’t need to do this.”

“It’s no problem.” She flexed her aching fingers discreetly.

His eyes narrowed. “No, seriously. I’ll do it myself.”

“Really, it’s no problem.”

He frowned. “I’m particular about how I shelve my books.”

The steel in his voice had her reconsidering. “Oookay.” She took a step back, hands raised. “How about your clothes? I can fold them and put them—”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with everything later. Really.”

Was there something he was hiding? Or did he simply not want her help? She hid her soreness at being dismissed by dusting her hands together as she left the room. “All right. You’ll be at it all night, though.”

He closed the bedroom door firmly behind him, and they rejoined the others in the kitchen.

“Not letting you help him unpack, is he?” Georgette chuckled when they entered. Devon and Manny were digging into their pastries with gusto. “Aaron’s always been fussy about his things. He never even let me clean his room.”

“That’s because I can do it myself.” Something about Aaron’s tone irked Steph, as if he were implying she couldn’t put things away herself. No. She shouldn’t read into what other people said—Mom told her she got defensive sometimes without proving...provoke...provocation. It wasn’t as if she had any reason to react so strongly to Aaron.

He shook hands with Manny and Devon. “I appreciate the help today, guys,” he said.

“Anything for Georgette’s spinach pies,” Manny said, toasting him with his coffee.

“Oh, Aaron, you should talk to Devon about getting Wi-Fi installed at the bakery. I think he’s done it for other businesses in town.”

“Why do you need Wi-Fi?” Steph asked.

Georgette beamed. “Aaron’s going to renovate the bakery’s dining room and turn it into a bookstore.”

Steph stared, her feet suddenly cold. She tried to hide her shock and simply look interested in what was being said, as she’d been taught, but she felt her whole future and everything she’d been working toward slipping from her grasp as readily as the smile from her face.

“But...where will the customers eat?” she managed to ask.

“I’ll still keep a few tables in the main part of the bakery, but most of the business has always been takeout anyhow,” Aaron explained. “Plus, I’m adding a patio for the warmer months.”

What did he even know about what business was like at Georgette’s? He hadn’t worked there in the five years she’d been there. “When were you going to do all this?”

“As soon as possible. I’m meeting a few contractors on Monday. I want renovations done by the end of April so we can be open for patio weather.”

And when, exactly, had they planned on telling her about these changes? After all she’d done for Georgette’s, wasn’t she owed at least an explanation?

Sure, Steph was only an employee, but she was a damned good one. She was the only person Georgette had trusted with her recipes, the only person capable of running things solo since Georgette’s stroke a few weeks ago. She’d hoped the elderly baker would sell the business to her when she retired—clearly the eighty-two-year-old couldn’t run it by herself anymore.

But now Aaron Caruthers was here, nosing in and ruining all her plans.

Her throat tightened and her tongue felt thick as objections tumbled one on top of the other. She was so frustrated she couldn’t spit out a single word of protest.

They were still talking, but she couldn’t understand what they were saying. She was drowning in words, all of them mashed into a messy jumble by her building anxiety. She wanted to tell them this wasn’t what she wanted, that this wasn’t what she’d planned, but she couldn’t say it without sounding petulant.

“I’m hoping the two of you will work together,” she heard Georgette say. “Steph knows everything about how the bakery runs. I don’t mind change, you know, but I do want some parts of what your grandfather and I built to remain intact.”

A lifeline. Steph smiled gratefully with the knowledge that Georgette had secured her place in the world.

“Of course, Gran.” Aaron hugged her shoulders briefly. “I promise you’ll be included in all the big decisions.”

And just like that, Aaron had cut Steph out of the business, despite being ordered to work with her. He hadn’t even looked at her. Her blood rushed through her veins, swift and hot, so that the sting of dismissal vibrated across her nerves. She’d been certain Georgette had been grooming her to take over one day. What did Aaron even know about baking?

She took a deep, calming breath. There was no sense in complaining and being indite...indignant about it now. She’d just have to show Georgette she was not only indispensable, but also the right person to take over the bakery.

* * *

AARON LISTENED WITH half an ear as the contractor led him through the estimate on the dining room renovations. He was already aware of some of the larger costs, knew where he could save money by doing the work himself. It was the woman behind the counter who was distracting him.

Stephanie Stephens. He couldn’t believe she was still in Everville. She hadn’t changed a bit, outwardly—she still had that perfect brass-blond hair that she kept tied in a high ponytail and that fantastic cheerleader’s figure with curves and muscles in all the right places.

He shook himself. He wasn’t that kid anymore, lusting after a football player’s trophy girlfriend. Never again would he humiliate himself over Stephanie Stephens.

He silently listed all the reasons they weren’t right for each other and never had been. Sure, he’d fantasized about tutoring her, about how lending her his notes might actually lead to something more meaningful. And he’d lent her pens whenever she hadn’t had one, which was frequently. How many pens had she borrowed and never returned?

Twenty-three.

Yes, he’d counted. Nearly a whole box of his favorite roller balls that he’d never asked she return. Except that one time. He’d learned his lesson then not to trust anything with her—not even a pen.

And here she was, working at his grandmother’s bakery, losing who knew how many pens’ worth of income a day.

He refocused on the contractor’s words as the man gave him estimated completion dates. The guy’s rates were reasonable and he was friendly enough, but Aaron was interviewing one more contractor that afternoon. This was going to be his business, after all, and he had to get the best rates wherever he could. He was nothing if not thorough.

The part-timer, Kira, a lean high schooler with short dark hair and thick-framed glasses, was busy serving a customer while Steph blabbed away with a woman holding a baby. Two other people waited patiently behind them.

Aaron scowled. Did the woman have any sense? She should be working, not chatting with her friends.

“Excuse me a moment,” he said to the contractor, then marched over to Steph. The woman she was chatting to handed her the baby, and Aaron was taken aback a moment as she bounced the drooling, babbling bundle of joy and cooed at her.

“Um, Steph?”

“Oh, hey, Aaron.” Her demeanor was a touch cooler than it had been with her friend. She nodded. “Isabel, this is Aaron Caruthers, Georgette’s grandson. He’s come back to...take care of things.”

“Nice to meet you.” They shook hands. “How’s Georgette doing?”

“Better, thanks for asking.” He didn’t want to be rude, but customers were still waiting. He turned to Steph. “Would you mind looking after those folks there, Steph?”

She stared at him, her cheeks tinting darker and darker. The baby patted her hair as if reminding her to breathe. She handed the squirming child back to Isabel. “Excuse me.”

“I’d better get going.” The mother paused. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to distract Stephanie.”

“It’s not your fault,” he said, feeling bad now for interrupting. Isabel was a customer, too, after all. But time was money...

He glanced at Steph. She moved slowly, as if she were picking flowers in a field rather than filling orders. If that was her usual pace, he could imagine how much business the bakery lost on a daily basis. And now, Steph was chatting up the next person in line and—

Was she giving out free cookies?

Aaron didn’t have time to ask, though, because the contractor had come up and was telling him he had to leave on his next call. Aaron thanked him and saw him out the door, but not before Steph ducked out lickety-split from behind the counter and handed him a coffee and a brown bag. Why couldn’t she move that fast to serve paying customers? Aaron thought irritably.

“Fresh doughnut and coffee for you,” she told the man happily. “No one leaves Georgette’s empty-handed.”

The contractor’s face brightened “Oh, I couldn’t—”

“Of course you can.” She pushed the treats at him. “It’s cold out there. You need to keep warm, and this is just the thing to do it.”

The man chuckled. “I hope I get this job if this is the daily take-home.” He shook Aaron’s hand. “Give me a call. We can play with some numbers if we have to.”

He left. Aaron turned to tell Steph to stop handing out freebies, but her look froze his tongue. “Excuse me, I have customers.”

He might have snapped back at her, but that would’ve been unprofessional. Still, Georgette’s wouldn’t survive if this was how business was conducted every day. Who knew how much Stephanie was costing his grandmother? He wasn’t about to throw any accusations around, though. Not without evidence. After all, he was nothing if not thorough.

* * *

SWEAT DRIPPED OFF the tip of Steph’s nose as she polished the countertops and fumed.

Aaron had always been a stick-in-the-mud, but now he’d become a grade-A prick. Embarrassing her in front of Isabel. Really! Where did he get off telling her what to do? He didn’t own Georgette’s. He wasn’t her boss. He’d only arrived yesterday.

“I’m done here,” Kira said, removing her apron. “Is it okay if I take off? I have a lot of homework.”

“Sure thing.” She put on a smile for Kira’s benefit. The timid but eager girl didn’t need to be exposed to her bad mood. “Thanks. You did great today.”

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Kira moved closer and glanced at the closed office door where Aaron counted the till. “Is Aaron taking over for Georgette?”

Steph sucked in her lower lip. “I don’t know.” I hope not. “He’s got plans to open a bookstore where the dining room is. I’m not sure how that’ll work with the bakery attached.”

Kira wrinkled her nose. “If they do renos it’s going to make a huge mess. How’re you gonna bake?”

Steph hadn’t thought of that, but Kira was right. They’d lose all kinds of business while Aaron worked on his precious bookshop, and Georgette’s couldn’t afford that. They were barely breaking even as it was.

She had no choice. She had to talk to Georgette. Aaron would ruin the business with these plans of his, and it was up to Stephanie to stop him.