Peaches and Cream, page 22
Seriously? That’s fantastic! I’m so glad! I promise you won’t regret this. It’s going to be amazing. I’m so happy…I’m thrilled. Dancing around my living room right now. Sprinkles is also dancing. Let’s meet at the shop tomorrow and we can go over details. There was a pause and the gray dots bounced for a moment before the next words came. Thank you, Adley. I mean that. The message was followed by several celebratory emoji, including but not limited to smileys, champagne bottles, and party horns.
Adley grinned. She couldn’t help it. The image of Sabrina dancing around with her dog just made her happy, and if Scottie knew that, they’d probably have to sit and analyze it. Good thing Scottie wasn’t there.
She smiled as she drove home and felt lighter somehow. She called Scottie from the car.
“I did it. I told Sabrina I’d take the job.”
“OMG, what did she say?”
“Well, it was all through text ’cause I was working, but she seems really happy about it.”
“And you? How are you feeling?” Scottie’s voice was soft. Kind and curious.
“I feel…so much, Scottie. So much.” She took in a deep, slow breath and understood that she needed to talk all this out. “I mean, part of me still can’t believe I lost the shop. I’m so embarrassed, Scooter. So incredibly embarrassed that I couldn’t keep it afloat. I feel like I let my grandpa down in the biggest of ways. And then there’s the hostessing. I mean, is that what I want to do for the rest of my life? Lead people to their dinner table? And through all of this, I was still mourning the loss of what might have been with Sabrina.”
“That all makes perfect sense,” Scottie said, her voice soft and understanding.
“And then Sabrina shows back up with this offer.” She shook her head. “And I wanted to scream at her. You tank my business? You ruin my life? You humiliate me and now you’re back and you want to save me? Fuck no. Fuck that. No. But…” She took a moment, took a breath, let herself calm down again. “But the weird thing is, I still trust her. After all that she did, after all that happened, I still trust her.” She hadn’t actually said that out loud, and hearing the words now, actually hearing them for the first time, didn’t freak her out the way she was afraid it might. “I didn’t tell her that, of course.” She gave a little chuckle. “But the reality is that it’s true. I still trust her, and I feel like a weight has lifted. Isn’t that weird?”
“I mean, does it feel weird?”
“Not even a little bit. It feels right. It feels exactly right.”
“Well, there you go then. I think the Universe is telling you that you made the right decision.”
Adley sighed and turned into her driveway, then shifted the car into park. “I think so, too.”
“And you feel okay about the rest of it? The…history?”
“I do right now. I guess we’ll have to see how it goes when we’re both there, you know?”
They signed off shortly after, and Adley went inside. As she poured herself a glass of wine, there was a part of her that wanted to call Sabrina now, talk to her, listen to her ideas, and share some of her own. But she gave herself a shake, reminded herself that’s not who they were anymore.
Sabrina was going to be her boss for the time being, and she’d do well to remember that little fact.
* * *
Sabrina’s nerves were shot.
She woke up Wednesday morning feeling jittery and buzzing, like she’d had too much caffeine…except she hadn’t had any yet.
Today was the day. Adley had accepted the job she’d offered, and today, they were going to meet. She’d texted her an hour ago to set the time. They were going to meet at noon at the ice cream shop and go over all the pertinent details. Sabrina also wanted to pick Adley’s brain about some equipment preferences and also wanted to let her in on the plans she had for the grand opening and the summer in general.
And she wanted to see her. Just…see her.
She had to put that in a box on a high, high shelf, and she knew it. But still.
The meeting was five hours away, and Sabrina needed to burn off some of the frantic energy she had or she might burst into a pile of ash from the nerves.
A run.
That always helped. She called Sprinkles in from the backyard where he was giving the perimeter his morning sniff-down. She laughed at how quickly he’d understood the yard was his now. They’d been there less than a week, but he’d already established a morning routine of sniffing along every inch of the privacy fence, nose to the ground, tail up in the air. She’d taken to sipping her first bit of coffee at the window while watching him do his thing. It felt shockingly domestic and homey, and she wasn’t sure what to do with that.
Now, she held the back door as he trotted inside and looked at her expectantly. She’d filled his Kong with peanut butter and some treats to keep him busy while she ran. She’d tried running with him once, but he was such a terrier. All he wanted to do was sniff every blade of grass, and her run had become a casual stroll, which burned off zero energy for her but completely pooped her dog out.
She ran until her lungs burned. Then she walked until her breath returned to normal. Then she ran again until her lungs burned. It was a chilly morning, and sucking in the cool, damp air made the run harder, but she pushed on, not stopping until she felt better. Less electrified. More herself.
Back home, she made herself some breakfast—running in the morning always famished her—and turned on Today so she could focus on something other than her noon meeting. It worked for a short time, and then she gave up, showered, dressed, and headed to the shop a full ninety minutes before her meeting with Adley.
Bobby Unger was already on the premises, along with another of his guys. A small speaker sat on the counter playing classic rock. Bobby was the contractor she’d hired to do some updates, a local guy who’d lived in Northwood his whole life and who had his own small contracting business. His Yelp reviews were stellar, and she’d done extensive research on him, along with a phone interview, before hiring him.
“Hey, Sabrina, how’s life treating you?” He stepped off the ladder he’d been perched on to give her his full attention, something she really liked about him.
“Can’t complain, Bobby. Can’t complain.” She almost laughed at how much she’d sounded like her father just then. “What news do you have for me?”
He gave a small shrug and shook his head. “Not much. Everything’s on schedule. Once Jay and I finish rewiring the electric and patch the drywall, I think we’ll be ready for fresh paint.”
“Fantastic. And you’ll take care of that?”
Bobby nodded. “I work with a gal who’s been painting since she was a teenager. She’s good. We’ll need to meet with her about colors, but then she’ll take it from there.”
“Great.” She gave him a wave. “Okay, don’t let me disturb you. You do you. I’ll be in my office.”
Another nod and Bobby got back to work.
Because Sabrina had actually purchased the building, she’d been able to make some structural changes, and they included walling off some of the back area so there was a small office. It was the first thing Bobby had done so that she had somewhere to work even while the renovations were still in progress.
Her office was small, but cozy. She had a tiny window, so she could get some natural light. She’d purchased herself a nice desk and a top-of-the-line laptop and put all her accounting software and business applications on it. This was her thing, the business end. It was what she loved. The numbers and the profit/loss reports and the marketing. She’d been able to do little bits and pieces of those things here and there at Sweet Heaven, but there had been an accounting department. And a marketing department. And a new business department. And Sabrina couldn’t work in all of them. Once upon a time, all that travel had been appealing.
She’d had no idea how tiring it would be after so long.
But this? Right here? Her own office in her own shop that she owned? This was her version of very sweet heaven. And she was about to have the best ice cream maker she’d ever seen as her right hand. Did it get any better?
Her phone pinged a text and she saw it was Teagan. Opening it, she read, How’s the hideously inappropriate crush on your soon-to-be employee who’s pretty much an ex going? Good? That was followed by a slew of laughing emoji, and Sabrina shook her head and couldn’t help but smile.
She’ll be here in 1/2 an hour. I’ll let you know then.
She sent it back. Teagan let it drop and sent four baby photos instead. She was still looking at them and mentally oohing and aahing over them when there was a knock on the back door. All the nerves she’d worked all morning to subdue came back to life as if she’d plugged herself into an electrical outlet and suddenly had power.
She smoothed her hands down her thighs and stood up. Three deep breaths later, she headed out to the back door and pushed it open.
Adley looked gorgeous.
Uncertain and skeptical and a little ticked off. And gorgeous. Her dark hair was down around her shoulders, wavy and sexy. She wore cropped jeans, white sneakers, and an orange V-neck shirt that complemented her skin tone beautifully. It was hard for Sabrina not to stare.
“Hi,” Sabrina said and stood aside. “Come in. Come in.”
Adley looked around quickly, then returned her gaze to Sabrina’s face.
“Is it hard for you to be here?” she asked before she could stop herself.
“It’s weird,” Adley said, glancing down at her feet.
“I guess that would make sense.” There was a beat while they just stood quietly, but before Sabrina could find the right thing to say, Adley spoke instead.
“Okay.” She seemed to bolster herself. “Show me around.”
“Yeah. Okay. Um…here’s the kitchen.” She did a little arm flourish like Vanna White.
“That’s new.” Adley pointed toward Sabrina’s office, then walked that way.
“My office. I like to be in the midst of things. I’m having a camera installed later this week, so I can see out front while in here. In case there are any problems with customers or whatever.”
Adley nodded as her eyes moved over the desk, the window, the chair. “It’s nice.”
“Thanks.” They turned back to the kitchen. “I didn’t make a whole lot of changes here. Just updated the countertop. I wanted to get your input on some new equipment, so we’ll look at that in a bit.” That seemed to brighten up Adley’s expression a bit.
“My input?”
“You’re the ice cream maker. I want to have equipment that works for you.”
“But you’re the boss.”
Sabrina tipped her head and studied Adley. Her face wasn’t quite readable, and she knew that Adley was likely shuttering her expression for Sabrina’s benefit. You don’t get Open Me anymore. It made her sad, but she pressed on. “I would really like this to be a partnership.” Wincing internally at the choice of words, she waited for Adley to balk, but she didn’t. She just gave a small nod and moved toward the front.
Bobby and Jay were up on ladders still, but like earlier, Bobby saw them and came down. “Hi there,” he said, holding out a hand to Adley. “Bobby Unger. Nice to meet you.”
“Bobby, this is Adley Purcell, my business partner. If you have questions and I’m not here, she can answer them.” She felt Adley’s surprised expression more than saw it as she and Bobby shook. “He’s bringing in his painter to go over colors this week, and I’d love it if you could be here, give your opinion.”
Still clearly surprised, Adley nodded. “Sure.”
They talked with Bobby about the electric—Adley commented about how great it was that it was all rewired—and the display cases in the front, which were also new.
“I’ll have those hooked up and good to go before the end of the month,” Bobby said. “That’s when the light fixtures should be here.”
“Once that stuff’s all done, we’ll be ready to paint,” Sabrina informed Adley. “New tables and chairs, indoor and outdoor, will be here the first week in June. I could use your help on art and decor. I loved the stuff you had hanging on the walls.”
“I still have some of it,” Adley said, and Sabrina could tell she was starting to get excited, even if she was trying to hide it. “I can bring it by.”
“That’d be great.” Back in the kitchen, they talked about utensils and dishes. “I’m hoping you’ll still make waffle cones. I’d like to advertise those more. They’re a big deal.”
“You think?” Adley asked, running her hand across the door to the new walk-in freezer.
“Are you kidding? Best I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot of waffle cones in my line of work.” Adley’s smile made her keep going. “I don’t know what your secret is, but they’re amazing.”
“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
Oh, playful Adley had arrived! Sabrina tried not to jump up and down with glee. Instead, she held her hands up, palms forward, and said, “I don’t need to know. Just keep making them.”
“I can do that.”
“Okay. Come into my office and let’s talk numbers.”
* * *
“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 it didn’t last. 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. She squinted 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.
