The naughty chocolatier, p.10
The Naughty Chocolatier, page 10
“When is this get-together?”
“Yule.”
“Beg pardon?”
“Yule. The winter solstice. It’s the twenty-first of December this year.”
He sucked in a breath, “That’s cutting it close.”
“I know. But I already checked the catering calendar. You’re free that weekend.”
“How many people?”
“Twenty. Twenty-five max. Nothing formal. Buffet style works. No servers needed and she provides her own bartender and clean-up crew. It really will be food delivery. Or you could even cook here. She has a huge kitchen I’m sure you’d love and probably has everything you need.”
“And how does this work with our date?”
“Well, the house has a deck, pool, and its lakefront. I figured we could whip up something and have us a private pool party. Watch a couple of movies. She gets great sunset views over the lake.”
“Hmm.”
I wished I could see his expression. One, to know what he thought of the idea, and two, I could only imagine the naughty thoughts playing over his face. “Well?”
“When should I come by?”
“Early Sunday, if you’re free.” I knew he was. I’d checked his calendar yesterday in hopes of catching him when he came back into the office.
“How early?”
“Nine-ish. Yaddi flies out Sunday afternoon and I’d like you two to meet. She’s already tasted your food and she was impressed.”
“Was she?”
I leaned into the conversation, dropping a little sultriness into my voice. “Yes. She was very, very pleased.”
“Is that a tease I’m detecting?”
“Maybe?”
Ellis returned the sex-appeal, “Is there anything in particular you’d like me to bring?”
It was my turn to blush, my body warming as the rumble of his voice washed over me, “Chocolate.”
“My specialty.”
As the call ended, I glanced up to find Yaddi standing in the doorway looking quite pleased with herself.
“It’s not polite to eavesdrop.” Suddenly parched, I tossed the notepad and pen back onto the nightstand before scooting past Yaddi to grab a glass of water.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping. Anyway, was that the mystery man?” Yaddi trailed me through the open living area into the downstairs kitchen. She made herself comfortable lounging in the leather chair next to the theater-seating couch.
“He’s not a mystery man.”
Yaddi spun in the chair like a kid. “And when will I get to meet him?”
“Weren’t you standing there long enough to hear that part of the conversation?”
Yaddi narrowed her gaze, and I dipped my finger into my glass of water, chasing an ice cube around as I stirred before raising the glass to drink. “I told you I wasn’t eavesdropping. I only walked up on the last part of your conversation. I came down to tell you the cakes were in the oven.”
Though not convinced, I let it go. “He’s coming Sunday morning. Early. Plenty of time before you have to head to the airport so you might want to think about the food you want for the party.”
“I put you in charge because I trust your judgment.”
“And you didn’t want to be bothered with the details,” I quipped making it clear
I understood her intent to keep me less than idle.
Yaddi rolled her eyes, “Whatever. You assume I had an ulterior motive.”
“Don’t you always,”
“No, and I’m hurt you think I do. You’ve never let me down Soliel. I’ve always trusted you with party planning. You’re a pro at it and while you won’t admit it, you enjoy it. Or at least you used to. Has this situation with Daniel depleted your confidence?”
I turned, searching the refrigerator to not have to face her. “Not at all. I know you trust me. However, I also know you’re picky and while I appreciate the vote of confidence, I’d prefer you to make the final call.”
“What are you not telling me?”
“Who says I’m not telling you something.”
“Come on Soliel. I’ve known you too long to play this game. What’s wrong?”
I considered my options as I toyed with the idea of a conversation with Yaddi about Ellis. I had a few concerns, but I hadn’t said anything to anyone, one because the people at the restaurant would be on his side and also because the situation with Yaddi was still touchy.
“Soliel?” Deep in thought, I hadn’t notice Yaddi’s approach. She put her hands on my shoulders turning me to finally face her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I mean,” I wiggled my way out of her grasp.
“Is our relationship really this strained?”
This time, I saw the tension in her eyes as she tried to hide her pain. I hadn’t meant to hurt Yaddi but, I just wasn’t ready to talk about everything. It wasn’t just the abandonment from Daniel, but I felt she had abandoned me too. I’d gone through so much on my own and now I wasn’t sure I could go back to how things were.
“I understand,” Yaddi finally said walking away.
Not wanting to wallow in misery I decided to use the time to work on the party arrangements and clear my head. I filled the hours waiting for the cakes to finish with seating and table arrangements. Decorations. Measurements. Any and everything to avoid Yaddi and my own feelings. This wasn’t how I’d envisioned the day going.
Baking usually relaxed me. I’d even started the dough to make fresh dinner rolls but the minute I completed a task my mind drifted back to Ellis, Yaddi, and unfortunately Daniel. Only then did I realize how much being at Angelo’s offered a reprieve from facing the reality of all I’d lost.
“WELL, WHAT DID SHE say?” Yusef asked as he stood in the office doorway.
Ellis couldn’t hide his excitement and relief as he hung up the phone and leaned back in the office chair, “Is that any of your business?”
“Actually, it is. You’ve been moping around here for weeks since you let her slip through your fingers the first time. I can tell by the way you’re cheesing she said yes.”
“You’re right. She did. And not only that, but she’s also throwing business our way.”
“Really? What type of business?”
“A catering job.” Ellis opened the schedule on the computer, checking the date. Soliel mentioned confirming that they didn’t have any bookings for that week. Close to Christmas, he’d been hesitant to commit to any big jobs knowing Linda would be gone and unless he’d found a replacement of her caliber, he’d be spending every extra moment prepping the books for the end of the year.
Then Soliel walked into their door, saving him both work and adding to his income. He’d compensate her of course, but she’d made his life so much easier that he hadn’t figured out how as of yet.
“What are you over there plotting?” Yusef asked as he entered, pulling the door up behind him.
“Nothing like what you are thinking. I am relieved she said yes. We had a good talk the other day.”
“Did you now? She spill all the details about why she’s suddenly not wearing a wedding ring?”
Ellis considered how much he wanted to share with his best friend. He trusted Yusef not to spread his business. They’d been there for one another through good times and the bad, including this last unfortunate bout Ellis found himself in. Yusef had seen Ellis at his worst, needing someone at his beck and call twenty-four seven until he’d relearned how to walk and talk. He still struggled with the hearing loss part, mindful to keep his locks tied back but covering the ear with the hearing aid.
“I don’t need the details,” Ellis finally said, his heart suddenly aching for Soliel though he wasn’t sure what triggered the reaction. From what he’d experienced with her, she was a kind soul, willing to do for others. A rare gem in this chaotic world of every man for himself. And maybe that was the catch. “I know all I need to. She is a woman free to do as she pleases.”
“You might want to reconsider,” Yusef cautioned, “the crazy you just barely escaped didn’t come out of nowhere.”
“I’ll pay attention this time. You can believe that.” Ellis rocked in the executive chair, his mind working to piece together a menu for dinner.
“Speaking of crazy.”
“No, she hasn’t tried to reach out.”
“I wasn’t talking about your ex.” Ellis stopped rocking as his attention focused squarely on Yusef. “What are you going to do about Marcel?”
He let the frown take hold, annoyance slipping in at the mention of their newly hired pastry chef trainee. Ellis had hired Marcel because she was capable and willing to learn. A friendly addition to their staff, he too noticed as of late the cracks in that overly friendly façade. “I don’t need to do anything about Marcel. I don’t belong to her.”
“You know that. And I know that. But someone needs to remind Marcel.”
“I’ve made it perfectly clear I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
Yusef crossed the room plopping down on the sofa his gaze locked with Ellis’s as he leaned back into the leather. “Do you believe she’s gonna see it that way. Soliel suddenly spending all this time in the office, roaming the kitchen, doing inventory. From the staff’s perspective, she works here.”
“But as she’s so eloquently reminded me, she’s here on a voluntary basis.”
“Sounds like splitting hairs to me. I don’t think Marcel is going to take Soliel’s new position well.”
“Then she’s free to leave. Besides, Soliel is already working on an exit strategy.”
Surprised, Yusef sat up straight, “she’s bailing on us?”
“Us?” An eyebrow rose as Ellis cracked a smile. While he and Yusef weren’t legally partners in the business when one was successful everyone shared in the spoils. It was how Mr. Angelo had run the business for thirty years, giving back and pouring into the employees as much as they contributed to their success. It's also why most stayed. He paid well, promoted within as much as possible, and encouraged growth. When an employee moved on it was usually to something bigger and better.
“You know what I meant.”
“She’s not bailing per se, especially considering the circumstances of her non-employment, but this isn’t what she wants to do with her life. I get that. I get the impression her marriage might have stifled her.”
“Is that why you’re enamored with her? You have always been attracted to free spirited women.”
“I am not enamored. And she’s a beautiful woman.”
“I’ll give you that. Her friend was a looker too.”
“Hey, hey, now.”
Yusef held up a hand, “I’m not going to step on toes. I can admire beauty from afar. Besides, you know I’m already locked down.”
“How is that going?”
“It's going.”
“Wait, so you get to grill me on my budding relationship and all I get is ‘it’s going.”
“Damn straight, You’re the one popping off at the mouth and over sharing.”
“I’m going to remember that.”
“Be sure you do.”
Chapter Eighteen
The explosive crack of lightening and booms of rolling thunder shaking the house above woke me around three in the morning. Well, that and the sharp pain radiating through my extremities. Pain I recognized and regretted all in the same thought. I breathed through the excessive aching managing to pop a pain pill and down the half bottle of water I kept on the nightstand.
Laying down only exasperated the condition so I waddled my way into the living room drawing back the edge of the blinds to watch the sway of the trees in the wind. I cracked the door allowing fresh air into the room as I inhaled the soothing aroma of nature’s cleanse. Sheets of rain covered the pool, the deck above shielding me from the onslaught.
I welcomed the rumbling of thunder and the flashes of lightening; reminders of the magnificence of creation and of life itself. To bear witness to such beauty even in the dead of night. I eased into the recliner, swiveling to face the storm. My foot moved in a rhythm of its own, slowly rocking my aching body as I thought back over the conversation with Ellis.
“How’d I know you’d be up?”
Yaddi. I didn’t know if I was happy to have the company or annoyed that Yaddi was intruding once again. “You know I love the rain,” I said, failing to mention the fact my body currently rebelled against me.
“I just came to check on you. If you’d rather be alone, I can go back to bed.”
“Lonely?” I asked as the sky lit up.
“You think I miss Dwayne?”
“Not Dwayne specifically.” I shivered. The temperature was dropping. As if reading my mind, a warm fleece blanket appeared. I took the offering, curling beneath the red and white blanket as I continued to rock.
“I will say this is strange,” Yaddi stepped up to the door sliding the blinds further open but not moving to adjust the door itself. “I’m used to an empty house when my guest leave.”
“I won’t be in your hair long.”
Yaddi’s head dropped, her shoulders sagging ever so slightly in defeat. “You can stay as long as you need to.”
“That’s the thing, I don’t need to stay here.”
“Then I’m asking you to stay.” Yaddi finally conceded, “I miss my friend.”
The rain eased, the sheets now a trickle, though thunder continued to rattle the walls. “I don’t want to be a burden. Not to you or anyone else.”
“Who said you were a burden?” Yaddi turned to face me, her brows furrowed.
Did she think Dwayne had said something to me? “I need my independence. I’ve been tied to other people over half my life. I want a taste of real freedom.”
“And why can’t you have that here? It's not like I’m asking for anything but company. And this is a win-win. You have a no cost roof over your head and in return I get a house sitter. I want to do this for you.”
Another shudder passed through me as air blew over my face. I pulled the blanket tighter, my limbs growing numb. The meds kicking in left a fog in my brain. “I’ll think about it,” I managed, not quite stifling the escaping yawn.
Sleep dragged me under, the soothing song of the sandman serenading me into a much-needed slumber. When I finally woke, warm sunlight beamed through the now closed glass door. Yaddi had raised the leg rest and lowered the back of the recliner into the exact position to keep me comfortable.
Savoring the feel of the cozy covers I bunched my hands in the fuzzy cloth drawing it up to my nose as I blew into it to warm up my hands. The perfect scene made me smile. I yearned for a cup of raspberry hot chocolate right about now as I again thought back to the conversation with Ellis.
He’d said he’d enjoyed my company and even though I was warming to the idea, I wasn’t afraid to admit that I enjoyed his too. There was still something off about him I couldn’t quite place though and it gnawed at the back of my mind. I found his gentlemanly demeanor refreshing. While Daniel very much played the role of a traditional man, his stay-at-home wifely expectations were smothering. And now as a free woman, I refused to fall into the same pattern of walking behind a man instead of by his side.
I tested my extremities before deciding to take today for me. I called the restaurant leaving a message that I wouldn’t be in today and I’d send the address for the consult over later in the day. Then I made that cup of hot chocolate and plugged in for a few hours playing a new game my all-girl team introduced me to before my departure from Baltimore.
The rain returned, forcing me to hunker down in the house when I’d planned to spend time on the patio digging into the history of Angelo’s to see if I could provide Ellis assistance with his growing problem with the sons. While my new living digs offered a spacious feel, being cooped up in the house wasn’t my style. When the wind eventually died down, I ventured to the dinette beneath the upstairs deck to work.
Chapter Nineteen
Ellis pulled into the driveway of the house at the top of the incline. Immediately the well-manicured lawn and rows of colorful flowers drew his attention. The swing on the front country porch swung lightly in the breeze. As he exited his vehicle, he paused, standing in awe at the simple but elegant beauty of the place. Bright red cardinals flocked to the feeders perched on each side of the porch. Even in the cooler weather they battled with finches for the best seed.
The front door swung open before he could ring the doorbell, Soliel standing before him in an off the shoulder blue and white jumpsuit that clinched in the middle and flared out at the legs.
“Hope you don’t mind taking off your shoes,” she said, twirling what he suspected was a watermelon flavored Blow Pop. “Yaddi can be funny about tracking the outside in.”
Soliel led him to the swing, taking a seat next to him tucking her legs beneath her as he worked to remove his shoes. Ellis couldn’t tell if it was the candy or her perfume, but the sweet aroma wrapped around him, making his insides melt. The scent reminding him of his childhood days sneaking down the street to the candy lady’s house to by apple Jolly Ranchers and saltwater taffy.
“You look absolutely stunning,” he commented before removing the first shoe and leaning over to work on the next. He’d have to remember to bring covers the next time and when they delivered the food for the party.
“This old thing?”
He removed the second shoe.
“Do your socks have little dogs on them?”
Soliel tugged on the leg of his slacks, and he stretched it out to give her a better view. “They sure do. Corgis. We all need a little whimsy in our lives.”
‘I’d say not professional, but they are too adorable to chastise you about.”
“They also make great ice breakers. You’d be surprised how many people notice. When I started wearing them, I got so many compliments that I stocked up. My repertoire now contains characters from the original Peanuts to puppies to holiday sets.”
“Wow.”
“What?”
“You’re just full of surprises now aren’t you.”
