“Right?” Shelley placed her hand on mine, and I felt something swirl in my gut. Had I eaten one too many spring rolls? When she squeezed my hand, I looked into her eyes, and something in my chest squeezed.
“Right,” I said, coughing to clear my throat. I wasn’t sure what we were talking about anymore.
“After everything that happened.” Shelley’s forehead furrowed. “All the sacrifices you’ve made. Ben is one lucky kid. This job.” She paused, her eyes searching mine. “This is your lucky break. You deserve this, Adrian.”
She had no idea how much I hoped her words were true. How much I wished, after all this time, that this was the break I had been waiting for.
But first, I’d have to let Zoë know we would be moving to California.
Chapter 4
SHELLEY
I turned the closed sign over and hit the lights. Locking the doors, I headed toward the back, picking up a last stray plate that needed to be loaded into the dishwasher on my way to the back, and then home for the night.
“You know, now that I’m back from my honeymoon, you don’t need to stay every night to help me lock up.” Charlotte placed the dried baking tray on the rack before turning her gaze on me.
She had returned to work on Monday, and it had been great having her back. She was one of my best friends.
“I know.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I love having you here, but we both know with your baking channel and all the work you have for that, you don’t need to be here working part-time. I think you almost clocked in full-time this week. You need to take some time to relax. Unwind. Date.” Charlotte’s eyes twinkled, reminding me more and more of Mamie.
“Ugh. Not you, too. Have you been talking to Mamie?”
“Mamie?”
“Yes. Spunky, gray hair. Replies to the call of Mamie? Also known as your grandmother.”
“Wow. Rough day?”
“Sorry. She’s just been harping on me ever since I caught Patrick cheating on me, and I made up that rule of no dating.” I exhaled, running the back of my hand over my brow. “It’s like it was her cue to find me a man or something. Do you know she even installed a dating app on my phone the other day? I was on the phone with Ed to finalize some details for this week’s video, and when I put the phone down, she snatched it up behind my back and started setting things up. I intercepted her right in time. She was just about to swipe to make a love connection with Carl, a musician from San Diego. Apparently she’d signed me up for a free month’s trial and added all my personal info in the time it took me to unload the dishwasher and reload it. That woman isn’t really seventy. It’s a conspiracy, and she has us all fooled.” My frustration bled out with the rise of each word.
“I think you’re on to something. Who do you think we should call? The FBI? CIA?” Charlotte deadpanned.
“Seriously. Have you forgotten the stunts she pulled with you and Will?”
A sly grin pulled at Charlotte’s lips, and a sparkle popped up in her eyes, the same one that appeared each time Charlotte thought of her hunky husband. Not that she hadn’t earned the right. She had secretly loved him for over a decade. When they first started dating, it was in secret, because her best friend Kelsey had a rule that no friend of hers could ever date her brother.
Poor Charlotte. She’d had some hoops to jump through before all the chips fell into place for her and Will.
“But all those stunts did eventually work out for the best.” Charlotte raised her right brow, running the wet cloth over the counter and wiping the last of the crumbs off the surface.
“You say that now. I remember enough of our conversations…”
My train of thought was cut short by the buzzing in my back pocket. Pulling out my phone, I smiled.
“Hey, Benny Boy. What’s up?”
Charlotte’s grin doubled in size, and I swear her ears peaked, gravitating toward the phone, if that were possible. That woman had inherited Mamie’s talent for eavesdropping with a nonchalant flair. I needed to turn my back toward her in order to give Ben my full attention.
“Last day of school at my old school. Said good-bye to all my friends today.”
“Oh, man. I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah. It kinda sucked. But I’m still really psyched about my new school.”
“Yeah? How come?” This kid was always so upbeat. Adrian really had raised an amazing kid. And all on his own.
“Because on Monday, I’ll only be living five minutes away from you. How cool is that?”
“The coolest, Benny Boy. I can’t wait.” I meant it. I had been counting the days. Crossing them off of my calendar at home.
“Can I come and hang out with you tomorrow when we get there?”
“I’ll have to talk to your dad. And you might want to get settled in. But you know you’re always welcome to come visit, right?”
“I know, Auntie Shelley.”
“How about I make you a batch of double chocolate cupcakes with that fudge frosting you loved last time you were here?”
“That would be awesome. And could you make me some cookies, too? The peanut butter ones.”
“I’m sure I can manage that.” I’d do anything for Ben. Cookies and cupcakes weren’t even a question.
“Hey, Auntie Shell, Dad wants to talk to you. I’ve got to go.”
“Sure, bud. See you soon.”
“Love you.”
My heart stuttered in my chest. How I loved this kid. “Love you too, Bennie Boy. Bye.”
“Bye.”
“Hi, Shelley.” That deep voice echoed through the speaker. I made the mistake of peering over my shoulder. Wrong move. Charlotte was practically standing on her toes, leaning so close she was almost touching me. I took a step forward, putting some distance between us. And between her and this conversation. When the line stayed silent, my brain kicked in, reminding me Adrian was waiting for me to speak.
“Hi.” My voice squeaked.
“ I just wanted to let you know we’ll be arriving with the U-Haul tomorrow sometime in the late afternoon. Don’t worry about Ben. He’s just super excited to see you.”
“So am I. Super excited to see him, I mean.” I mentally ran over my day tomorrow. My video for this week was done, and I had the day off. I had planned on doing some baking and a bit of recipe testing for next week’s video, nothing too demanding. “How about I make us some dinner, and I’ll come over when you guys get here? Help unload, and we can heat it up and get you settled. Sound good?”
A pause followed my suggestion, making me second-guess my idea. Ever since Mom and Dad had moved to Florida shortly after Christmas last year to retire, I was all alone in Cali. I had Charlotte and Mamie. And with Charlotte came Will and Kelsey and their family. And I had other friends. But no family close by. Adrian and Ben moving here would mean I would have real family around the corner, for the first time in what felt like forever.
Just as I wanted to retract my words, Adrian spoke, his words sputtering out in a staccato. “That actually sounds great.”
“Are you sure? You don’t sound so convinced.”