“Kind of like dating,” Brant said, earning a glare from Leni. “What?”
“Dating? Really?” Leni rolled her eyes.
As Leni and Brant bantered, Aiden leaned closer to Abby and said, “I hope it’s okay that I suggested the tasting. I wouldn’t have if I didn’t think you could blow them away.”
“I know. Thank you.” His encouragement made her want to live up to his praise. She looked at her friends and said, “Okay, let’s do the tasting.”
The girls cheered.
“When are you thinking?” Leni asked.
“The competition judges are coming two weeks from Tuesday.” Her pulse quickened. She hadn’t realized how fast the deadline was approaching.
Aiden must have sensed her worry, because he squeezed her thigh and said, “We’ve got this, Abs.”
“How can you be ready to open the restaurant that soon?” Leni asked.
“I can’t. The restaurant won’t be open to the public until a month after the competition, so I won’t have to stress about hiring and training staff right away. But it needs to look its best when the judges come through, so I’m slammed getting all of the cosmetic stuff done. I’m having the building inspected, and the floors and the patio are being fixed, and I’m having an ordering window installed on the side of the building.”
“Who’s doing the work?” Grant asked.
“Cait got us a great deal with her friends who own Cape Stone and Cape Renovations. They’re starting Monday and said they should be done by Wednesday evening.”
“Cait, you know the Wickeds?” Daphne asked.
Cait nodded. “I work for Tank Wicked at Wicked Ink. I do tattoos and piercings.”
“I’m from the Cape,” Daphne explained. “My friend Chloe is married to Justin Wicked.”
“I know Chloe. Justin is a really nice guy. She’s very lucky,” Cait said.
“Maybe you can give me a tattoo one day,” Jules said, earning a curious look from Grant. “I’m thinking of getting a pixie throwing happy dust in the air, and I want our names written in the dust.”
“Ah, Pix. I love that.” Grant leaned over and kissed her.
“Jules, that’s a really bad idea,” Leni said. “Inking your significant other’s name on your skin is a recipe for disaster. It’s like you’re testing the relationship gods, and it never ends well. Tell her, Cait.”
“Sorry, Leni, but I know better than to judge anyone else’s ink,” Cait said.
Jules flashed a cheesy grin. “Besides, I don’t believe in recipes for disaster. I believe in true love conquering all.”
“You sound like my sister,” Aiden said. “I hope you never lose that outlook.”
“I won’t,” Jules said cheerily.
“That sounds like a big tattoo, Jules. I would be too afraid to get one,” Daphne chimed in. “I can barely give blood without feeling queasy.”
“I’ve got a few tats,” Brant said.
Grant looked at him like he was crazy and said, “No you don’t.”
“When’s the last time you saw Brant naked?” Abby asked.
Grant scowled.
Jock pointed at Brant and said, “You used to be afraid of needles. Let’s see those tats.”
“No can do, bro,” Brant said cockily. “I’m pretty sure you don’t want me dropping my pants right here at the table.”
“On that note, let’s keep your pants up where they belong and figure out the date for Abby’s tasting,” Leni suggested. “I want to see if I can make it.”
“Oh, right. I got sidetracked,” Abby said. “Let’s see. Thursday, after the Wickeds are done, we’re going to start painting the interior of the restaurant. That will take some time.”
“We need to power wash the exterior, too,” Cait reminded her.
“I can help you with that. I’ve got a pressure washer.” Brant looked at Cait and said, “Are you painting, too?”
“Yeah.”
Brant grinned. “Good. I’d like to see you in action.”
Cait blushed again, only this time she smiled and shook her head.
“I can spare a few hours to help you paint if you’d like,” Grant offered.
“I wish I could help, but I’m on a deadline for my publisher, and the words are not flowing as well as they could be,” Jock said.
“And I’m swamped at the winery,” Daphne added. “But I’m excited to help with the marketing tomorrow.”
“Thanks, you guys.” Abby looked at Grant and Brant and said, “Are you guys sure you don’t mind painting?”
“I’m happy to help,” Brant said.
“Your old man took me under his wing the summer I turned ten and taught me everything I could absorb about painting landscapes and portraits,” Grant said. “It meant a lot to me and had a big impact on my love of painting. Spending an afternoon helping you bring that place back to life is the least I can do.”
“I didn’t know my dad did that,” Abby said.
Grant took a drink and said, “He was awesome. We were at the Bistro one night when he was out there painting and I was in a crappy mood, pissed off about God knows what. I spent the whole time watching him from my seat, and when we were leaving, he called me over and struck up a conversation about how much he used to hate eating dinner as a kid because it took him away from what he really wanted to be doing, which was painting.”
“He loved eating,” Abby said with surprise.
“Yeah,” Grant said. “I found out later it was his way of getting through to me, and it worked. That summer is one of my best childhood memories. He gave me an outlet, and I ran with it.”
“I love knowing that,” Abby said.
“Isn’t my Grant wonderful?” Jules said. “So if you’re painting next week, what does that mean for the taste-testing date?”
Abby looked at Cait and Aiden and said, “What else do we have to finish? We’re working on the menu and logo design. I have to go through recipes and decide which ones hold the most promise. I’ll probably try them out this week and next in case the recipes need to be tweaked. Why don’t we do the tasting two weeks from tomorrow? Oh, wait. Aid, that’s the weekend you leave, isn’t it?” Do we really have only two more weeks together?
“I’ll be around if you do it Saturday. I leave Sunday morning,” he said.
She tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach and said, “Oh, good. With all the effort you’re putting into this, I didn’t want you to miss it.”
Aiden held her gaze, the reality of their situation hovering between them like an intruder. “You’re going to kick ass in the competition.” He looked at the others and said, “I hope someone will take a video when they announce her as the winner so I can see it.”
“You bet,” Cait said.
“So we’re all set, then?” Abby said far more casually than she felt. “Maybe we can have a bonfire afterward.”
“A bonfire, huh?” he whispered as her friends chatted about the bonfire and whipped out their phones to check their schedules.