“Hey, Tessa,” Noah said as she walked through the gate. He and Jack looked like they were saying their goodbyes. “The food was fabulous. Especially the dessert.” Noah gave Tessa a hug, fist-bumped Leo, and headed out.
“Thanks for making the food for us,” Jack said. “See you tomorrow, buddy.” He patted Leo on the back.
After they left, Leo held out the dessert plate. “One piece left,” he said. “Want it?”
“No, thanks,” she said, collecting dishes in a stack.
He took the plates out of her hand. “You’ve done enough for us. There’s pizza left over. Want me to bring you some?”
“I think I’m going to go in and take a shower. It’s been a long day.” As if to demonstrate, she yawned, wanting to appear as tired as possible to avoid a repeat of last night.
She noticed some cigar ashes scattered under the table, and looked around for the broom, but he’d put it in the…
He ran ahead of her and blocked the door just as she got to the shed. “You should sit down. You’ve had a long day.”
She frowned. “I can spend a few minutes helping clean up. It’s no problem. Really.” She moved to enter the shed, but again he blocked her entrance.
“I’ll get the broom. Because, um, there are tons of spiders in there. Nests of them. Why don’t you go look for Cosette?”
“She’s right there.” Tessa hitched her thumb over her shoulder. A huge meow confirmed that Cosette had hopped out of the garden and was headed over. Leo was acting so strangely. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Great.” He rubbed his neck, a sure tell that he was nervous and something was up. “Thanks for all you did. The food was terrific.”
“I’m glad everyone liked it.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder, as if he were trying to steer her around. “So now I think you should go in and take your shower and let me clean up. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said reluctantly.
She turned to go into the house but spun back at the last second, catching him trying to wedge himself sideways through the shed door.
“Leo. What the hell are you doing?”
“Uh, getting the broom.” He smiled a strange, uncomfortable smile.
Just then, the cat zipped past them and into the shed. Tessa used that as an opportunity to run after her, pushing the door open wider and flicking on the light.
Awash under the long fluorescent bulbs was a project…taking up nearly the whole length of the shed. A sanded door on sawhorses. Tessa gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.
“It—it’s not a big deal,” he said hurriedly from behind her. “It’s just a little project I’m working on, okay?”
That’s when it dawned on her exactly what she was looking at. “That’s the door from the bakery.”
“Yes.” He walked up to the door and ran his hand over something near the top. “Come see. It’s the year your family’s shop opened.”
“1922,” she said, running her hand along the engraved numbers. Somehow, that made her eyes water. “What’s this for?”
He heaved a sigh, like he had no choice but to tell her the truth. “It’s an island—or, it’s going to be. For the kitchen.”
“For the kitchen?” He’d made them an island? From her family bakery’s original doors?
“Yeah. I was thinking now you can bake here instead of by yourself downtown.”
He’d used something symbolic and original. And he didn’t want her to have to bake by herself.
She tried to say something normal like it’s beautiful, but suddenly her throat closed up and her vision blurred.
Leo looked at her nervously, then focused intently on the door. “See the panels? I’m going to sand and stain them. And Jack knows someone who will give me a great price on a marble slab, if that’s what you want. I mean, we needed this, right? It’s a small kitchen without any work space, and we both like to cook and…”
She stared at him. He was fisting and unfisting his hands and transferring his weight from foot to foot.
She ran a hand along the smooth surface. Sawdust littered the ground and filled the air with the smell of wood.
She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.”
“This isn’t part of our business deal.” He was still clearly uncomfortable. “And I didn’t do it for any reason other than I see you work so hard and I hope this makes things a little easier for you. And…we need one.”
“Leo, I don’t know what to say. It’s beautiful.”
It wasn’t even the island itself that made her emotional. It was the fact that he’d made it for her.
Chapter Sixteen
Leo waited patiently for Tessa to finish her shower. He sat at his grandfather’s desk working on his computer, but trying to make the restaurant accounts balance was giving him a headache. Out of boredom, he popped open the secret drawer, only to be confronted by Tessa’s mom’s proposal, which he’d stashed there so Tessa wouldn’t see it. He prayed that the lunch he’d finally scheduled would turn the tide with his dad. At last he heard Tessa’s footsteps as she padded out to the living room in her robe and slippers.
He slammed the secret drawer shut.
He knew her routine. She liked to wind down in the evenings by working on a puzzle. Her puzzle boxes were all stacked under the coffee table, and they were all French-themed—Monet, the Eiffel Tower, a Parisian café scene, Provence.
She settled in to work, pulling a felt roll out of the closet and unrolling it on the coffee table.
“What puzzle are you working on?” He already knew. Her current challenge was a thousand-piecer, a Monet painting of irises in his garden at Giverny, loaded with purples and greens. And she was about thirty pieces away from being finished.
Except by five minutes in, she began looking under the felt. In the box. Dropping down to search behind the couch.
“What are you looking for?” Leo innocently looked up from his book.
“I must’ve lost some pieces in the move. I’m bummed, because I’m almost finished.”
Slowly, Leo reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of pieces.
She froze, on her knees, gripping the coffee table.
“Wait,” she said slowly. “You have my puzzle pieces?”
“I might have taken just a few.” Four, to be exact. And he was going to hold them for ransom.