Page 96 of Recipe for Rivals
“Not possible. Our settlement is signed and everything I left in the apartment belongs to him now. I really am okay with himmoving on. It was kind of nice when I learned all of it and wasn’t jealous.”
“It’s also okay to grieve, sugar. Don’t force yourself to be strong all the time. Take some time to feel what you need to feel. If Dusty is part of that”—she shrugged—“then so be it.”
“Aunt Gigi,” I said with mock shock. “You’re the one who warned him away from me.”
“Because I didn’t want you to be bombarded when you arrived, and that man is a flirt. But even I can see that the feelings go both ways here.”
Both ways? She thought Dusty might like me, too. I wanted to believe that. I longed to believe it.
“He might have been a punk kid,” Gigi continued, “but I admit he’s a changed man.”
“Even after that altercation with Chad?”
“That wasn’t Dusty’s fault, which I think you already know. That was Chad being the idiot he is.”
Little footsteps ran down the stairs while the kids shouted numbers at Gigi. She squeezed both of them in hugs and saw us to the door so we could get home.
“Think about it,” Gigi said, waving from her porch. “It’s okay for you to move on, too.”
I took my kids’ hands, Alice clutching a repaired Peaches to her chest, and walked away, Gigi’s words floating in and out of my head for the rest of the night.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
DUSTY
Thursday morning,I got off my shift at the firehouse feeling like someone had held my eyelids open and poured fine sand into them. I needed a tub of eye drops and forty hours of sleep. But Grandpa was waiting to see me, so I settled for breakfast at Gigi’s and some extra strong coffee. I could practically taste her buttery eggs and crisp bacon as I pulled my truck into a spot on Main Street.
The bell jangled above the door as I pushed it open. Gigi stood behind the counter, holding a coffee pot and chatting with Flora. The only other tables were a group of older women having brunch in the center of the dining room and a booth in the corner holding Chad and Travis in their police gear. Was it too late to spin around and leave the way I’d come?
No. I would show no fear. Travis had glanced up and noticed me, but quickly went back to eating. Chad hadn’t even looked my way, thank heavens. My jaw ached at the sight of him, the skin still tender. The bruise was already fading to an unattractive yellow color, but at least it was going away.
“Get that shirt out of here,” Gigi said, lifting her eyebrows.
I glanced down. The burnt orange UT Austin shirt I worehad nothing but a white longhorn symbol in the center. Sometimes I liked to wear my old alumni gear just to get on Gigi’s nerves—mostly because it meant some sparring, naturally—but today I hadn’t even thought about it. I had thrown on some clothes because I was going straight to Pleasant Gardens after this.
My mouth curved into a grin. “What, you mean the best team in the state? I can take it off, but that would be breaking the no shirt, no service rule, and I wouldkillfor a stack of pancakes right now.”
Gigi fought a smile. I could see it hidden there beneath her fake grumpy frown. “For you, I’d make an exception. I don’t want to see that color in my establishment.”
Was she serious? It was sometimes hard to tell.
There was really only one way to find out.
I reached down and pulled my shirt off by the hem. When the fabric cleared my face, I found myself staring at Nova. She stood frozen with a tray of mugs, the kitchen door swinging shut behind her. My whole cocky bravado thing was mostly an act, because now I sort of wanted to pull my shirt back on and hide in a corner booth with a plate of hot breakfast. But I did what I do best and sent her a dazzling smile instead.
She wasn’t looking at my face, though. Too bad there wasn’t a box for me to lift right now. If I flexed, she’d notice, because her eyes were running all over my chest. When she lifted her brown eyes, they were full of some emotion I couldn’t place. Something full and heavy.
“Put that away,” Gigi said, laughing and gesturing to my chest. “It’s indecent. I have customers.”
I flashed her a smile and tossed my shirt over my shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to offend anyone with my longhorns, though.”
“It’s okay,” she said, hand on her hip. “I’ll just charge you double today. Longhorns tax.”
I laughed, shaking out my shirt to put it back on. When Imoved to a booth near the window, I found Chad glaring at me. Well, let him.
“Can you take over for a minute, sugar?” Gigi was saying to Nova. “I need to check in with Phoebe.”
“Of course.” Nova followed her aunt into the kitchen and came out a minute later with a notepad and pencil. She worked her way around the tables, refilling coffees and taking orders, checking in with Chad and Travis and bringing them a side of syrup before she made it all the way to me and my grumbling stomach.