Where Your Heart Is (Lilac Bay Book 1) (8 page)

I had a fleeting memory of my cousin Edward at fifteen, red-faced and shaky-voiced, telling Posey and me that he thought he was gay. He was terrified to tell the rest of the family, certain that their Catholic, traditional, Italian-family-centered worldview would doom him to a life of exile. In the end, he needn’t have worried. By the time he worked up the courage to tell them, he was eighteen and home from his first year of college for Thanksgiving. I believe my grandmother’s exact words had been, “Of course, dear. Now stir this roux for my gravy, don’t let it stick.” His twin brother, Andrew, had shrugged and asked if it was supposed to be a secret. And his parents had barely managed to give him a brief hug before Mimi started shouting about the ruined the gravy.

My family, flakey mother non-withstanding, could be pretty great sometimes.

“Now, if I could just see you and Posey so happily partnered up,” she added, and I closed my eyes, sighing. Amazing, yes. They could also be pretty annoying.

“Don’t you give me that sigh,” she said, reaching across the table to poke my arm. “It’s a grandmother’s prerogative to want happiness for her grandchildren.”

“Yes, Mimi,” I said. “But it’s a grandchild’s prerogative to decide what that happiness is for themselves.”

She made a face. “I assume you’re talking about your career.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Why do you say it like that? What’s wrong with wanting a good career?”

“Not a thing.” Her face suddenly tightened, turning serious. “I just don’t think it’s good to obsess about it to the point of excluding all of your other options.”

“Mimi—”

“This career of yours certainly didn’t make you look very happy the day you showed up on my porch.”

I shook my head. “That was the
lack
of a career, Mimi.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “It all comes down to the same thing. You work too hard, you work too much. You think about work when you’re not working.” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “Just like your mother was.”

It’s not often I get angry with my grandmother, but I found myself sitting straighter in my chair, my skin tingling in that way that told me I was close to losing my temper. “Well, history isn’t going to repeat itself there,” I snapped.

If she was put out with me for snapping at her, she didn’t show it. She merely sat back in her chair, appraising me over her water glass. “You still think she made a mistake, don’t you?”

I snorted. “What, quitting an amazing job, leaving behind an amazing city, to come live here and fool around with paints in a garage? How on earth could anyone consider that a mistake?”

As soon as the words had left my mouth, I knew I’d gone too far. It was one thing to tease, but I had pretty much explicitly insulted the island, and her daughter. But Mimi merely watched me, a mild expression on her face.

“I’m not going to pretend to know the ins and outs of your mother’s decision to move home,” she finally said. “But I will say this—she’s
happy
, Iris. A lot happier than most of the people I know.” She met my gaze, hers sharpening, and I could read the unsaid question in her eyes.
Are you?

“Come now.” She reached across the table to squeeze my hand. “We’re getting awfully close to bickering, and there’s no bickering on a girls’ day out, is there?”

I swallowed, taking a few deep breaths before looking back at her. “No, Mimi. There isn’t.”

She grinned at me, and I felt slightly better. It was hard to stay mad under the power of that woman’s smile. “Good. Now we can move on to gossiping about your cousin and that horrible fiancé of hers.”

“Mimi!” I gasped, laughing. “You don’t like Paul?”

“
Paul
.” She said his name like the very sound of it was offensive. “What’s to like, dear?”

“Well, he makes Posey happy,” I pointed out, leaning back in my chair to grin at her. I loved snarky, gossipy Rose.

“If she’s so happy, then why haven’t they set a date?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. “You answer me that.”

“They’re both busy, Mimi. You know how she gets during the school year. And he’s a doctor, on the mainland half the time.”

“Psh. I’ll tell you, when I was engaged to your grandfather, wild horses couldn’t have held me back from marrying him. I was ready to run to Atlantic City the moment he asked.”

I dabbed at my eyes, feeling a little misty. I always loved it when she talked about my grandfather. Theirs was a true romance, the kind of relationship people wrote poetry about.

“Of course,” she said, looking thoughtful, “I couldn’t wait to get into his pants, so that was probably part of the hurry.”

“Grandma!”

She grinned wickedly. “Oh, don’t act so scandalized. Your grandfather was a catch. What do the kids say?” Her eyes sparkled. “Total hottie.”

“I am so not hearing this,” I said, placing my hands over my ears.

Mimi laughed. “Come on, I see our waiter coming over. Let’s order so we can go and visit my hot man.”

O
n Wednesday afternoon
, Posey picked me up from Mimi’s house after school so that we could walk to the café together. “This isn’t really on your way home, Pose,” I pointed out as we made our way into town.

“I know,” she yawned. “But I’m in desperate need of coffee.” She made a face. “Paul is on a green tea kick. Something about the antioxidants.” I wondered what Mimi would have to say about that, and somehow managed to stifle my laugh.

“I should warn you,” Posey began, looking both ways before lowering her voice. “David is working this afternoon.”

“Yeah, it would have been nice if you’d warned me on Monday, jerk face.”

She widened her eyes at me, all innocent and sweet. “Did I forget to mention it?”

“You’re such a nice cousin. Have I ever told you that?”

She laughed, patting my hand. “Just give him a chance. You guys used to get along so well!”

We reached the front door to the café, and I could just make out David’s silhouette, leaning over the counter. He looked grumpy even from here. “Ancient history,” I muttered, following Posey through the door.

“Afternoon, David,” she sing-songed, slipping behind the counter. “How’s it going?”

He looked up from his paper, and I got the distinct impression he found Posey to be a little much in the doldrums of the post-lunch slowdown. I couldn’t blame him. “Hey, Posey. What’s up?”

“Just grabbing some coffee,” she said brightly. “Thought I’d walk Iris in this afternoon. She is helping us
so
much, David. My grandmother can’t shut up about how great the books are looking.”

I wanted to crawl into a hole. It couldn’t be more obvious that she was trying to get him to like me.
Not gonna happen, cuz,
I thought, grabbing my own mug.

“That’s nice,” David said vaguely, returning to his paper. I made a face at Posey.
See?
I mouthed, then made a grumpy face to mirror his.

Posey shook her head at me before checking the clock on the wall. She gasped. “Fiddlesticks, I’m late for Paul. Okay, listen. I will be here to pick you up at seven twenty-five, okay?” She gave me her sternest look. “Don’t you dare go home and pretend like you forgot, because I will
not
believe you. And I will find you and make you come, anyway.”

“It’s really hard to take you seriously when you say things like
fiddlesticks
.”

She held up her hand as she flounced past me to the door. “No arguing. You’re coming to the Libbies meeting with me, and you’re going to have fun.” She gave me a look that clearly said,
or else
. “Bye, David,” she called out. She blew me a kiss and then she was gone.

The café felt about a million times quieter without Posey’s presence. At least until David shocked me by looking up from his paper, something almost like a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “Libbies, huh? You got roped into that?”

“Apparently, it’s a requirement when you hang out with my cousin,” I muttered, pouring a generous amount of cream into my coffee.

“Better you than me,” David said, standing and stretching.

“It sounds like you know what I’m in for?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Just be warned. Those women are crazy. I don’t say that word lightly but they are. Cuckoo. Crazy town. Nuts.”

I scrunched up my nose at him. “Awesome. Now I’m even more excited.”

David laughed. He actually laughed. At something I said. I stole a quick glance upward to make sure the sky wasn’t falling before returning my attention to him. He walked to the coffee maker and started a fresh pot of decaf. “Those women…” He shook his head. “I don’t know if I can even explain it.”

“Well, you’re going to have to try, now that you have me scared for my life.”

He laughed again, and I wished he would do it more often. It was a nice sound. He finished with the decaf and leaned over the counter toward me. I concentrated on not noticing the way his T-shirt hugged the lean muscles of his back as he bent forward. “Okay, so they’re always trying to get guys to come to these meetings.”

“Posey said it was a girls’ club.”

“Oh, it is. The guys aren’t allowed to
join
. They just want them around to gawk at. They will pull unsuspecting men off the street, I kid you not.”

I snorted and David nodded seriously before continuing. “The first time they got me, I was just minding my own business, heading to Cora’s pub. And then Jill comes outside—have you met Jill yet?”

I shook my head.

“Oh, you
will
,” he said, his voice ominous. “Anyhow, Jill comes out onto the sidewalk and says they need my help to open a wine bottle. And that should have been my first clue, because Libby has never needed help opening wine in her life. The woman can
imbibe
.” I giggled and he shot me a quick smile. “But being the swell guy that I am—”

“Oh, yeah,” I mocked. “Super swell.”

He tilted his head at me in agreement before continuing. “So I go in to help, and the next thing I know, they’re all shoving wine in my face, telling me I just have to try this vintage and that vintage. And before I know what’s even happening, they have me reading out loud from
Fifty Shades of Grey
.” He shuddered. “According to Jill, they needed a male voice for the dramatic reading.”

A wave of hysteria threatened to overtake me, and I slapped my hands over my mouth.

“
You
can laugh. I was traumatized for weeks.”

I realized, belatedly, that I was leaning over the counter toward him. Our faces were close enough that I could make out each one of his dark eyelashes. His eyes weren’t so stormy now, when he was laughing. In fact, they looked almost blue.

David cleared his throat suddenly, straightening. “Anyhow.” He looked distinctly uncomfortable. “Beware the Libbies ladies bearing wine, that’s all I have to say.” He picked up a rag and started to wipe at the seemingly spotless counter. “I should probably get to work.”

I knew he was trying to dismiss me, knew that I should make my way to the office, but it was hard to give up that moment of pleasantness between us. It reminded me of all the times he’d been sweet to me back when I lived here. “This was nice,” I blurted out without thinking, and David’s hand stilled over the rag. I cleared my throat, immediately feeling stupid. “I mean, being friendly to each other. It, uh, felt nicer than all the… you know. Scowling.”

He sighed and didn’t look at me. “I was really a jerk on Monday, wasn’t I?”

“Well…”

He shook his head. “You can say it. I know I was.”

I swallowed. “You just seem so angry with me.”

He didn’t say anything for a long time. “I’m sorry I was rude, Iris. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Only then did he look up at me. “Okay?”

I nodded. “Thanks. I mean… okay.” I stood there looking at him for a long moment before finally shaking myself. “I should get to the books.”

He gave me a tight smile. “And I should get to the coffee.”

It was only after I was safely in the office that I realized he didn’t deny my assertion that he seemed angry with me.

* * *

I
worked
straight through the afternoon. On the positive side, I was finally starting to make sense of the books. My list of areas that could be streamlined or improved was getting long. I hoped that even my grandmother, stuck in her ways as she was, might agree to at least a few of the ideas. On the negative side, my neck and shoulders were killing me from sitting crouched over the desk for so long.

I stood up, stretching, and groaned when I looked at the clock. I’d been working for more than three and a half hours without a break. Definitely time for coffee. I went to slip a few of the ledgers back onto their shelf and realized that there was a leather-bound book on its side at the very back. It must have fallen behind the other books. I grabbed it and flipped the cover open. I definitely hadn’t seen this ledger yet. The first page was engraved with a familiar logo. Rose’s. This wasn’t from the café, I realized. It was from the restaurant. My curiosity briefly battled my need for coffee. In the end, I decided to bring the restaurant ledger out to the front with me.

The café was empty, save David, who was leaning over the counter on the fudge side scribbling something in a notebook. Not wanting to disturb him and risk more scowling, I grabbed myself a cup of coffee and sank into one of the leather bar stools, opening the ledger.

A quick glance at the dates told me this was from the year they closed. A shame, too. Based on the numbers, they had been solidly in the black. I sighed wistfully, flipping through the pages. It was always such a nice place, Rose’s. I could remember Aunt Deen helping Posey and me get all dressed up before she would take us to Rose’s for lunch. Pops would always come out of the kitchen and make such a big deal about us, how pretty we were and how proud he was to cook for us. Then he would bring us anything we wanted, whether it was on the menu or not, like grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade corndogs. Posey would chatter a mile a minute, but I remember sitting quietly, more than a little in awe of the place, with its gleaming wood paneling and towering chandeliers. It was beautiful.

“What are you thinking about?” David asked, making me jump. He had somehow managed to appear behind the coffee counter without me noticing.

“Just daydreaming,” I told him, closing the ledger.

“It was a good restaurant,” he said softly, eyes on the cover.

I nodded, feeling a strange lump come to my throat. “So. How’s it going out here?”

“We had a pretty good rush around five,” he said. “We’re all out of ham and cheese.”

Another inefficiency
, I thought to myself. Running out of the most popular sandwich items before suppertime was a sign of poor inventory control.

I noticed the notebook still clutched in his hand. “What are you working on?” I asked, wanting to keep the polite feel going as long as I could.

He tossed the notebook on the counter and ran his hands through his hair. “Just something I’ve been thinking about for a while… to help Rose, maybe… I…”

“What is it?” I tried to peer over his arm at the notebook, and he pulled it into view.

“Okay, so I noticed that we’re constantly running out of these items,” he said, pointing at a list he’d written on the lined notebook pages. It was strange, the way his handwriting could still be familiar to me. “And these items we never go through before they go bad. We end up throwing away greens and sprouts every week. And I have this friend, Carl. He lives on the mainland and runs this farm.” It occurred to me suddenly that David was kind of rambling. He almost sounded nervous. Why was that so cute?

“It’s one of those organic places that all the hipsters are into these days. You know the whole locally sourced craze.” He rolled his eyes a little, and I stifled a laugh. “But his product is good. Like, really good.”

“Okay…”

He was starting to relax, his voice less halting than it had been before. “We do these two big orders from the mainland every week,” he said, pointing at another list. “But we could get almost all of this stuff from Carl’s place. The milk and the cheese, the meat, the veggies.”

“Not eggs, though,” I said, thinking about Jerry.

David rolled his eyes. “Definitely not eggs. She’d never go for that. But everything else… It could cut down on our deliveries and it would definitely cut down on our waste. The price is a little more…”

“But we could market our stuff to all those rich hipsters, at least during the summer,” I said, peering down at his list.

“Exactly! There’s a huge market for this kind of thing.”

“There is,” I murmured, deep in thought. Locally sourced was a huge buzzword in the restaurant business right now. I could see a sizable portion of rich tourists from downstate eating this stuff up—literally. “We’d have to change the menu around.”

“Already on it.” He flipped to another page where he’d scrawled some menu ideas for new sandwiches. “I figure we can keep the classic, popular stuff—keep the islanders happy—and then add in some of these more up-market items.”

The descriptions of sandwiches were mouthwatering. “David, this is incredible. How did you come up with this?”

He shrugged, looking simultaneously uncomfortable and pleased with himself. “Like I said, it’s just something I’ve been tossing around.”

There was a tinkling of bells at the door, followed by a rather high-pitched and familiar hello as Posey breezed into the shop. “I’m early, I know,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure I caught you here.” She shook her finger in my direction as she walked up to us. “I know you were going to try to escape.” She finally paused to take a breath. “What are you guys looking at?”

“Pose, come see this,” I said, gesturing her over and shoving the notebook in front of her face.

David went through the entire spiel again. I could practically see Posey’s eyes glazing over when he talked about inventory and the pricing potential for organic menu items. But when he showed her his new sandwich ideas, she became instantly engaged. “Oh my God, that sounds like heaven,” she practically cooed, gazing at the description for Mediterranean chicken and sundried tomatoes. She shot me a sheepish glance. “Paul is also on a vegan kick right now. He packed me bean curd in my lunch today.”