by Whitley Cox
He tossed his head back and laughed. “Oh Paige, if only you could see your face right now.” He got up and grabbed his camera off his desk.
Click.
Click.
Click.
She wanted to roll her eyes again but fought it.
Mitch sat down on the couch again and scooted in close to her, bringing the screen of his camera between them and pressing a button until images of her sitting on the couch right where she was now popped up on the screen. “See how gorgeous you are? Look at the flush of your skin, the brightness of your eyes. You can try to convince yourself all you like that the thought of me spanking you doesn’t intrigue you, but you’d be lying. It’s written all over your face, all over your body.”
Paige swallowed and studied the image of her on the screen again. Her hair was coming out of her bun, a mass of wisps and tendrils around her face, neck and temples. Her cheeks were rosy, her lips puffy and a deep red, and her brown eyes bright. The blanket was tucked under her arms, leaving the top of her chest and collarbone bare. Anybody who saw this would know the woman in the picture had just had amazing sex, but that didn’t detract at all from how content she looked. How at peace and happy she seemed. Her muscles were relaxed. There were no lines on her face. She was enjoying the blissful aftereffects of a being with someone who made her feel beautiful, and in turn, that beauty shone through to the world.
“See,” Mitch said, interrupting her thoughts. “See how beautiful you are?”
Slowly, she nodded. She did see it. For the first time in a very long time, she could see what Mitch saw. She was beautiful.
“It’s not all tricks with good lighting and camera angles. Sometimes the subject makes the photo. All I have to do is point and shoot.”
All I have to do is point and shoot.
Worrying her lip between her teeth for a moment and contemplating what she was about to do, she set the water glass down, stood up and brazenly let the blanket fall to the floor. “Then point and shoot.”
15
Unlike the winter months, which can seem to drag on, blending together until they feel like one dark, cold, dreary day that’s never-ending, the summer was flying by. Plenty of sunshine, warm breezes, days spent at the beach and evenings spent chasing butterflies. It seemed like one minute, Paige was facing her fear and dancing for Art in the Park on the Fourth of July, and the next, she was menu-planning in her new restaurant space with her staff in the middle of August.
Mitch had set his studio opening for the last weekend in August, and Paige had agreed to cater it. She wasn’t going to open Lilac and Lavender until Labor Day, but they needed their space ready for production and their menu set by the time they catered for the studio opening.
“What about doing a take on a Yorkshire pudding, but instead of making it savory, you make it sweet and then fill the center with a Boston cream or hazelnut filling?” Jane suggested, as she and Paige sat in the restaurant one Tuesday afternoon and mulled over the menu.
They’d been doing this for a few weeks now. They’d discuss menu items, banter them back and forth and then make them, perfect them and add them to the list or cull them altogether. They were pretty much done with the savory dishes they would offer for breakfast and lunch. Paige was almost done the catering menu, but she was struggling for wow items to add to her bakery case.
Paige nodded mindlessly and hummed, trying to envision a sweet Yorkshire pudding. “Yeah, that might work. They’re really oily though, and I worry about them getting too hard too fast. I like where your head is though. I just want something that we’re known for, you know? Something that will put The Lilac and Lavender Bistro on the map. Something that will make people line up around the block, like the cronut.”
“Like your banana-bread bread pudding at Narcissus?” Jane asked. “Or your white chocolate pound cake?”
Paige drummed her fingers on the table absentmindedly and nodded. “Yeah, but I want new recipes. I’ll wait a bit to introduce those menu items back into my own restaurant.”
Jane’s smile was devious. “Unless customers come begging for it. Since you took your recipe books and poached all her staff, Marcy’s menu is royally fucked. Word will get out that she’s a twat to work for, and she won’t be able to hire a damn soul with a worthy recipe book within six months.”
Paige was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. So far, since Paige left Narcissus, taking four of the kitchen staff with her, she hadn’t heard a peep from Marcy. She knew she would eventually, she just didn’t know when or how that bitch was going to rear her ugly head again.
“We’re taking bets. You want in?” Jane asked.
“Bets on what?”
“On when Narcissus goes under. I say she’ll be scrambling by Christmas. Dani says Valentine’s Day; Theo says by March.”
“And what about Jill?”
Jane snickered as she tucked a strand of purple-streaked blonde hair behind her ear, revealing a sleeve of tattoos beneath her open chef’s coat. “Jill is the biggest cynic of us all, you know that. She doesn’t think Narcissus will be open by Halloween. Says that Marcy’s going to run that place into the ground by running off the staff.”
Why did Paige feel sorry for Marcy?
Jane squinted at her. “Don’t you dare feel sorry for that bitch. She deserves everything she has coming to her. After what she did to you for all those years, she should be in fucking prison.”
“Yes, well … ” Paige hit her pad of paper with her pen a few times. “I don’t disagree with you, but I’d hate to see the restaurant close. Narcissus was a beautiful place to eat and work.”
“For a while. Until it wasn’t. Now Lilac and Lavender is going to be the place to get your lunch and your events catered.”
“It won’t be if we can’t come up with a signature pastry.” Paige sighed.
Jane’s lips twisted, and her nose wrinkled in thought. “It’s easy enough to put lavender in a bunch of our pastries. Your lavender scones are the fucking bomb, but could we make a lilac out of pastry?”
Paige exhaled. “I’ve thought about that, but I keep coming back to chocolate, and I’m not a chocolatier. I can and do work with it, but it’s never been my forte. I’m all about the flour, the butter, the lard and the frosting.”
Jane grinned. “And you do it so well.” She took a bite of the caramel apple fritter Paige had made that morning. “This is a winner. We definitely need to add this to the menu.” She licked a blob of caramel off her thumb. “I mean I could drink this stuff.”
Paige snorted before turning her attention back to the pad of paper in front of her. “I just don’t know. A lavender fritter? A lavender pavlova? Small, personal-size lavender pavlovas with berry compote? With lavender jam?”
Jane’s eyes lit up as if Paige was finally on to something, but a knock at the door had them both swiveling in their chairs, breaking their creative process.
Right! Mitch’s mother.
Paige stood up and made her way to open the lock. “You must be Mrs. Benson. Mitch and Violet have told me so much about you. Please come in.”
She was a striking woman, with green eyes the same shade as her children’s and short-cropped, straw-colored hair with strands of silver throughout. She could see where Mitch and Violet got their good looks. She could also see that both of them would age well.
“Call me Greta, please,” she said with a slight shake to her voice as she stepped inside and followed Paige deeper into the restaurant.
Paige nodded. “All right then, Greta. Thank you so much for agreeing to come and meet with me. It means a lot. I’m also so happy to finally meet you.”
Slowly, Greta’s eyes roamed over the space and then over Paige. Paige couldn’t tell whether the woman was simply a cautious observer, taking in her surroundings and company before speaking, or if she was passing judgment and quietly ridiculing what she disapproved of.
“Caramel apple fritter?” Jane held up a pan with the sticky confections in front
of Greta’s face. “Paige just made them, and they’re fucking awesome.”
Paige shut her eyes and winced. She loved Jane, but the woman had the vernacular of a sailor. She noticed Greta stiffen slightly from the abrasive word. But surprisingly she took one, her eyes widening and her mouth splitting into a big smile the longer she chewed.
Paige let out a small sigh of relief.
Jane was all smiles. “See, what’d I tell you?”
Greta nodded. “These are fantastic.” She turned to face Paige. “You made that?”
Paige nodded, wanting to dip her head and look away, but she knew she couldn’t. She not only wanted Greta to take the commission but she also wanted Mitch’s mother to like her. She couldn’t let her shyness get the better of her and ruin this very important first meeting.
The frosty exterior that seemed to have followed the older woman inside slowly began to melt away when she smiled again and set her sketch pad down on the table. “Well, if all your dishes are like that, then I think this place will be a huge success.”
“Thank you.”
Greta turned to face the big blank wall next to them. It was the only wall that ran the entire length of the space without any interruption, besides the door leading to Mitch’s studio. Right now, it was a blinding white, but Paige hoped they could change that. Paige hoped Greta could change that.
Once Paige told Greta what she wanted, the two chatted a bit before Greta asked for some time to measure and sketch on her own. Paige was just glad she’d agreed to take the job and sat back down with Jane again, her workload and stress level a touch lighter than before her boyfriend’s mother had walked in.
How many women could say that? That their boyfriend’s mother lightened their stress load.
She chuckled to herself as she picked up her pen and paper once again and wracked her brain for an epiphany.
“That seems to have gone well,” Jane whispered, leaning in over the table so that Greta couldn’t hear her. “I was a bit worried when she walked in with a frown on her face.”
Paige nodded. “Me too. Maybe she’s just shy like me, and that’s misinterpreted as frosty.”
“Could be.” Jane took another fritter off the plate and dove in. “I wouldn’t know what that’s like. I’ve never been shy in my life.”
Paige giggled. “Don’t I know it.”
“So back to the signature dessert … ”
Paige sighed, pulled her bun out and ran her fingers through her hair. She was about ready to pull it all out strand by strand from the stress of coming up with a signature dessert. “I know. I just can’t figure out what to do. I mean, do I do a chocolate flower? Do I do a pastry? I want it to scream The Lilac and Lavender Bistro, but I just can’t figure out what will do that.”
“A churro?” Jane offered, getting up to grab her water bottle off the counter.
Paige paused. “As in the stem?”
Jane lifted a shoulder. “I dunno. I just love churros.”
“You know lilacs are edible, right?”
Paige spun around in her seat to face Greta, who was now standing right behind her. Jane’s mouth dropped open.
“They are?” Jane asked.
Greta nodded. “And they’re actually quite delicious. You can candy them or crystalize them with egg whites and sugar.”
“You’ve done this?” Paige asked, her mind gathering ideas like a squirrel gathers nuts for the winter.
Greta shook her head. “No, but in the last few months I’ve watched a fair bit of television, and I saw them do it on a baking show.”
Jane and Paige stared at each other, a smile spreading across both their faces.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Jane asked.
Paige nodded. “A churro as the stem, crystalized or candied lilac flowers adhered to the stem with white chocolate?”
Jane nodded. “We could do other flowers too.” Her eyes grew wide. “Fuck, a lavender churro would be amaze-balls.”
Paige turned back to face Greta, her brain now bursting with new ideas. “You’re a genius. Thank you.”
As if a light switch went on inside her, Greta’s smile erupted, her eyes turned bright, and an entirely new glow seemed to radiate off her. “You’re very welcome.” She put her head back down to her sketch pad but not without that big smile still on her face.
Whistling a tune to some kids’ movie Jayda was currently obsessed with, Mitch opened the door to Liam’s house Saturday night. They were two weeks away from the opening night of his studio, and although he should have been spending his time finalizing things and working on the edits for a photo shoot he’d done last week—it was poker night. And nothing got in the way of poker night.
The sound of heavy footsteps and a friendly “Yo” had him holding the door.
Adam nodded and smiled, a six-pack of beer in one hand and an envelope in the other. He handed the envelope to Mitch. “In case you see her before me, can you give this to her?”
Mitch took it from Adam. “These the custody papers?”
“Yeah, had Liam draw them up yesterday. I signed them, and now Paige just needs to sign them.”
They made their way into the kitchen, where a cacophony of other male voices laughing and murmuring greeted them.
Paige and Adam had had a big sit-down conversation earlier in the week, and they’d invited Mitch and Violet to sit in on it, seeing as they were now the significant others in Adam and Paige’s lives. Paige had revealed to Adam that she was ready for a more active and influential role in Mira’s life again. Obviously, Adam had been thrilled, but he’d also been concerned about Paige’s new job and the stress it was going to put on her. She’d reassured him that yes, her job had stress, but so did his. However, unlike her old job, where she was only allowed to be so creative, as her own boss she had no ceiling on where her imagination could take her. She was finally, after a very long time, happy again. She was creating and innovating, and she wanted to share her joy with her daughter and not just as a weekend parent.
Mitch was so proud of her for standing up for herself, for putting her needs and the needs of her daughter ahead of everybody else.
They’d had their conversation at Adam’s home, which had been Paige’s home. Violet was going to move in with Adam, seeing as they were now having a baby together, which made Mitch wonder whether Paige would eventually move in with him.
Oh, what a tangled web. Musical houses.
But at the same time, it was kind of wonderful that they all got along so well and that Jayda and Mira had already bonded. They were all going to be in each other’s lives for the foreseeable future, raising the girls together. They might as well be friendly about it.
“My therapist thinks it’s a great idea,” Paige had said, calmly taking a sip of her iced tea. “I’m no longer a risk to myself. The creative outlets of dance and baking are working wonders for my moods and all the intrusive thoughts. I’m in a good place, Adam.”
Mitch squeezed her leg and gave her a reassuring smile.
Adam and Violet sat on the opposite couch. Mitch’s sister looked pale and sickly. The pregnancy was certainly taking its toll on her.
“That’s awesome,” Adam said. “I’m willing to call up Liam now and have him draw up new custody papers if that’s what you want. I just want to know that you’re okay. I don’t want you to feel ashamed or embarrassed for saying you need a bit more time to take care of yourself.”
The sexy line of Paige’s throat moved as she swallowed. “I appreciate that, but being more involved in my daughter’s life is exactly what I need right now. Besides, with the new baby coming, won’t it be nice to have only one kid to worry about half the time?”
Violet and Adam made similar faces of unease.
Mitch wasn’t sure if they were holding back their joy for Paige’s sake or if they were both still a little shell-shocked from the baby news.
Adam slapped his thigh and stood up, dragging his phone out of the back pocket of his shorts
. “Then I’ll call Liam right now.”
A hard slap on Mitch’s back brought him back to the present, where he and Adam were standing in Liam’s kitchen. He turned around to find their host with a slightly irritated expression on his face.
“What the fuck, man?” Liam said. “I open my home up to you, feed you, and you repay me by having your studio opening on poker night?”
Mitch paused, his mouth open, his eyes darting around the place to gauge the reactions of the other guys.
Was Liam joking or was he serious? It was so hard to tell with the guy sometimes.
“Uh … I’m sorry?”
Liam’s mouth split into a big grin, almost too big, and he slapped Mitch on the back again. “Ah, I guess I won’t hold it against you. As long as there is free food and booze at this thing, I forgive you.”
Phew.
The last thing Mitch wanted was to piss off their host and founder and be kicked out of the club for double-booking everyone. This club had become his second family.
He was all nods, popping the top on his beer and downing half of it before speaking. “There will most definitely be both. The temporary event liquor license just got approved this morning, and Paige is catering.”
Liam’s eyes swiveled to Adam. “Your ex?”
Adam nodded. “She’s a killer cook and an even better baker. Opening up her own restaurant.”
Liam wandered into the dining room, where Atlas, Scott, Zak and Mark were setting up the poker table, chairs and food. Scott, Liam’s brother, was behind the big leather-top bar, a very expensive bottle of scotch in his hand.
Adam and Mitch each grabbed a bowl of potato chips off the kitchen counter and followed Liam.
“So you’re still dating Adam’s ex, then?” Liam asked, taking a seat at the table next to Zak.
Mitch nodded, sitting down beside Mark. “I am. Going great. Her restaurant and my studio are next door to each other.”
Liam tossed his head back and laughed. “Oh, that’s going to make it so easy when things go south.” He snorted and tossed a handful of pretzels into his mouth, shoving them into his cheek so he could talk. “I’ve got a good real estate agent. When you need a divorce, I’ll be your man. When you need to rent a new space so you’re not staring at your ex every minute of every goddamn day, I’ll hook you up with Klein.”
