by Tina Kashian
“Let me see the ring again.” Katie rested her fork on the end of her plate, where she’d been indulging in the pineapple cake.
Lucy extended her hand, and the round diamond shimmered beneath Katie’s kitchen lights.
Katie squealed in delight. She shot from her stool and hugged Lucy. “The ring is to die for! I’m so happy for you. It’s about time he proposed.”
“I wasn’t sure myself about everything.”
“And now?”
“I’m sure. Very sure. It feels right. It’s always been Azad for me.”
Lucy knew it deep in her bones. She was confident the boardwalk medium, Madame Vega, would agree with her.
“We have to check out all the reception sites. There’s the Castle of the Sea, of course, but you may not want to be that formal. Plus, it’s very pricey.”
“And we found a body there, remember?” It would take a long while before she forgot the gruesome image. Kebab Kitchen had been catering a wedding then, but this time she would plan her own wedding.
Katie waved a hand, as if that fact was unimportant. “Whatever. I’m not superstitious. But there’s also Catelli’s Manor, Paoli’s Catering, and The Sea View. We can also visit out-of-town reception halls. And it’s never too early to start on the guest list.”
Lucy’s mind whirled at the speed in which Katie was spitting out plans. “Hold up! We just got engaged last night. You are putting me in a panic.”
“As your matron of honor, it’s my duty to give you a fabulous bachelorette party and help in any way I can.”
There was no question that Katie would be her maid of honor. Emma would understand. But as for everything else—bachelorette parties, catering halls, and a guest list? Her mother would have a say in everything, especially a guest list, because Lucy had a large extended family. She wasn’t ready.
“Have you told your parents?” Katie asked.
“No. You’re the first.”
“Your mom and dad are going to freak. They’ve wanted you two together since you graduated from college.”
Lucy rubbed her temple. “Don’t remind me.” She knew Angela and Raffi would be beside themselves with happiness. For some reason, she felt like a rebellious teenager. Did she want to hear her mother’s voice: “I told you so. If you weren’t so stubborn, this would have happened a year ago.”
Oh, brother.
“I only hope they take it in stride and don’t start baking baklava for our wedding dessert just yet,” Lucy said.
“Aw, let them have their happiness. I know I’m thrilled.”
“What’s all the squealing about?” Bill walked into the kitchen. He was in his uniform and ready to go to the station.
“Lucy and Azad got engaged! Isn’t it exciting?” Katie said.
“Congratulations are definitely in order, Lucy.” Bill hugged Lucy. “I always knew Azad was a good guy. But if he ever screws up, you come tell me, okay?”
Lucy smiled at Bill’s protectiveness. “Thanks, I will.”
“By the way, you should know that Kevin Crowley sang like a canary and admitted to Gilbert’s murder. He’s going to go to prison for a long time.”
“Then last night’s boardwalk mayhem was all worth it,” Lucy said.
“How’s your landlady faring?” Bill asked.
“She was up and about this morning as usual. She may not have had the best relationship with her nephew, but I think she’s relieved Gilbert’s murderer will be brought to justice,” Lucy said. “Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I better go tell my parents about the better part of last night.”
Next on her stop was the restaurant. Azad was working, but he’d promised not to say a word to her parents. Lucy wanted to break the good news.
She found her parents hunched over the desk in the cramped storage room office. Time sheets were spread across the surface. No matter how often she’d told her father that she would completely take over the task, Raffi beat her to it. Lucy had finally come to the realization that her father needed something to do to keep himself occupied in semiretirement.
“Hi, Mom and Dad.”
Angela removed her reading glasses, and they dangled from a decorative chain around her neck. “Hello, Lucy. We left a message on your cell phone not to come in to work today. We thought you’d need a day off after what happened last night.”
“Your mother is right,” Raffi said. Both her parents looked at her with concern.
Lucy took a breath and decided the best way to deliver her news was to announce it without preamble. “I’m fine. Truly, I am. But I’m not here to talk about Kevin Crowley’s arrest. I have other news. Azad and I are engaged.” She held out her left hand to show off her shiny bauble.
A deafening silence filled the space.
Lucy’s eyes darted from her mother to her father, then back to her mother.
Her mother finally spoke up. “Is this a joke?”
“No. Azad proposed earlier last night, and I accepted. I thought you’d be happy.”
Chaos took over in the blink of an eye. Her parents shot from their seats and started talking over each other. She found herself engulfed in her father’s arms, his stubble tickling her cheek, and then thrust into her mother’s arms. For a petite woman, her mother’s arms embraced her surprisingly tightly.
“We are so happy for you both.” Tears flowed down her mother’s cheeks, and Lucy felt her own eyes well up. She hadn’t seen her mother cry in years.
“Where’s Azad? I need to congratulate my future son-in-law,” Raffi said.
His words made her mother cry even more.
“I’m going to be a sappy mess at the wedding,” Angela said, sniffling.
Lucy’s worries about her mother’s reaction and anticipated words, “I told you so,” vanished. Angela’s crying almost drowned out the thundering of Lucy’s own heart, and tears began running down her own cheeks.
Not tears of sadness, but of happiness.
“It will be all right, Mom,” Lucy said.
Her mother lifted her head and met Lucy’s eyes. “This is going to be the best Easter.”
* * *
After her parents insisted she take the day off, Lucy made a stop at Lola’s Coffee Shop. She needed a special pick-me-up and a cappuccino was calling. She headed straight for the counter when she heard her name.
“Hey, Lucy!”
Three men were sitting at a table tucked in a corner—Michael, with Pumpkin and Craig.
She left the line and went over to their table. “Good morning.” It was the first time she’d seen Pumpkin after she and Katie had found him in his greenhouse smooching with Sophia. It wasn’t an image Lucy would be able to forget for a long while.
As for Craig, he’d never found out she’d eavesdropped on him in the blacklight minigolf. Or had he?
Pumpkin was wearing worn jeans and a tight T-shirt that revealed muscles and a new tattoo of a skull and crossbones on his forearm. Tessa had been busy at her boardwalk tattoo parlor.
Pumpkin reached for a newspaper on the table. “The whole town is abuzz with Kevin Crowley’s arrest for Gilbert’s murder. According to the local paper, you had a part in it,” Pumpkin said.
Stan Slade must have been up all night if the details had been printed already. “I had a small part. The police were the real heroes,” Lucy said.
In Lucy’s opinion, they were. They’d arrived to drag Kevin out of the candy shop in handcuffs and free Mrs. Lubinski from the tramcar on the pier.
Pumpkin folded the paper and flashed a smile. “We’ve decided to forgive you for thinking we could have murdered Gilbert.”
Lucy blinked, unsure how to respond to that.
“What he means,” Craig said, “is that we don’t blame you. Circumstances did look bad.” In contrast to Pumpkin, he was dressed in a polo shirt and khakis.
“Thanks,” Lucy said. What else was she to say?
“Despite your downplaying your role, we’re happy to hear that you and Mrs. Lubinski weren’t inju
red,” Michael said.
Thanks to the newspaper article, Lucy would face questions from nosy townsfolk for weeks. Lucy cleared her throat as she turned back to Pumpkin. “How is Sophia?”
Pumpkin’s grin widened. “I plan to follow her to New York City to support her aspiring modeling career.”
Lucy was surprised. Sophia must have shared her modeling ambitions with him. Both Lucy and Katie had doubted that Sophia would be honest. “Really?” Lucy asked. “What about your landscaping business in town?”
“It will be a long-distance relationship. I’m only busy during the spring and summer and plan to stay with Sophia during my off-season. Meanwhile, we can visit each other. New York City is not that far away.”
No, it wasn’t. Public transportation via train or bus made it a manageable commute.
“Good luck to both of you, and I hope Sophia lands a modeling contract.” Lucy turned her attention to Craig. “What about you, Craig?”
“I’m staying in Ocean Crest,” Craig said. “Sophia sold me her share of the Seagull Condominiums. And thanks to your brother-in-law, Max, I now own the blacklight minigolf. You can golf any time for free, Lucy.”
“I’ll take you up on that offer.”
“Now that the Bikers on the Beach Festival is nearly over, we can celebrate with another bonfire,” Michael said.
At Lucy’s horrified expression, all three men laughed.
“I’m just joking, Lucy. No bonfires for a while,” Michael said.
With the festival winding down, many of the motorcycle enthusiasts had already headed home. The town would soon gear up for the summer season. Lucy would be sure Kebab Kitchen was ready for an influx of tourists.
Craig reached for his mug. “We have the summer to look forward to. How about windsurfing?”
“Windsurfing sounds good to me,” Lucy said.
She waved and headed for the coffee line and her cappuccino. Michael pushed back his chair and followed her with his empty mug. Once they were away from the two other men, Michael nudged her shoulder. “Don’t worry about harassing them a bit in the past. They both had pretty strong motives to get rid of Gilbert, and they know it. Besides, they still would ride their Harley-Davidsons with you any day. I know I haven’t changed my opinion.”
Gratitude welled in her chest. “Thanks, Michael.”
“By the way, when were you going to tell me?”
“About what?”
His gaze darted to her hand, then returned to her face. “The rock on your finger.”
She shifted uncomfortably on her feet. Although there was nothing between them but friendship, she felt awkward telling Michael. “Azad proposed last night. I didn’t purposely forget to tell you. I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”
“Did this happen before you escaped a murderer on the boardwalk?”
“Thankfully, yes.” He appeared calm, undisturbed, but she wasn’t convinced. She studied his expression, searching for some reaction. “You okay with this news?”
“Are you happy?”
“Yes.”
He nodded once. “Then I’m okay with it.”
She let out a relieved breath. “You know you are one of my closest friends, right?”
Michael’s face beamed in a dazzling smile. “Other than Katie?”
“You both rank pretty high.”
He winked. “Good. How about a motorcycle ride next week after your Easter celebration?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
* * *
Lucy had one more stop to make. The boardwalk was a bit less busy since most of the bikers had left Ocean Crest. The candy shop was open, and Sarah was outside handing out fudge samples.
“Hi, Sarah,” Lucy said as she took a sample of vanilla fudge from her tray. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“So am I. Thank goodness the police came to their senses and released Melanie. What were they thinking!”
“I have no idea. How is Melanie?” Lucy hadn’t had a chance to see her friend since the day she had visited her in jail with Clyde Winters. She wondered how Melanie was handling things. A wrongful arrest and incarceration were not an experience a person could easily forget. She hoped Melanie didn’t have nightmares.
“Melanie’s better. Much better. She’s inside getting ready to make a new batch of fudge. She’ll be happy to see you,” Sarah said.
Lucy found Melanie gathering ingredients on the worktable. A copper pot rested beside a bag of sugar. Lucy looked away from the pot. She didn’t want to recall how she’d used it to defend herself against a murderous Kevin Crowley.
“Lucy!” Melanie cried out as soon as she saw her and hugged her.
“How are you?” Lucy asked.
“Good. Business has kept me busy and kept my mind off my time behind bars. I suppose I’ll never entirely forget the experience, but I’m grateful to you and Katie for helping me. And to Mr. Winters for arranging my release with the police.”
“I’m happy there will be fudge and taffy on the boardwalk again,” Lucy said with a smile.
Melanie chuckled. “How can I ever thank you?”
Lucy cast a glance at the trays of fudge waiting to be cut and pieces placed into small cardboard boxes for the candy store’s customers. “I love your chocolate nut fudge.”
“I’ll hand-deliver a box a week,” Melanie promised.
Lucy’s eyes widened. “Good heavens, no. I’ll have to jog the boardwalk twice as often.”
“Okay. How about a box a month? Share it with everyone at the restaurant.”
Lucy nodded. “They’d love that. By the way, I never had the chance to tell you, but Rhonda came to visit me at the restaurant. She told me about her gambling problem and how you tried to help her and that it caused a rift between the two of you. How are you and Rhonda faring?”
Melanie wiped her hands on a towel, then leaned against the counter. “Rhonda visited me in jail and apologized. I forgave her, but only because she promised to start going to Gamblers Anonymous. I think she’ll even tell her husband.”
Lucy was surprised, but happy to hear this news. Rhonda had been sincere after all. “Good for her. I hope everything works out for Rhonda and Noah.”
“Me too. She even invited me over for Easter dinner.”
“Will you accept? If you’re not comfortable, I’m hosting Easter at my new place this year and you are welcome to come,” Lucy said.
“Thanks, but I accepted Rhonda’s offer. It seems like things are going in the right direction with us.” Melanie reached for a bag of sugar. “You want to help make fudge?”
Lucy warily eyed the copper pot. “Not today. I have to prepare for Easter.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Happy Easter!”
Lucy hugged her parents as they came inside her apartment. “Happy Easter, Mom and Dad.”
“How is the lamb shish kebab?” Angela asked.
“It looks perfect,” Lucy said.
Her mother eyed her suspiciously. “Oh? Where’s Azad?”
“He’s on the deck grilling.”
“Then it will be perfect,” Angela said.
Lucy rolled her eyes rather than argue with her mother. Lucy had marinated the lamb overnight and had prepared most of the side dishes herself, including the hummus. She’d even freshly baked choereg and would serve the sweetbread with cheese and baklava after dinner. She’d let her mother think Azad had done everything, then, after Angela had approved of each dish, she’d come clean and tell her the truth.
Deep down, Lucy knew her mother would be proud of her. After all, her cooking lessons had taught Lucy everything she knew.
The entire town, including her family and friends, were relieved that Gilbert’s murderer was in jail.
Her parents were also thrilled about the wedding. To Lucy’s surprise, they hadn’t brought up wedding plans or food for the reception and had been relatively quiet about the engagement at the restaurant. They’d told customers, but hadn’t dragged Lucy from the kitchen
to show off her diamond.
Katie, on the other hand, had been talking nonstop about the engagement. Her friend had even purchased wedding magazines showing glossy covers of ridiculously tall and rail-thin models in billowing gowns. Lucy was going to have to give up pastries, including her favorite, lemon meringue pie, from Cutie’s bakery. She’d have to continue jogging the boardwalk and—heaven help her—maybe even take up yoga.
Next to arrive were Katie and Bill. Then Emma, Max, and Niari. And then Michael.
“Where’s your feisty landlady?” Max asked.
“Mrs. Lubinski is outside, watching Azad cook.”
“I do believe she has a crush on your fiancé,” Max said.
“Ugh.” It was probably true.
“Congrats again on the engagement,” Michael said.
Michael and Azad may never be best friends, but the two men had come to tolerate each other.
“I really wasn’t surprised when you told me the news,” Michael said. “You and I may be good friends, but I’ve always thought of you as a great catch.”
“Thanks, Michael.”
“Still, he’d better treat you right. It’s not just your father he’d have to answer to.” The words were delivered lightly, but his smile didn’t entirely reach his eyes. Michael would always have her back and be a good friend.
He handed her a bottle he was cradling under his arm. “I brought your father’s favorite cognac from Armenia.”
Raffi must have overheard. He was by their side in a flash, and Lucy passed him the bottle. Her father reverently turned it over in his hands and read the label, a satisfied expression on his face. “You did good, Michael.”
“It isn’t stocked everywhere. My father found it in an out-of-town liquor store.”
Lucy knew Michael’s father had his fingers in everything—legal and illegal. If Raffi knew this, he didn’t bring it up. Her father’s eyes shone with delight as he reached for glasses on the counter. “Thank Mr. Citteroni for me.”
