Before Anyone Else by Leslie Hooton

Author:Leslie Hooton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Published: 2019-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Five

After the holidays ended, the new stove was installed and the warranty papers were executed and mailed in, and the restaurant returned to normal. As did Elliott. He returned to the cooking virtuoso I remembered. Even his specials of the day were crisp and nuanced. We had some turnover, but all the new hires seemed even better, and our sous chef Rex had improved to the point that he was becoming an impressive backup to Elliott. My heart settled down. I tried to keep my worry at bay.

Elliott and I returned to our normal selves. Our better selves. He returned to being light and playful with me. Chasing away my cares, allowing laughter in like sunlight and catching me in a tight embrace to “squeeze out the fret,” as he put it. We even returned to going out occasionally, finding our names or our picture on Page Six. Sometimes I wore the sea pearl necklace, but I always wore my favorite piece of jewelry—the peridot and diamond earrings.

After years of being barren, my world was suddenly populated with women. Penny and I saw each other several times a week. Elliott had recently hired a new waitress named Leah who seemed to brighten the place up just with her smile. She proved to be a godsend.

I saw Elle and Reggie every Thursday night for our weekly dinner date, even though we technically still lived together. We spent so many nights with our boyfriends. Elle, Reggie, and I were in full-tilt wedding planning mode. I was even getting excited about the wedding, sharing my ideas with the girls as if I were a wedding planner. Elle seemed impressed with my ideas. My vision.

“I see the wedding planner I hired was a waste of money. Who knew I could just go with you, Bailey? I didn’t know how serious you would take my wedding,” Elle said.

“Hello. Have you met me? You know I take my job kind of seriously.” It was such an understatement that we all laughed. I could see soft lavender-colored napkins with sprigs of lavender tucked into each napkin at every place. I knew we could find a calligrapher to match the ink to the place cards. Elle was overjoyed.

The question hovered around again. Was it finally time to move in with Elliott? Reggie, Elle, and I discussed it. I spent most nights with Elliott, but there was the occasional night when he was having back pain that I liked having my own apartment. I liked my freedom. I decided to table my own decision until Reggie flew the coop.

My schedule was taking shape. Elle’s wedding was in June. I would take a week off from my business around Labor Day when things were slow to go home and check on all my men. Elliott didn’t like it. He didn’t want to be apart that long, but he relented after I explained I needed to see my father. And I agreed to move in with him when our lease ran out in September.

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