Bombers and Nerdy Girls Do Brunch by Lisa Boero

Author:Lisa Boero
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: legal thriller, saint louis, prosopagnosia, face blindness, washington university, nerdy girl, wisconsin author, missouri author, detective adventure, lawyer and romance
Publisher: Lisa Boero

Chapter 15

On Sunday, I told James I could not handle his family birthday celebration the following Saturday. He said it wouldn’t be the same without me. “I’m sure,” was all I said in return. He did try the pleading expression I found so hard to resist, but I stood firm. Let them talk about me behind my back. It was better than dealing with them in my present state of mind. Forgiveness is difficult. I had forgiven James, although it might have helped if he truly understood what he had done. He’d fed me to the wolves. Now how was I supposed to forgive the wolves?

This did not mean I had no plans for his birthday, which was actually Monday the 29th. I refused to tell him anything except that he should not stay too late at work. My first task was locating the gift. I set out for the antique mall on Thursday morning right after seeing my parents and Ashley out the door. If that didn’t work, I would still have time to locate an alternate gift somewhere else.

Antique malls are strange places. There usually isn’t much antique about them. Most are like giant garage sales with a few valuable items thrown in. And so much depends on the booth. Each booth is rented by a different person with different ideas about what will sell. I love them. They are like walking through a time machine. And you can touch everything.

The one I went to had a couple of booths dedicated to 1950’s kitchen implements and cookbooks. James was a devotee of Julia Child, but he lacked a few important volumes. One was Secrets of the Great French Restaurants by Louisette Bertholle, Julia Child’s collaborator. Another was the Larousse Gastronomique, the golden bible of French cuisine. I remembered seeing both, along with a number of out of print titles, at the antique mall. I only hoped that they were still there.

As I walked through the front door, a familiar voice hailed me from the cash register. “Liz Howe!”

“Matt Crandall. I didn’t know you worked here. Do you ever sleep?”

He grinned. “I pitch in every now and then. My boyfriend’s parents own this place. Hey, let me introduce you.” He picked up the microphone for the sound system. “Would Blair please report to the front desk? Customer needs assistance.”

“I don’t want to bother him.”

“No bother,” a voice said. I turned around. There stood a very slight blond man. He had such even features he could have been called beautiful. He was dressed in dark-wash jeans and a dark purple jacket, cut like a motorcycle jacket, with rivets at the hem. The jacket was covered with the most amazing collection of brooches I’d ever seen. They glittered under the fluorescent light.

I extended my hand. “Liz. Your pins are amazing.”

“Blair.” He gave my hand a shake. “Glad I can finally meet you. And thanks – I’ve been collecting a long time.”

I turned back to Matt. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to come see your work yet.

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