Fudge and Frenemies: A Small Town Culinary Cozy Mystery (Maple Lane Mysteries Book 6) by Phipps C. A

Author:Phipps, C. A.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cheryl Phipps
Published: 2021-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

At breakfast the next day, Ava seemed tense. She kept looking at Gran and the girls as though she wanted to say something but couldn’t get the words out. Eventually, William stood and brought her more coffee.

“Ava?” he prompted.

“Oh, all right.” She grimaced. “With all the drama, I completely forgot that I’d arranged a dinner party for tonight. I meant to cancel straight after the… death. I’m sure people would understand if we didn’t go ahead, but William insists we continue with it since it’s such short notice.”

William nodded. “Unfortunately, a person in my position is expected to hold several dinner parties a year, and we’ve been very remiss. As it’s all been arranged and everyone has accepted, I see no point in putting them off. Plus, you’ll meet some of our peers, and it would be a blessing to take our minds off things. Would it trouble any of you too much?”

“I do like a party.” Gran turned to Ava. “But do you think you’re up for it, dear?”

“I’d cancel in a heartbeat,” Ava admitted, “but William’s right. And it’s my fault we haven’t had any dinners—except for having Sybil over. I simply couldn’t summon the enthusiasm.”

Maddie smiled. “It’s hard to mix in circles that are new. At least, you’ll have us here for moral support.”

“You’d be surprised to know how much that matters.”

The words could be taken as a huge compliment, yet Maddie heard another innuendo that no one else seemed to pick up on it. Was she imagining it?

“Now that we have that sorted, I shall go and choose the wine.” William left the room with a bounce to his step that had been missing since they arrived.

“Men!” Ava smiled indulgently. “As if wine is the most important thing to make the night a success.”

“What do you need help with, dear?”

“That’s just it, Mom, I don’t know. Mrs. Dobbin insists she’d rather keep busy and will struggle on her own, since Letty isn’t back at work yet. I should be grateful, but instead I feel as though dominoes are falling left and right and the night will be a disaster.”

“That’s not like you to be such a defeatist.”

Ava shrugged. “The problem is all my doing. I’ve stood firm in not getting too involved with the village and William’s peers because I didn’t understand how much it matters. Now everyone around here hates me.”

“I can’t believe that’s true,” Angel protested. “You’ve changed so much.”

Despite her mood, Ava gave a wry grin. “I promise you it is. There are certain expectations I thought I could bypass because quite frankly they are ridiculous, but apparently it’s seen as a slight and will be hard to come back from.”

William had returned with the wine and stood anxiously at Ava’s side, but didn’t disagree.

Gran tutted. “How many people are coming tonight?”

“Six, plus us.”

Gran stood. “Then I shall go to the kitchen right now and offer my help.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that, Mom.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering, and it would be my pleasure.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.