Three Treats Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein

Author:Debra H. Goldstein [Goldstein, Debra H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2020-06-12T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Hoodwinked. Bamboozled. Used. Gullible. Stupid. Sarah didn’t know which word, if not all, she should apply to herself now that she finally could get words out of her mouth. She wasn’t quite sure how she’d managed to go from agreeing to being part of a simple conversation to hosting a luncheon, for which she not only had to handle the food but had to invite almost half of the guests. The adage “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” ran through her mind.

Sarah calculated she was far beyond shame, considering how many times Anne had fooled or taken advantage of her. After the most recent time, when Anne assumed the spotlight for the YipYeow Day event Sarah was running to raise money for the animal shelter, Sarah had promised herself never to be manipulated by Anne again. At least, Sarah told herself, this might help Jacob.

Opening the house wasn’t a big deal. There was plenty of room for everyone in the carriage house’s living room. If everyone came, she could always bring in a few extra chairs from the dining room. The problem was the food.

How could she have agreed, or let herself seem to agree, to put out a light lunch for all these people? To Sarah, the kitchen was a foreign country. If Riley hadn’t been recently murdered, Sarah would be telling anyone who would listen that she thought cooking was a fate worse than death.

Unfortunately, Riley had been killed, so that kind of crack didn’t seem funny today. It also wasn’t funny that Sarah didn’t have any of her go-to people available. With Emily and Marcus juggling their time between the Southwind Pub and Southwind, she simply couldn’t ask them for help with less than a day’s notice. Her favorite backup cooks were also out of pocket. Grace was up to her ears at Southwind, and Sarah doubted, even if he was up to cooking, that Anne wanted Jacob anywhere around this lunch meeting.

Perhaps she could get away with a deli tray, chips, and brownies from the grocery. Everyone could make their own sandwich, much like a make-your-own-sundae party. Then again, even on her list, there were people who didn’t eat meat or cheese. A deli tray, like a pizza party, was a no-go.

Calling Anne back and giving her the option of no meal or helping pay for someone to cater lunch was probably the most logical thing Sarah could do, but she decided it was her last option. She wasn’t going to crawl to Anne. She’d figure out a way to pull it together by herself. If she made it clear as each person came in that she’d prepared lunch, they’d know they weren’t getting a gourmet meal. But, what to serve?

Maybe she could make a casserole or an all-in-one-pot meal. Or, come to think of it, she could go to her own freezer. She had two small vegetable lasagnas Emily had made and frozen for their mother for when she hosted her two mah jongg groups at the end of the month.

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