Angels at the Table (Angels Everywhere #7)(28)

Aren reached for his coffee, which had grown cold by now. “From what your mother said, your loyal customers were quick to come to your defense.”

“Yes, thank heaven. Without them we might have been ruined. We could have lost everything because of one negative review.”

Aren returned the cup to the saucer and leaned back, but she could see that he wasn’t relaxed. “There was a second review, wasn’t there?”

“Yes, a retraction. Apparently good ol’ Eaton Well was forced into giving the restaurant a second chance.”

“Was his second review fair?”

“I suppose,” she said with a shrug. “Still, I’d like to meet the man just so I could give that jerk a piece of my mind.”

“Jerk?”

“Well, in my mind he is. Why is it people have to be so cutting and heartless? The things he said were completely unnecessary. Do these writers honestly think they’re being witty? Don’t they realize people’s livelihoods are at stake?”

“I’m sure everything will work out in the end.”

“I hope so.”

To her surprise Aren ordered a dessert tray with small selections of a number of desserts. Lucie sampled a taste of a couple of the ones she thought sounded appealing—the banana cream cake and the raspberry sorbet. Both were adequate but nothing to rave about.

“Your desserts taste far better.”

She beamed with his praise and silently agreed with him. As it was she’d already said far too much about the food and the service. “Thank you.”

Aren paid the bill, which to Lucie’s way of thinking was outlandish for what they’d received. As they left the restaurant, he seemed more subdued than earlier. Perhaps, like her, his day had been long and he was tired. It was late and they both had to work in the morning.

“Tell you what,” she said as they strolled down the street. “Let me cook you a real dinner. This one was a disappointment and I’d like to treat you to one of my meals created especially for you.”

Aren glanced over at her and smiled. “I’m not turning this down.”

“Good. Would Sunday afternoon work for you?” Already her mind buzzed with ideas. Cooking was an emotional experience and Lucie found it easier to express her feelings through food than with words. Dinner would be her way of letting Aren know how much she enjoyed his company and how very grateful she was that they’d reconnected.

“Sunday will work out just fine.”

“Great. Come to my apartment about four … if that’s not too early.”

“It’s perfect.”

Aren stopped walking and signaled for a taxi.

“I had the most wonderful evening,” she said, knowing their time was about to come to an end. “Thank you, Aren, for everything.”

A cab pulled up to the curb. Aren opened the passenger door and Lucie instinctively rose on her tiptoes to kiss him. She’d waited a long time for this, wondering if the kiss she remembered on New Year’s nearly a year ago would measure up.

Aren gripped her by the shoulders and slanted his mouth over hers.

Oh, it was good, as good as she remembered, perhaps even better. She wanted to melt into his arms, and resisted the urge to wrap herself all around him, feet and hands, arms and legs.

“Hey, you two,” the cabbie called out, “I don’t have all night.”

Lucie tasted Aren’s reluctance as he gradually released her. “We’ll talk before Sunday, okay?”

“Of course.”

He looked so serious, even deeply troubled, but Lucie couldn’t imagine what it might be. The evening had been nearly perfect … other than the dinner, but that wasn’t Aren’s fault.

Once she was inside the cab, Aren stepped back and lifted his hand in farewell.

Pressing her fingers to her lips, she set her hand against the window as the cabbie drove off.

Chapter Ten

Aren stood patiently in line at the Starbucks, dreading having to face his sister. He didn’t need to wait long before Josie sashayed into the coffeehouse no more than five minutes after he arrived.

He purchased both their coffees.

“Hey, to what do I owe this?” she asked when he handed her the disposable cup.

Aren didn’t have an answer. He knew she was waiting to hear about his evening with Lucie, and it had been wonderful, better than he’d hoped. What troubled him was how angry Lucie was at Eaton Well and that original review. She hardly took into account the second review in which he’d praised her and highly recommended Heavenly Delights. It was almost as if the favorable review hadn’t counted.

They started walking toward the subway, their steps perfectly in tune with each other’s. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense,” she said, “tell me how it went with Lucie last night.”

“Great.”

“You don’t sound like it was great. Oh, Aren, don’t tell me, did she guess who you are?” Josie abruptly stopped, causing the people behind her to come to a halt and forcing them to walk around Josie and Aren, muttering as they passed by.

Aren was forced to stop, too. “No, but she talked plenty about the jerk who nearly destroyed their reputation with a bad review.”

“You didn’t tell her it was you, did you?” Josie demanded.