Chapter Eight
Cami
Sometimes, I forgot Essex was tiny and rumors spread like wildfire. But on such days, I could count on my best friend to remind me. Miriam dropped by my house around lunch.
”Hey,” she said as I opened the door for her to come in. ”I”m not staying long. Hubs is waiting for me. I just wanted to drop off some cookies.” We shared a passion for baking.
”Thanks. How come you’re not at school?”
”Half day today. Kids are going on a camping trip.”
I quirked a brow. ”And you have cookies left over?”
She grinned. ”I set some aside for you.” Kissing my cheek, she put the small Tupperware container on the counter. ”We need a girls’ evening sometime soon,” she said, pressing her hands on her stomach before putting them on her hips.
”Sure, I”m super flexible.”
She tilted her head. ”No more meetings with Maddox Whitley? Rumor has it you had dinner with him last night. And beat his ass at darts.”
“Both are true.”
”And you forgot to give me one important detail.”
I looked at her out of the corner of my eye and munched on a cookie. ”And what”s that?”
”That he”s hot as hell.”
I tried to school my features. I”d specifically left that out when I told her about my first dinner with him.
“It wasn”t relevant to the conversation.”
”Aha,” she exclaimed. ”But you did notice, right?”
”Yeah.” Which might be why I’d been a little bit tough on him. I didn’t want his charms to sway me, and Maddox Whitley was Hollywood hot.
”Oh good. For a while there, I”d thought you might need glasses or something.” she laughed. ”So, tell me about last night.”
”You came to fish for gossip,” I accused her.
”Well, I wouldn”t have to if you would just tell me outright.”
”We didn”t plan last night,” I said.
My God, what did she put in these cookies?I could never keep my mouth shut when I was eating them.
”He and his brother Leo came to grab dinner,” I continued. ”One thing led to another... and I ended up beating his ass at darts.”
”And?”
”And that’s it.”
”Hmmm... you don’t look as pissed as when you were talking about him before.”
I cleared my throat after eating yet another cookie. ”I might have misjudged him. He’s not an ass. Just...” I didn’t complete the sentence because I wasn’t sure how to describe Maddox.
”Hot? Stubborn? Full of himself? All of the above?” Miriam suggested.
Grinning, I nodded. ”All that, yeah.”
I’d had so much fun last night. I had to admit that Leo’s comments completely disarmed me. And then Maddox had been so different from the previous times we’d met that I didn’t know how to react. He’d been relaxed and fun—not at all pushy. I couldn’t help but think that was the real Maddox.
Also, my God... why did he have to be so hot?
Miriam narrowed her eyes, pointing at me. ”You’re hiding something. I’m not going to press—”
”Thank heavens for small mercies.”
“—but I’ll get to the bottom of it soon. I have to go now, though.” She kissed my cheek. ”But be a dear and volunteer gossip from now on, okay? It’s weird finding out stuff about my best friend from someone else. And good luck.”
“With what?”
“Running into his holy hotness again.”
I laughed, shaking my head.
After she left, I sat down at my dining table again. I loved my place so much. It was tiny and only had two rooms: a bedroom and another space where the kitchen, living room, and dining room were all together. It was cozy.
I was working on the park”s website at home today. Dad was manning the front desk and the stations with our employees at the park. In the afternoon, I wanted to replace two leaky tiles on my roof. Busy, busy day.
As I was about to close the laptop, my phone rang. It was an unknown number. Maybe someone was calling for a booking, although I didn’t list my personal number anywhere. I’d gotten way too many scam calls in the past.
”Hello, this is Cami Hughes,” I said.
”Hi, Cami. This is Jeannie.”
”Hi! This is a nice surprise.”
”I”m glad you think so.”
”How did you even get my number?”
”I found a phone number on the park’s website. And then that lovely boy answered.” I snickered. That ”lovely boy” was forty-five. Though I understood why he seemed like a young man to Jeannie. ”I told him I wanted your number. Mind you, he put up a good fight in the beginning, but then I told him I absolutely need your recipe for your banana bread, so he took mercy on me.”
”Oh.” My heart filled with happiness. ”Of course. Let me get my cookbook.” I had all of Mom”s cookbooks on my bookshelf except the one containing the banana bread recipe. I kept it on the counter for quick access even though I knew the recipe by heart.
”You have cookbooks? Did you write them?”
”No, they belonged to Mom.” My voice sounded wistful even to my own ears.
”Oh, you”re so lovely.”
”She and I used to bake banana bread together twice a week. We”d take it to the park for the guests.”
”And you kept that tradition,” Jeannie said.
”Exactly. Okay, here it is. I”ll read off the ingredients as well as the steps.”
For the next few minutes, I dictated the recipe, repeating some of the steps to make sure Jeannie got everything.
”All right, I wrote everything down,” she said.
”Are you going to bake it right now?”
”No, I”m going to make it tomorrow morning for Abe. Maddox is taking me to lunch in a bit.”
”That”s so thoughtful. Does he do that often?”
”Yes. Our boys are so nice to us. They take us places, get us out of the house routinely.”
”That sounds lovely.”
”I heard he”s going to Essex after our lunch. He’s got some business there.”
”Oh,” I replied softly. Miriam’s voice was playing in my mind. ”Running into his holy hotness again.”
”How come you”re not at the park?”
”I’m going in the afternoon,” I told Jeannie. ”Although I”m not staying too long today. I need to repair some leaky tiles on the roof.”
”You”re brave. Thats’ not something I’d ever dare to do by myself.” Considering her age, I dearly hoped that was the case. ”I’m trying to keep busy around the house. I bake a lot, but I’m running out of recipes. And I’m not good with the internet, so thank you for taking the time to give me yours.”
”Sure, my pleasure. You can always call when you need inspiration.”
”You’re such a darling. I’ll let you get on with your day.”
”Thanks. Have fun baking, Jeannie.”
After we hung up, I closed the notebook, putting it back in its place. Then I glanced at the shelf, an idea forming.
I could lend one of Mom’s cookbooks to Jeannie. One in particular was full of experimental recipes. But I’d have to find a way to give it to her.
Oh, Cami. You’re just looking for a reason to see Maddox!