Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
B laise was doing a cycle of delicates when she heard footsteps on her porch followed by a knock on her front door.
She closed the lid of the washer and hit Start.
Paige, maybe? Or one of the other women?
Had she missed a text? Although she didn’t think they knew where she lived.
And she doubted their footsteps would be that heavy.
Her phone was in the back pocket of her cut-off shorts.
She checked it as she walked to the door.
No missed text and she could see through the frosted glass that the figure on the other side was not female.
Beau was still sleeping in his bed in the living room.
The knocking hadn’t bothered him, apparently.
Some watchdog.
Wondering who it could be, she opened the door and found Brick standing there. Not at all who she’d expected.
She smiled. “Hi.”
He looked her up and down. She realized she didn’t look like her usual self, but she was getting ready to clean the bathroom, hence the bleach-spotted tank top, old cut-off jean shorts, and the messy knot she’d tied her hair up in.
He tipped his head toward his place. “You want a steak?”
She hesitated. “Right now?” Dinner for her was still a few hours away.
“No. For dinner.”
“Um…” She still didn’t know what he was asking. She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m grilling tonight. For dinner. Do you want to come over? For steak.”
He really wasn’t good at this. It almost made her laugh, but she was sure he wouldn’t like that. “That sounds great. What time?”
The furrows in his forehead deepened. “Six.”
“All right. What would you like me to bring?”
His eyes somehow narrowed further. “Yourself. Bring the dog, too.”
“Thank you. I’m sure Beau would love that. But I meant, would you like me to bring a salad or a vegetable or?—”
“I don’t eat rabbit food.”
No surprise there. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “Your unbalanced diet is not my problem. And if I go to the trouble of making something to bring, which I’m going to, I expect you to at least try it.”
For the briefest of moments, she thought she saw a spark of something in his eyes. He grunted. “No broccoli.”
More amused than she’d allow herself to show, she nodded. “Okay. Did you like the brownies?”
“They really Katie Hepburn’s recipe?”
“To the best of my knowledge.”
He nodded. “They were good.”
Probably high praise from him. “I’m glad to hear that. I’ll see you at six.”
Another grunt and he walked off the porch.
Chuckling to herself, she closed the door. Dinner with a man like that was going to take some work. He did not seem like the best conversationalist. Maybe they’d just sit in silence. That was all right, too.
She went straight to her laptop and searched for side dishes for people who hated vegetables.
So many of them were variations on broccoli with cheese.
Then she saw one that looked promising. It would require a trip to the grocery store, but that was all right.
She could pick up the few things already on her list.
The washer didn’t need her to supervise it, and she could clean the bathroom when she got home.
She changed into more presentable clothes, put on her Chanel ballcap, kissed Beau’s sleepy face, and headed out.
As much as she liked Publix, she headed for Aldi instead. Their produce was usually good and the prices were better on her budget. That got her thinking about something she’d been ignoring for a while.
The thought that maybe she could get a book deal to write her memoirs. It would mean sharing her life with the public, though. And that would have to include how she’d lost her fortune.
What would a book deal mean financially?
How much could she hope to get for an advance?
She knew one model, who’d been married to a rock star, who’d gotten six figures.
Blaise hadn’t been married to a rock star, although she’d dated a few.
Jay was fairly well known in fashion circles, but would her marriage to him mean anything to the general public?
If she could get a decent advance, it would go a long way toward making her life more comfortable. Of course, she could still sell some things, but the things she’d held onto weren’t worth that much. They were more sentimental.
Except for her jewelry. She couldn’t part with the items Jay had given her. That would hurt too much. It would feel like losing him all over again. Maybe that was foolish. Maybe she was just making excuses, but after what she’d been through, she didn’t care.
Those beautiful things were worth more to her than anyone was willing to pay, even if they might bring in a few bucks.
She’d just continue shopping at Aldi’s.
For her own use, she got tomatoes, a head of lettuce and two cucumbers.
For tonight’s dinner, she picked up a zucchini, a yellow squash, two sweet onions, a package of mushrooms, and a red pepper.
Visually, the dish would be appealing, but she doubted that would be enough to get Brick to eat it.
She picked up a small wedge of parmesan cheese.
She had garlic and good olive oil at home.
She did a quick turn around the store and gathered the rest of her items. Toilet paper, eggs, a couple cans of tuna, butter, and a package of chicken breasts. That would get her through the next few days.
Impulsively, she added a small bar of dark chocolate in the checkout line. She paid, put her items in her own bags, then returned her cart, making sure to grab the quarter she’d had to deposit to get access to the cart.
As soon as she got home, she chunked up the zucchini, squash, pepper, and onions, and doused them in a mix of olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano and stuck it all in the fridge to marinate.
She changed back into her cleaning clothes and tackled the bathroom. Beau wandered in at one point and sneezed.
“You know you don’t like the smell of bleach,” Blaise said, shaking her head.
He sneezed again as if making her point. She laughed at him as he left. She got the bathroom finished and moved on to the bedroom, where she dusted.
Since the entire house was tiled, she didn’t own a vacuum. She had a stick version, but she usually swept, then sucked up the piles. Thankfully, Beau didn’t shed too much, but if she didn’t keep up with it, she’d get tumbleweeds of dog hair drifting across her floors.
From the bedroom, she worked her way through the kitchen and finally the living room. She got the stick vac out, sucked up the piles, then touched up her area rugs.
By the time that was done, she was sweaty and ready to shower. That got her thinking about what to wear to Brick’s. She already knew he wasn’t going to dress up. He’d probably still be in the jeans and T-shirt he’d had on when he’d come to her door.
After the shower, she pulled on a robe and went to work on the veggies. She lined a cooking sheet with foil and then a sheet of unbleached parchment paper, and spread the veggies out before putting them in the oven to roast.
Once they were in, she went to dress. The thought of a sundress appealed to her, but Brick might think she was trying too hard. Or that she’d thought his invitation had been a date. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. He was clearly just being nice.
Casual. She needed to keep it casual.
She decided on tan linen shorts, and a white tank top with a coral linen shirt over it like a loose jacket.
White sandals, gold earrings, and the diamond bangle that had been her last anniversary gift from Jay completed the outfit.
On her left hand, she wore the eternity band she hadn’t taken off since the day they were married.
Her engagement ring sat locked in the small, built-in safe in her closet, along with a few other special pieces. The pieces she’d never part with.
A little bit of makeup over well-moisturized skin, and she was just about ready. She let her hair air dry, then pulled it away from her face with two French combs.
As she secured the last one, the oven timer went off. The house smelled great and the veggies looked even better.
She grated fresh parmesan over them, spooned them into a nice serving bowl, then grated more cheese on top. If he didn’t like these, there was no hope for any vegetable.
She covered the bowl with foil, stuck her phone and house key in her pocket and got Beau’s leash. “Come on, baby. Let’s go visit Brick.”
Beau’s tail wagged, but she knew he had no idea what was going on. All he knew was the leash meant they were going somewhere and that would bring new things to sniff.
They went through the backyard, the smell of a charcoal grill reaching her before they’d even gone past the gate.
Brick gave her a nod as she and Beau approached. He smiled at Beau. “Young man.”
Beau’s little tail wagged harder.
“If you shut that gate, you can take his leash off. Let him roam. There’s nothing he can get into.”
“All right,” Blaise said. “I’ll just put this on the table. We’re eating outside?”
“That okay?”
“Fine. It’s a beautiful night.” And, she thought, about to be a very interesting one, too.
Brick had put on an actual button-up shirt.