Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Terrence parked his car outside Harvest Market and got out quickly. He was in a bit of a hurry, since he wanted to grab a quick green juice before his first inspection of the day, and he wasn’t as ahead of schedule as he liked to be whenever he made a stop at the supermarket. He was nowhere near being late for his inspection, but he always preferred to be a little early. He believed in being punctual, and he also believed in catching businesses slightly off their guard.
He straightened the gray and navy plaid scarf that was wrapped around his neck as he hurried across the parking lot. He thought to himself that if the weather continued to be that warm, he would start to not even bother wearing a coat.
He sniffed the air. Although it was clearly still winter, there was a faint scent in the air that made him think of spring. He’d always loved spring. It was a fresh, revitalizing time of year, and he understood why it was often associated with falling in love.
Maybe it’s because falling in love feels like melting to me, he thought with a chuckle. My hard shell starts to melt away like ice, and I feel as though my emotions are growing and growing.
He almost stopped walking, and he might have, except he could see that the car beside him was starting to back out, and he wanted to get out of their way.
He wasn’t in love with Vivian, though, surely—so why was he thinking about falling in love?
He cleared his throat loudly as he walked, even though no one knew what his thoughts had been. He hadn’t meant to refer to his feelings toward Vivian as falling in love, but he had to admit that he got a soft, tender feeling in his chest whenever he thought about her.
He did his best to brush those thoughts from his mind. After all, he had no idea how she felt about him, and he was there at the supermarket to complete a task before starting his workday. He didn’t have time for silly daydreaming—or to slow down and think about how much fun he and Vivian had had together when they’d sampled all of the coffees.
He walked through the front doors of the supermarket, but by that point, his imagination was lost in memories of the lovely evening he’d spent with Vivian. He slowed down in his walking until he stopped in front of a display of cookies, which he stared at without really seeing them.
“You like gingersnaps, huh?”
He turned in surprise to see Vivian smiling at him. He was startled to see her, and for a second he blinked at her, hardly able to believe his eyes. He’d just been thinking about her, and he felt as though he’d somehow conjured her, it was so magical to see her appear unexpectedly.
“I—oh.” He glanced back at the display of cookies, realizing that he’d been staring at it. “Um, not particularly.”
Vivian laughed, but she didn’t question him further. “What brings you to the supermarket this morning?”
“I’m just here to buy some green juice. I find that it gives me a lot of energy.”
She grimaced. “You would be the kind of person who bought green juice.”
He laughed. “It’s quite delicious, actually. Well, if you like that sort of thing. I do.”
“Good for you.” She chuckled.
He noticed that her cart was full nearly to bursting with food supplies, which he guessed were for the pub. She didn’t have that many items in the cart, but many of them were large bags. She had bags of salt, flour, sugar, and coffee. He was pleased to note that she was buying the coffee he’d recommended to her.
“It’s a lot, isn’t it?” she said with a smile when she noticed him looking into the cart. “And if you can believe it, this isn’t even that much. I’m still going to put in a bulk order for all these same things later this week. But I wanted to restock on these items here today to ensure that we don’t run out at the pub.”
“Smart.” He nodded. “It’ll take me just a couple of minutes to buy my green juice—would you like me to help you carry your purchases into the pub?”
“That’s very nice of you, I appreciate it.” She smiled at him, and he thought he detected an added sparkle in her eyes, which made his heart lift hopefully.
He could hardly believe he was offering to help, since it would set him behind on his schedule. He might even end up being late for his first appointment. He had never been late in all his years of work. He didn’t even glance at his watch to check the time, however. He wanted to help Vivian carry her items into the pub, especially because so many of the bags she had were large and heavy.
“Did you end up finishing your inventory the other night?” he asked her as they began to walk through the store together.
She shook her head. “Almost. I meant to go back and do the last of it after our impromptu cupping, but then I got distracted.” She cleared her throat briefly.
“I’m sorry I distracted you.”
“Not at all.” She smiled warmly. “It was quite enjoyable.”
“I enjoyed it too.” He almost blurted out that he had been thinking about it while he was standing there in front of the cookie display, but he quickly thought better of it.
Vivian made her way to the register and started to check out her groceries. Terrence hurried over to the refrigerated end cap where he knew he could find the green juice he liked. By the time he’d finished paying for it, Vivian was finished with her purchases, and he walked with her to her car.
“The pub’s about a seven-minute drive from here,” Vivian said. “You still want to meet me there?”
“I do,” he said, nodding. He liked that she knew the time it took to get to the pub from the supermarket. It showed how efficient and punctual she was. “I’ll see you in seven minutes.” He winked and started toward his car, feeling a spring in his step that hadn’t been there on his way into the supermarket.
He drove to The Lighthouse Grill and met Vivian in the back parking lot by the service door.
“This shouldn’t take long with two people,” she said gratefully as he started to help her unload the groceries.
“Many hands make light work, as my grandmother used to say,” he said with a smile.
They started to carry the first load of bags into the kitchen, making their way toward the storage room. They were halfway across the kitchen when Alexis appeared, smiling broadly.
“Good morning, Mom! Hi, Terrence.”
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Vivian said, giving her daughter a sideways hug, since she only had one arm free. “You’re here early.”
“Well, I heard that we had a delivery.” Alexis’s eyes glinted mischievously.
“Really? I didn’t tell anyone I was—” Vivian started to say, and then stopped when she saw a gorgeous bouquet of flowers resting on the counter.
It was clear that was the delivery Alexis had been referring to, because the young woman practically danced over to the bouquet.
“Aren’t they lovely?” she gushed. “Such a beautiful flower arrangement.”
“They are lovely,” Vivian stammered, looking shocked. “But what are they doing here? And who are they for?”
Based on the way Vivian was blushing, however, it seemed she suspected that they were for her.
“They’re for you,” Alexis sang out. “From Alan!”
Vivian blushed a deeper shade of pink and smiled warmly, looking pleased. Terrence had to fight a scowl. Although he had been unsure of whether or not Alan was pursuing Vivian romantically, he couldn’t doubt it anymore.
Vivian glanced at Terrence and coughed gently. For a moment, all three of them seemed to be tongue-tied.
“I shouldn’t keep you standing there with those heavy bags, I’m so sorry, Terrence,” Vivian said, reaching over and patting his arm. “Let’s finish taking these to storage.”
Terrence and Vivian finished bringing the rest of the supplies to the storage closet. They didn’t talk as they worked, since Vivian seemed blissfully distracted about the flowers, and Terrence was busy grumbling silently to himself. He wished he’d thought of sending her flowers first.
I hope she sees that I’m here helping her and he’s not, he thought. It’s one thing to send a fancy bouquet of flowers, and another thing to be willing to get my hands dirty for her.
He had to repress a sigh. He had a feeling that the flowers were still the better gesture, since they more clearly expressed romantic interest. So far, he had only pursued Vivian through compliments and friendly gestures. He hadn’t come right out and told her how he felt.
When they’d put the last of the bags away, they returned to the kitchen to find Alexis smiling at the bouquet and munching on a bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos.
“Alan called to let us know he was dropping off the bouquet,” Alexis said, smiling. “That’s why I wanted to get here when I did. He was hoping you would be here too, Mom, but he said he couldn’t wait because he was going to meet Judd McCormick at the golf course.” She made a face. “Too bad his taste in friends isn’t as good as his taste in flowers.”
“Judd McCormick, really?” Vivian rolled her shoulders back. “I’m surprised someone as nice as Alan would be friends with that man.”
For a moment, Terrence hoped that Vivian’s opinion of Alan was becoming less rosy, but then Alexis said, “He probably has no idea what Judd has done to us. He really does seem like a sweet guy. And he said that he’s coming back here later. He mentioned specifically that he wants to get a sandwich with the aioli sauce that you told him you’re reviving from the family recipe archives.”
“He did?” Vivian flushed, looking pleased. “I haven’t actually made that yet, but I’ll whip some up now. I want to make sure it’s ready when he gets here. He loves the regular secret sauce so much, I hope he loves the aioli just as much.”
Alarm bells went off in Terrence’s head. He thought about when he’d overheard Alan going on and on about how much he loved the secret sauce that went on the Monte Cristo sandwich. He’d kept asking what was in it. Why was Alan so intent on tasting all of the pub’s signature sauces?
And then there’s that thing about being pals with Judd, Terrence thought. I don’t see how he could be friends with Judd and not realize that man has a terrible grudge against The Lighthouse Grill.
“Thank you again for your help, Terrence,” Vivian said, rousing him from his thoughts. She waltzed over to the bouquet as if she’d forgotten all about Terrence and picked it up eagerly. “I should put these in the office. Right by the window, where all these beautiful petals will catch the light.”
“Sounds perfect,” Alexis said, and licked red Cheeto dust off her fingers.
Vivian carried the bouquet out of the kitchen, and Terrence watched her go, feeling a little like a lost puppy.
“Bye, Terrence!” Alexis smiled at him warmly. “You’re a good friend of the pub, that’s for sure.”
She didn’t seem to have any inkling that he was crushing on her mother, he thought. He sighed internally, wishing that he’d been as obvious as Alan had been. He smiled back at Alexis as she went into the dining room.
He knew it was time for him to leave, but he lingered in the kitchen for a moment, feeling torn. He couldn’t rid himself of a distinctly unsettled feeling. He wanted to warn Vivian that Alan really was good friends with Judd, and he felt that there was something suspicious about the car salesman’s keen interest in the pub’s secret sauces.
But was it his place to warn her? After all, Alan was his romantic rival. Maybe he was reading too far into things, hoping there was something wrong with the man when there really wasn’t. And would Vivian realize that Terrence was jealous of Alan? He didn’t want to appear petty in the eyes of the woman he was interested in.
He heard loud laughter coming from the dining room, and realized he should get out of the kitchen of a very busy restaurant when he hadn’t been invited to linger there. He glanced at the doorway that led to Vivian’s office, considering going through it and asking to speak with her.
After another moment of hesitation, he decided against it. He turned and left The Lighthouse Grill, and it wasn’t until he reached his car that he realized he was going to be late for his first appointment.