Chapter 14
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Brooke slid into a front table inside Fitzy’s café with a street view, eager for Madison to arrive.
Something was up.
Because when had Madison ever hit her up for a meeting? She’d immediately asked if everything was all right. Madison had given a cryptic Yes, saying she’d explain when they had coffee. Surely Madison wasn’t concerned about the renovations? Kyle hadn’t indicated any issues.
Her friend crossed the street at a healthy clip, dressed in her usual all black palette. The strong February wind ruffled her shaggy black hair. Madison needed a haircut.
Brooke waved when she drew closer, and once inside, Madison plopped down across from her, shadows under her eyes.
“Thanks for coming,” her friend began, her hands red and chafed since she’d forgotten to wear gloves and likely had her hands in too much dishwater. “I’m sorry I worried you. But I didn’t want to meet at the house or restaurant.”
To ease some of her own tension, she decided to have a little fun. “Have you finally decided to enlist my help in a makeover like I did for Thea? Your hands need lotion, and I can have you in for your hair, brows, and a lingerie appointment stat.”
Madison set her elbows on the small table. “When hell freezes over. Shit. I know I need a haircut, okay? I always need a haircut. It grows fast, and I never have time. Usually I cut it myself—”
“Oh God!” she cried out in horror.
“Wipe that appalled look off your face and listen.” She leaned closer. “I need your help. I figured Kyle had hit you up for Operation Madison, and since you didn’t show up with a recipe card for my life like Thea, I figure you were stumped on how to contribute.”
A waiter appeared, and after ordering, they were alone again. That was good because Brooke was still recovering from shock. “You’re right. I have been stumped. I also didn’t want to piss you off. Things between you and Kyle seem to be going well. I wasn’t going to intrude.”
“Smart of you and appreciated.” She gripped the table. “It’s about Kyle. I want to start an Operation Kyle, and you’re my first helper. I figure if he can do me—no pun intended—then I can do him back.”
Trying not to laugh, Brooke picked up her phone. “Whatever you need, I’m here for you. Do I need to take notes?”
“Knock yourself out. First, we’re not going to talk about how mushy I’m getting. Second, Kyle can’t know.”
“You two!” She set her phone aside. “I don’t like secrets.”
“Hey!” She wagged her finger at her. “You did it with Axel. Now, hear me out. Please.”
God, she was getting a please from Madison. “All right. Tell me.”
Giving up her grip on the table, she fussed with the sleeve of her wool coat. “I need you to arrange for a whole bunch of puppies to be brought to the house so Kyle can pick one out.”
Her jaw went slack. “Puppies? Are you punking me?”
“No, I’m serious.” She rubbed her face. “He talked about getting a dog before, but his mother and Paisley wouldn’t let him.”
“Bitches.”
“Right?” The corners of her mouth tightened. “Then he heard from his mother, but never mind that. You know how parents can screw with your mind.”
Boy did she ever. “I hadn’t realized that, no,” she joked.
Everyone knew about Brooke’s mother, who’d left the family and then found another—one where there was no place for Brooke.
“Anyway, he wants a dog, and I think it will make him feel…” She scratched her head, mumbling to herself. “Oh, I don’t know. More like he’s making his own decisions now and not being under their thumb.”
“So this is about empowering him,” Brooke supplied.
“Your podcast obsession is showing, but yes,” she answered, nodding. “He also mentioned filling some kind of void, so I figured this would be great.”
She tried to hide her smile. “So what’s the problem?”
“I can’t pick a puppy for him.” She practically groaned. “That would be like him picking out knives for me. I went by the pet store where Dean bought Pierre, but the owner didn’t like my idea of bringing all of the puppies he has by the house.”
“I see,” she replied as neutrally as possible, trying to imagine that conversation.
“You deal in concierge services, so I thought you could arrange a showing.”
Brooke murmured her thanks when the waiter set their cafés down. Turning to Madison, she said, “I can make something like that happen.”
Madison reached for her café, her feet tapping under the table. “Good. Thanks.”
Brooke joined her in taking a sip of her coffee. “What about Pierre?”
Madison blanched, rattling her saucer as she set her cup down. “What about him?”
God, she hated being the bearer of bad news. “Dogs and birds aren’t exactly friends in the wild. I’m sure a dog can be trained, but usually dogs hunt birds.”
“They do?”
Oh no! Were those tears in her eyes? “Like I said, I’m sure training would—”
“So we’ll train the pooch.” She was gripping the table’s edge again. “Pierre is a pro with everyone he meets. Everything should work out. I don’t leave Pierre out around the house much anymore anyway.”
Brooke didn’t comment. She knew exactly why you wouldn’t let a talking parrot wander the house freely during a new relationship. God, if Madison wasn’t so upset it would be funny.
“Besides, Dean will need him for Pairings by Pierre next month when it opens.” Madison worried her mouth. “He can take him more often if needed. It’s not like Pierre doesn’t spend much of the day with me at the restaurant. We’ve got lots of options if he and the dog don’t click.”
Studying her friend’s strained face, Brooke asked, “Are you sure? You and Pierre—”
“Yes. Kyle needs a dog. We’ll make it work. That’s what you do in a relationship, right?”
“Absolutely.”
She found herself pausing. She’d known Madison for ten years now. Hearing her talk about puppies and relationships was like watching a fashion designer you thought you knew create an entirely different look, like going from neutrals to pastels.
“Stop looking at me like that,” Madison practically growled.
“Sorry. Consider it done. Do you have a day and time in mind?”
“Tomorrow afternoon?” She grimaced. “Shit. I don’t know if he’s free. Besides, I should be there to explain my thinking, right?”
Brooke only nodded. Madison was exhibiting a completely new side of her character.
“Monday maybe, since no one works on Sunday in this town.” She fiddled with the rim of the ashtray on the table. “That’s one of our days off. Any time after ten would work. I’ll have him at the house.”
To hide her smile, Brooke picked up her phone and wrote it in her task list. “I’ll text you the time and details by the end of the day.”
“I could almost kiss you.” Her laughter sputtered out. “God, I should have asked for your help before.”
Brooke finally joined in, chuckling herself. “It’s official. Hell has frozen over. I need to buy some ice skates.”
Madison started muttering. “I knew you’d enjoy this. Now, the second item. Can you arrange for Kyle to drive a really fast car on some racetrack close by? The one I found online is too far away, and he won’t want to leave town right now.”
Since she knew Kyle loved hot cars, this part of Madison’s plan made more sense. “I’m sure I can arrange a driving experience for him. Are you planning on going too?”
Her teeth clamped over her lower lip. “I probably should, huh? Do that whole couples thing. Shit. Maybe in the spring. Surely we’ll calm down some by then. We’d need to find a Sunday or Monday. But not around Sunday dinner.”
“Got it,” Brooke said, punching it into her phone.
Madison rubbed her face again, the picture of a tortured woman. “How much time do you think it’ll take up?”
“The puppies or the driving experience?”
“Both. I mean, we don’t have a lot of time together, and spending a whole afternoon watching puppies piddle on the floor or Kyle zip around in circles… Never mind. Forget I said anything. Whatever it takes. And thank you. I know these are big asks.”
Brooke couldn’t stand watching her friend’s agony anymore. Even though she fully expected Madison to jerk away, she set a comforting hand over hers. Only, she didn’t pull away. “It’s not, and I’m happy to do it. Anytime.”
“Really?” Madison’s voice audibly cracked. “I spent three hours last night after Kyle went to sleep trying to figure out the car experience. Don’t even ask me about the puppies. I went down a rabbit hole there after that text.”
Brooke figured Kyle would tell her anything she needed to know.
Right now, her other friend looked like she could use some encouragement.
She searched for words as her heart squeezed.
Having recently gone through the process of falling in love, she knew the signs.
But seeing them on Madison was somehow both achingly beautiful and revolutionary.
“No wonder you look tired. You stayed up researching these items?”
Suddenly Madison was giving her entire attention to her café. “Yeah. So what? It’s what you do, right? He’s been doing nice things for me. I want to do them for him too.”
“That’s really sweet,” she said, setting her phone down.
Another finger pointed in her direction.
“We do not use ‘sweet’ and ‘me’ in the same sentence. Thea is sweet. I’m not.
In fact, I’m worried I’ll have no great ideas after these two.
But that’s okay. His birthday is in August so I have time.
If you have any, let me know. I figure asking friends for advice—since Kyle did it for me—is efficient. Not cheating.”
Except the way Madison grimaced suggested she was searching for confirmation. “I would ask you or anyone else in our family for ideas on what to do for Axel. He’s not easy to buy for.”
“Buy him a tree,” she suggested immediately, pointing to a plane tree in the adjacent square. “Dude loves them. He’s been gushing about putting trees in these fancy containers on the top floor garden space of the restaurant. They sell them at a florist shop on Rue de Bac. Out front and everything.”
Brooke pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. “I’ll remember that. Is there anything you need? Kyle did ask for our help with Operation Madison, but this meeting is about Operation Kyle. What about you?”
“Do you have a magic wand in this handbag?” She picked up Brooke’s purse and shook it with a laugh. “Can you grant Michelin stars?”
Brooke reached for it and gently tucked it under her seat. “Wouldn’t that be useful. Anything else besides a star?”
Madison finished off her café and signaled to the waiter for the check. “Nope. I need to get to the restaurant. Thanks for helping me. You tell me if I can return the favor.”
She touched Madison’s hand, making her jump again. “There are no favors between friends.”
“You quoting Shakespeare like Doc now?” The waiter reappeared and Brooke let her pay for their coffees—Madison would insist.
“It’s friendship rules.” Brooke watched her friend dig a few crumpled bills out of her pocket. “I could get you a wallet if you like. Black, of course.”
She shuddered. “No, this works for me. I can’t stuff a wallet in here. My jeans would have a bulge, and one, I’m not a guy, and two, it would look like I had a tumor or something. Freak out my staff.”
“How about this, then?” She rose with Madison and walked out of the café, halting on the sidewalk in front of it. “I could arrange for a hairdresser to come to you and cut your hair. No blow dry. Just in and out. You could probably work on inventory while he worked even.”
She pursed her lips in an exaggerated way, agony present again. “I probably should since I eyed the scissors a couple days ago.”
She shuddered. “Please, for the love of God, don’t.”
“I hate this!” She scrubbed her face. “People keep taking my photo when I have to come out to the front of the house and say hello to the bigwigs. I probably look like I’ve been personally hunting down the ducks we serve on the menu.”
Brooke was tempted to touch the ends of her curly black hair, but Madison would swat her. “It’s not that bad.”
“Yeah, Kyle hasn’t suggested tossing a bag over my head yet.” She worried her lip. “He also wouldn’t mention me needing a haircut for the press stuff. I told him… Never mind. Fine. Only a cut? In and out? Plus, I can work?”
Some fast talking might be needed for her to find the right person, but she could arrange it. “Yes to all three.”
“Deal.” She casually knocked a fist to Brooke’s shoulder. “Thanks.”
Deciding to take advantage of Madison’s mushy side, she eased in and gave her a half hug. Madison patted her on the back and held herself stiffly but didn’t push her away.
“The Hug Fest continues.” She punched up a smile. “Lucky me.”
“If the hair appointment goes well, I can schedule one every three months if you’d like.”
She blanched. “Every three months? Not on your life.”
Grinning now might invoke a cleaver threat. “Most women have their hair cut within that timeframe. Men even sooner.”
She clenched her teeth in sheer horror. “Seriously? I was lucky if I managed to sneak off to the mall to get a quick cut once a year in Miami when I knew I’d exhausted my abilities with the scissors.”
The mall?
She actually shuddered this time. “You’re a chef, not a barber, and while I know you don’t like grooming, think of it as part of your campaign to win a Michelin star. You’ll be press ready. After all, you keep your chef’s uniform spic-and-span.”
Her nose scrunched up in distaste. “I do. Hair always seemed different. Hats go with our uniform. Huh… You’ve given me something to consider.”
“See how the haircut goes. We can decide then.”
“Great!” Her voice held a false note of excitement. “I’ll let you get on with your day. Thanks for the help. Tell Axel hi for me, and don’t forget about the trees.”
What world had she landed in that Madison was suggesting sweetheart gifts?
“I won’t. I’ll text you with the info for the items we discussed. Feel free to ask me for anything. We’re all here to help. Operation Madison aside, you’re my friend.”
A smile flickered over her mouth. “Same goes. You and Axel want something to eat at Nanine’s, I could arrange takeout.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “You really are getting mushy.”
“I know.” A lopsided smile flitted over her face before she gave an awkward wave. “See you, Brooke.”
As she walked away, Brooke couldn’t help calling, “When you finally want to do some shopping, let me know. I have ideas about your wardrobe.”
Madison spun around with a grin and covertly gave her the bird. “Nice try, but I’m not that far gone.”
Wasn’t she? Brooke watched her march down the street, a silly smile playing on her mouth. She and Madison had just had a café. Alone. And she was setting up special events for her involving puppies and hair.
What was next?