Chapter 64
Sixty-Four
ELI
It was funny how I knew the exact moment Addie walked into Vivi’s. I wasn’t facing the dining area when it happened; I was half hanging out of the fridge as I grabbed some butter, but I could tell when she was in.
As I handed Kayla the butter for her dough, I walked over to the pass and looked out at the dining room.
My eyes were immediately drawn to the Henry/Harris/Holloway table, where Addie was unwrapping her scarf and draping it over the chair as she sat opposite Clara, who had been here when I arrived for work, surrounded by empty plates.
Darren appeared in front of me, a smile on his face.
“I can cover you for five minutes.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice.
Clara noticed me first, a smirk breaking out on her face, which made Addie turn around. My breath stuttered in my chest as she looked at me. The light in the room made her eyes look like early morning grass, and her smile was bright.
“Hey,” she said softly on a breath as I reached the table.
“Hey, yourself. How was work?” I asked as I pressed a kiss to her temple, my eyes catching on the mark I left on her collarbone. That was very visible. She was definitely going to make me pay for that.
She groaned. “Today just felt like a Monday. But my last tutorial of the day garnered some interesting discussion, and I managed to sneak five hundred words onto the thesis. I also have a bunch of essays to mark. What about you?” Addie asked us both.
“As of about twenty minutes ago, I finished my draft for this book, so I’m feeling lost,” Clara answered.
“Wait, is that what you’ve been doing here?” I asked.
Clara nodded. “I find that Vivi’s is always the best place for me to finish anything.”
“Well, that calls for a celebratory meal! What do you want? I can probably make it.”
Clara’s eyes narrowed. “Do you not have actual menu items to cook? I think Dad might be mad if you start going off-menu just as the place starts getting busy for the night.”
“Have you forgotten who your dad is? If I start making something off menu and he catches me, the nanosecond I tell him it’s for his girls, he’s leaving me alone.”
“He’s got a point,” Addie said.
“Could you make a carbonara?” Clara asked hopefully.
I ran through the kitchen inventory, and yeah, I could cobble together a carbonara or two for them.
“Yeah, sure. Same for you, Ads?”
She smiled. “If you wouldn’t mind.”
I bent down and kissed her again. “Never.”
Addie entered the kitchen silently. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I saw the door between the dining room and the kitchen swing shut, I probably would have had the shit scared out of me when she wrapped her arms around my waist and hooked her chin over my shoulders.
“You’re not allowed back here,” I teased as I finished wiping down the counter.
“I know the owner,” she whispered.
I spun around and placed my hands on her waist. She moved her arms up and rested them on my shoulders, her fingers instantly threading through my hair.
I hummed. “Ah, well, that’s okay then.”
She smiled. “I think it will be. You done yet?”
“Yeah, just got one more counter to wipe down and then I can lock up.”
“Dad and Clo are still here, something about wedding catering. They’ll lock up.” She kissed my nose.
“Are we catering their wedding?”
“I think it’s currently up for discussion. Don’t need to worry yourself with that one just yet. They’re just talking about it. I should warn you, while Clo is in her ‘I don’t need to be writing a book’ phase, she is going to get very intense about wedding planning, which may impact us both.”
“Thank you for the heads up.”
She scratched my scalp. “The first order of business is going to be how many people they have in their wedding parties.”
“Oh?”
Addie hummed. “Clo comes in at four. Jesse doesn’t have that many; he only has two brothers and one friend he would consider, which leaves him one person down.”
“Could they not just have one each?”
“But then, who is the one? Jesse has two brothers, so which one does he pick? Will that make the other brother sad? If they go up to two, then who are the two that Clo picks? She can’t choose like that. So, the only solution is: Jesse needs a fourth.”
This line of conversation was starting to make sense. “…okay?” I said, drawing out the word like I was still confused.
She rolled her eyes. “For fuck’s sake, Elijah, I am telling you that Jesse is going to ask, and I am trying to ascertain if you would do it.”
I laughed. “In my defence, Ads, you heavily inferred. You weren’t exactly explicit about it.”
She huffed. “Fine. Anyway, Jesse is going to officially ask you tomorrow. There might be balloons and white doves or some shit. You can act like you’re surprised if you want, but that isn’t a requirement. He won’t be surprised you found out. He knows what he’s marrying into.”
“A group of people who don’t like surprises?” I joked.
“In a lot of ways, they are overrated.” Her eyes widened. “Wait, do you like surprises?”
“No, I fucking hate them.”
“I will endeavour to surprise you as little as possible then. Are you going to say yes to Jesse, though?”
“I’d be honoured to be part of his wedding party.”
Addie smiled and kissed my nose again.
“Hurry up and wipe that counter down. I have an idea that I finally want to make a reality, and despite my desire to make it come to fruition in this kitchen, it is a code violation waiting to happen. I don’t want to stress my dad out like that.”
She dropped her arms and stepped away from me. I let her go and went back to cleaning.
“Do I get an insight into this idea of yours?” I asked.
“Yeah, it involves you being in those chef blacks and a kitchen. But our kitchen, where it’s only us that has to deal with the implications.”
I paused my wiping and walked over to Addie. I cupped her face with both my hands and kissed her.
“How long have you been harbouring this idea?” I asked as I pulled away.
“It’s been simmering in the background since I covered the pass. But I’ve spent the whole night watching you work, and it’s come to a boil. I need to make it a reality.”
I huffed a laugh and pressed another kiss to her mouth. “Fuck, I love you,” I said when I pulled away.
A bright smile and shimmering emerald eyes looked at me. “I love you, too, Eli.”