Chapter Eighteen #2
Cameron closed Alicia’s door while she fastened her seat belt. “At least tell me if she’s coming home altered again?” He worked his brows. “That was a surprise.” He reached across Alicia, and gave me a high five.
“Hey! Stop that!” She shoved his arm back through the open window. “Fire up the grill when you get hungry,” she said. “I don’t know what else we’re doing, but we’re absolutely eating somewhere nice.”
Cameron stepped away with a warm smile, then bent down for another peek inside. “Have fun,” he said. “Let me know about that ride.”
Alicia stuck out her tongue.
I leaned against my steering wheel to look at Cameron. “I’m going to be your favorite person after today.”
He clutched his chest. “Are you going lingerie shopping? Say it’s lingerie shopping.” He pulled a wallet from his pocket and pretended to search his credit cards. “You know what?” He closed the wallet and extended the entire wallet as an offering. “Just take it all.”
Their boys collapsed onto the grass one by one, grasping their throats and fake dying.
“Goodbye!” Alicia called. She waved the wallet away. “I love you. Don’t text me.”
I shifted into reverse, and sailed back down the drive.
Cameron, an engineer by trade and profession, volunteer coached T-ball teams when the boys were small, then peewee football and Little League. These days their three boys played five sports, and Cameron cheered from the stands at every game, during every season.
She really had married a good one. High-quality men still exist, I thought, and Lucas’s image popped into mind.
I’d always thought Alicia lucked out with Cameron, but I was beginning to see she’d simply taken her time.
She wasn’t the kind to stick around to see if the chemistry picked up, or if a guy who bored her on the first date would be more fun on the second.
If she didn’t feel a connection, she moved on.
She was down to do or try anything, but she was utterly inflexible when it came to her standards.
All these years later, that stance had gotten her everything I wanted.
“You look pretty today,” she said, smiling as we motored away. “I especially love this hat.” She tugged on the floppy brim. “It suits you.”
I smiled. “I found it in one of the upstairs closets.” I kept peeking behind the closed doors, only to get overwhelmed and change my mind about starting a new project when my hands were already so full.
“How’s Camilla?” she asked.
“Excellent.” I beamed. “Home from the Maldives and unengaged.” I’d wanted to throw a party when she returned without a ring, but I kept my mouth shut and listened to the details of her trip with bone-deep relief.
Life just kept getting better.
“So where are we going today?” She steepled her fingers and touched them to her chin.
“How do you feel about a spa day?”
“Shut. Up.” Alicia dropped her head against the headrest. “I deserve a spa day. Are we getting mani-pedis?”
“Yes. And Swedish massages,” I said. “And a little of all their services, actually.”
Alicia turned to me, lips parted in awe. “If Cameron dies first, I’m asking you to be my bride.”
“Fine, but I expect a flash mob and a helicopter to take us into the sunset,” I said.
“Of course.”
I’d made six dozen assorted pastries in a single night for the spa, after another baker bailed before a big customer appreciation event.
For that, I scored two full-service day passes in addition to a major payday.
Who said baking wasn’t the best job ever?
Certainly not me. “Ever had a Brazilian wax?” I asked.
Alicia turned to stare, lips pursed. “Why?”
“It’s on the schedule for after lunch.”
“Absolutely the hell not,” she said. “Do you know what they use for that procedure?”
“Wax,” we said in near unison.
“Hot wax,” she clarified.
“The wax is warm,” I corrected. “It won’t burn us, and the aestheticians are professionals. They’ve seen everything, and they don’t care.”
Alicia wrinkled her nose. “I will pass, but I mean it with love: Thank you.”
I scowled. “Come on. Don’t you want to feel smooth like a dolphin?”
“Not really, but it’ll send Cam over the moon. Lord, that man will never leave me alone now.”
I snorted a laugh and stepped on the gas when the light turned green. “You’re welcome.”
We arrived at Chez Margot around seven o’clock that night, having stopped for appetizers at the winery near the spa. As it turned out, a full day of pampering boosted our appetites, and I’d opted to stay for an additional haircut and style.
I spotted Lucas and Pam at the hostess stand as we approached the door.
“Thank god there’s no line,” Alicia whispered. “I need to sit down after that waxing. I feel exposed.” She held her handbag in front of her, as if to hide her secret. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into that.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” I lied. It had hurt like hell, and I was horrified when I realized what a terrible job I’d been doing down there. The waxer had to go back multiple times to get the job done.
“I’ve never been so humbled,” Alicia went on. “They made me turn over.”
I flung the door open and let her inside before she said anything more.
“It was mortifying,” she hissed. Her eyes went comically wide when I shushed her. “They took all I got.”
“Stop.” I laughed, drawing Lucas’s attention our way.
Alicia tugged my arm. “I am dead serious. I was robbed.”
Lucas’s brows pinched as his gaze moved from Alicia to me. “Sophie, welcome.” He pulled two menus from the stand with a smile. “Who is your friend?”
“Lucas, this is my best friend, Alicia. Alicia, my boss, Lucas.”
Alicia shot me a coy smile. “Yeah he is.”
I sank an elbow into her ribs.
She crossed her arms over her middle and chuckled. Then she pointed at the bakery’s empty display case. “The Invisible Baker. Look at that, Sophie.”
I shot her a warning look.
Lucas smiled. “We can’t keep their pastries in stock. Apparently, it’s a whole thing online. No one has a clue who owns the company. There’s lots of speculation. Whoever is behind the brand, they’re helping me reach my financial goals to make this a black-tie dinner venue.”
I couldn’t meet her eye. She’d told me repeatedly that I needed to come clean to Lucas, even if I kept the secret from everyone else.
Every day that I didn’t confess made it a little harder to deliver the news. I wasn’t sure he’d understand. He didn’t know what I’d been through, and what I was still going through. Alicia had witnessed everything, but she still didn’t understand my hesitation.
Personal reasons aside, I felt like a criminal when I thought of the lengths I’d gone to keep my name separate from the bakery. I took orders only online. The payments went to my LLC’s bank account. The contact page had a custom email address.
Why would I do all that if I didn’t have something to hide?
I still found it difficult to believe I didn’t need to be invisible anymore.
Lucas led us to our table, then pulled out our chairs and waited while we sat.
I squirmed under his careful appraisal.
“You changed your hair,” he said finally. “It’s lovely.”
“Highlights,” I said, pushing a swath of soft waves behind one ear. The stylist had added blond and platinum strands through my naturally mousy locks, successfully covering and blending my grays. She cut layers and sideswept bangs, then used her blow-dryer to add volume. “We had a spa day.”
The effects of the experience left me feeling young and dramatic. I couldn’t wait to do it again.
Lucas’s attention moved to my hands, probably clocking the professional French manicure, before returning to my eyes. “Special occasion?”
“Celebrating our badassery,” Alicia chimed in.
He smiled. “In that case, I’ll get the wine.” Lucas patted the table, then strode away.
“He likes you,” she said. “I told Cam already. He agrees.”
“Cam has never even met him,” I told her. “Neither had you, until now.”
Alicia arched a brow. “But I listen, and I hear it in how you talk about him. You know what else? You don’t just think he’s hot. You like him too.”
My face heated. “So?”
Her jaw dropped. “I knew it!”
I shook my head at her and busied myself with the menu. “Doesn’t matter. He’s my boss, and I’m technically still married. Plus, he’s in love with his wife.”
“His wife would want him to be happy,” she said.
“Oh sure.” I guffawed. “Would you want Cam to move on if you died first?”
Her expression turned feral. “If I die first, he’s to climb into the coffin after me and close the lid. No exceptions. No excuses.”
“Very healthy.”
She looked back at her menu. “Death will not us part, that’s all I’m saying.”
I laughed.
“This isn’t about me, anyway,” she said. “Robert shouldn’t be a stumbling block either. I’m not convinced the two of you were ever truly married,” she said. “Legal precedence aside. You were strangers who shared a house.”
She wasn’t wrong. I’d been so busy trying to be what he wanted, in the early years, that I was never really myself. Then I was so focused on achieving the white-picket-fence dream that I overlooked and forgave all the awful things about him that should’ve sent me packing.
“And have you seen Lucas?” Alicia continued. She fanned her face with the menu. “Soph, that man is fine.”
“He’s my boss.”
Lucas returned with two wine flights. Each board carried five glasses, arranged from white to dark red.
“These all come from the same region and vineyard in the South of France,” he said.
“A white, two rosés, a sweet red blend, and a full-bodied cabernet sauvignon. Take your time with the menu, and I’ll be right back with some water and a basket of bread. ”
I watched him walk away.
Alicia folded her hands on the table and leveled me with a knowing stare.
Two hours later, I was stuffed with French bread, beef bourguignon, and wine. The restaurant was quiet, and Alicia had excused herself to the ladies’ room so long ago I wondered if she’d secretly walked home.
“How was everything?” Lucas asked, rubbing his palms together as he returned to check on us.
“Good. Thank you. I think we’re calling it a night when Alicia gets back.”
He nodded. “That’s too bad.”
I didn’t disagree.
“Have you heard from Camilla?” he asked. “She’s home from her trip now, yes?”
I stared, stunned for no good reason. I found his attention to the details, especially regarding things that mattered to me, intoxicating. His genuine interest and concern tugged at something deep in my heart. “She’s good.”
“No engagement?”
I shook my head.
“Do you think she’s disappointed?”
The question took me aback. I hadn’t given this concern a single thought, but I wondered if she was disappointed. Her longtime boyfriend had taken her on a major romantic vacation. She must’ve expected a proposal as much as I had. How did she feel when it didn’t come? “I don’t know,” I admitted.
Lucas slid onto Alicia’s chair and watched me. “How are you holding up? You seem tired when you come in most mornings.” He lifted a palm. “Your work is magnificent, but your energy is low sometimes. I don’t want to cross a line, but I wonder—”
“What?” I asked, when he didn’t continue.
“About your divorce,” he said. His tone was soft and his expression sheepish. “How are you really doing?”
I briefly considered refreshing my smile, offering a canned response, and telling him I was fine.
Instead, I finished the wine in my glass and sighed.
“Not great,” I said frankly. “My husband is a bad guy. He was emotionally abusive, manipulative, and neglectful for the entirety of our marriage. I’m not convinced he ever loved me, or that I’m lovable, and I haven’t loved him in a very long time.
To me, the divorce feels like a formality, but he’s turned it into a quiet war.
We were arguably wealthy six months ago, but today I live in the home I grew up in, and he’s filed for bankruptcy. ”
Alicia appeared, cell phone to her ear, a wide smile on her face, and I knew she was talking with Cameron.
I stood, a little wobbly from the wine. “I should go,” I said, knowing I’d overshared, and blaming the wine.
I wanted him to know everything I’d told him, because Alicia was right. I had feelings for Lucas that an employee shouldn’t have for her boss. So it was best for both of us if he saw me clearly as the train wreck I was.
“Hey.” Lucas rose and cleared the space between us in one long stride. His voice was low and gravelly.
Alicia stopped short, several feet away.
Lucas moved so close, I felt the heat of his body on mine.
I arched my back for a better look into his soulful eyes. “Yeah?”
“You aren’t unlovable.” Each word reverberated in my core.
He took the bill from our table and put it in his shirt pocket, then turned to Alicia. “It was nice meeting you,” he said. “I hope you’ll both have a nice night.”
He held my gaze a moment longer, then walked away.