Chapter 5
Chapter Five
E stelle rubbed her aching forehead. One of these days she needed to get more than a couple hours of sleep. Her legs felt wobbly and her head fuzzy as she tried to wake up enough to begin making breakfast for her family.
Leaning against the counter, her eyes continued to flutter, and she yawned hard enough to crack her jaw. “Ow,” she whimpered, rubbing the joint.
“Are you working from home today?”
Estelle spun, nearly losing her balance as her mother came into focus. “Uh, yeah. I’m just working on cake designs again, so I can do that from here.”
Estelle’s mom gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said softly, her eyes filling with tears.
Wide awake now, Estelle marched across the kitchen and threw her arms around her mother. “Don’t you dare apologize,” she whispered fiercely. “I know you can’t get dad into the car by yourself. You were supposed to call me. That’s why I’m here.”
“You shouldn’t have to shoulder all this,” her mother said through her sniffles. “I’m the parent here.”
Estelle held back a wince, squeezing her eyes shut to keep from crumpling at the pain in her mother’s tone. How many times had Estelle thought the same thing? Why did she have to take this on? Why did she have to be the strong one? Why couldn’t someone else help the family? “You are,” Estelle told her mother. “But being the parent doesn’t mean you have to handle it alone.”
Emery stepped back, wiping at her face and shaking her head. “You should be going on dates and enjoying life, not driving your father to the hospital and staying up all hours of the night to handle your brother.”
Estelle knew her smile wasn’t even close to being genuine, but she tried anyway. “That’s what sisters and daughters do,” she assured her mom. “Now…you have a seat, I’ll make breakfast, and then we can see if the men are hungry, okay?”
Her mother waved her off. “I’m going to make breakfast,” she said. “I need to get back in the kitchen. It’ll do me good.”
Estelle opened her mouth to argue, but getting “the look” from her mom still affected her, even at twenty-nine. Putting her hands in the air, Estelle forced a laugh. “Fine. It’s all yours.”
Her mother gave Estelle a small smile. “Thank you, sweetheart. I’m thankful for you more than you know.”
Estelle nodded, not trusting her voice to be able to speak right now. Walking out of the kitchen, she plopped onto the couch and grabbed her sketch book from the coffee table. She hadn’t looked at it in a couple days, and time was quickly running out. Brielle and Ryan’s reception was soon, and although Brielle had given Estelle free reign on the design, Estelle desperately wanted to make her friend happy, which meant having a design early enough to get approvals for.
“Better get you done today,” she muttered to herself as she studied the cake on the page. Three tiers, classic white with icy and roses?—
Estelle blew out a harsh breath and shook her head. That wasn’t it. Brielle wasn’t a typical bride. She was fierce and a little loud. She spoke her mind, and her greatest joy in life was putting grown men in their place. A fluffy, ivory wedding cake wasn’t going to fit at all.
Sighing, Estelle turned the page and began again. When her phone buzzed, she didn’t pick it up right away, but after a moment, the sound registered, and she grabbed it just before the call went to voicemail. “Hello?” she responded to the unknown caller.
“Is this Estelle?” a smooth baritone voice crooned. “The lovely cookie lady?”
A smile stretched across Estelle’s face, completely unbidden as butterflies took flight in her stomach before she could stop them. “Um…is this Layla's favorite uncle?”
Crew laughed, the sound low and mesmerizing.
Estelle fought the desire to roll her eyes and sink into the couch. Goodness, she could listen to that all day. No wonder he had a successful dental practice. If he served adults rather than children, Estelle was positive his clientele would be ninety-nine percent female.
“It is,” he responded. “But don’t tell anyone. I don’t want to hurt any feelings.”
“My lips are sealed,” she said automatically.
“Perfect,” he flirted. “Because I have a job for you, and it needs to be done in secrecy.”
The flutters grew in intensity, and Estelle worked to shove the sensation away. She couldn’t let herself get excited about this. First of all, she had no idea what the job was, secondly, Crew was only a passing fancy, and thirdly, her family took precedence…always.
“Oh?” She tried to sound nonchalant, but it was false even to her own ears.
“Yep,” he said. “In fact, we could call it a super secret mission.”
Estelle snorted. “I think you should offer that one to Layla,” she teased.
“Layla’s one of the people who can’t know about this,” Crew added in a low tone. “And don’t knock my title. Secrets are powerful stuff and need titles accordingly.”
Those stupid butterflies. They felt more like rabid bunnies at this point. Estelle’s hand went to her stomach as if that could calm them down. “I apologize for making fun of your title,” she stated formally. “And I’ll protect your secret. What did you have in mind?”
“No way,” Crew argued. “We can’t talk about it over the phone. What if they’re listening?”
“You think your six-year-old niece is listening in?” Estelle said flatly.
“You never know,” Crew replied. “Haven't you ever seen a superhero movie? Others are always listening.”
“Crew, I’m starting to regret my commitment to keep your secret,” Estelle joked. “Is this going to end with me wearing a tin foil hat?”
Oooh, that deep, rich laughter came through the line again, and Estelle savored every moment of it. She might not have a lot of chances to laugh right now, but at least someone did and she adored that he was sharing it with her, even if he didn’t understand what he was doing.
“I bet you’d rock a foil hat.”
Laughter bubbled between her lips before Estelle even recognized what it was. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pressed them against her lips. “What did you have in mind then?” she managed to ask between her giggles.
“How about I buy you lunch?” Crew offered. “And I can share my secret then.”
Estelle’s laughter dropped like a lead balloon. “I don’t think I can do that,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper.
Crew tsked his tongue. “You do eat lunch, don’t you?”
“Well, yes, but?—”
“Then when it’s time to eat, I’ll simply take you to a restaurant. No problem. Should I pick you up at the cafe?”
Estelle felt like her head was spinning. He made it all sound so easy when her life was anything but. She had responsibilities and commitments to take care of. She needed to be home with her father and brother, and she needed to finish this cake design and…
“I’ll be there.” Her eyes widened, and Estelle had to clamp her jaw together to keep from retracting the words.
One lunch, she told herself. One lunch is all he’s asking. It’ll be fine. You can do one lunch. She swallowed. I hope.
Crew’s fingers tapped against his thigh as he drove to the cafe. He’d never admit it to anyone, but his stomach was doing flips right now. In just a few moments he was going to see Estelle again.
Beautiful, stunning, kind, gracious Estelle. The woman who’d turned his world upside down with just a few words over a glass cookie display case.
That Estelle.
He felt like a kid who was meeting his celebrity crush, only Estelle was much more accessible than a celebrity. Crew’s eyebrows pulled together. “Is she, though?” he muttered into his quiet vehicle.
Estelle had been hesitant, very hesitant about going to lunch with him. Only some quick thinking and a little manipulation had gotten him the date in the first place. And it was a date. Crew’s dinners with Daphne were the only times he spent with a woman and those didn’t count as dates, she was more like a sister than anything else.
But Estelle was most definitely not his sister, and Crew had come up with the perfect plan last night to keep himself in her company, at least for a little while. After he inserted himself into her life, he planned to pay attention enough to know how he could help her with the family situation and bring back the sweet and easy smiles he’d seen from her at Mason’s wedding. All while testing out a relationship between them, of course.
Crew had never been the ultra protective type. He’d never had a draw to the military or dreamed of being a superhero, despite his teasing with Estelle. But that woman brought out every protective instinct he’d been born with. The haunted pain in her eyes had caused physical hurt in his own body, and he wasn’t going to stand by and do nothing about it.
Slowing down, he looked for a parking spot near the cafe, but ended up halfway down the street, causing him to jog a little so he wasn’t late. His sweaty hand landed on the door handle, and he tried to hide his huffing and puffing as he held the door open for a group of women trying to walk inside. “Ladies,” he said, smiling and nodding at them as they walked past.
Crew walked behind the last one, and stepped into the warm, sugar-laden joint. He inhaled, enjoying the sweet scent and paused on the curious thought that Estelle might smell just like her place of employment. He grinned. No one would find him complaining about that.
Shaking himself back to the present, he looked at the counter and frowned when he didn’t see her, but movement to his right caught his attention and a relieved sigh escaped when Estelle came striding from a chair on the corner.
“Hey,” she said softly.
Her flowy skirt and long hair were so perfectly feminine that Crew found himself momentarily speechless, a state of being he wasn’t exactly used to. “Hey,” he replied belatedly, then cleared his throat and mentally groaned at how stupid he probably sounded. “You look beautiful,” he said, leaning over to kiss her cheek.
Estelle’s eyes widened at his boldness. “Uh…”
“Hungry?”
She blinked. “What?”
He tried. He really did try not to laugh, but the shocked look on her face had him chuckling anyway. “Lunch?” he reminded her. “Are you hungry for lunch?”
“Oh, yeah, right, lunch.” Estelle nodded stiffly several times. “Yes. I’m ready. I mean hungry, I’m hungry. For lunch. Food. Yeah, for lunch.”
Still laughing, he took her hand and spun around. Seeing the goddess Estelle flustered was absolutely adorable. “I’ve got just the place then.” Holding the door open for her, Crew guided Estelle outside and toward his car. “Sorry,” he said with a wince, still holding her hand, which just so happened to fit perfectly in his. “I ended up parking about a half block away.”
“Tourists,” Estelle croaked, swallowing audibly. “This is the only time Oregon is actually warm, so we’ve got the summer tourists here.”
Crew nodded. “I figured.” He unlocked his vehicle and got her settled before jumping into the driver’s seat. “I saw this little fish stand about a mile down the road. Does that sound alright?”
Estelle’s smile seemed to be relaxing. “I love fish and chips,” she admitted.
“Perfect.” Without another word, he pulled into traffic and navigated the tight spaces until he found the spot he was looking for. “It’s like driving in L.A.,” he grumbled as he went to get out again. “Ten minutes just to go a mile.”
Estelle was smiling as he opened her door. “Thank you,” she said as she stood up. “And somehow, I think L.A. is worse.”
“True.” Crew admitted thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side. “It’s busy all the time. You guys only get busy during the summer.”
“It’s particularly bad around the holidays,” Estelle mentioned as they joined the end of the line for the food stand. “And right now school just got out, but it’ll die down eventually. Become a little more manageable.”
Crew rocked back and forth on his heels. “So are you trying to tell me that it’s worth living here?”
Estelle grinned. “I enjoy it, yes.” She narrowed her eyes, but the smile remained. “But you’re down in California. You must like big cities.”
Crew shrugged. “Not as much as you’d think. I enjoy the success of my business because it’s in a big city. But I’m not much of a night life person.”
Estelle nodded, her eyes wandering around the crowd and boardwalk. “So,” she hedged. “This super secret mission? ”
Crew tugged her slightly closer so he could drop his voice. Pointedly looking around he said, “This place looks as good as any.”
She laughed. “No eavesdroppers?”
Crew glared at a nearby seagull. “The gull looks a little iffy, but we’ll take our chances.”
“I think he’d rather have a french fry than your secrets,” she said wryly.
“Fair enough.” Crew took a deep breath. “I’d like to hire you to design a birthday cake for Layla’s party next week.”
Estelle grimaced. “Next week? That’s a little fast.”
Shoot, shoot, shoot, Crew bit out in his mind. In all of his planning last night he hadn’t thought about how much time she would need to plan this in advance. He needed to get her on board quickly.
Estelle’s eyebrows pulled together. “But still, I really don’t want to let Layla down,” she mused.
“To be fair,” Crew said, clearing his throat. “She doesn’t know I’m doing this.”
“Does Harper?”
Crew made a face. “I told her I was taking care of the cake. But I can just buy one from the grocery store if I have to.” At the horrified look on Estelle’s face, he knew he’d hit the jackpot.
“Absolutely not,” Estelle declared. “I’ll rearrange my schedule and get it done. Layla is absolutely not getting a grocery store cake.”
Crew squeezed Estelle’s fingers. “There’s a catch though.” She stilled and slowly turned her eyes to his, looking wary. He really didn’t have the right to demand what he was going to, but he was banking on Estelle’s saintly side to hear him out. “I have to make it with you.”