Summer on Mirror Lake

by JoAnn Ross

  The blessing of the rings involved dipping them in a Koa wood bowl filled with water from the Pacific Ocean, meant to represent the cleansing of past relationships to a new beginning. As Caroline explained Ho’oponopono signified a reconciliation, a letting-go, Desiree felt Bastien glance down at her, but she steadfastly kept her eyes on the couple.

  While Kylee poured water from the harbor and Mai poured the water her family had brought from the ocean outside their home into a wooden bowl, Mai’s cousin came forward with his ukulele to play the “Hawaiian Wedding Song.” As Bastien and Desiree sang the lyrics, she couldn’t help noticing they were, as they’d once been both onstage and off, in perfect harmony.

  Kylee spoke her vows first. “My darling Mai, when I went to France to take photos for my book of World War Two American soldiers’ cemeteries, I never expected to find my best friend and the love of my life. As a family, with our daughter, Clara, we will create a home filled with laughter and compassion. I promise to respect you and cherish you as an individual, a partner and an equal, knowing that we do not complete but complement each other. May we have many adventures and grow old together.” She took Mai’s hand in hers, and said, “I give you this ring as I give you myself, with love and affection. Wear it in peace always.”

  A collective sigh rippled through the guests as she slipped the ring on Mai’s extended finger. The open love shining in her gaze as she looked into Mai’s eyes reminded Desiree of the way she’d once looked at Bastien.

  And then it was Mai’s turn. “Dearest Kylee, when I took my grandmother to visit my grandfather’s grave in France, I never expected to find my best friend and the love of my life. I promise to laugh with you, cry with you and grow with you. I promise to share my whole heart with you and Clara and love you loyally as long as I shall live.” She slipped the ring onto Kylee’s extended finger. “I give you this ring as I give you myself, with love and affection. Wear it in peace always.”

  At that moment the breeze blowing in from the water picked up, stirring the air as it sighed in the tops of the tall fir trees and set the garden’s flowers to swaying.

  Caroline returned the wooden bowl to a small table draped in white linen. “Dearest Kylee and Mai, as you embark upon this wonderful shared life, I ask that you remember this special day in your beautiful garden with joy and thanksgiving. May your love and understanding grow throughout the years. May yours always be a shared adventure, rich with moments of serenity as well as excitement. May your home be like a peaceful island where the pressures of the world can be sorted out, brought into focus and healed. And may you love to live, and live to love.

  “To all present, I invite you to remain after the ceremony, for the christening of the couple’s beautiful daughter, Clara, who has brought such joy into all the lives of those who’ve met her.

  “And now, with the blessings of everyone who is present here today, and by the power vested in me by the State of Washington, it is my pleasure to pronounce you legally married. You may kiss your bride.”

  As the conch shell sounded and the brides shared their wedding kiss, the guests stood and applauded. All stayed standing as Mai’s mother, Tamami, walked down the runner in a pink kimono embroidered with white lotus flowers, carrying a baby girl whose white christening dress, Desiree had learned as the women dressed, was the same one Mai had worn.

  The christening was brief but meaningful, and it was impossible not to see the love and wonder in both Kylee’s and Mai’s eyes as they gazed at their adopted baby girl. This time, when Bastien looked down at Desiree and smiled, she smiled back. It was impossible to keep a closed and guarded heart when she was surrounded by so much joy and love.

  Then the brides, followed by the grandmother and daughter, walked down the aisle to “From This Moment On” as the guests showered them with white rose petals.

  Her heart feeling so much lighter, Desiree began flirting with the harmony, which had Bastien winking at her, the way he would those times onstage, when their eyes would meet, and it would feel as if they were the only two people in the world. Once again, time spun backward, to that first Christmas they’d met, when this Cajun sax player had stolen her heart.

  Oh, yes, Desiree admitted, she could feel herself falling all over again. And even as her wary head warned her she could be in trouble, her newly emboldened heart didn’t care.

  CHAPTER SIX

  THE RECEPTION WAS BUFFET-STYLE, catered by Luca’s Kitchen, and with Desiree’s bakery providing not just the cake but various pastries and cookies. Bastien played his sax and Desiree sang for the gathered guests while they ate.

  Brianna was finally breathing a sigh of relief at how well everything had gone when Kylee, who’d changed into more casual attire, came up to her.

  “That was amazing,” she said, throwing her arms around Brianna. “Thank you for providing memories for a lifetime.”

  “It was truly my pleasure,” she said. “Although I’ll admit Mai’s family made it easy. Once Caroline came up with the idea to make her feel more at home, they’d arranged for so much of the ceremony. Including bringing the leis, bowl and conch shell.”

  “It made Mai cry a bit. In a good way... I was glad to see Aiden here,” Kylee said. “I haven’t seen him since he returned to Washington.”

  “I wasn’t certain he’d show up,” Brianna admitted. “He’s hidden away like a hermit at the coast house. But I played the Catholic guilt card and pointed out how important it was for him to get out with people again. Also, quite honestly, Seth has been worried about him.”

  It had been painful for Brianna to watch Aiden suffering and Seth worrying about not being able to get through to his best friend.

  “It had to have been hard on him, having his partner killed. Not to mention being shot himself.” Kylee glanced over to where Aiden was standing across the lawn, talking with his older brother Quinn. His expression was nowhere near as happy as the rest of the guests.

  “It was also good to see Jolene again, and thank goodness she used that waterproof mascara, because I got so emotional during the wedding, I was on the verge of weeping like the willow Amanda planted in our front yard. And speaking of Jolene, would you have ever guessed someone from Honeymoon Harbor would end up on the cover of People for dating a movie star?”

  “I’m happy for her,” Brianna confided. Jolene had been the subject of bullying through middle school and up until she’d suddenly dropped out of high school at sixteen.

  “Me, too. So, what’s going on between her and your brother?”

  “Which brother?”

  “Aiden.”

  “I had no idea anything was going on.” Brianna’s gaze turned toward Jolene, who was currently amusing Clara with funny faces. “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve been watching them. They’ve stayed on the outskirts of the crowd the entire reception, seeming to make sure they’re on opposite ends of the yard. If she moves, he moves. And vice versa. It doesn’t seem accidental and I’m definitely picking up vibes.”

  “I haven’t a clue. Although Jolene would come over for the occasional sleepover during middle school, before she suddenly dropped out of high school, I never noticed Aiden paying any attention to her.”

  “Well, he sure is now.”

  “They both live in Los Angeles. She told me they hadn’t run into each other, but maybe their paths have crossed in the past few years and she didn’t want to talk about it for some reason.”

  Before Kylee could comment, one of the young women hired to keep the tables cleared and the buffet table looking tidy came over to ask Brianna a question and the subject was forgotten.

  * * *

  BASTIEN WENT INTO the kitchen, in search of Luca Salvadori, who was taking a fresh antipasto platter from the refrigerator.

  “Hey, man,” Luca said, “that was some wicked-cool music you two pulled off at the last minute. I was surprised Desiree s
ang. She’s never mentioned a word about singing to anyone in town that I know of. And believe me, if she had, it would’ve been in bold print on the town’s Facebook page.”

  “We were in a band together for five years. That was some time back.”

  “You didn’t record anything?”

  “I scraped up enough dough to pay for studio time to have an album engineered. But it’s a catch-22. You need a name to be signed. And you can’t be signed if you haven’t gotten enough attention to get a label interested. So it never went anywhere.”

  “I’ll bet it would now,” Luca said, putting the tray on the counter. “I’m a fan, by the way. I’ve got all your blues rock albums. I was wondering about that gap of time. Between albums.”

  “Thanks. As for the time...” Bastien shrugged. “Life happens.”

  “I know about that,” Luca said. “The question of the moment is how you let her get away.”

  Another shrug. “Stupid also happens. But life on the road wasn’t ever for Desiree. She’s been baking all her life and decided it was a more dependable way to earn a living.”

  “She could work in any high-end restaurant in the country, and from what I hear, she turned down a bunch before settling down here. I buy some of my pastries from her, although I make the tiramisu myself from my grandmother’s recipe.”

  “Speaking of grandmothers, the reason for the gap is that I quit the road to go home to New Orleans and help my grand-mère run our family restaurant. But she recently passed, so I sold the restaurant to my cousin, and now that I’m free, I intend to win Desiree back.”

  “A man with a plan,” Luca said with an approving nod. “Good for you.”

  “The thing is, I don’t want to go back on the road. So I thought I’d open a restaurant here.”

  Luca’s dark brows rose. “Why would you open a restaurant here in this small town when you could probably put your name on one in any city in the country and fill the place every night?”

  “Because Desiree isn’t in any other city. She’s here.”

  “Wow. You are serious. But I don’t get what that has to do with me.”

  “I wanted to make sure there wasn’t going to be a problem with me giving you some competition.”

  “Hell, no, I think it’s great. You may be able to tell from the town’s name that we’re a destination wedding town. Not like Vegas, but we get our share of tourists. A bigger variety of places for people to go out to eat can only make the town more appealing, which in turn brings in more visitors with dollars to spend. Right now, for dinner choices, there’s Mannion’s, which is a great pub; Taco the Town’s food truck; Leaf, which, as it sounds, is vegetarian, and me. Adding you to the mix will help people get into the habit of going out more. Especially in the winter when tourism slows down and the locals start getting cabin fever. What are you going to name it?”

  “Sensation Cajun.”

  “I like it.” Luca held out his hand. “So welcome to Honeymoon Harbor, and good luck. With both the restaurant and Desiree.” He picked up the tray again to take it out. “She’s a helluva woman.”

  “Thanks. You called that one right.”

  * * *

  ALTHOUGH THEY’D STOPPED SINGING, the wedding reception showed no signs of slowing down. And, as long as Kylee and Mai seemed to be enjoying themselves, why should it? The best thing about summer was the long days when the sun wouldn’t set until after nine o’clock and the twilight glowing with shades of gold and amber would last for another thirty or forty minutes.

  During that time, Honeymoon Harborites expressed surprise to learn that the town’s baker had once been in a band.

  “It’s as if you two had been singing together all your lives,” Dottie enthused.

  “It was five years,” Desiree repeated what she’d been saying for the past twenty minutes. “A long time ago.”

  “Well,” Dottie’s twin, Doris, said, “it may have been long ago, but it’s obvious the connection between the two of you is still there. I suspect we’ll be fitting you for a wedding dress before this time next year.”

  “I wouldn’t bet the store on that,” Desiree said with a laugh. A laugh that faded as she saw Bastien heading toward her, setting off those all-too-familiar butterflies in her stomach.

  After greeting the elderly twins and accepting their compliments, he took Desiree by the elbow and led her to the far end of the garden. How could such an innocuous touch send heat flowing through her entire body?

  “I talked with Luca Salvadori,” he said. “I wanted to make sure he was okay with me opening up a restaurant. He thinks it’s a great idea that will create more business for everyone.”

  “I’m delighted he approves,” she said, folding her arms to steel herself against the charm offensive she knew would be directed her way. “Perhaps you may have thought to ask me how I felt before you made your plans to attempt to steal my building space.”

  “What would you say to taking this conversation somewhere more private, before we start garnering even more attention?”

  She narrowed her gaze. “Where?”

  “First to the building in question. I have an idea. I also have a question. When was the last time you ate?”

  “I’ve been busy.” She thought back. “A croissant this morning.”

  “Then you should be hungry. Let’s take off. I’ll show you my idea, then cook you dinner.”

  “Where are you staying?”

  “At the Lighthouse View Hotel. I was lucky to get the only available room. It seems that you were right about Mai’s family filling both Brianna’s B and B and the hotel.”

  “I didn’t realize they had kitchenettes at the hotel.”

  “They don’t.” There it was. That slow, devastating smile she’d been expecting. “I thought maybe I could use your kitchen.”

  Her initial thought was to turn him down on the spot. Then again, if he actually did intend to stick around, and Desiree sincerely doubted it, since small towns weren’t his style, there were other spaces Seth could remodel for him. He didn’t need hers. Which was what she was going to convince him of. Over his damn dinner.

  “I could use something to eat. And I’ve missed New Orleans food. Also you’re right about it giving us an opportunity to discuss the flaws in your impulsive plan in private.”

  “Believe me, cher,” he said, his eyes turning as serious as she’d seen him since he’d put her on that plane to New York, “there was nothing impulsive about it.”

  And didn’t that have her thinking about how he’d been spending the past two years? Family was important to Cajuns, and Bastien was no different. The fact that he’d give up a successful career to take over his grandmother’s popular, but small, restaurant proved that under that hot, sex-on-a-stick exterior was a huge and caring heart.

  Bastien had never been a bad man. He’d just proven to be the wrong man for her. Or perhaps they’d met too soon and she hadn’t been ready for him.

  “So, what do you say?”

  “I don’t have anything in the house to make a meal with,” she said. “We’ll have to stop by the market.” And wouldn’t that have Mildred Marshall posting about Desiree buying dinner groceries with the hot new stranger in town on the Facebook page before they’d left the parking lot?

  “Sounds good to me. I’m guessing, since we’re on a harbor, there’s a fish shack?”

  Desiree glanced down at her watch. “Kira’s Sea House should still be open. For another twenty minutes.”

  “Bien. We’ll start there.”

  * * *

  HE WAS A fast shopper who knew what he wanted. Kira packed up some Dungeness crab and Gulf shrimp. He wanted the ones with shells, he told the fishmonger, to make stock.

  Which admittedly impressed Desiree. And apparently Kira, who asked for the recipe.

  “I’ll have Desiree write it down for yo
u as I fix it,” he said. “I learned to cook in my grandmother’s restaurant, and neither of us have ever been the type to use recipes.”

  “That must have been an adventurous experience for diners,” Kira said as she wrapped the shrimp in white waxed paper and put them with the crab in a bag with ice to keep them cool.

  “Food should be an adventure,” he said. “Otherwise, what’s the point?”

  “You won’t get any argument from me,” Kira agreed cheerfully. Then turned to Desiree. “But please, write down what Chef Adventurous here does, okay?”

  “I’ll try,” she agreed. “Just remember. I’m a baker, not a cook.”

  The farmer’s market was down the street, and although the stands were beginning to close up for the day, Desiree was not surprised when both men and women stopped to sell him what he needed. Charm. Say what you want about it, Bastien was definitely born with more than his fair share. And when you tossed in that slow, sexy Cajun accent, well, he was pretty much irresistible.

  One of the buskers, playing an alto sax for tips at the front of the market, recognized him immediately and looked on the verge of having a seizure from excitement. Especially when his alleged musical hero signed an autograph, then invited him to perform with him at the preopening trial run dinner at Sensation Cajun. By the time they escaped, Desiree was worried about the kid driving home safely.

  The rice, unfortunately, had to be bought at Marshall’s Market, where Bastien had the usually stone-faced Mildred Marshall giggling like a schoolgirl as he laid on a Cajun accent as heavily seductive as Dennis Quaid’s in The Big Easy. But a great deal more authentic.