by Brux, Boone
She whipped her hair back from her face and widened her eyes. “My sous chef is excellent. I’m not punishing your son at all. He’ll be in good hands.” She looked me up and down with flared nostrils, and dropped her voice. “And as for you, you’ll no longer be in Leo’s hands. Did you really think you had a chance? I mean, come on. Look at him. He and I spent the entire night together last night. And by entire night, I mean the entire night. Do you understand me? You are no longer wanted. Just take the hint.”
Sucking in a sharp breath, I turned around and grabbed Bowen’s hand. My movements were jerky, and my footsteps were heavy as I made my way toward the exit. I should have followed my instinct and left this place on that first day.
Chapter Twelve
“Hey, Anna. It’s Gianna.”
I bit my lip and rested my forehead on the kitchen wall when I heard Gianna’s cheerful voice. Of all the people in the world, she was the last person I wanted to speak to. Scratch that. The second-to-last person. Leo was the first. It seemed to me like Gretchen had said it all back at the restaurant a few hours ago. I was no longer needed in Leo’s kitchen…or his life.
“Gianna. How are you?” I finally said.
I heard her shift the phone between ears. “Hey, I don’t mean to bother you on Halloween night. I’m sure you and Bowen are heading out for trick-or-treating soon.”
I smiled, despite myself. “Actually, Bo and I already went. It’s really cold out, and we both know how much he hates being cold. So we came and went before the sun went down.”
“Well played.” Gianna laughed. “Listen, I don’t mean to bother you, and I hope I’m not stepping over any boundaries, but…”
When she paused I cringed. Gianna was finally broaching the subject of Leo. This was a conversation I’d hoped to avoid. “Go on.”
“Well, it’s just that…Leo said you’d missed Bowen’s last few lessons, and you’d told me that Bowen loves his time in the kitchen with Leo. So, I wanted to make sure that everything was okay.”
It was my turn to pause. Peeking around the corner, I saw Bowen watching a Halloween cartoon on TV. This whole situation had started with my son simply needing some additional therapy. I’d only been trying to do right by Bowen.
“Actually, I think I’m going to need to start bringing Bowen to therapy twice a week.” My voice sounded strangled. “Does your offer still stand?”
“Well, sure. Of course it does.” I pictured Gianna biting her nails like she did whenever she was perplexed. “But, if you don’t mind my asking, what went wrong? Are the cooking lessons not working out anymore?”
I gripped the phone tightly. “No. Not exactly.”
“I’m so sorry, Anna. I don’t know where it went wrong. I—”
“Don’t be sorry. It isn’t your fault, it’s mine. I…” I gulped. “I got sort of involved with your brother.”
“I hope…what?” Gianna sounded shocked.
I winced. Clearing my throat, I repeated myself. “I got involved with your brother.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish I were.”
“Well, what happened?”
I laughed drily. “I thought there was more between us than there actually was. We flirted, and kissed a bit, and—”
“You, like, kissed Leo?” There was genuine surprise in Gianna’s voice now, and she sounded like a teenager.
“Ugh. Yes. I’m sorry. If this makes working with Bowen weird, I completely understand.”
Gianna’s laugh was melodic. “No. Of course not. I’m just shocked.”
My lips pressed together. “Why?”
“Well, because I was hoping that you two would have a spark.” She sighed. “I just hoped that it would last longer. You know, like, forever.”
My mouth dropped open. “You planned this?”
She chuckled. “Yes. It’s just because I love you and Bowen. He’s my favorite case, even though I’m not supposed to have favorite.”
Tears stung my eyes. “Thank you. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”
“I wish there was something I could do,” Gianna said. “Is there? Anything?”
Rubbing my eyes, I leaned against the countertop and thought about that question. Unless Gianna planned on convincing Leo that he would be better off with the single mom who had a special-needs son, and a fondness for jeans and Tshirts—instead of the tall, blonde vixen he was dating…there was nothing she can do. And as much as I wanted Gianna to convince him of that, if Leo didn’t want me, or Bowen, I had to remind myself that it was his loss. Bowen was a treasure, and if Leo didn’t know that on his own, I wasn’t about to force him to understand.
“No,” I said, my voice cracking. “There’s nothing.”
Gianna released a groan. “All right. I guess I understand.”
My doorbell rang, and she laughed sadly. “Sounds like you’re starting to get trick-or-treaters. I’ll let you go.”
“Okay.” I did my best to make my voice sound cheerful, despite the sadness weighing down on me like a wet blanket. “We’ll see you next week.”
I hung up the phone just as the doorbell rang a second time. Geez. Pushy kid. I looked down at the bowl of individually wrapped chocolate bars and raised an eyebrow. Then, smiling wickedly even though my eyes were swimming in unspilled tears, I flicked the switch, turned off the porch light, and walked away from the front door.
I wasn’t sharing any of this chocolate.
Chapter Thirteen
The doorbell rang a third time. And then a fourth.
By the time I stomped over to the door and swung it open, I was ready to throttle someone. “If the light is out, kid, it means…” My words stopped and all of the air in my lungs leaked out like a deflating balloon.
There stood Leo, looking like the hottest trick-or-treater I’ve ever seen.
“Hey,” he said, unsmiling as the wind blew fallen leaves against the side of the house. I saw ghosts and goblins running up and down the street over his shoulder, but Leo stood still as a tree, staring at me with those damned brown eyes.
Jutting my chin out, I flipped the light on and leaned against the doorframe, blocking Leo from entering my house. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that Bowen hadn’t noticed that it was Leo at the door. The last thing I needed was for Bo to realize his favorite chef was here. He didn’t need false hope…and frankly, neither did I. “Aren’t you a little old for trick-or-treating?”
Leo ran a hand across the back of his neck. “Can I come in?”
I shivered from the cold. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Leo shoved his hands in his pockets. “All right. We’ll do this out here. Why haven’t you brought Bowen to the kitchen this week?”
I reached inside the door and grabbed the bowl of candy. “Here you go, guys.” Plopping some treats into both of their bags, I turned back to Leo. “I’m sorry. I should have called to cancel.”
“Why would you even need to cancel?” He frowned at me as another couple of kids ran up to the door. “Is it because of the other night? Did we move too fast?”
I dropped candy into the bags. “No. Well, yes, but—”
“I hit the brakes. I stopped things before they got out of control.” He shook his head. “This is what I was trying to avoid. I didn’t want to make you feel used, or cheap. I didn’t want a bunch of drama. I wanted to slow things down.”
“Leo, it’s not like I was scared or anything.” I used the candy as an anchor, gripping the edges of the bowl with white knuckles.
“Then what went wrong?” Leo’s eyes were wide.
I bit the insides of my cheeks as another small handful of kids approached. Did he really not know? Was he really so cocky that he thought I was going to continue bringing my son to cook even though he’d essentially dumped me for Restaurant Manager Barbie?
“I haven’t brought Bowen in this week because I felt stupid.”
Leo’s eyebrows pinched together. “Why would you feel stupid?”
His face went pale just as a kid dressed as Frankenstein shoved past him. “Excuse me?”
“Here you go. Happy Halloween.” I forced a smile at the kids, then turned back to Leo. “You’re seeing Gretchen.”
Leo’s hand raked down his face. “That’s why you stopped bringing Bowen?”
“Can you blame me?” I was nauseated. Did he really not understand this? I glanced at Bowen, who was still enamored with the television, then stepped closer to Leo and dropped my voice lower. “One day I was lying on my couch with you, and my shirt was on the floor. And forty-eight hours later, your sister told me that you were dating the tall blonde who runs the restaurant.”
“Anna, you don’t understand.” Leo reached for my hand, but I pulled it out of his reach.
“No, you don’t understand.” I silently cursed my eyes for filling. “There’s a reason I don’t date. And this is the reason. Because I can’t have men coming in and out of Bowen’s life. And because I don’t want men coming in and out of my life. When I fall for someone, I want to be the only woman in his life. The only woman he wants.”
Leo’s shoulders slumped. “Who says you’re not?”
I gave out three more chocolate bars. “Gretchen.”
His brown eyes rolled. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“We came to the restaurant this afternoon.” I shivered in the cold air. “She told us that my presence in the kitchen was no longer appropriate, and that Bowen was going to be working with the sous chef.”
Leo raked his hands through his hair, and laced his fingers on the top of his head. This gesture raised the hem of his shirt the slightest bit, revealing a small slice of his skin above the hem of his dark jeans. I pretended that my pulse didn’t race when I saw it.
“I am not dating Gretchen,” he told me slowly.
“Did you go out with her the other night?” I groaned as a few more children approached the house.
He glanced at them as they shoved past. “Yes.”
“Well, there you go.” I stepped backward over the threshold. “I’m done. This conversation is over.”
Leo turned to the kids. “Get lost, guys.”
Holding out the bowl to the kids, I cast a glare at Leo. “It’s Halloween, for Pete’s sake.”
“Would you listen to me?” He jerked the bowl out of my hands, and thrust it at the kids. “Here. Go share it with the other kids and tell them to leave us alone.”
“Cool!” The kids ran back to the street with my bright orange bowl.
“What the hell are you doing?” I snarled at him.
Leo’s cold hands cupped my face. “Look at me. Listen to me.”
Gulping, I nodded. “Fine. Make it fast.”
He shook his head and half smiled at me. “You’re so stubborn. I’m not dating Gretchen. She asked me out before anything happened between you and me. I took her out to explain that I wasn’t interested in dating her. I told her that you and I were seeing each other. She was pissed. Really pissed. I don’t think she’s used to being turned down.”
“No. I don’t suppose so.” My heart was thrumming inside of my chest so fast, I was light-headed.
“When I met you, everything changed.” He smiled. “I had no intention of staying in Idaho. I was here to pay my sister back, and then when it was done, I was getting out of here. But then I met you. You glared at me in the waiting room of Gianna’s office, and something inside of me shifted.”
I could hardly see Leo’s face, because everything was blurred from the tears in my eyes. “Shifted how?”
“Anna, you’re so beautiful. And the way you act with Bowen…so tender, so patient. It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.” He stepped closer, and his leather jacket shifted against my arms. “Bowen…he’s the most amazing kid. Every time I’m with him, I learn something. I never knew that I would fall for a woman…” He gulped and his voice thickened. “And her kid, too.”
The tears in my eyes rolled down my face, and my heart squeezed tightly. “Do you mean it?”
Leo pressed a kiss to my forehead, then again on both of my cheeks where my tears had spilled. “Of course it’s true. Anna, I’m more surprised than anybody else. I don’t want to go anywhere else. Or be with anyone else. I want you and Bowen. Always.”
Snaking my arms around his midriff underneath his leather coat, I brushed my lips against his. “I want you, too. Always.”
“Well, it’s decided, then.” Leo finally grinned, his eyes sparkling in the dim porch light. When he kissed me again, I let my head fall back, my knees buckle. His whiskers brushed against my skin like sandpaper, but mixed with the liquid warmth of Leo’s mouth, it was a heavenly combination.
This was it, my happily ever after. The hot, tattooed chef wanted the plain-Jane mom. It was everything I’d ever wished for and fantasized about, and a happy ending put my books to shame. Leo loved me and Bowen.
There was a tug on my shirt, and a small voice asked, “Hey lady, you got any more candy?”
Without pulling my face from Leo’s I reached inside the door and flipped off the light, before looking down at the little Superman standing next to us on my porch and saying, “Go home, kid.”
We kissed. We kissed and kissed and kissed for the next few minutes before Leo insisted on going inside to spend some time with Bowen. Later that night, as he and I laid on the couch, our arms and legs tangled under an afghan while a fire crackled in the fireplace, I asked him what his bluebird tattoo meant. To which he replied…
“It means happiness. And I think I’ve finally found it.”
Epilogue
Leo
I married Anna a year after “trick-or-treating” at her house that night. Bowen stood in as my best man, Anna and I rode off after our reception on my motorcycle, and then we all went on our honeymoon together as a family…to Disneyland.
Who would have thought that Leo Mancini, chef with an edge, would spend his honeymoon wearing mouse ears with an eight-year-old? I certainly never would have anticipated it, but wouldn’t have changed it for the world. Anna is the love of my life, and Bowen is my best friend. I’ve never once regretted becoming a family man.
I opened a dessert shop in downtown Coeur d’Alene a few months ago, and named it Anna’s. Bowen acts as my right hand man when he’s not in school, and our best seller is huckleberry macaroons. Business is excellent, and I’ve been featured in the local magazines and papers, but I’ve got no interest in expanding outside our little neck of the northern Idaho woods. My sister is here, my son is happy in his school here, and my wife enjoys working the front counter at the shop, and can be found sitting on a stool behind the register reading a book almost every day. She occasionally misses work, though…to go to her doctor’s appointments.
Because Bowen is getting a kid brother in about four months.
Life is good.
Acknowledgments
Accepting that I have a special-needs child was a long process for me, one that I am still working on, and every day presents a new challenge. Thankfully, every day brings new blessings as well, and life with my youngest boy becomes more interesting as time ticks on. Sammy, I love you, thank you for choosing me to be your mommy.
I have to thank Liz Pelletier for choosing my story to be part of this anthology. When I heard about it, I became fixated on participating. I simply needed to be a part of it. Thank you for believing in me, believing in my story, and believing in such a worthwhile cause.
Libby Murphy, you are—as always—an amazement. You work like a dog, you hardly sleep, and somewhere in the middle of editing this anthology, you sold your house. I am completely convinced that you’re a robot, like the editor version of Rosie on The Jetsons, which is most excellent, IMHO. P.S. I’m also sorry that I made you so hungry while you were editing this book.
A super
special shout out goes to the following, for helping Bittersweet become the fun, heartwarming book it wound up being: My CP and friend, Meggan Connors; the most amazing and dedicated occupational therapist ever, Abby Shewchuck; my hubby and remaining three kiddos, whose love and support not only makes me batty, but also make me a better person than I would be otherwise; and the rest of my crazy extended family. No author can succeed without an amazing support system, and I have that, and more. (The “more” being most fabulous hair.)
As always, stayed tuned, dear readers. There are always more stories to come…
~Brooke Moss
About the Author
Brooke Moss lives in beautiful eastern Washington state with her nerdy hubby and four wicked children. When she isn’t spinning tales, Brooke reads voraciously, changes the color of her hair, and watches entirely too much reality television. She believes every couple has a love story to tell, and loves touching her readers’ hearts, while making them giggle at the same time. Now, if she could just dig out from under that pile of dirty laundry… Check Brooke out on the web at www.brookemoss.com.
Remember Me
Nina Croft
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2012 by Nicola Cleasby. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Entangled Publishing, LLC
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Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.
Edited by Libby Murphy
Cover design by Heather Howland