The Perfect Dish

by Kristen Painter

“So we’re dating now?” That was news.

  She smiled sweetly and tapped her lower lip with one finger. “I don’t know yet. This jealous side worries me.”

  Her teasing didn’t drive him half as crazy as that finger on her lip. He should kiss her, hard. Maybe he would. Just as soon as he found out about this other man she was in love with. He drove a hand through his hair and gave up. “Okay! Yes, I’m dying to know who you were talking to. There. Happy?”

  She fussed with her water glass, rubbing the condensation off with her thumb. “I am in love with him. Deeply. Madly. Completely.”

  He hadn’t figured her on the kind to play games. At least she was being up front about it. He sighed. “If that don’t beat all.” Women. They were all up to something. “Does he know?”

  “That I love him? He’d better. I tell him every chance I get.” She smiled in a wistful, faraway kind of way.

  “No, I mean that you’re here. With me.”

  She shook her head and quirked her lips. “I don’t think a child needs to know everything their parent does.”

  “What do you mean—you mean that was your kid on the phone?”

  She nodded slowly, like she was afraid he wasn’t going to get it. “My son, yes. He’s away at college but coming up for the weekend for a visit.”

  “Well...damn. If dumb was dirt I’d have an acre covered.” He grimaced. He’d been getting green over her kid. Idiot. No wonder she didn’t want to go out with him. “Sorry. That was just plain foolish.”

  She laughed softly. “That’s okay. You’re human, aren’t you? Jealousy is a perfectly normal human emotion. Even if it is a little premature in this case.”

  “Does that mean you’re still willing to go out with me?”

  “We can try one date, one real date, and see how it goes. No promises beyond that, though. Okay?”

  He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

  * * *

  Kelly punched the heavy bag so hard sweat flew off his arms. On the other side of the bag, Mick Bishop shook his head and grinned. “You got it bad, Tex.”

  Chest heaving, Kelly rested his gloved hands on his hips and eyed his friend. “What?”

  “I’m just saying, you don’t punish the bag like this unless you got bosoms on the brain.” The Brooklyn native grinned but kept his grip on the bag.

  “You’re full of sh—”

  “Mick! Phone call!” Zippo, the owner of the boxing gym, yelled louder than anyone Kelly had ever heard. But then he had to if he was going to be heard above the searing beat of the classic rock pounding through the club. Zippo’d earned his nickname after a childhood accident with a lighter left him with only one eyebrow.

  “Hold that thought,” Mick said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Kelly jabbed a few hooks into the air. As friends went, Mick was top notch. They’d met right after Kelly had first gotten to the city. Back then, Mick had been a bouncer at the Rodeo Bar, the closest thing Manhattan had to a honky-tonk. It had felt like home to Kelly.

  A fight outside the club had left Mick with a bullet hole in his shoulder and an out-of-court settlement that let the ex-Navy seal do what he’d always wanted to do.

  Open an art gallery.

  Kelly shook his head. Most people who went into Mick’s gallery for the first time usually assumed the barrel-chested guy with the black goatee and gorilla arms was security. He loved the look on their faces when they found out Mick was the owner.

  Mick walked back over. “That was Jada. She sold that Von Merker piece I just got in. $150 G’s.” He grinned. “Man, I love this business. I gotta deliver it out to the Hamptons on Sunday. You wanna come?”

  Kelly planned to take Mery to Central Park on Sunday for a picnic. “I can’t. I have plans.”

  Mick smirked and scratched his head. “What’s her name again? Claire? Clara? I can’t keep track.”

  “I’m not seeing Clarissa anymore.” Kelly swiped his arm across his forehead to keep the sweat out of his eyes.

  Mick’s eyes widened. “You dumped that hot little blonde? This new one must be something. Who is she?”

  “Just a woman I met.” For the first time in a long time, talking about the woman he was interested in seemed like a bad idea. He smiled. Since he’d met Mery, that phrase kept popping up.

  “Great. You’re smiling and you won’t tell me her name.” Mick rolled his eyes. “You’re a goner.”

  “She’s just...different than most of the women I’ve gone out with.”

  “Different like how? She got a third eye? A hair lip? She walk with a limp? What aren’t you telling me, Tex?” Mick grabbed his towel from a nearby bench, tossed it around his neck and headed for the locker room. Kelly grabbed his, wiped the sweat from his face and went in the same direction.

  “She’s...,” he kept an eye on Mick to see his reaction, “older.”

  Mick’s brows jumped. “Like grandma-in-a-home older or horny divorcée older?”

  Kelly’s scowl made Mick hold up his hands in surrender. “I’m just asking if this is a meals on wheels situation or a lady who lunches. Cut me some slack, will ya? Just answer the freakin’ question.”

  “Twelve years older.”

  Mick nodded, as if considering the information. “What are you, thirty-two right?”

  “Yeah.”

  Mick clapped him on the shoulder. “Congratulations, my friend. You have just hit the sexual jackpot. Women reach their peak at forty-five. I’m guessing she’s all over you like white on rice.” He waggled his dark brows. “Bet she’s got a few tricks up her sleeve, too.”

  The man not only looked like the devil, he acted like one too. Kelly rolled his eyes. “Isn’t it time you settled down with a nice, respectable woman?”

  “Why? She got friends I should meet?” He grinned wicked.

  “You ever not think about sex?” Kelly pulled his locker open, grabbed his shampoo and headed for the shower.

  “Is that a yes?” Mick called after him.

  Kelly didn’t stop walking.

  * * *

  By the time Kelly got to Sedona, Shelby was at her usual table in the bar, paperwork spread before her. Relief filled him at the sight. Getting her out of her house had been nearly impossible these last few months and while he loved his sister dearly, picking up her slack at the restaurant had almost unbalanced his already full plate.

  “You’re here early.”

  She looked up but didn’t smile. “I have a lot to do to catch up and I’m supposed to go to lunch with Dr. Black today.” She exhaled softly. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

  He slipped behind the bar to get a coke. “Ready for what?”

  “Talking about...Kurt.” She wiped at the corner of her eye but Kelly didn’t see tears.

  He took his coke and went to sit beside her. “So don’t talk. Just listen. Maybe she’ll have some good advice.”

  Shelby nodded. “Yeah. She’s a pretty smart woman. I’ve been reading her book.”

  “Is that why you’ve been coming back to work?”

  “She says you have to accept the reality of the loss.” She shrugged. “Coming back to work says I accept it, right?”

  He didn’t have a clue but it seemed logical. “I’d think so, yeah.”

  She sighed and offered a weak smile. “Well, I need to get these server reports done before she gets here.”

  He wanted to hug her tight and tell her how proud of her he was but she looked so fragile he held back. “I have work to do, too. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

  “Okay,” she said, flipping over the paper in front of her.

  He walked off, his heart aching for his kid sister. She’d taken the brunt of their mother’s bad choices. The need to protect her welled up in him so strong it cramped the muscles in his shoulders. He waited for the elevator and rolled his head, trying to focus on the work ahead of him.

  The menu for the private party coming in on Friday still needed tweaking. They wanted seafood. That mea
nt getting to the fish market Friday morning before sunup to see what looked good.

  The doors opened and he got on. Maybe he’d get some shrimp and make ceviche for the picnic on Sunday. Feeding Mery was a joy. Mick was always talking about artists and their muses. Why couldn’t a chef have one too? The woman loved everything he’d given her so far.

  The picnic would be a surprise. She’d agreed to something Sunday afternoon but he hadn’t told her what. Was a picnic too country for a woman like her? He hoped not. Maybe he’d get to meet her son. He doubted it. Something told him that wouldn’t happen for a long time.

  When he got into his office, the message light blinked on his phone. He dialed into his voicemail and listened to the message. His agent, sounding very excited. As Kelly listened, a smile crept across his face. He could understand why.

  * * *

  “Hi, I’m here to meet Shelby,” Meredith told the girl at the hostess stand. She was glad it wasn’t the busty redhead again. That girl made her feel old.

  “Your name?”

  “Meredith Black.”

  “I’ll let her know you’re here.” The brunette hostess picked up the phone at her stand.

  Meredith looked back into the restaurant. No sight of Kelly. Her gaze automatically went to the hall that led to the elevator.

  “She’ll be right out, ma’am.”

  Ma’am. Bah. Out of anyone’s mouth but Kelly’s it sounded so patronizing. When he said it, it sounded…naughty. “Thank you.”

  A few minutes later, Shelby rounded the corner, several file folders in one hand. “Hi, Dr. Black. I just need to run these up to Kelly and I’ll be ready to go.”

  Meredith nodded. I could take them up. “I’ll just wait right here.”

  Shelby disappeared down the hall. She returned in less than ten minutes. “Kelly says hi.”

  A small thrill tickled her insides. “That was nice of him. Ready to go?”

  They walked down to the deli Shelby had spoken of. Nothing more than small talk about the promise of summer in the air passed between them. Meredith sensed Shelby’s hesitation and understood it. Opening yourself up to a stranger, no matter what their qualifications, was never an easy thing to do.

  The busyness of the place disappointed Meredith. She’d hoped for something quieter, but Shelby had picked it, so there was nothing she could do.

  They sat and ordered chicken salad sandwiches and iced tea. After the waitress took their menus, Meredith started a new conversation. “How do you like working with your brother?”

  “It’s good.” Shelby dumped packet after packet of sugar into her tea. After the fifth one, she stirred. The cloud of white crystals in the bottom didn’t look like it was going to dissolve any time soon.

  “Do you always put that much sugar in your tea?”

  Shelby laughed a little. “Yeah, it never seems sweet enough. I guess being raised in the South does that to you.” She stuck a straw in the glass, sucked up a mouthful and wrinkled her nose. “Would it freak you out if I added more sugar?”

  “Who am I to judge? Sweeten away,” Meredith said. Two more packets went in. “How long have you worked for Kelly?”

  “About three years, right after he opened Sedona. He needed help with paperwork, orders, stuff he didn’t trust anybody else with. I’ve always been good with figures so I said sure. Living in New York City seemed like such a dream back then. It was exciting. Something new every day.” She went quiet and stirred her tea some more.

  “And it doesn’t seem that way to you anymore?” Meredith prompted.

  Shelby shook her head. “I think a lot about moving back home. Kelly needs me but he really could hire somebody to do what I do. Probably pay them less, too.”

  “What would you do if you moved back to Texas?” Meredith sipped her tea, sweetened with only one little pink packet.

  Shelby’s mouth scrunched to one side. “Waitress, maybe. Tend bar. I fill in sometimes now when Kelly needs a shift picked up. It would be good to be near my grandmother.”

  “She’s the one who raised you, correct?”

  Something flickered in Shelby’s eyes, just for a moment. Something that looked an awful lot like bad memories to Meredith. “Yeah,” Shelby said. “She raised us.”

  There was more there and Meredith wanted to know what it was. Whatever made Shelby tick wound Kelly up, too. “Why did your grandmother raise you?”

  Shelby picked up her glass and took a long, slow draw from her straw. She sat the drink down and waved at the server. “I could use some more tea.”

  Meredith leaned forward. “You know, it’s a lot easier for me to help if I know a little bit about your background.”

  “We don’t talk about our mother.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because we don’t.”

  The server brought their sandwiches then and Meredith let the subject drop. Maybe Kelly would fill her in on Sunday. She couldn’t believe she was actually going out with him. Thank God Jason’s flight left at two. No way she wanted her son finding out about her “fling”.

  Meredith finished her first bite. “You were right. They do have great chicken salad. Probably not as good as your brother’s but very tasty.”

  Shelby smiled at that. “He is a good cook, isn’t he?”

  After a sip of tea, Meredith answered. “Have you had one of those chocolate fireball things he makes? They are so good. He brought them to the book signing on Saturday and promised me some more if I came to the opening party. I hate to tell him this but I’ve almost finished the box he gave me. To quote a famous cereal icon, they’re magically delicious.”

  Shelby choked on her sandwich. She grabbed her tea and sucked the glass dry.

  Meredith leaned in. “Are you okay?”

  Eyes watering, Shelby shook her head and managed to swallow. “I just remembered something I need to talk to my brother about.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind?” Shelby slammed Kelly’s office door behind her as she stormed in.

  The noise nearly knocked him off his chair. “What in the Sam Hill are you talking about?” He hadn’t seen this much emotion out of his sister since the funeral.

  “I know what you’re up to and it better stop. Right now.” She shook her finger at him, her eyes sparking.

  “Calm down a damn minute and tell me what you’re talking about.”

  “Dr. Black and the chocolates. You used the book, didn’t you?” Shelby paced as much as the small space would allow. “That’s how you got her to come talk to me, isn’t it?”

  Kelly sighed and sank back into his chair. “Does it matter? I couldn’t stand to see you so down and I couldn’t do anything to help you. You’re all het up over nothing.”

  She threw herself down in a chair. “It’s not nothing. There are consequences for using the book and you know it.”

  “You worry too much.”

  “Just stop, understand? Just. Stop.”

  “Shel, it’s not going to come to that.”

  She shook her head and looked away, her eyes big and liquid. He knew what she was thinking.

  She pushed out the chair. “I love you, Kel. I just don’t want you to end up like...” Her hands fisted just for a moment and she exhaled hard. “Just don’t, okay? Just don’t.”

  * * *

  “Tell me all about it,” Viv said.

  Meredith sighed into the phone. “It was just dinner.”

  “So you ate at the bar?”

  “Not exactly.” Meredith knew what Viv was after but enjoyed making her work for it.

  “You slept with him?” Viv’s voice went up a happy octave.

  “No! For heaven’s sake, is that all you think about?”

  “Sex, shoes and socializing. That’s my life in a nutshell.”

  “You ought to be in nutshell.” Meredith set down the pages she’d been editing. Talking to Viv took all her concentration.

  “Why don’t you meet us for lunch at M
arket? I’m sure the girls would like to hear this too.”

  “I can’t, I have work to do. Jason’s coming home this weekend.”

  “That’s wonderful! What time does his flight get in?”

  “Around seven.” And then I have a date.

  “That’s perfect. Tell him if he comes to brunch on Sunday, I’ll have Marcus take him to the airport in the limo. That way we can ooh and aah over him and he gets to arrive in style.”

  Meredith could almost hear Viv smiling. The woman was too clever for her own good. “He might actually go for that.”

  “Of course he will. Now then, the reservations at Market are for 12:30.”

  “I just said I can’t,” Meredith reminded her.

  “Don’t be silly. Your editor will understand if her best-selling author is a little late. Those deadlines aren’t really firm anyway, they just use them for incentive.”

  Meredith rolled her eyes. Viv might be a genius when it came to fundraising but the woman knew nothing about publishing. “Really, I can’t—“

  “See you there,” Viv interrupted.

  The line went dead. With an exasperated sigh, Meredith hung up the phone and went to change. She’d yet to slip her shoes on when the phone rang again. Undoubtedly Viv calling to make sure she was coming. She snatched the receiver.

  “Settle down, will you? I’m on my way.”

  “To an appointment with a spin doctor I hope. Meredith, this is getting out of control.” Jillian sounded more tense than usual.

  “Hello, Jillian. What’s getting out of control?” Meredith bit her lip.

  “The press on that all-men-should-die blog rant you posted.”

  “I never said all men should die.” That was patently incorrect.

  “You might as well have. Psychology Today got a hold of the post—someone must have screen-captured it before you deleted it, you know anything you put on the internet is there forever—and they’ve printed it as part of an article titled ‘When Good Doctors Go Bad’. Let’s just say you’re number one on their hit list.”

  Meredith’s fingers went numb. “What? Can they do that?”

  “They’ve attributed you so it seems on the up and up. I’m looking into the possibility of suing.”