Cooking Up Love

by Gemma Brocato

  “Hey.” He raised his voice over the noise, deciding the best way to approach her involved asking no questions.

  “What are you doing here?” Jem demanded, rubbing her hands across her cheeks to remove traces of her tears. “It’s the middle of the night.”

  “Actually, it’s nearly dawn. The security company called when the alarm activated.”

  “They didn’t call me. God, what is that noise?”

  “The alarm,” he said, raising his voice to be heard over the racket. “Hang on, I’ll turn it off.”

  He walked to the door, opened the keypad and punched in a code. The sudden absence of the shrill whistle made the sound coming out of Jem’s ear buds much louder.

  She picked up the iPod and stopped the playback. “I didn’t realize I have an alarm system. How did you get in?”

  He held up a ring of keys as Brown-Eyed Girl filled the quiet. He fished his cell phone out of his pocket, punching the Talk button as he brought it to his ear and held up a silencing finger for Jem.

  “Jack Kerrigan. Yeah, hi. It’s okay. The code is Jemima. Right, the new owner is here and didn’t realize the alarm had been set for the night.” He listened for a moment. “I’ll be sure to give her the code and explain the system to her. Yeah, call the police and let them know it’s all good. Great, thanks for the call.” He disconnected and looked at Jem. Clooney, still sitting where Jack had told him to wait, whined impatiently.

  “You have a dog.” At his nod, a ghost of a smile flitted across her face as she turned her attention to the animal. “He’s very well behaved. So, when was an alarm system installed?”

  “A couple of months ago. Caroline called me and said she was having some problems with teens. They’d broken in one weekend when she was out of town. She felt uncomfortable, thinking they might get in when she was home. We checked out a few options for alarm systems and picked one to install. It broke her heart to think crime had finally arrived at her doorstep.”

  “I suppose it might,” Jem said, her head cocked thoughtfully to one side. “She liked to think everyone was as good and honest as she was. What an eye-opener for her.”

  He nodded and continued, “Once the system was installed, she needed a secondary contact who’d be willing to take a call and check out the café if she was out of town. She asked me. I said yes. I forgot to mention I’d set it this afternoon when we left. Sorry.”

  “Oh… Well, thanks. Everything is fine. You can go home now.” Jem gave the dough a few last punches, then covered it with a clean dishcloth. An instant later, her phone vibrated with an incoming call. Hmm, who was calling her at damn-dark-thirty in the morning?

  Viciously punching a button, she muttered under her breath. “Lying sack of sh—” She glanced up at him, reached for her glass of wine and took a very healthy swig.

  He gazed at her, wondering what had gotten under her skin. Calm and collected, she was a stunning woman. Pissed off? Holy cow, she was magnificent. There was a snap of undisguised hostility in her large brown eyes. Curly hair pulled severely off her face enhanced elegant cheekbones and a wide, expressive mouth. Her yoga pants rode low across her tight abdomen and her tank top rode up as she kneaded the dough. He stared entranced at the intricate tattoo gracing her hip. She might be mad as blazes about something, but the only thing he could think about at the moment was how much he wanted to trace the ink with his tongue. Even if he tried to deny his attraction to her, his body didn’t lie.

  He wanted her.

  Shifting uncomfortably in his suddenly too-tight jeans, he asked, “Are you planning to open for breakfast this morning?”

  “Huh? Oh…no. I got a phone call earlier and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

  He reached across the counter and ran his fingertip under her eye, removing the lingering tears there. He dropped his hand when she shifted backward, away from him. “A phone call made you cry?”

  Jem raised her glass in a salute before taking another drink. “I don’t drink wine much because I tend to get well…a bit sloppy when I do. Today was such a horrible day and it was the only adult beverage I could find. I thought, maudlin be damned! If anyone deserves a drink it’s me.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “Sure. But where should I start?” Jem glanced away, uncertainty dancing on her face. The deep breath she took lifted her t-shirt provocatively, and his pants got tighter. She squared her shoulders. “I know…let’s talk about a funeral for a dearly loved aunt, whom I was too busy to see more than twice in the last two years. The aunt I made travel to visit me, not the other way around. Did you know Caro had scheduled a visit to New York last month? She loved the city in winter, especially Central Park. But she called to cancel because she wasn’t feeling well. Said she had the flu, would I mind terribly rescheduling?” Jem drew a shaky breath, her pained brown eyes shimmering. “No worries, Aunt Caro. Call when you’re feeling better and we’ll make new plans. Except that new plans are never going to happen. Because I buried her today. So, reason number one and two my day sucked—guilt and shame. I should have cared more about Caro. It would have made a difference.”

  “Jem, she knew you loved her. Sugar, she had more contact with you than any other member of your family. I was around the summer she argued with your parents. It hurt her when they refused to send you for your regular visit.” When she lifted her eyebrows, he continued. “Yeah, Caroline told me about the fight. She hated that summer. I think the only days she smiled were the days you called. We’d hear about what was going on in your life. It made her very happy that you made the effort to keep in touch with her.”

  A weak smile tilted the corners of Jem’s lips.

  “What else made your day suck?”

  “That kiss,” she stated baldly.

  Her flat statement rocked him back on his heels. That kiss didn’t make his day suck. He allowed his surprise to show.

  Jem dropped her eyes and toyed with the corner of the dishcloth covering the bread dough. “That came out badly. It wasn’t the kiss, because it was, well, you were there—I think you know how incredible it was. The fact is, I feel guilty because I really, really enjoyed kissing you when I have—um, had—a boyfriend. That, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”

  Jem glanced at him and then rushed on.

  “See, I felt like I’d betrayed Phil’s trust. I could rationalize that you were doing it to distract me from my numbing fear of small spaces. As ideas go, you were right. It was brilliant. But, I didn’t just let you kiss me to distract me. I kissed you back. Willingly. I wanted to. I didn’t think about Phil, or how kissing you could be cheating. Not even once. I didn’t try to pretend it was him. There was no way I could delude myself about it. I’ve known—well, apparently not really known—him for two years, and he’s never kissed me the way you did this afternoon. I thought about it all evening long. I tried to stop, really I did. But…” She laughed, throwing her arm out wide. “I failed monumentally at it.” She tipped the last of the wine into her glass and looked at the bottle in surprise.

  He took the empty container from her hand and set it aside as Jem giggled and brought the glass to her lips. He reached over and pried the glass from her unwilling fingers before she took a sip, setting it aside also.

  “Good Lord, I drank the whole bottle,” she exclaimed, licking her lips.

  He groaned mentally, following the path of her pink tongue. He had to swallow hard to get any words out. “I couldn’t help but notice you’ve been referring to Phil in the past tense.”

  “That right! I haven’t told you the final reason my day turned into such a huge nightmare. The phone call I told you I got? Well, it was Skanky Stacey’s ass calling me during one of her many random sexual encounters. You know, that girl is a tramp. Well, no, you wouldn’t know.” Jem laughed bitterly and continued. “She was doing some poor dumb bastard in the ladies’ room at a dance club. Turns out the poor dumb bastard was mine,” she said flatly. “That’s right, my boyfriend, the
wonderful, charming Phil Centers, was nailing my least favorite coworker while people pounded on the door to get in.” Jem laughed harshly as she bent over, resting her head on the floured surface of the counter. Her laugh bordered on hysterical as she twisted around and sank to the floor.

  Aw shit, no wonder she was drinking. He hesitated only a moment before hurrying around the island. She sat with her back to the counter, her head resting on drawn up knees, shoulders shaking.

  Sinking down next to her, he slid his arm around her and eased her against his chest. Heat shot through his body at the contact. Even sitting on the hard surface in the musty kitchen didn’t dampen the strong pull her felt toward this woman. His reaction amazed him and made him feel like a heel at the same time. The woman was obviously hurt, and all he wanted to do was push her backward to the floor and cover her body with his.

  He took a calming breath and exhaled as he stroked her hair, offering unspoken solace as he waited for Jem’s emotional tempest to ease.

  Clooney finally broke training and trotted over to plop protectively in front of them, putting one large paw across Jem’s foot. Jem raised her head and reached out to pet the animal. He leaped to his feet and pushed his muzzle in her face.

  “Clooney, no! Sit!” He commanded, pushing the dog’s large head away. The dog immediately obeyed, dropping his rump to the ground with a thud.

  “You named your dog after a movie star?”

  “He came with the name. My ex-wife thought he was a particularly handsome dog and deserved the name. By the time we got divorced, since he liked me better, I got custody.”

  Jem smiled slightly. She looked at Clooney sitting next to her before turning her attention to him. “God, it’s been a helluva day. I’m sorry for falling apart. Twice in one day, too.”

  “Technically, it’s two days, but it’s okay. Here, you have flour on you face, let me…” He brushed lightly at her forehead.

  Jem blinked as the flour fell to her cheeks.

  His fingers tangled briefly with hers as she moved to wipe the flour off her face. The jolt of electricity he’d felt earlier in the day zinged again. When Jem disengaged her fingers from his and dropped her hand to her lap, he continued to gently stroke her cheek.

  “When the phone rang, it jolted me from a very sound sleep. I answered without checking to see who was calling,” Jem explained. “Ordinarily, when Stacey calls late at night, I don’t bother to answer because it’s easier to assume it’s an accident. She is forever leaving her phone in a pocket and occasionally even her hand. My best friend, Resa, gets her share of calls too. We generally laugh about it over coffee the next day and avoid Stacey like the plague.”

  “Goes without saying.” He smiled and laced his fingers through hers, drawing her hand toward his chest. Oh, Lord, her hand was soft. He cleared the tightness at the back of his throat. “Why’d you come down here instead of staying in the apartment?”

  Jem gazed at their joined hands before continuing. “I ran out of things to clean. I was still so angry. Do you suppose hurt comes later?” She frowned before continuing. “I tried yoga. Except I couldn’t concentrate enough to hold any position or control my breathing. Caro used to say whenever she was super-angry she’d start a loaf of bread. Kneading and pounding was a great way to take out aggression.”

  Memories of his own sessions with a punching bag when his ex-wife left him flitted through his mind. “My mom calls it the thinking woman’s punching bag. You get to hit something and your family benefits because the bread always turned out perfect. As kids, when we’d come home from school and smell freshly baked bread, we knew to tread carefully. We never knew what she was mad about, but there was delicious, homemade bread. It was a win-win situation as far as we were concerned.”

  “Exactly. I mixed the dough, but forgot the oven upstairs didn’t work. I’m sorry you had to come over.” Clooney inched closer to Jem as she spoke and she reached out to scratch him behind the ears.

  “I’m not. I’m glad it was a false alarm. Once the system was installed, I don’t think Caroline ever got a phone call. Honestly, I believe she thought she was a target for some reason. She never explained it to me, just asked for help picking a system.”

  “Well, I’m glad to know the alarm works. Can you show me how to disengage it?” Jem asked. She released his hand and pushed to her feet, dislodging Clooney.

  Jack stood next to her, noting lingering bitterness in her eyes. Shooting a look at the clock above the sink, he nodded slightly. He grabbed her sweatshirt and handed it to her. “I have a better idea. Grab the coat next to the back door. I want to show you something, but we have to take a short walk first.”

  “Where?”

  “You’ll see. Just trust me, okay?”

  Jem’s laugh was skeptical, the sound harsh in the quiet stillness of the kitchen. “Not feeling a hundred percent comfortable with my ability to trust anyone right now.”

  “I haven’t steered you wrong yet, have I?” Jack grinned. “Come on, grab a coat and let’s go.”

  Jem shrugged and pulled Caro’s old jacket on. She hunched her shoulders, her sniff audible as she inhaled deeply near the collar, a bittersweet smile tilting the corners of her lips. Walking back to the counter, she reached out to grab her phone. Jack put a hand over hers and shook his head.

  “You won’t need that.”

  She raised her eyebrows, but pushed her hand into a deep pocket in the coat.

  Jack smiled and headed for the front door of the café.

  * * * *

  The dawn sky was awash in color as they walked across the street and down the rock jetty to the harbor. The deep purples, pinks and oranges reflected on the surface of the water, rippling as waves surged in and out. The colors lightened as they moved heavenward. It was a glorious repeat of every sunrise he’d ever seen.

  The magnificence of the early morning sky illuminated the shore’s landscape, casting a rosy shadow on boulders tumbling in to the ocean. Once they reached the end of the pier, he sat down and hung his legs over the edge. Looking expectantly at Jem, he waited until she settled a small distance from him. She hadn’t spoken of her need for distance, but he understood and didn’t close the space between them. He gave a signal releasing Clooney, who ran joyfully up and down the sandy beach. The dog entered the water, then paused to shake out his coat before running away from the incoming tide.

  Jem rolled her head back on her shoulders and they sat in companionable silence, absorbing the peace of the moment. She sighed, as though willing away the tension and angry thoughts. He remained still when she glanced his direction. He sensed her question, but continued to watch the horizon, an anticipatory smile pulling at the corner of his mouth as the light changed. The advancing sun set the sky on fire. As the leading edge of the glowing red orb peeked above the sea, he turned toward her.

  “Do you know what that is?” he whispered, pointing to the distance.

  “It’s the sun. A very pretty sunrise,” Jem responded, just as softly.

  “Yes, but it’s more. It’s a new day. It’s your invitation to put away yesterday’s troubles and start over.”

  Jem dragged her eyes away from him and turned to face the sun as he continued, “I was young, just twenty-five and living in the city, when my wife and I broke up. I thought we were invincible. With Tessa loving me, I owned the world. I loved her so much it damn near killed me when she told me she was having an affair and wanted a divorce. When everything was finalized, in record time I might add, I went through a really bad patch. Without anything to keep me in Boston, I came back here and moved in with my parents.”

  Jack smiled sadly and shifted on the hard rock. “That’s when I really got to know Caroline. She gave me a job and helped me figure out up from down. I’m ashamed to say I sort of lost myself in the bottle. Knowing how much I’d disappoint Caroline if I didn’t show up to work the breakfast shift kept me from drinking until dawn. My dad’s a patient man, but after putting me to bed drunk a few time
s, he got fed up. So the next time it happened, he poured me a strong cup of coffee, shoved me in the car and brought me here. He marched me down the pier and pointed toward the sunrise.”

  Jack lost himself in thoughts of a long ago morning, as Jem stared at the horizon, waiting for him to go on.

  “Dad doesn’t talk much. It’s just his way. He shocked me that morning by stringing a whole lot of words together. Said his heart was breaking for me. What I was going through was breaking my mother’s heart, too. He told me it was time to move on with my life, not stay buried in what I couldn’t change. Dad told me each sunrise offers a new promise. As bad as yesterday was, there’s new opportunity, new hope every day. He told me I was the only roadblock to happiness. I shouldn’t let Tessa destroy my essence. Yep, my dad talked about my essence.” Jack chuckled; the memory of the moment still amazed him. “Said I deserved more than the next guy to wallow in the misery. But I’d be better off accepting the new chance each dawning sun provided.”

  He turned to face Jem and put his finger under her chin, turning her face his direction. Cupping his hand over her cheek, he rubbed his thumb along the smooth skin he found there. He prayed she’d lift her head enough to let him press a kiss to her lips, but she remained still, her eyes searching his. “That sun, right there, is your new opportunity. If you stay unhappy for a few days, or even years, it’s okay. Tomorrow, and every day after, the sun will come back with the same offer. And one day, you’ll be ready to accept it.”

  He dropped his hand to her shoulder and scooted closer to her, easing his arm around her. Jem didn’t shift away from him, but didn’t lean into his solid warmth, either. Her sigh was audible as she turned her face back toward the brilliant orange globe on the horizon. Side by side, they watched the new sun rising over the water, brightening the day first with a rosy glow, then a fiery glare that made them squint. Bathed in an otherworldly glow, Clooney played in the surf as the rising sun painted vivid colors on the sea and sky.