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Nat needed to either fix his shit or cut Mia loose completely, I decided. That way, she’d either be back to her old life and not in the middle of ours, or else she’d be free to move on...
I quashed the end of that sentence... with Luca and me.
Because what the hell were either of us going to be able to offer Mia Dimitriadis, compared to what Zalen could offer her? As if that wasn’t bad enough, I couldn’t evenbeginto think about where Emiel might fit into this mess without my head feeling like it was about to explode.
No, it was better if she went back to her husband. Itremoved temptation.
The next step was obvious. I needed to have a conversation with Nat; preferably somewhere that wouldn’t arouse suspicion. And when Mia formally invited everyone in the house to attend the grand reopening of her restaurant on the coming Friday, I was pretty sure I’d have my chance.
TWENTY-NINE
Nat
AFTER A SOLID WEEKof prep work, the grand reopening of the Elderflower Inn was in full swing. I’d spent the first two hours waiting for disaster to strike—for the inexperienced new members of the crew to flounder, or the new menu to prove unpopular, or some shady gangbanger to sneak in and set off a smoke bomb or something.
But Ayden, while he seemed a bit harried, hadn’t bungled any orders or dropped any platters of expensive food. And Maleeka seemed equally at home working the food line as she had while casually getting us four hundred seventy-five thousand new social media followers.
Four hundred seventy-five thousand.
Clearly, at thirty-one years old, I’d already aged out of the social media game and needed to hand the reins over to Gen Z.Christ.
Meanwhile, Mia’s new mini pizza rounds and the bergamot-cinnamon chocolate lava cake were flying off the menu, to the extent that we were probably going to run out of the cake, at least, before close. I made a mental note to source another delivery of fresh bergamot right away.
So far, no one had released any roaches, smoke bombs, stink bombs, or any other horrors inside the restaurant. I was makingthe rounds, glad-handing with the customers while keeping a surreptitious eye out for tattoos as I went. I had the waitstaff doing the same. So far, none of the customers had pinged our radar.
Practical upshot—things were going way too smoothly. I could hear cash-register sound effectska-chingingin my head, dollar signs piling up as hungry diners ordered expensive entrées and drink refills.
“I’m so relieved that you’re open again!” gushed a gray-haired regular, as she reached a manicured hand out to shake mine delicately. “My granddaughter told me all about what happened after she saw it on the Instant Gram. Unbelievable how some people behave—I hope you sicced the police on that boy!”
I thanked her and murmured something about the legal case being ongoing, then excused myself to do another quick walkaround of the dining area.
A new party of four was being seated in the far corner... a veryfamiliarparty of four. Something inside my chest twisted into a complicated knot. Squaring my shoulders and pasting a pleasant, welcoming expression on my face, I went to greet Mia’s guests.
“Welcome to the Elderflower Inn,” I said, as four heads looked up from their menus in response. “Thank you for coming tonight. I know it will mean a lot to Mia.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Zalen said mildly.
“Hi, Nat. Almost didn’t recognize you without the sweaty gym clothes,” Emiel added. And was that...teasing?
“Almost didn’t recognize you without a half-eaten bear claw in your hand,” I nudged back, sadly out of practice with the rhythm of banter between new friends. “I’m afraid we don’t have those on the menu.”
He scoffed, looking shy and pleased. “Nah. As long as you got my lava cake, we’re good.”
“I’ll make sure they hold a piece back for you in the kitchen,” I promised him. “The cake’s going fast tonight.”