Page 16 of Peach Cobbler Confessions
Chapter 6
Mangias is an Italian restaurant located right across the street from my bakery. Once I closed up shop, I refreshed my makeup and dabbed a little almond extract behind each ear before making by way over.
Inside it’s dimly lit, with dark wood paneling and tables. Sinatra is playing through the speakers, and the scent of fresh baked garlic bread awakens my senses. A lively crowd sits around every available table and intermittent bouts of laughter electrify the atmosphere.
I spot Noah at a round table in the back and give a wild wave as I make my way over.
No sooner do I reach the table than he pulls out a small bouquet of pink and baby blue daisies.
“Lottie Lemon,” he growls it out with a seductive smile as he gives me a little twirl. “You are a beautiful sight for sore eyes.” He dots my cheek with a kiss before he sniffs my neck. “You smell amazing. How are you feeling?”
“Attacked,” a deep voice strums from behind as Everett pulls me into his arms. His cologne is thick and instantly makes me heady, and his hair is damp as if he just got out of the shower. Let’s hope Collette Jenner wasn’t around to witness it. “Lemon.” His lips twitch in the right direction, and his eyes gleam my way with a marked brand of hormonal hunger as if he’s never seen a woman before. “Don’t let this guy take advantage of the fact you’re carrying my child.” A genuine smile crests his lips, and I gasp because it’s the facial expression equivalent of a rare comet passing through the earth’s orbital plane.
Noah scoffs at the thought. “So are you going to tell her?”
I pull back a notch to get a better look at Everett.
“Tell me what?” I ask as the three of us take our seats. I take in a quick breath as I look to Everett. “Is this about the big secret you’re keeping from me?”
Noah leans back. “Big secret?” He squints over at Everett. “I’d hardly call it a big secret.” He taps his fingers along the table and I can see his investigative wheels turning. “Wait a minute. I’m guessing one doesn’t have anything to do with the other. What else are you keeping from her?”
Everett lifts a brow my way. “Brandy Fielding paid me a visit down at the courthouse. She doused me with a cup of flour as I was leaving.”
“What?” I bounce in my seat. “That explains why your hair is wet. You went home, changed, and showered.”
“I did.”
“What happened to Brandy?” I ask. “Did you have her arrested?”
“No.” He winces.
“Tell her.” Noah laughs to himself as if he relished the answer.
Everett gives a long blink. “I told her I’d have coffee with her tomorrow.”
“Why on earth?” The words rattle from me.
Everett ticks his head to the side. “Because I really do think she’s harmless and she just wants to vent. Her boyfriend’s life is already in the crapper. I’d hate to see her throwing hers away, too. I let her know I’d have security with me.” He points to Noah. “And that I would only meet with her if she promised to knock off the harassment, because she is one second away from spending time behind bars herself.”
“Everett.” I shake my head at him. “This makes no sense. She’s dangerous.”
“She’s desperate,” he counters. “And yes, that can equal danger. But at this point, she knows where I live, work, and most likely who you are. I’ve got you and Evie to think about.” He picks up my hand. “And our baby.” There’s a tenderness in his voice that crushes my soul. “Sometimes the best way to shut down a person acting that way is to give her a few minutes. She has no record. She’s a nurse down at Leeds General Hospital. And she pays her taxes. I told her I’d give her fifteen minutes if she agreed to stop with the harassment. She promised that’s all the time she would need.”
“Wow, Judge Baxter. Word is going to get out that you have a beating heart.” I give his hand a squeeze. “But I already knew that.”
Noah nods over to him. “And if this woman so much as looks at you crooked, I expect you to have her arrested. Nice only goes so far. I don’t like the thought of her running around scheming new ways to get you to overturn a judgment you put to bed a long time ago.”
“I agree.” I pull Everett’s arm close. “And if this ended a while ago, why the sudden outburst?”
Everett sighs. “I think the fact Peter Green is serving a life sentence has finally settled in. And her patience is about to run out.”
A commotion from our left draws our attention and we turn to find Carlotta ushering over a rather wild-eyed Ridge Porter.
“Look who the cat dragged in.” Carlotta dusts off Ridge’s coat as if she just picked him off the ground, and knowing her, it could be true. She hikes up on her tiptoes and leans toward his ear. “Just wait until you see the feline moves I’m capable of behindcloseddoors—or out in the open. Gentleman’s choice.”
“Sit,” I hiss over at her and the two of them comply without hesitation.
We exchange niceties, all things considering—like Carlotta, just as the waitress comes by and we quickly put in an order for a couple of large pizzas.