The warm scent of gourmet food and the comforting undertones of fish wrapped around Zoe like a blanket. It reminded her of her childhood, since it had always been her mother’s go-to dish. Her mother said it brought back memories of her own childhood growing up in Uji.
Today, however, Zoe didn’t find it comforting enough. She paced back and forth nervously in the empty restaurant. Of course, part of her was concerned with Piper and Aiden’s upcoming wedding. What if the food wasn’t spectacular enough? What if they didn’t like the dishes Chef Glazier had prepared? Enough had already gone wrong with her wedding plans. But at the moment, all she could seem to worry about is whether or not Levi would show.
Zoe had invited him to the lunch the caterer was preparing as a sampling for Piper and Aiden’s wedding. She’d been thinking about him ever since her date on Friday night. About the things she’d said to him on the pier, how angry she’d gotten. When all he’d said was the truth.
She wanted to apologize in person, but she wasn’t sure he’d show up since he never texted back. So she paced back and forth in the reception area while the servers set up their table for nine, worrying he wouldn’t show.
Maybe he didn’t want to hear her apology. Or worse. What if he simply didn’t care?
She began to make a list, putting her worries about the day in order.
Will Levi show?
Will he forgive me?
Does he still want to date me?
Do I want to date him?
Would I marry Taichi?
Do I want to get married at all?
Ever since her fight with Levi, or maybe since her date with Taichi, she’d realized just how much of an influence Levi was on her. Even in the two short weeks they’d known each other. She just didn’t know what that meant yet.
The front door opened. Street noises filtered in as someone entered. When she turned, she was able to cross one worry off her list.
“Levi.”
“Hi.” He stood in the doorway, as though unsure whether to come in. But at least he’d come that far. And he’d even cleaned up for the brunch with a shirt and tie—not tucked in, but somehow it just worked for the rocker.
“I’m glad you came,” she said.
“Free food? I can’t say no to that.” He shrugged, but it wasn’t with his usual no big deal attitude. “How was your weekend?”
“Busy. I had a Pure Pleasure Party last night with twenty guests.” She waved that conversation away for later. She hated delaying things with idle chit-chat. She wanted to get to the heart of it.
“Look. I want to apologize for the other day. I didn’t like what you had to say so I got defensive and took it out on you. I guess I’m used to dishing it out, just not receiving it.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry for what I said.” He took a hesitant step inside.
“Don’t be,” she said. “Don’t ever be sorry for being honest with me. Because you were right. Maybe I am afraid to let people in. To let them get too close.” The words hurt to admit out loud, but she also felt lighter, her bottle a little emptier.
“I get it,” he said. “You were hurt. And you’re scared it’s going to happen again.”
“I guess, I’m starting to realize that being alone might not be the answer. You always say that life is too short. But maybe it’s also too long to spend alone.”
“It’s also a long time to spend with the wrong person, trust me.” He laughed, glancing down at his shoes. “I guess that makes me scared of choosing the wrong person again.”
Zoe’s chest felt like a corset had just been tightened around it, squeezing. Her breath whooshed out. Did that mean he now thought of her as the wrong person? She certainly wouldn’t blame him after how she reacted on the carousel. Did she want to be the right person?
She thought back to her date with Taichi and their conversation. “How do you know? Who’s the right one?”
“I guess that’s the hard part. You don’t know. You just do your best to keep your eyes wide open, but also your heart.” He looked away for a few seconds, as though thinking. “It’s like when the band and I jam. We just pick up our instruments and start to play.”
“Play what?”
“Anything. Random notes, tones, riffs. You just hope it all harmonizes together. The drums, the base, the keyboard, the lead guitar. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. But when it does, it’s a real hit. And you’ll never know unless you take chances.”
She nodded, understanding where he was going. “Grab life by the balls.”
He smiled, really smiled like he usually did with her. “Yeah.”
Zoe hesitated. She wanted to say more, something about him. About them. But she didn’t know what or where to start. She couldn’t even understand her own feelings right now. How was she supposed to explain them?
The front door opened again, and she lost her chance as Piper and Aiden walked in.
“Hey. Sorry we’re late,” Piper said. “We got stuck in traffic.”
“That’s okay,” Zoe said. “The food is just coming out as we speak.”
Obviously Levi liked what Zoe had to say because he stayed. They gathered around the only table set in the restaurant. While the place normally didn’t open until five, apparently they did private meals—if you’re Aiden Caldwell, that is.
Not long after, they were joined by Addison, Felix, and Naia. When Bob and Marilyn showed up, the soup was served.
Now that they were all seated around the table, their group felt whole. Zoe thought it was nice of Aiden to pay for the extra settings so they could still be together, even if it wasn’t their usual Sunday pancake brunch.
Their group was certainly getting larger than it used to be. All her favorite women were paired off and in happy relationships. And to Zoe’s surprise, she even had her own plus one for once. Well, sort of. It wasn’t really a date. But Zoe had never really had any men in her life to bring around her friends. And come to think of it, was Levi even “in her life?” And was that what she wanted?
Levi reached for his water and caught her eye. She quickly glanced away. She hadn’t even realized she’d been staring at him. But then she looked around and realized that everyone else was staring at them.
It felt juvenile, like they were all a bunch of awkward teenagers standing in the halls at school, trying to act cool but being so damned obvious about what they were really thinking.
Zoe rolled her eyes and dug into her appetizer, and yet, something like a high school girly giggle bubbled up inside her.
“So tell me, Levi,” Aiden said. “Are weddings big business for live bands these days?”
“It’s not too bad. Not steady work, but with other weekend events and gigs at the local bars, we’re almost full time.” He reached for a butternut squash tart. “We’re actually booked to do a week-long tour around California this week. I leave tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Zoe nearly dropped her tart. She tried to rearrange her surprised features into one of mere interest. She recalled Levi mentioning something about the tour to Holly Hart.
Levi ate his appetizer like he didn’t hear her anxiety. “We’re starting in Sacramento and working our way down to San Diego. Don’t worry. We’ll be back in town for a gig Friday night, so it won’t interfere with the wedding. And of course,” he told Zoe, “you can continue to use my place to work.”
Surprisingly, that wasn’t Zoe’s first concern. In fact, instead of the wedding being her first thought, it was about him. She wondered if they’d be able to talk about things a little more before then. Or maybe time away from him was what she needed. Time to think.
“You’re the lead singer of the band, right?” Addison asked, although she knew that perfectly well by now.
Next to her, Felix’s eyebrows rose in appreciation. “Wow, that must get you lots of”—he hesitated, suddenly remembering his audience—“gigs,” he finished lamely.
He flinched, and Zoe assumed it was because Addison just kicked him under the table.
“Maybe I should hire you guys to play at my pub,” he said to cover it up.
“That would be cool,” Levi said. “I do a lot of solo stuff too, even for the fancy events. Soirees, fundraisers, black-tie events, that kind of thing. I know a lot of classical and jazz standards. Apparently I make good background noise.”
This got a chuckle out of everyone around the table. Zoe most of all.
“I can’t see you blending into the background,” she said.
The laughing stopped and everyone stared at her like she’d just done a backflip.
But Levi didn’t seem to notice. He gave her a familiar look. And then it struck her. His looks were starting to become familiar to her. That was something new.
“Hey,” he said. “I can behave myself, you know. I clean up pretty good too.”
“Oh, I remember.” But when she tried to recall how he looked at Juliet’s wedding the day they met, her mind automatically produced the memory of him with nothing but a dress shirt on. And from there she tried to imagine what he looked like beneath it, as she’d been doing a lot ever since.
His eyes were smiling, like they were sharing some kind of inside joke. Was it her imagination, or was he thinking about the same moment?
When she finally looked away, there were more familiar looks, but from her friends this time. Could they be any more obvious?
Zoe felt like throwing one of her salad croutons at them, but then she would be stooping to their level of immaturity. So instead, she settled for sticking her tongue out at them when Levi wasn’t looking.
Addison set her glass down with a bang. Everyone jumped and turned to her. “Why do you want to date our Zoe?”
Zoe gasped, her mouth dropping. “Addison!”
“What?” she said like an innocent angel. “Normally you’d be the one asking the blunt questions, so someone’s gotta.”
“Because she’s a great catch,” Levi said, not skipping a beat. “But I don’t think I need to tell her best friends why she’s amazing.”
Good answer, Zoe thought. Did that mean he was still interested? She supposed he was still there, so that was a good sign.
Addison seemed to think so too, because she nodded. “Touché.”
“What are your intentions?” This time it was Piper demanding an answer.
“Piper!” Zoe hissed across the table.
“Purely honorable,” Levi said.
A little too honorable so far, thought Zoe.
When the main course was served, conversation turned to their usual Sunday chit-chat and Levi seemed to fit right in. But of course he would. He was so easygoing that Zoe could see him slipping into any situation effortlessly.
“Bob,” Levi said. “What is it that you do?”
“I’m a detective with the San Francisco Police Department.”
Levi whistled. “Now that’s an interesting job. I bet it keeps you busy.”
He chuckled, as though that was an understatement. “That it does.”
“Bob is following the San Fran Slayer case,” Zoe told him. “He’s on TV all the time to make the official statements.”
Levi stared across the table at Bob. “Now I know where I’ve seen your face before.”
“I heard the killer just struck again last week.” Addison leaned in, as though they’d be overheard in the empty restaurant.
“I saw that on the news,” Piper said. “Didn’t he kill some jewelry designer?”
“A pizza delivery driver was just found the other day,” Zoe said.
Marilyn tutted, setting her fork down. “This isn’t really a discussion for meal time, is it? Can’t we discuss something more pleasant?”
“My ears are burning!” A voice sang out. Everyone turned to find Holly Hart poised at the entrance. “Now don’t stop chatting on my account. Go ahead. Talk about how pleasant I am.”
Jaws dropped in shock as she grabbed a chair from a nearby table. She dragged it over, metal legs scraping on the floor, and spun it around to straddle it.
Wedging herself between Aiden and Piper, she scooted herself closer to the table like she was one of the gang. She placed her chin on her fist, batting her eyelashes at Aiden.
Aiden’s jaw clenched. He dropped his fork on the plate and it clattered noisily. Pushing himself away from the table, he wiped his mouth on a napkin. The look on his face said he’d lost his appetite for the desert spread that was being carried out at that very moment.
When Zoe caught a glimpse of Piper’s expression, she was ready to tell the server to clear all the knives off the table, just in case.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Zoe demanded.
“Now, now,” Holly said. “Is that any way to treat a guest?”
The server hesitated as she set the last of the truffles on the table. “But the reservation was for nine. I’m not sure there’s enough food left. I could always go check with Chef Glazier.”
Holly held up her hands. “Oh, I don’t want to be a bother.”
“She’s not staying,” Zoe said. “The word ‘guest’ would imply she was invited and she wasn’t.” She glared across the table at the reporter.
“Oh, but I was.” Holly aimed a conspiratorial wink at Zoe so all could see.
Piper’s eyes widened, and her head snapped as she gaped at her friend. “Zoe. You didn’t.”
Holly bit her lip. “Oops.”
Piper threw her napkin on the table and stood up. “How could you? You said you would stop feeding her information.”
Zoe flinched at the anger in her voice. “I wasn’t feeding her information. I gave her a few useless hints.”
“Except when she showed up at my bridal gown appointment, it wasn’t so useless.”
Zoe got to her feet, leaning over the table as Piper scowled at her. She wasn’t going to back down. She didn’t do anything wrong. “I didn’t tell her about the dress fitting. Natalie did it. Or maybe Chelsea. I thought you said you believed me.”
“I did believe you. But you said you stole her planner, and now Holly just magically happens to show up at our sample meal?” Piper threw her hands up. “How did she find out about this one, huh?”
Zoe banged the table with a fist. “I swear I don’t know how she found out.”
Holly stood up now too, as though she were ready to put herself between the two of them if need be. “Ladies. Ladies. You know you wouldn’t have to fight about me if you’d just give me an invite already.”
Zoe ended the angry staring contest with Piper and turned her murderous gaze on Holly. “Why bother when you seem to invite yourself to everything anyway?”
“I don’t blame her,” Piper said.
Holly placed a touching hand over her heart. “Thank you.”
“I blame you.” She jabbed a finger in Zoe’s direction.
“Oh, drama, drama, drama.” Holly took a seat again, as though getting comfortable for a show.
Zoe grit her teeth. “I didn’t tell her anything,” she spat. “What? Do you think I’m lying?”
With a deep breath, Piper seemed to make an effort at calming herself as the whole situation was getting out of hand. “Look I’m just saying that you haven’t exactly been on the ball lately. I understand.” She held her hands up before Zoe could reply. “You’ve got a lot of things on your plate and—”
“So you don’t believe me,” Zoe said. “I thought you were my friend.”
“Friend?” Piper scoffed. “You’re the one leaking wedding info to the paparazzi.”
“I’m not a paparazzo,” Holly corrected her. “I’m the people’s voice. Their champion. Ooh, are these peanut butter chocolate balls?” She popped one in her mouth and rolled her eyes in ecstasy. She held up the platter to Piper. “You should really try one of these babies.”
Marilyn seemed to be fidgeting, anxious about all the yelling. She hated when there was discord among the group. In fact, everyone seemed uncomfortable, eyeing one another like no one quite knew what to do. How could they possibly choose sides?
Levi, however was snacking away on the chocolate and truffle tray, tossing one to Naia every once in a while, making her giggle. Much like he tried to make light of the Fisher-Wells disaster. It’s not like he didn’t think it was a big deal. Zoe was beginning to realize it was his way to bring balance to stressful situations.
Bob placed a hand over Marilyn’s to still them, but his no-nonsense response was directed at Piper and Zoe. “I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation as to why Holly is here. And if we all just settle down, I’m sure we can sort it out.”
Aiden stood up and rubbed Piper’s back. “Let’s all just sit down and try the desserts so we can make our choices for the wedding menu and go, okay? This chef has been booked for months and we’ve been waiting for this appointment. There’s no time to come back.”
Piper huffed a breath through her nose. “Fine.”
But Zoe had lost her appetite. “I wouldn’t want to throw off the chef’s numbers. I’ll go.”
“Zoe, wait!” Addison yelled out.
But Zoe stared straight ahead as she grabbed her purse and marched out the front door. The summer air was thick and hot after the air-conditioned restaurant, but it suddenly felt easier to breathe.
The door squeaked open behind her, and footsteps slapped the pavement as someone ran after her. They slowed when they came up beside her. It was Levi. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stared ahead, strolling casually like he’d been there the whole time.
“Well, the salmon was delicious,” he said.
Despite her anger, Zoe felt herself smile. He’d just walked out of a luncheon with the people who hired him for a high-profile gig. Not to mention, he didn’t even try to stay behind to schmooze Holly Hart for a segment on his band. Instead, he’d chased after her.
“You should have tried the dark chocolate caramel balls.” He continued to chat as though they had a perfectly pleasant meal. “The chef’s a genius. I never would have thought to pair sesame seeds with salted caramel.”
Zoe’s footsteps faltered, and she came to a stop. “What did you just say?”
When Levi noticed she’d stopped, he turned around. “Caramel balls?”
“Sesame seeds.” Her voice was barely a whisper. The air left her lungs like she’d been punched in the gut. Piper was deathly allergic to sesame seeds. “Shit!”
Zoe spun and raced back to the restaurant. She just hoped she was in time to stop Piper from eating them before she wound up in the hospital. Or worse.