Sophie faltered on the bottom step, bitterly regretting saying James could stay. With a decisive about turn, drawn by the scent of chocolate, she followed her nose to Bella’s kitchen. Standing in the shadow of the doorway, she peered into the golden glow of the kitchen, where Bella was perched on the arm of the sofa next to Maisie holding court, her plump hands waving madly as Edie creased back into the pink armchair, clutching her stomach as if it hurt, her face lit up with laughter. Ed slouched up against the dresser, a whimsical smile on his face as he watched his girlfriend.
Like a delicious hug, the comforting smell of the chocolate muffins cooling on the side, the gentle hum of the fan oven and the sound of the others laughing and chatting, loosened the iron grip of tension gnawing at Sophie’s shoulders and the fury that had carried her back to Smith Street dissipated a little.
Unnoticed, she slipped forward, her hand touching the familiar glossy red of the Kitchen Aid and a finger leaving a smear in the cocoa dust on the side.
‘I told him there was no way I could do that many cakes for less than forty dollars. Honestly. People want …’ Bella trailed to a halt. ‘Sophie.’
Sophie gave her a grim smile.
‘Hey, honey. Great timing. You must have smelt the honeycomb,’ called Maisie, bouncing in her seat. ‘You are just in time to try my new hokey-pokey cheesecake.’
‘Oh my giddy aunts, it’s amazing,’ sighed Edie, raising a spoon and licking it, her eyes closed in bliss.
‘Grab a spoon, girl, quick,’ said Ed. ‘Before she eats the lot. Your tastebuds are in for one helluva treat.’
Sophie pursed her mouth. They were all trying far too hard. Bella ducked her head at the accusing look she shot her.
‘Let the girl come sit down,’ said Maisie, shifting to make room on the sofa, patting the seat next to her and immediately slicing a portion of the cheesecake and serving it up.
With all eyes on her, all Sophie could do was automatically dig in and taste, even though she could have sworn her appetite had vanished. The second the sweet sugary confection wrapped itself around her tongue, she closed her eyes, blinking back the tears that threatened. Next to her she felt Maisie’s warm body, Bella’s hand on her knee and heard Edie’s over-enthusiastic chatter to Ed. Maisie joined in and the three of them began talking a lot of nonsense about whether it should be called honeycomb or hokey-pokey.
Bless all of them, working hard to act normally, giving her the space and time to do what she needed to do. A burst of love for Bella and her generosity bloomed in Sophie’s heart. Without any reservation, she’d shared her friends, her kitchen, her life and in turn these good people had opened their arms, offering easy acceptance through the common bond of food and a love of food. With a teary smile, she blinked at them and put her hand on top of Bella’s.
‘Thanks Bel.’
‘You, OK?’
Sophie gave her a tremulous smile. ‘Not really but … I will be.’
‘Yes, you will,’ said Maisie, suddenly chipping in.
‘Just don’t be nice to me,’ threatened Sophie, trying to keep the mood light. If she gave into the anger coursing through her veins, she might explode and she didn’t want to upset them. ‘Otherwise I might start blubbing all over you. I’m guessing Bella told you, my ex turned up.’
‘I did. I’m so sorry. If I’d known I would never have let him wait for you. He seemed so sincere,’ Bella wailed. ‘Turning up with the ring and all. Shit, I can’t believe it. Married and you never knew. In all that time. Two years. You had no idea. Seriously?’
Sophie raised her hands. ‘What can I say? I’m an idiot.’
‘No, you’re not, honey,’ Maisie shook her head vehemently, her dark curls bouncing in agreement. ‘You’re too darned nice.’
‘Sheesh!’ said Edie with a scowl. ‘You let him stay in your place. I’d would have shown him the door … after I’d rearranged his boys for him.’
‘Ouch,’ said Ed. ‘That’s my girl. Bloodthirsty warrior. I keep the knives away from her most of the time.’
‘I’m kind of regretting that now.’
‘What, regretting not doing him bodily harm or letting him stay?’ asked Maisie, looking amused.
‘Both, actually,’ said Sophie with a quick rueful grin. ‘I was so shocked to see him. There are a million and one things I wished I’d said to him now.’
‘Don’t worry, I told him he had to be out by eight in the morning,’ said Bella. ‘You can sleep on my couch, it’s a pull-out. I’m guessing Todd wasn’t home.’
‘Thanks Bel, that would be great,’ she said, deliberately avoiding talking about Todd. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to hold it together. At the moment she was furious with him, but that was only going to last for so long. The heat of the battle would fade. Tomorrow would be another matter, when she was left to bear the weight of the loss.
‘Well, I’ve got the very thing for you. Ed and Edie are here to give me and Maisie a masterclass in bread-making. We’re making sourdough. You can join in.’
‘Oh yes,’ said Edie. ‘Violence is always the answer. Pummelling dough is the perfect punchbag.’
‘You can see why I avoid getting on the wrong side of her,’ said Ed, the fond look on his face at complete odds with his words.
‘Imagine it’s your ex.’ Edie jumped up. ‘And we brought supplies.’ With a clink and a rattle, she lifted a brown bag up from beside her armchair. ‘My friend Jack.’
It turned out bread-making, drinking and laughter were not a bad way to spend an evening.
Drunken bread-making was to be highly recommended, decided Sophie the following morning, although she was all for divorcing any further association with Jack. When she opened her eyes, the tiny crack of the light streaming through Bella’s lounge window hurt.
‘Oh lordy, lordy,’ croaked Bella, tiptoeing into the room with two steaming mugs. ‘Please tell me you feel as bad as I do. And please tell me I didn’t imagine texting the girls and asking them to open up the bakery today.’
‘You texted the girls. You texted Wes.’ Sophie reached for the coffee. ‘You’re off the hook.’
‘It was worth it, we made damn fine bread, though.’
‘My arms ache.’ With a flex of her bicep, she winced. ‘Who knew it would be such great therapy?’
‘Knead that man right out of your life.’
‘I wish,’ said Sophie. ‘I am such an idiot.’
‘No, you’re not. You keep saying that. He’s not worth it,’ said Bella stoutly. ‘His wife can have him back.’
Sophie gave her a woebegone smile and from absolutely nowhere tears welled up in her eyes.
Bella frowned. ‘We’re not talking about James, are we?’
Sophie shook her head, fighting back a sob. Last night she’d succeeded in putting on a brave face but this morning it hit her, just as she knew it would. When Bella hugged her, all her defences crumbled and she broke down and cried. Slow, quiet, heartbroken tears of regret and frustration, while Bella held her and rubbed her back.
When her tears finally subsided, she felt wrung out and exhausted. Burying her head in her hands, feeling her puffy cheeks beneath her fingers, she whispered again, ‘I am such an idiot.’
‘Aw, hon.’ Bella put her arm across her shoulder and pulled her close again.
‘This is where you say, I told you so.’
‘No, this is where I say my cousin’s the idiot.’
‘At least he’s an honest idiot.’
‘Still an idiot.’
‘I’m not disagreeing with you there.’
‘What happened?’ Bella took her hand.
‘He’s running scared. When I saw him last night he tried the you’ll be better off with James tack. And he should have known better.’
Bella squirmed. ‘I promise I’d never have let James over the threshold if I’d had any idea. What a jerk. I wouldn’t have said anything to Todd, if I’d known, either. I feel so bad. I’m so sorry.’
‘Don’t be silly. It’s not your fault and it wouldn’t have made any difference,’ replied Sophie, bleakness threatening to overcome her. ‘It was the perfect excuse for Todd to bail.’ She sighed and gave Bella a rueful half-smile. ‘I did tell him he was a coward.’
‘Ouch, how did he take that? Not that he doesn’t deserve it.’
‘How you’d expect? He’s stubborn but, like you said, he’s consistent. He said he wasn’t interested in anything permanent. And he meant it. To be fair to him, I agreed. There was always a shelf-life. It’s not like this is a surprise.’ Listen to her, she sounded positively stoic when inside her heart felt like a mangled wreck.
‘Except,’ Bella heaved a big sigh, ‘I sort of thought, that maybe … that maybe you were the one that was going to change him. The two of you looked good together. And you were good for him.’ Her voice rose in frustration. ‘Really good for him.’ She hugged Sophie again. ‘At least you’ve only got another month here.’
Sophie nodded, noncommittal before suddenly deciding to tell Bella about Trudy’s offer. It had been playing on her mind ever since her boss had spoken to her. ‘If I wanted to stay, would you let me lease the apartment, even if it pisses your cousin off?’
Bella sat up, her head bobbing up, alert like a small bird and a little smile hovering around her mouth. ‘All the more reason to lease the apartment to you. In fact I’d negotiate a discount if it really makes him pissed.’ Bella looked at her. ‘Are you thinking of staying? That would be awesome.’
‘You’re only saying that because of the free labour,’ teased Sophie, her mood lifting at Bella’s unconditional enthusiasm.
‘Well naturally. But how come?’
‘I’ve been offered a permanent job at the magazine and I can extend my work visa for up to three years.’
‘And you want to stay? What about Todd?’ Her expression held a touch of mischief. ‘That’s going to be interesting. He bailed on you because he thought you wouldn’t be around much longer. Made it easier for him. This changes things.’
Sophie screwed up her face, mutinous and defiant, although inside she felt anything but. ‘It’s not going to change anything with him. His mind is made up. He says he can’t be in a committed relationship. And he genuinely believes that.’ It was going to hurt seeing him every day, she had no idea how she was going to cope, but she wasn’t running away for a second time.
‘I’m staying.’ Sophie looked out of the window, surprised by the tug of love she suddenly felt for the city. ‘I love Brooklyn. I love living here. The bakery’s become like home. When Trudy suggested it, I was surprised but the more I think about it, the more I want to stay, even though Todd has called time.’ It wasn’t that she had anything particular to go back to London for. She liked the person she’d become. Wanted to explore being that person. If she went back to London now, she might fall back into the old patterns. The same old routines.
‘In that case I’ve got a proposition to put to you.’
Sophie managed to laugh, although it sounded forced. ‘Businesswoman Bella, straight on it.’
‘Hell yes.’ Bella held out her fist and Sophie bumped it.
‘Go on then, what’s your latest fiendish plan?’
‘I really want to expand the wedding-cake business, but … well, you nailed it with the wallpaper cake. You’re better with people than I am. Translating what they really want. You listen whereas I tend to think I know what they want. I can do the technical stuff, but … and I really hate admitting it,’ she scowled at Sophie with a twinkle in her eye, ‘but your ideas are a hell of a lot better than mine.’
‘Rubbish, look at the My Fair Lady cake.’
‘Nothing particularly clever there. I used the picture as inspiration and then lots of technique and pretty window dressing, but the creativity was down to the dress designer. I just pinched various elements.’
‘I don’t agree but I would love to be your right-hand woman.’
‘Excellent. We make a great team. And,’ Bella paused, looking at her watch, an impish grin tugging at the corners of her mouth, ‘what are you doing on Wednesday after work?’
‘Well.’ Sophie’s tired sigh made her feel irritated with herself. ‘As of Friday, it looks like most nights are free.’
‘Good, well not good because of the reason. I mean, I’m really sorry and …’
Sophie held up her hand. ‘Bella, stop. I know what you mean. What’s happening on Wednesday?’
‘Eleanor has been recommending me, us, left right and centre. I’ve had three enquiries by email this morning alone and on Wednesday we’re meeting Alessandra di Fagolini.’
Sophie nodded, suddenly diverted by the text alert on her phone. ‘I can do that.’ She snatched up the phone, hope turning to sharp disappointment when it wasn’t Todd’s name on the screen.