Tessa had a whole lot of opinions of saidnew wife, but none of them were very nice or anywhere near appropriate, so she kept them to herself. “Men are just a load of trouble, aren’t they?”
Finally, Sophie let out a laugh. “Guessing your hot chef boyfriend is old news?”
Tessa yearned to spill it all to Sophie. She could trust either of her sisters not to go running to the tabloids with spoilers. But another knock came at the door, this one more like an excitable woodpecker than the earlier gentle knock from her sister.
“Dinner’s ready!” a small voice announced.
A layer of ice melted around Tessa’s heart at the sound. The tiny thing was the most adorable child she had ever seen, in her curly pigtails, with those bright eyes she’d obviously gotten from Sophie, and her cartoon moose T-shirt.
“Hey, sweetie!” Tessa smiled so big her cheeks hurt.
“Hi.” Caroline’s small hand gripped the doorknob as she swung her petite body from side to side. A stuffed moose dangled from her other fist, thrashing about with her nervous movements.
“Do you remember Aunty Tessa?” Sophie asked.
“Yeah.”
“Can you come give her a hug?”
In the last decade or more, Tessa had given very little thought to having children of her own. Derek—her latest mistake—had no desire to have kids. With both of them so career-driven, it made sense that kids didn’t fit into their lifestyle. But Tessa would be lying if she said her breath didn’t hitch, waiting to see whether this precious child would warm up to her or not.
“What about dinner?” Caroline asked with a delicate voice.
“She’ll come around,” Sophie said, patting Tessa on the shoulder. “She’s just shy at first.”
“Of course.” Inside, though, Tessa felt like a failure. It was a strange feeling, one she never thought she’d experience. The idea of a family hadn’t taken root since the last time she was in Sunset Ridge—when she was seventeen years old. Back then, she and Liam had talked about the future all the time. Three kids, that was the number they’d agreed on.
But then he joined the Army without telling her, and all the plans they made for the future crumbled away. Since the day she boarded a plane leaving Alaska behind, kids no longer crossed her mind.
Tessa shook free of the fantasy’s hold. There wouldn’t be time for dating, much less settling down and starting a family. When she returned to Vegas and wonOrder Up, she’d be too swamped running her own kitchen in a brand-new restaurant. One that already had a lot of hype and was guaranteed to have a packed dining room every night of the week.
“Coming?” Sophie asked from the doorway as she wrapped her hand with her daughter’s.
“In a minute. I just want to . . . clean up.”
“We’ll wait to start eating,” Sophie promised.
Tessa refolded her clothes and placed them back in her suitcases, refocusing her emotions on something she could control: finding that necklace. Tomorrow she’d stop by the shop to check on her rental. She needed to know she had a ride to the airport should she get the call. A call that would only come if she found a way to prove she never snuck a recipe card to her work station and cheated her way to a victory she rightfully earned.
Men really are the worst,she mused on the walk down the hallway toward the kitchen. They couldn’t be trusted not to break your heart to forward their own agenda. That’s why she needed to avoid Liam at all costs.
“I saved you a seat.”
Her heart throttled in her chest. “Liam?”
“So, we don’t servemostof the guests,” Sophie said. “But we do serve this one.”
“Guest?”No, no, no. Liam Davies wasnotstaying at the Sunset Ridge Lodge. Impossible. If he owned a mechanic shop, surely he owned—or at least rented—a house. Or even stayed in his parents’ basement.Desperate times.Why on earth would he pay for a lodge room?
“That’s right,” Cadence chimed in. “He was actually our first one.”
“How long have we been open again?” Tessa asked, reluctantly circling the table to the one remaining spot. At least she’d be close to Raven, even if the husky was curled in a ball, napping behind Liam’s chair.
“Eleven days,” Cadence answered, passing a bowl of mashed potatoes. Normally, Tessa would turn her nose up at mashed potatoes she hadn’t prepared herself—no one else ever put in enough sour cream, and most didn’t use chives at all—but after the diet she’d suffered through during the filming of the show, everything on this table made her mouth water. At least for a couple of days she wouldn’t be eating out of a vending machine.
“I’m sure meatloaf and potatoes aren’t exactly what you’re used to,” Cadence apologized to her once Tessa took her seat. “But this is an extra special meal. Caroline helped me cook the potatoes and added her very own secret ingredient. Didn’t you, honey?”
When the mashed potatoes reached Tessa, she peered into the bowl, expecting to find gummy bears or bacon bits—something worthy of a four-year-old’s imagination. But there was nothing extra visible to the eye.
