“Hey, I still consider you an old friend,” Sylvie said, shaking her head as, leaning down, she pulled a slice of what had to bethemost decadent-looking chocolate cake Natasha had ever seen from the display shelf. “So if you want to talk, I’m here. And if you don’t want to talk but just eat some cake, I’m also here.”
Natasha couldn’t hold back her laugh, as, giving in, she sat herself down at the table, pulling the boxes with her diner order out of the bag. “Well… Ididget some extra onion rings at the diner. I probably can’t eat them all by myself.”
Twenty minutes later, after what had to bethebest chili dog and onion rings Natasha had ever tasted – or half of them, anyway – she had to admit, she was feelinga lotbetter.
Good food and an unexpected friend will do that, I suppose,she thought, looking fondly at Sylvie from across the table. She really hadn’t expected Sylvie to remember her at all – much less care about her romance problems.But maybe that’s what people are like here…
“Still got room for cake?” Sylvie asked, a wicked gleam in her eye.
“Oh boy, I always have room for cake,” Natasha said, returning the grin Sylvie was giving her. “I’m on vacation, so the calories don’t even count, right?”
“Who’s calories? I don’t think I know her,” Sylvie said breezily as she sawed off a hunk of the cake and passed it to Natasha. “Enjoy.”
“Oh my God,” Natasha mumbled, unable to hold back even as she took a mouthful of cake. “Sylvie, this isincredible. I always knew you liked to bake, but… oh my God… how do youdothat? This is the best cake I’ve ever tasted. Are you making them with magic or something?”
“Secret ingredients,” Sylvie said, tapping the side of her nose. “But really, it’s my husband. He’s can grow anything – and Imeananything. So the nutmeg, the ginger, the cardamon you taste – all the little things that give the chocolate that extra spice – are from his garden. The cake wouldn’t be what it is without him.”
Oh, another gardener,Natasha thought, unwillingly thinking of Kieran again.But if he and Sylvie are married, I guess he can actually stick around…
Giving herself a mental shake, Natasha pushed the idea from her head. She really didn’t know what had gotten into her – was shethisdown in the dumps about a guy she barely knew, and had been doing her best to convince herself would only be a fling anyway?
But that’s just it, I couldn’treallyconvince myself of that. I really liked him, dammit! And… there was just something about him that –
“Oh, speak of the devil,” Sylvie said, wiping the cake crumbs from her hands and standing up, “here’s Gale now.”
Natasha turned as Sylvie went to the shop door, opening it. On the other side there stood an unbelievably tall and handsome man, with salt and pepper hair, tanned skin, and unusual silvery eyes.
Wow,Natasha thought, blinking.Sylvie’s done well for herself. Is he someone we knew at school?
As much as she racked her brain, however, Natasha couldn’t remember anyone like him at school – nor anyone called Gale. So, she supposed, he must have been someone from out of town.
“Gale, this is an old friend of mine, Natasha,” Sylvie said, introducing them warmly. “Natasha, this is my husband, Gale.”
“Nice to meet you,” Gale said, flashing a heartbreakingly gorgeous smile. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything – I just thought I’d come over and see how things were going, ask if you needed me to pick anything up.”
“Not just now,” Sylvie said, shaking her head. “We’re having a girls’ heart-to-heart. So no men allowed, I’m afraid.”
“Ohh, I see,” Gale said, nodding mock-sagely. “Well in that case, I’ll see myself out. It was nice to meet you, Natasha, however briefly.”
“You know I’m only joking,” Sylvie said, laughing. “You can stay if you want – I mean, if Natasha doesn’t mind.”
“No, of course not.” Natasha shook her head. She supposed maybe she ought to feel envious of Sylvie’s apparently amazing good fortune in having married such a good-looking – and apparently very considerate – man, especially considering her own current predicament. But she found in the end she could only really feel happy that Sylvie had done so well for herself – her own apparently successful bakery, a good husband, and glowing with obvious contentment.
Maybe one day I’ll get that way too…Natasha thought wistfully, as Gale and Sylvie briefly chatted about their mornings, clearly at ease with each other in a way that made Natasha’s chest achejusta little.Sylvie left Girdwood Springs for a time and then came back to set up shop here. Maybe… maybe…
“But how did you two meet?” Natasha asked, cutting off the thought before it could fully form. “Gale, you’re not from Girdwood Springs?”
“No, I’m not,” Gale said with a warm smile. “I just came here to get away from the city for a while – I used to work as a chef. I didn’t really have any intention of staying, but then I met Sylvie and, well… boom. That was it for me. And I’ve been here ever since.”
“Wow,” Natasha said, blinking. “Sounds like a real whirlwind romance.”
“I guess you could say that,” Sylvie said, her ownridiculouslyhappy grin mirroring Gale’s. “But you know… sometimes you just meet someone, and youknow. There’s no explaining it. You just have to go with it.”
Natasha stifled a sigh.Yeah, that would have been nice!she thought – but she knew it was a bitter thought.
“Sylvie was telling me the other day that you run the garden center down the street,” Natasha said, turning her thoughts away from her own still strong disappointment, and taking sincere pleasure in the happiness of others. “And you used to be a chef? Sounds like you’re a man of many talents.”
Gale laughed. “Well, I don’t know if I’d gothatfar, but definitely I like to garden – it was my first passion, before I got into cooking. So I guess I get the best of both worlds now, what with running the garden center and helping Sylvie out with the bakery. I’ve been incredibly lucky.”
