Dearly Beloved (Siren Publishing Allure) (13 page)

“A surprise,” Wakame said. He put the box on the counter and removed the top. Both of them gasped at the same time. It was a beautifully decorated cake.

“Why did she bring us a cake?” Yoshi asked.

“Because I happened to mention to her that you liked cake,” Wakame answered. “She made it herself to thank us for the delightful service she received on her last visit.”

“How much does she want for it?”

“No money,” Wakame said. “Just another bowl of your delicious ramen.” He paused. “Did you call Daiki?”

Yoshi nodded. “He’s sending someone right over. Go out there and keep her company until I get the food done.”

Wakame left him and Yoshi got busy with Mrs. Nakamura’s order. He gazed over at the cake. It was huge, had white icing, and was decorated with fruit and confectionary sugar. He licked his lips. It looked delicious.

He prepared the dish as he’d done the last time, without the spicy seasonings, and carefully carried it out of the kitchen. Ebony Nakamura looked pretty in a yellow dress with a yellow headband around her forehead. “Good afternoon, and thank you for the cake.”

“You’re welcome, Chef Kudo,” Ebony said, smiling.

“But you didn’t have to go to so much trouble.” It made him feel happy that someone thought enough about him to do something this special.

“No trouble at all,” Ebony said. “It is just as easy to bake two cakes as it is to bake one.”

She had an incredibly sultry voice.

“I like to bake, and it gave me something to do.”

He supposed it did get pretty boring at home waiting to deliver. “I will make sure I share it with my other customers.” No sooner had the words came out of his mouth did several of Nakamura’s people arrived.

Ebony saw them, too. “Looks like the lunch time crowd is here.”

The men nodded at her and one of the other waiters escorted them to tables nearby instead of the private dining room. Yoshi bowed to her. “Excuse me. Enjoy your meal.” He went into the kitchen to begin preparing more ramen. He got another surprise when he came out again and saw his old classmate Tomio Nakamura seated at the table with his wife and Daiki Asaoka. The waiters came for their orders, and gave him two more. Yoshi went back into the kitchen to prepare them. He personally delivered the bowls of ramen to Tomio and Daiki.

“Thank you,” Tomio said, looking him in the face. “I know you, don’t I?”

Yoshi nodded. “We went to school together, Mr. Nakamura. It’s me, Yoshi Kudo.”

Recognition registered in Tomio’s eyes. “We played together on the baseball team.”

“Yes,” Yoshi replied.

“Thank you for taking such good care of my wife.” He put emphasis on the last two words.

“It is an honor, Mr. Nakamura.” Yoshi returned to his counter with his heart beating rapidly in his chest. Part of the nervousness was from being so close to the powerful yakuza, and the other for seeing the look of admiration in Ebony’s eyes. More customers came in and waiters rushed over to seat them. Yoshi went back into his domain, found a knife, and sliced a piece of the cake. Wakame came through the door, eyeing the dessert as well. Yoshi cut a slice for him, too. They both sampled it.

“Oh, this is so delicious and moist,” Wakame exclaimed.

Yoshi agreed with him. “It’s not too sweet either. I bet some of our customers would love this.”

“Maybe you should offer her a job as a baker,” Wakame said. “I bet it will bring in more female customers.”

Yoshi frowned at him, even though it was a good idea. “That is not an option,” he said. He found a cake holder and put the remainder of the cake on it. He carried it out to the counter to put on display. Ebony had finished her ramen so he cut a piece of the cake and carried it over to her.

“Thank you,” she said. She smiled at him.

“You’re welcome, Mrs. Nakamura. It is delicious.”

Daiki finished up his ramen. “I didn’t know that you served cake, Kudo.”

“Just today,” Yoshi replied. “It’s a gift from a customer.”

“I’ll have a piece of it if you don’t mind,” Daiki said.

“How about you, Mr. Nakamura? Would you like a slice too?” Yoshi asked.

“Yes, please,” Tomio answered.

Yoshi left to get the cake, and sent Wakame over to their table to clear away the dishes. He then had Wakame bring them tea and cake. He watched the two Yakuza dine on the dessert. Ebony watched as well.

Wakame returned over to him. “I didn’t know those guys liked sweets.”

Yoshi didn’t either. Before he knew it, he was serving cake to all of Daiki’s men as well. Maybe it was time to hire a baker.

* * * *

“This cake is delicious, honey,” Tomio said to Ebony. “I hope you have another one like it at home.”

“Yes,” Ebony answered.

“You baked this for Kudo?” Daiki asked.

“Yes, he was so nice to me the last time I visited, and one of his waiters mentioned that he liked cake.”

“Did you know she was baking cake for Kudo?” Daiki asked Tomio.

“No, my wife is full of surprises. Lucky for me that I recognized her baking.” Tomio turned to speak to Ebony. “This was nice of you, but you should have called for Akira to bring you here, instead of riding the bus here with a cake.”

“Don’t scold me, Tomio. I needed an outing. You have no idea what it is like staying in the apartment all day. Sometimes it feels like the walls are closing in on me.”

“You can always visit my parents if you get lonely,” Tomio said.

The look on his wife’s face was priceless. “I’m not that bored,” she replied.

“I’m only concerned about your safety.”

“I know you are. I was careful and the baby is fine. I think he likes this place. He’s been kicking my belly black and blue since I arrived.”

Tomio looked around. He never expected Yoshi Kudo to become a chef. He had a nice setup, and customers had been coming in to eat since they arrived. He’d been in cafés before, and this one was not unique. He wondered why Ebony liked it.

“Listen to your husband, Mrs. Nakamura,” Daiki said. “It’s for your own good.”

“Are you two afraid that something will happen to me because of my husband’s enemies?” Ebony asked.

“Yes,” both he and Daiki said.

Tomio continued to check the place out. The café was filled with men, mostly the working class, and most of them were now enjoying Ebony’s cake. He would love to nurture his wife’s talent and open a bakery for her, but she’d be too busy with the baby soon. “I’ll see if Gina would stop by to keep you company, or maybe Haruka or Takara.”

Ebony glared at him from across the table.

Tomio tried to hide his smile. He just tossed out the last two names to mess with Ebony.

“I’d rather dine with sharks than those two.”

Daiki chuckled. Everyone in the Nakamura group knew of his sisters-in-law and their evil ways. “Just remember to call me when you want to come here. Kudo is a very busy man and I’m sure he has his hands full catering to his customers.”

“Did he call you and tell you that I was here?” Ebony asked.

Tomio couldn’t put anything over on her.

“No, he called me,” Daiki said. “I asked him to, and now I’m glad he did. This cake is good.”

“You are welcome to come to dinner anytime,” Ebony said to Daiki. “Just tell Tomio and I’ll make sure to always have a cake baked.”

Tomio expected her to jump all over Daiki for having Kudo call him.

“I like her, boss,” Daiki said. “She’s much friendlier than Kazuhiko’s and Makoto’s wives, and I heard she is an excellent cook.”

Tomio nodded. “Yes, she is. I got lucky.”

Daiki got up and went over to the counter to settle their bill. Tomio pulled out his phone and called for his driver to come back to the restaurant for them.

Yoshi came back over to table with Daiki. “Thank you for the cake, Mrs. Nakamura.”

“You’re welcome, Chef Kudo. The ramen was excellent. You must give me the recipe one of these days.”

Tomio noticed the lonely look in Kudo’s eyes when Ebony spoke to him. He supposed he shouldn’t be jealous. Ebony was a beautiful woman, and other men were bound to notice her. But he wasn’t stupid either. He remembered how popular Kudo used to be with the women when they were in high school. He would have to do everything in his power to keep Ebony away from him so Kudo couldn’t fall in love with her.

Akira arrived and Tomio and Daiki led Ebony out of the cafe. Tomio got into the car after Ebony, and Akira drove away from the curb. He was sure that Daiki and the others were following close by. Since the hit on Juunta Sawaki, Tomio and the others had been sticking close to home to draw suspicions off of them. He was sure that Daiki had done his job professionally, and not left behind any evidence that would make the police suspect that they were behind the killing. But there were no guarantees. He did notice a bigger police presence in the red light district lately. Life had gone back to normal, and Tomio had restocked his gaming parlors and reopened them again. Until the Nakamura group officially retired, they had to keep the money rolling in.

Akira parked outside of their apartment building. He got out and opened the door for Ebony to get out. “You look like you’re ready to pop. Are you sure you’re carrying Tomio’s baby and not an elephant?”

Tomio got out just as Ebony rolled her eyes at his driver. “Are you jealous that it isn’t you?”

Akira couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, maybe.”

“I’d be glad to change places with you for the next three months. Let’s see how you’ll like it when your legs and feet swell and your hips and ass spread so wide you’ll wonder if your body will ever return to normal.”

“Okay, you win,” Akira said. “Have a nice afternoon, Mrs. Nakamura.”

Tomio chuckled and escorted his wife inside. “You do know that Akira likes you?”

“How can you tell?” Ebony asked.

“Because he hasn’t shot you yet.”

“That’s good to know,” Ebony said. “Because if he ever pulls a gun on me I’ll make him eat it.”

Tomio had no doubt that his wife would do it. He had a strong woman at his back, even if she didn’t like what he did for a living. He searched the apartment first before allowing her to enter. He had so many enemies that he wouldn’t put it past one of them to break in and set explosives to get back at him and his family. He kissed Ebony goodbye. “I’ll try to be home early. Get some rest.”

“Okay,” Ebony said without arguing with him. “I’ll see you later.”

Tomio left the apartment and climbed back into the car. Akira drove the car in the opposite direction.

“Your wife is something else,” Akira said. “Who knew she could charm the toughest of yakuza.”

“What do you mean?” Tomio asked.

“Daiki just texted me about her cake. All the guys loved it. They’re saying she’s the best of the Nakamura wives.”

“And you told them that she wasn’t.”

Akira chuckled sarcastically. “No. Ebony is okay for a foreigner. I wouldn’t mind having her at my back in times of a crisis.”

Tomio sat back in his seat. He hoped Akira would never have to find that out.

Tomio had been invited to dinner by his father. Hajime had also invited Ebony, but Ebony had claimed to be tired and turned him down. Tomio had no reason to doubt his wife since she was now seven months pregnant and wasn’t getting around as quickly as she had earlier in her pregnancy. He had offered to stay home with her, but Ebony had sent him on his way. “Go and spend some time with your family. I’m not going anywhere.”

Everyone looked surprised to see him when he walked into the dining room and sat down at the table. His relationship with his mother was still strained since the incident with Rika, and it didn’t make matters any better that his ex-girlfriend was also joining the family for dinner. She sat to his mother’s right, in the spot that Gina once occupied. Tomio was at his father’s left.

“Where’s that pretty wife of yours?” his father asked.

“Home, resting,” Tomio said. “She cleaned the house all day, even though I asked her to take it easy.”

Hajime chuckled. “Don’t complain. At least she likes a clean place.”

“I heard she’s now as big as a house,” Takara said sarcastically.

“She’s seven months pregnant,” Gina said in Ebony’s defense. “Just wait until it’s your time.”

“I’m not going to get fat,” Takara insisted. “If I ever get pregnant I’m going to exercise and watch my weight. Foreign women don’t care what they look like or how obese they get during pregnancy.”

Tomio decided to ignore his sister-in-law’s comment like he usually did.

“How is the house coming?” his father asked.

“It’s nearly finished,” Tomio answered. “The construction company I hired just finished with the security system, and the furniture for the nursery has arrived.”

“When are you planning to move?” Hajime asked.

“I’ve decided to wait until after the baby is born.”

“Why wait?” Hajime asked.

“Because Ebony is the type of person who will want to help with the moving. I can’t let her do that. I’m thinking about having everything moved into the new house when she is in the hospital recuperating from birth.”