Just a Taste (29 page)

“What do they get out of it?”

She shrugged. “I think they're trying to figure out the best locations. The thing is, if they just asked, any one of us would be willing to help.” She pushed herself back through the window.

Liam nodded and said, “Thanks,” before heading back to his truck. He shared the news with Rosa while they worked. Business was as slow as it had been earlier in the week, so they cut out early to detour and see if Heavenly Buns had remained in the same location. When Liam drove by, they were packing up. He honked the horn and waved, which earned him another round of fingers.

“Angry people,” he said.

CHAPTER 17

C
armen hung up after talking to Liam and worried about what he and Rosa might do. With Liam's temper and Rosa's penchant for causing trouble, she just hoped that they'd bring the truck back in one piece. In the meantime, she decided to go on a goodwill mission to Eileen O'Leary's house.

Carmen couldn't do anything about the color of her skin or her heritage, but she could show Eileen that she was a good person who cared about Liam. That should be enough. And if not, well, at least she could say she tried.

She parked in front of the O'Leary house and took a few slow, deep breaths. Her heart raced with nerves. Going in alone felt much more daring than having Liam at her back. Sucking up her courage and shoving down her nerves, she stepped out of her car. The wind whipped her hair around her face.

Moving across the sidewalk, she tread carefully to avoid slipping on the ice. Rock salt littered the concrete porch. Someone had stopped by to make it safe for Eileen to walk. Carmen rang the bell and bounced on her toes to keep warm.

Maggie opened the door and Carmen tried to hide her surprise. “Hi.”

“What are you doing here?” Maggie stepped back from the door. “Sorry. That sounded rude. I just didn't expect you.”

“I know. I didn't realize you were here. Liam's on the truck today, so I wanted to stop by and check on your mom.”

“Maggie, who's at the door?”

“It's Carmen,” she called over her shoulder.

Carmen said, “As long as you're here . . .”

Maggie pulled her farther into the living room. “You're here now. You might as well stay.”

Carmen shrugged off her coat, and Maggie tucked it into the hall closet. Carmen walked into the living room and saw Eileen sitting in front of the TV watching soap operas. “Hi, Mrs.—Eileen. I didn't know Maggie was here and I thought that since Liam is working today, I'd stop by and maybe cook you some lunch.”

“Lunch sounds great. Right, Mom?” Maggie was a little too enthusiastic.

“I don't like spicy food.”

Carmen clenched her jaw and nodded. She followed Maggie into the kitchen.

“What she really means is make it tasteless and overcooked,” Maggie said when they were in the other room.

Carmen couldn't stop the smile. “Are you still coming to the party tonight?”

“Yeah. Is it okay if I bring a friend?”

“Sure.” Then she thought about all the couples on Christmas. “Boyfriend?”

“No. My friend Shane. We try to hang out as much as possible when I'm in town.” A slow smile lifted Maggie's lips. “When I lived here, I spent all my free time with him. Besides my family, he's all I really miss when I'm in Ireland.”

“You live in Ireland?” Liam had never told her. Carmen rummaged through the refrigerator to figure out what to make for lunch.

“Well, kind of. I wanted to travel, and while I bounced around a lot for a year, I kind of settled with my cousins in Ireland.” She leaned against the counter as Carmen started setting food out. Maggie's voice dropped. “But now, with my mom . . . I think I'm ready to come home.”

“Wow. I bet your family's happy.”

“Don't say anything. I haven't told anyone. I'm flying out tomorrow, but after I get my stuff together, I think I'll come home.”

Some of the stress Eileen caused eased out of Carmen's body. Maggie was sharing secrets with her. It was nice to know that the dislike stopped with Mama O'Leary. Carmen surveyed her options for lunch and decided on a salad topped with chicken. Simple yet tasty. And heart healthy. “Anything I should know about what your mom likes or doesn't?”

“Make whatever you want. She'll eat it.”

Maggie hopped onto the counter and swung her legs out while Carmen prepared the chicken. Adding only scant seasoning, she let the meat cook while she chopped lettuce and vegetables. “Traveling the world sounds interesting. Tell me about where you've been.”

Maggie told her about different countries in Europe, and Carmen began to think about her own canceled plans again. Maggie was only a few years younger than her. Why did she feel so old listening to the travel stories?

When she pulled the chicken from the oven, Carmen checked to make sure it was done, but she'd eaten plenty of plain chicken in recent years to know it was ready. She looked at the sad piece of meat and suddenly couldn't recall why she'd eaten so much of it. For over a month now, she'd been eating with Liam and not a plain chicken breast had been in sight.

And she didn't feel fat. At least no more than usual, and even that feeling fled the moment Liam looked at her. She cut up the chicken and placed it on a separate plate in case Eileen didn't want it on the salad. She looked at Maggie, who had paused in her storytelling. “Lunch is served.”

“I missed this too,” Maggie said. “Meals with family. It's not like I don't eat with my aunt and cousins, but it's not the same, you know?”

Carmen understood exactly. She nodded and brought the salad and chicken to the dining room table. “Eileen, lunch is ready.”

Eileen took her spot at the head of the table like she had on Christmas. Maggie dug into the food, but Carmen lost her appetite.

“It's good, right, Mom? Thanks for cooking for us, Carmen.”

Eileen nodded. “It'll do.”

Carmen figured that was as close to a compliment as she would receive from Eileen O'Leary.

When Liam arrived back at Carmen's house, she was running around, stressing about everything. He decided to wait to tell her about Heavenly Buns. She didn't need anything more to worry about.

“Babe, the house is fine. People are coming to drink and have a good time. They're not going to inspect anything.” He stood in the kitchen and began cooking. It felt like it had been forever since he had cooked, really cooked. Sure, he'd done Christmas dinner, but that was a no-brainer. He didn't have to plan a menu or think about recipes or pairings of items. Regardless of how simple Carmen said she wanted her party to be, he had a ton of fun playing in the kitchen.

The idea struck him while he cooked that maybe they should consider doing some catering. They would probably need additional licensing, but expanding the business would give them a buffer, especially in the off season. If they had parties and meetings to cater, the irritation of Heavenly Buns wouldn't have such an effect on them.

She strode into the kitchen with a bottle of glass cleaner and a roll of paper towels. “Tell me again why I thought a party would be a good idea?”

Liam pulled her into a hug, massaging her shoulders as he did so. “You never really gave me a reason, but I was under the impression you wanted to do something fun with your family.”

“Fun. Right.”

He grabbed the cleaner from her and tossed it on the counter. “Go change, get ready for your party. No one cares how clean the house is. By the time the night is done, it'll be a mess all over again, and no one will notice because they'll all be drunk.”

She sniffed the air. “I thought I told you to keep it simple. Chips and dip. Maybe some sandwiches.”

He smiled again. “This isn't complicated, but it's different. I had fun.” He pushed her from the room and hoped she'd calm down.

An hour later, guests started to arrive, Rosa being the first. Gone was her usual bun coiled tightly on the top of her head. Her hair hung down in long, loose waves. The dress she wore clung like a second skin. “Wow. You clean up good,” he said.

“Not so bad yourself.” She walked into the kitchen and scanned the area. “Need help?”

“No, I think I've got it covered.” He hitched his chin toward the other room. “Go calm your cousin down. She's a ball of stress.”

Rosa opened the fridge and bent over, causing her dress to ride up to illegal territory. He looked away, but as he turned, he came face-to-face with Carmen. “Hey, babe. You look beautiful.”

He kissed her cheek. She looked gorgeous in her low-cut tank top and skirt that swirled around her knees. He imagined shoving the skirt up and bending her over the couch in his apartment.

Rosa stood from her spot, handed him a bottle of beer, and then reached out to give Carmen one too. To Carmen she said, “You need this. It's a party. Let loose.”

Then Rosa strode out of the kitchen, hips swaying, looking like she wanted to find some trouble.

“I thought you said most of the guests were going to be your family.”

“They are.”

“Then why . . .” He gestured after Rosa with his unopened bottle.

“That's Rosa. She looks for men everywhere. My cousins will probably bring friends, so her chances of hooking up with someone increase.” Carmen set her beer on the table and looked at him.

“Something wrong?”

“No.”

He didn't believe her, but chalked it up to her being stressed. As the house filled, Liam struggled to remember the names of everyone Carmen introduced him to. The night progressed and she seemed to lighten up and have fun with her family.

Carmen served food and drinks and already consumed more alcohol than she should. Especially considering she'd only sampled one of the little meatballs Liam had made. She kept thinking she'd stop and make herself a plate of food, but people kept distracting her. A nagging voice in the back of her head reminded her that she didn't need to watch Rosa as much as she had been.

Jealousy had spiked when she'd seen Rosa in the kitchen with her microskirt hiked up while getting a beer from the fridge. Carmen knew better. Rosa was her cousin and she would never make a move on Carmen's boyfriend. But Liam had looked. How could he not?

From across the room, she watched as Rosa recounted her day on the truck with Liam, a story she'd already told a dozen times, but which neither of them had bothered to tell Carmen. Irritation had her grabbing yet another beer. Liam joined in with some hand gestures, which kept the listeners laughing.

This was not how her night was supposed to go. She and Liam were a team, not Rosa and Liam. She sounded petty, even in her own head, but she didn't care. She popped the top on her beer. Carmen loved Rosa; they were best friends. So she
knew,
without any doubt, that Rosa would knock Liam on his ass if he ever made a move on her, but Carmen still couldn't stop the prick of envy.

Rosa was everything Carmen had always wanted to be: confident, sexual, assertive. Carmen leaned over the kitchen table, reached for a chip, and bathed it in gloppy cheese dip. She inhaled it, followed by a handful more. Even as the warm, gooey mess slid down her throat, she knew she'd regret it later, but in the moment, she didn't care.

She moved on to the meatballs, stabbing one after another with a toothpick before popping them in her mouth.

Someone came into the kitchen beside her and said, “Ooo . . . Liam cooked.”

Carmen shifted to see Maggie standing there, a huge guy right behind her. Around the mound of meat in her mouth, Carmen said, “Hi.”

Maggie smiled. “I'm the same way around Liam's food. I can't help myself.” To illustrate, she poked a meatball with a toothpick and ate it in one bite. The man behind her settled a hand on her shoulder. “Oh. Carmen, this is my friend, Shane, who I told you about earlier.”

“Nice to meet you. Have you seen Liam? He's in the living room.”

Maggie waved. “Yeah, he said hi and directed me to the food.” She grabbed a plate, handed it to Shane, and then took another for herself.

A plate, Carmen. Might've been a good idea so you don't look like a total pig.
But now the thought of more food had what she'd already eaten taking a spin cycle in her stomach. Someone in the living room turned the music up louder. Maggie's eyes widened at the sound. Carmen leaned over, the alcohol making her feel a little wobbly, and looked at the scene in the other room.