Page 52 of Reluctant Chemistry

“Country life. It looks good on you.”

CeCe took a sip before slicing the tomatoes. “Thanks. Yesterday, Mitch told me I looked tired and drawn, but hey, guess it’s par for the course when you’re birthing a start-up.”

“Nice guy, that brother of yours. Speaking of start-ups, how’s Botanical Ce going?”

“Well, I wake up excited for the day, so that’s in the pro column. I’ll show you my lab later. It’s off the implement shed.” CeCe pulled plates and bowls from the cabinets and placed them on the island. “I’m just thankful Mum and Dad made it back from London when they did. I couldn’t have handled looking after the orchard for much longer.” The strain of running the orchard wasn’t something she’d normally admit to, but Molly was her go-to person—always willing to lend an ear. “Did I mention Liz came on board?”

“What, as a shareholder?”

“Just ten percent. She’s taking care of marketing and building the website.What about you? How’s the world of media consulting?”

“My new boss is a chauvinistic pig. I sneak lunch at my desk between e-mails and phone calls, and work sixty hours on a good week. And those are the positives.”

“That’s tough.” CeCe opened a bag of radish sprouts and sprinkled them over the salad. “You should move down here and go freelance. I miss you.”

“You think? I do love this area. Anyway, what’s that delicious smell? I’m starving.”

“Cannelloni. It’s still the only thing I’m good at.”

Tayla swept through the door at that moment carrying a large Tupperware container, which she offered to CeCe. “Sorry, sorry. Mum called just as I was leaving. She talked for ages, so I ran out of time to frost my mud cake. And it sank in the middle. But I brought the stuff for the ganache with me.”

Molly rose to greet Tayla, and they hugged warmly. “Relax. I bet it will taste fabulous. Where’s Mitch?”

“At the movies with a friend.”

CeCe grinned at her sister-in-law. “Youcansay his name. I won’t disintegrate into a crying heap on the floor.” She turned to Molly. “Mitch is out with his best bud, Luka.”

“Oh, okay. So it’s still awkward?” Molly asked.

“She pretends it’s not, but—”

“Excuse me, I haven’t even seen the guy since I’ve been here.” That wasn’t strictly true. When heading down the stairs one day, CeCe had noticed Luka’s SUV parked outside the packing shed, so she’d hightailed it back into the loft and sat in her office until he’d left. “What are you drinking?”

“Lime and soda. Thanks.” Tayla joined Molly at the island. “And you’ve only been here two weeks, so you’re bound to run into him eventually.”

“Great. I look forward to it. Not!”

“Don’t you want to see him?” Molly asked.

“Not especially.”

“But you and Luka are kinda friends, right?” Molly continued. “Didn’t he visit you the last time you were staying in Clifton Falls?”

“Yes, but I don’t know why. It certainly wasn’t to reminisce about old times.” CeCe scrunched up her face as she recalled his visit—Luka perched on the edge of the chair, ready to make a quick getaway while asking her how she’d been. His hurried goodbye not long after. The untouched coffee sitting on the kitchen counter beside the uneaten apple cake, still round and perfect. “Anyway, that was ages ago, and it was…”

“Complicated?” Tayla reminded her.

“Yes. Very.” CeCe and Tayla had briefly discussed Luka before she’d left Clifton Falls that morning, almost eighteen months ago now. On the drive back to Tulloch Point, she’d forced herself to listen to a podcast on business management just to get the guy out of her headspace. By the end of that week, she’d listened to more podcasts than she had in her entire life.

“So what happened?” Molly asked.

In the weeks following that visit, CeCe had asked herself that question more than once. “He emailed to ask if we could meet up. He said some things, I said some things, then he left. Maybe he wanted to lay some ghosts to rest and let me do the same—who knows.”

“And it’s kinda raw, even now?” Molly reached for the wine bottle and topped up their glasses.

The question stuck in CeCe’s mind, refusing to settle. A distinct chill gripped the air drifting in through the open kitchen window, and with all the talk of Luka, she felt a little chilled inside too. She shrugged as she pulled it shut. “It’s been almost five years.”

“No second chances?” Molly asked.

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