Page 50 of Moonlit Harbor Nights

“See you soon! Let me know what happens?”

“I will!” She gave him one more kiss and then hurried away. She knew that if she didn’t force herself to leave at that moment, she might not be able to tear herself away at all.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Vivian took a shaky breath, trying to steady her nerves. Hazel, who was sitting next to her, noticed and put a hand on her mother’s shoulder.

“It’ll be okay, Mom,” Hazel whispered. “We’re going to figure this out.”

Vivian shook her head, blinking back tears. What could they figure out? There wasn’t a way for them to sue the McCormicks, was there? She didn’t own her recipes or have a patent on them. And besides, she felt that suing was such an ugly form of retribution and should only be used when it was truly necessary.

Earlier in the day, Dean had talked to Alexis and Hazel, telling them that the McCormicks were using a sauce in their new restaurant that tasted identical to the secret sauce at The Lighthouse Grill. The three of them had waited and talked about the issue for a while before bringing it to Vivian.

Now Vivian and all of her children were gathered in her living room. Hazel had made them all cups of tea and brought in the cookie jar from the kitchen. Even though Alexis kept urging her mother to eat one of the monster cookies that Julia and Hazel had made together the day before, Vivian felt as though there was a rock in her stomach and she didn’t want to eat. She sippedher mug of peppermint tea gratefully, however. It helped to soothe her jittery nerves.

She felt distraught. The news meant that not only was Judd taking his rivalry against the pub to a whole new level, it meant that Alan really was untrustworthy. He must have been asking the questions that he did about the secret sauce so that he could bring that information to Judd.

And I told him about the cinnamon,she thought, feeling her cheeks flush with frustration and embarrassment.I trusted him. I thought he was genuinely interested in me.

Julia, who had just arrived from Cooper’s, was still wearing her coat and mittens. She looked around the room with concern, clearly wondering what was going on.

“Hazel, you tell her,” Vivian said with a sigh.

“Of course.” Hazel kissed her mother’s cheek. “So… Julia, we’re all here because Dean learned something bad the other day.”

“And I meant to say something sooner, but I wanted to check it out for myself before bringing it up to Mom,” Dean said. “Noelle and I were getting lunch together when the Turners told us that there were copycat sauces being used at the McCormicks’ new restaurant. They said they have a Monte Cristo sandwich there that tastes exactly like the one we have as a special at the pub sometimes.”

“With the secret sauce,” Alexis growled.

Julia shook her head, looking shocked. “How could they know what ingredients went into the secret sauce?”

Vivian blinked back tears. “I told them. Well—I hinted at a couple of things with Alan Gifford. I thought he was my friend. I told him about the cinnamon.”

“It’s not your fault, Mom,” Alexis said fiercely, going to hug her mother. “He seemed like a nice guy. Too bad he turned out to be the opposite.”

Julia pressed her lips together. “I just can’t believe that even Judd McCormick would stoop this low. Are you guys sure the sauce is really the same?”

“I ate it.” Dean scowled. “I ordered a to-go Monte Cristo sandwich from the brewery for my lunch today. It tasted exactly like ours. Even the sauce.”

“And when Dean told us, Alexis and I decided to do some sleuthing,” Hazel said.

“With your hoods up?” Julia teased, referring to another time the Owens sisters had gone sleuthing in the McCormick brewery.

All of the siblings burst out laughing, and Vivian couldn’t help smiling. She was grateful that even though she had to face this, she didn’t have to face it alone.

“No, we just walked in like regular people who were there for lunch,” Alexis said. “And Dean is right. The sauces they have taste exactly like ours.”

“Not to mention the fact that their food menu is basically ours,” Hazel said, shaking her head. “And I can understand some things being the same if they want to have a home-style, comfort food kind of restaurant. But lasagna that has all the same ingredients as ours? It’s not traditional to use black olives in a lasagna, but we do it. And so do they.”

“Yeah, and they have a cheeseburger with bacon, avocado, and garlic aioli,” Alexis said. “Just like us.”

Julia shook her head. “That’s so low. Doesn’t Judd have any creativity? Original ideas?”

“Sense of morality?” Dean chimed in, and everyone laughed.

“I should have seen this coming.” Vivian shook her head, still feeling numb and trying not to cry. “Terrence warned me about Alan. He told me about how he’s good friends with Judd, and that he spends a lot of time with him. Terrence even overhead Alan asking me about the sauces and urged me to be suspicious of that. But I—I told him it wasn’t any of his business.” Vivianhad to blink back her tears, and her voice became shaky. “I didn’t want to think about it. I thought—I thought Alan was just interested in me romantically.”

Hazel wrapped her arms around her mother, and murmurs of sympathy passed around the room.

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