Page 79 of The Dating Prohibition
She chucked her phone onto the couch and sighed as she turned back toward the bedroom, expelling all of the air from her lungsas her shoulders drooped.What is even left to talk about?
Chapter 20
?Over the next few days, Kendra completely avoided the restaurant. Shonda wanted some consultation with Kendra over some newmenu items, but they worked on those at the house to dodge prying eyes and ears.
Kendra chose not to answer her cell phone or text messages. Though the volume of contact decreased, she still heard from BJevery day, checking on her and reminding her that he wanted to talk, that he was sorry for what she heard.
Kendra couldn’t help but feel that after what happened at the restaurant, a talk with BJ would only confirm that everythingwas coming to a close. And though she knew that was where things were headed, she just wasn’t ready to hear it.
Shonda put the finishing touches on a mini lemon tart, piping meringue in a decorative pattern before garnishing with mint.
“Wait, shouldn’t you use your torch before you add the garnish?”
“Shit, you’re right.” She grabbed the teeniest set of kitchen tweezers that she had in the pocket on the sleeve of her chef’scoat and gingerly pulled the mint off. “Torch.” Shonda held out her hand.
“Torch,” Kendra responded, placing it in her hand as if they were in the middle of a surgical procedure.
Shonda flicked the switch and a controlled flame burst out of the nozzle, which she teased over the tops of the petals ofmeringue she had so gently arranged.
“That looks mouthwatering.” Kendra watched as Shonda finished charring the marshmallowy decor. She reintroduced the sprigof mint and then zested a bit of lemon over the top. “Perfection.”
“You should know—it’s your recipe,” Shonda quipped, giving her the eye.
“I mean, it is, but I’m always gonna take pride in seeing someone do it justice.”
“Well, let’s take some pictures of it, and then I think we need to sample it.”
Kendra nodded, her face stony. “That is a must.”
Shonda grabbed her cell phone and began shooting the dessert from different angles. “So, what are you gonna do? Have you decidedwhat you want to try to pursue in terms of your business?”
“Maybe. I have some ideas, but I haven’t completely thought them through yet. I plan to take the next day or two to solidifyeverything. As a matter of fact, I need to call Auntie Mack. She’s been waiting for me to get back to her on something.”
“Oh yeah?” Shonda snapped several more angles of the tart, making sure to keep the light so that shadows didn’t mar the photos.Finally, she picked up the tart by its shell casing and set it on her wooden cutting board. In one swift motion, she cut thetart in two, placing half on a dessert plate for Kendra and reserving the other half for herself. They each grabbed a forkand tapped them together. “Cheers!”
Kendra went for a side that had more of the meringue petals. She dug her fork in and it went through the custard smoothly until it reached the crispness of the tart shell.
“Perfect. No soggy bottoms here,” Shonda quipped as she watched.
“Indeed.” Kendra raised the bite to her mouth and closed her eyes. “Mmm.” The lemon filling melted against her tongue, thetart citrus balanced by the sweet meringue. The almost shortbread consistency of the tart crumbled as she chewed. “You madethis perfectly,” she said as she chewed, digging her fork in for another bite. As she raised the fork to her mouth, the frontdoor opened.
“Hey, Shonda, Kenny.” BJ stepped in nervously. “Shonda, uh, Logan sent me to pick up a few things from you. He said you’dknow what.”
Shonda nodded, her eyes darting to Kendra. “Sure, I have a bag for you in my office. Hold on one second.” She turned to Kendra.“You good?”
“Yeah, I gotta take off. Remember I have that meeting,” she replied and looked at her sister-in-law meaningfully.
Shondra nodded. “Right.”
BJ turned to her as Shonda went to her office. “Are you sure you don’t have a minute to talk?” he asked quietly, his eyesimploring her to say yes.
Kendra’s heartbeat picked up, and a lump formed in her throat. “I’m sorry. I really have to go.”
“Okay.” He looked conflicted as he ran his hand over his locs. “Will you call me soon? I really do want to talk to you.”
“I’m not sure that there’s anything left to say, BJ. You said your piece when you were with Logan.” She steeled herself tosay the words that allowed her mind to betray her heart.
“But I didn’t—that’s the thing. I said parts of what I was thinking, but not all of it. And I want to discuss it with you.”
