Page 13 of The Pumpkin Spice Romance
“I go, save time,” she said, and Leonie knew better than to argue.
She poured out two glasses of water, then thumbed the folded-up drawing Sam’s kid Tommy had given her to congratulate her on her new job. She kept it in her pocket for good luck—after leaving it in direct sunlight for a few hours as a precaution against germs, that is.
Mum returned with a table number, and they made harmless small talk about the food options, then about the plants on the shelf, and then about the café’s decor. That last one made Leonie a little nervous, wondering if Mum had noticed the theme already. Between the pictures on the wall, Lupe’s prominently placed plush dingo on the shelf, and the dreamcatcher behind the counter, it was at least half-obvious this place was run by shifters.
“Where are your suitcases?” Mum asked.
“In the office.”
“Can like that, ah?” Mum looked around. “Oh, is this the café you’re working at now?”
It was hard to tell whether she meant something by this. There was nothing hard about her tone, but knowing what she knew of her mother, Leonie had trouble accepting a question like that could come without some judgement attached.
She looked across at Hayden. He flashed her a supportive smile, and suddenly her shoulders relaxed and she found herself letting go of a breath she only just realised she’d been holding.
“Yes,” she said. “I told Mark I wasn’t coming back.”
“What about your clients?”
“They’re Felisha’s clients now, and I knew I was right to push for hiring a second hygienist.” Okay, that last remark sounded unnecessarily defensive.Calm your farm,Leonie chided herself. Still, she kept her guard up, even when—ormaybe especially so—when Mum’s face softened into sympathy. Who did she think she was fooling?
“Good, then, you’ve sorted everything out.”
“You can just say it, you know, Mum. I know—” The words caught in her’s throat as Deanne brought over their lunch, surreptitiously nudging Leonie’s shoulder with a gentle affection. “I know you don’t approve of any of this.”
“Aiyah, don’t worry so much,” Mum said softly, moving plates and cutlery around the table. “Eat first, lah. You want half?”
She almost refused, then realised her mum had ordered her favourite dish, a lasagna stuffed with lamb mince and creamy béchamel. The Spice Pelage did the best she’d ever tasted and served it with native herbs and a wedge of desert lime for a condiment. Plus, she knew her mum’s belly could only handle so much cheese. Her shoulders relaxed. “Okay. You take half of mine then too.”
“Wah, they use puff pastry for the sausage roll?” Mum exclaimed, cutting off a piece.
“They make the pastry themselves.”
“Hmm, it’s very good.” Mum chewed thoughtfully, her gaze wandering around the café. “Get them to teach you, then you can teach me. My puff pastry was never good.” She leaned forward. “That man who just went into the kitchen: he looks familiar.”
Leonie swallowed. “That’s Hayden. He’s the chef. Well, they all kind of share the work here, but he’s the main person who does the food.”
“Hayden. Didn’t you know someone with that name in school?”
Her body tensed. She looked away. “Yeah, I did.”
“Is that the same boy?”
“Yeah, that’s him,” she said flatly, hoping her mum would just drop it.
Mum made a noise partway between a hum and a grunt, and they ate in silence. It was only when she was halfway through her portion of lasagna that she put down her cutlery and rested her hands on the table. “Ah Nee?”
“Yes, Mum?”
“I want to talk to you about Mark.”
8
Leonie bit her tongue, knowing if she didn’t she’d grind her teeth down to nothing. She counted to ten, focusing on the texture of soft pasta sheet, supple lamb mince, and creamy bechamel. “Okay,” she replied, coolly, “but I’m not trying again with him.”
“Okay, good.”
“Good?” She looked up.Nowit’s good, as if last week at the restaurant didn’t even happen?
