Everything was going to hell in a handbasket. Colleen didn’t know if she should be throwing her support behind Ava or Lexi. She’d always been a sucker for the underdog, and if anyone was an underdog in the game that was in play, it was Ava. But Lexi was carrying a Gallagher. In Colleen’s eyes, that meant she and Griffin should be tied together in holy matrimony. Granted, things had changed since her time. Kids nowadays seemed to put the cart before the horse. They had their babies and then got married. Or didn’t.
It had taken no arm twisting at all on Griffin’s part to get Ava to marry him when they’d discovered they had a baby on the way. And what a heartbreak that had turned out to be.
“Ava, my girl, you’ve withstood more heartache than most,” Colleen murmured, recalling the shattered expression on Ava’s face when Lexi, bold as brass, arrived at the manor. That decided it for Colleen. She was captain of Team Ava. She’d not allow the girl to be hurt any more than she already had been. With one quandary settled, she moved on to the next. And it was a doozy.
Twenty minutes earlier, Gaston St. John had summoned the family to the dining room and made his big announcement. He was now firmly established as King of the Kitchen with the news. Sophie’s appointment with the lawyer was off, and the food war between the manor and the Bridgeport Marquis was on.
Basil Brisiel had agreed to judge, along with two up-and-coming chefs from celebrated New England restaurants. Basil and his producer fiancée planned to air video clips of each competition—of which there were three—on their popular social media pages. Chronicling Greystone’s spectacular failure for all the world to see.
In Colleen’s mind, there was only one way to save the manor from a PR nightmare they’d unlikely recover from anytime soon. Unless she figured out a way to replace Gaston with Ava, all the business they’d drummed up at the bridal show would disappear.
As Colleen had discovered, the lad didn’t scare off easily. Though it probably had more to do with her inability to move things around and make her presence known. She had to get better at this ghost gig, and she had to do it fast. The first round of the competition was in two days’ time.
Jasper fussed with an elaborate floral arrangement on the round table in the entryway, eyeing it from several angles to make sure it was just so. No doubt about it, the lad loved his flowers.
Colleen grinned. “Jasper’s been messing with me; it seems only fair I mess with him. What do you think, Simon?”
Meow.
“All right, here it goes.” Focusing, visualizing the result she wanted, Colleen pinched a lily between her fingers. They didn’t go through the flower. “Half the battle’s won, Simon,” she crowed, and got a testy meow in response. “Quiet now. You have to celebrate the small victories.” Small might be the answer. Instead of the entire flower, she moved her fingers to the petal and tugged. The white petal fell from the stem to the table. “I did it!” she cried.
Jasper frowned, bending down to study the lily, then narrowed his eyes at where she was standing. “If that was your handiwork, Madame, I suggest you find something else to occupy your time.”
“Ha.” She focused her energy and latched onto a rose. “Give me back my book, and I’ll think about it.” A red petal fluttered to the table. She chuckled with delight and kept plucking.
“Stop that this instant, Madame.” Jasper picked up the vase and clutched it to his chest. The front door began to open, and he set the vase back down, casting a warning look in her direction. His mouth compressed in a thin line of disapproval when Griffin and Ava walked into the manor together. They had eyes for only each other, their pinkie fingers latched together. Griffin hadn’t looked this relaxed and happy in Colleen didn’t know how long. Wait, she did. It was when he was married to Ava. If Colleen hadn’t already made her decision to support Ava, the look on her great-grandson’s face would have decided it for her. On Ava’s too—the girl was beaming.
Of course Jasper would go and ruin it. “Master Griffin, the rest of your things arrived this morning. I’ve taken the liberty of opening the second bedroom in Madame’s suite for the nursery, and I’m having another bureau moved into the master bedroom for your use. I’m afraid I had to move your clothes to accommodate your wife’s. I hope that meets with your—”
Colleen pushed the vase in a fit of pique, shocked when it wobbled and water sloshed over the side. Jasper’s eyes went wide. He lifted his hand to hold it in place.
Griffin laced his fingers through Ava’s. “Don’t worry about unpacking for me, Jeeves. I’m moving out after work.”
“I see. Do you have a preference to which floor—”
“I’m moving out of the manor and into the lighthouse.”
Jasper lifted his chin. “Have you spoken to Miss Kitty and Sophie about your plans? They may have other parties interested in—”
“Good try. I’ve already cleared it with George. And, Jeeves, you might want to remember who you’re dealing with.” He turned to Ava, briefly touching his mouth to hers, and said, “I better get going or I’ll be late for work. Meet me at the lighthouse after your shift. We’ll—”
Jasper tapped his watch. “Miss DiRossi is already late. Sophie is waiting on you in the study.”
“I’ll see you later,” Ava said to Griffin, going up on her tiptoes as though to kiss his cheek. Jasper cleared his throat. Ava patted Griffin’s chest instead and then made her way toward the study.
Colleen gave the vase another frustrated push, blinking when once again water sloshed over the edges and onto the table. “Would you look at that, Simon? I think I’ve got it,” she said, somewhat shocked she’d managed it twice in a row.
“You’re walking a fine line, old man,” Griffin said to Jasper before calling after Ava, “If any of them give you trouble, sweet face, you know who to call.”
Jasper steadied the vase, muttering under his breath, “I know who I’d call. The ghostbusters.”
“Jeeves,” Griffin called over his shoulder as he walked away. “You might want to put a shim under the table.”
“You better be careful, Jasper, my boy. The better I get at this, the more trouble I’ll cause for you. Especially if you try stirring it up between Ava and Griffin. Though, from the looks of those two, it would take a better man than you to…” Then Colleen remembered. It wasn’t a man she had to worry about; it was a woman. She hurried down the hall toward the study, wondering if Sophie had broken the news to Ava.
Ava sat across from Sophie. “I understand the competition is a coup for Greystone and why you felt you had to keep Gaston on. What I don’t understand is why Lexi is providing security for him. What does that even mean?”
Colleen grimaced and took the seat beside Ava. Simon padded into the room to sit at her feet. “This isn’t going to go well, Tomcat.”
“Lexi gets bored easily, I guess. So she asked us to give her a job. She loves the manor.” Sophie smiled over her coffee cup at her cousin, then took a drink, looking like she’d rather be anywhere than here.
Ava snorted.
“No, she really does. She promised to do whatever it takes to get Griffin…” Sophie sighed and put the mug down. “I get why you don’t like her, but she’s actually very nice. If you gave her a chance you…Um, okay, maybe not. Anyway, she’s going to do her best to convince Griffin to vote to keep Greystone in the family. That’s what we all want, right? So it doesn’t really matter who convinces him—”
“I don’t understand what any of this has to do with her providing personal security for Gaston?”
“Well…um, Gaston is a good chef, but you, you’re amazing. Your hors d’oeuvres, they were to die for. Everyone said so.”
“Ava’s no fool, Sophie, my girl. You’re going about this all wrong. Look at her face. You can’t butter her up.”
“So I’m the better chef. What does that have to do with Lexi…” Ava’s eyes went wide. “Me, it’s me she’s protecting him from, isn’t it? And whose idea was that?”
“Here we go. You might want to cover your ears, Simon. I know they’re sensitive.”
Sophie shuffled the papers on her desk and mumbled, “Lexi may have suggested it.”
Ava made an aggravated sound in her throat, and Sophie hurriedly added, “But only after Gaston told her about you ruining his hors d’oeuvres and writing out the wrong recipes for Helga to follow.” Sophie put up her hands. “Don’t yell at me. I had your back. I told Lexi flat out there was no evidence to prove you had anything to do with it. But then Jasper and Kitty questioned your innocence…
“Crap, I didn’t mean to tell you that. Double crap! I didn’t mean to say that either. Oh God, I hate this.” Sophie did a face-plant on the stack of papers on her desk.
“It’s too bad I dropped dead before I had a chance to work with you, Sophie. You’re making a hash of this, you truly are. Keep it up, and Lexi and Ava will be at each other’s throats in no time at all.”
Sophie lifted her gaze. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
Ava pressed her lips together and shook her head.
This was worse than Colleen expected, but she supposed she shouldn’t be surprised Ava was more hurt than angry. They were all turning against her in support of Lexi. “I’m here for you, my girl. I just wish I could give you a sign.” She might not be able to comfort Ava, but she knew someone who could. “Simon, do your chin-up trick.”
Simon padded to Ava and nudged her leg. When she looked down at him, he lifted his chin. Ava leaned over and picked him up. Cuddling him to her chest, she scratched behind his ears. Simon closed his eyes on a contented purr with what looked to be a lusty smile on his face. Colleen had created a monster.
Oddly enough, the thought made her think of Lexi. Oddly, because the girl was far from a monster. There was something going on with her though. The way she was acting about Ava was out of character. Colleen didn’t know why Griffin didn’t see it. It would be a different story if Lexi was in love with Griffin. She loved him, but more like a brother or best friend, someone she needed to protect. Thanks to Finn and Aidan, Lexi no doubt felt Griffin needed her protection from Ava. But the old Lexi wouldn’t have been so quick to judgment. If she’d only give Ava a chance to show her what she was made of and how much she loved Griffin…
An idea came to Colleen. “Ava, my girl, I think I’ve found a way to help you. I’m going to have a little chat with Lexi every night like I did Griffin. I won’t let up until I’ve convinced her you’re the one for him.” She reached over to pat Ava’s thigh, only to realize the girl was standing. “What did I miss, Simon?”
“Please reconsider, Ava. We can’t afford to lose this competition. We need you in the kitchen too.”
“Wait? She said no? How could she say no? We need her. Greystone needs her.”
“I’m sorry, Sophie. I promised Griffin I wouldn’t go anywhere near Lexi. Even if I hadn’t made the promise, I couldn’t work in the kitchen with her watching my every move.”
For two days, Ava had managed to avoid Lexi. It wasn’t easy. She could have sworn the woman was stalking her, trying to force a confrontation. Good thing Ava knew the manor better than she did. Which came in handy right now. Ava was hidden in the closet in the dining room, talking to Erin through a crack in the door.
“Helga cooked the green beans like you said, but Gaston told her to add more honey and maple syrup. She wants to know what you think.” Pretending to tie her apron, Erin passed a green bean through the crack.
Ava took a bite, closing her eyes to savor the flavor. “The man needs to have his taste buds checked. It’s perfect. Tell Helga to tell Gaston she did as he asked and to keep him away from the pan.”
“Okay.” There was a commotion toward the front of the restaurant and Erin stretched on her toes, leaning to her right. “They’re here. One of the judges is pretty cute. I wish I was serving. Yikes. Lexi glanced this way, and she looks suspicious. I better…Oh, I almost forgot, how much balsamic vinegar was supposed to be in the reduction?”
Ava inched the door open. Lexi’s long, side-swept bang fell over one of her eyes, but the other one was looking their way. She wore stylish cognac boots over her jeans and a black sweater with a pretty fringed black-and-blue scarf. “She doesn’t look suspicious, she looks constipated,” Ava said tartly, then remembered what Erin had asked. “Half a cup if he’s cooking four steaks.” Basil’s wife had been added as a judge. One of her assistants was doing the filming.
“Oh. My. God. Ava, I’m pretty sure Helga said Gaston told her to use a cup.”
“Why is he having Helga do the sides and reduction? He should be preparing the entire entrée. It’s a competition, not a regular night in the dining room.”
“He was making red velvet cupcakes and then changed to black-bottom cupcakes. He’s kind of obsessed with desserts.”
“Who’s cooking the steaks?” Ava asked, a nervous hitch in her voice.
“The new sous chef. He looks like he knows what he’s doing except…”
Because of the number of bookings from the bridal show, Sophie had hired the sous chef. Gaston had tried to fire him yesterday, but Sophie had overridden him. “Except what?”
“Gaston told him to blacken the bottom of the steaks. Kind of like a theme thing with his dessert. This isn’t good, is it, Ava?”
She shook her head. “The only way Greystone stands a chance of winning is if the Marquis’s chef is worse than ours.”
Two hours later, they found out the Marquis’s chef was much better than theirs. Ava, Helga, and Erin were sitting in the break room watching the videos that had been uploaded to Basil’s Facebook page. Helga slumped in the chair. “Look at Gaston pointing at me and the kid. The weasel threw us under the bus. He’s trying to get us fired before the next round.”
The three of them had been standing in front of the judges’ table while they sampled the meal. And sample is all they did. All four judges had pushed their plates away after a single bite of the smothered steak topped with sautéed onions, the rosemary potatoes, and sweetened green beans. They ate the entire cupcake, though, pronouncing it divine.
Erin looked at Ava. “You think it’s more than that, don’t you?”
“I do, and I think it’s about time we did some digging into Gaston St. John. We have a little more than a week before the next round.”
“Forget digging into him; I’m gonna dig him a grave. On second thought, that’s a lot of work. You two can dig the grave, and I’ll choke him to death,” Helga said.
As a way to ease their frustration and disappointment at the loss, they started coming up with more creative ways to get rid of Gaston.
“Wait, wait, I’ve got a better one,” Erin said once they’d stopped laughing at Helga’s suggestion to put a raw turkey over his head and sew it shut.
Erin’s better idea took her five minutes to explain. It was kinky and involved ropes. “I don’t even want to know how you came up with that. But simple is best. We snip some wolfsbane leaves into his salad. He’ll die of asphyxiation just like that.” Ava snapped her fingers. Helga looked at her, making an odd noise. “Yes, that’s close to what he’d sound like, I think. The postmortem will blame an arrhythmia.” Erin’s foot tapped hers. “Yes, something like that, just faster…more like this.” She tapped her foot on Erin’s. “And that, ladies, is how you get away with”—Erin kicked her—“murder,” Ava said, looking over her shoulder. Crapola. “Oh, hello, Lexi.”
“It’s not funny, Griffin. She tried to get me fired because of a joke!” Ava said into her cell phone as she paced the ramp in front of her house, barely noticing the cold night air that frosted the railing and the grass.
“Babe, I think it had more to do with you orchestrating the cook-off fail from the closet than with your plot to poison Gaston,” Griffin responded in a slow drawl that was laced with amusement.
“You know why I was in the closet, and they do too. Helga and Erin told them everything. But who do Kitty and Jasper believe? Gaston and your ex-wife the cop.” Ava snorted. “She couldn’t solve a case if you spoon-fed her the evidence. If she had half a brain, she’d know who was really behind this.” Ava took a long, satisfying drag on her cigarette. She’d given in to its siren call after she’d eaten the two cupcakes she’d snuck from the kitchen at the manor. Sadly, they were divine, and probably a thousand calories each.
“You didn’t happen to say all that to Lex, did you?” Even over the phone, she picked up on his concern. Of course he wouldn’t want her to upset his pregnant ex.
Ava scowled at the night sky and took another drag of her cigarette. “No, I sat there like a meek little mouse while they grilled me and fired their accusations at me.” She blew smoke rings, stabbing the cigarette through each one. “And your pazza culo ex looked at me like I wasn’t fit to shine her shoes. I hate that woman so much.”
“Yeah, kinda getting that, babe. Is that why you’re outside smoking?”
She grimaced at the cigarette. “No, I’m—”
A white Coast Guard SUV pulled alongside the road across from the house. Sully grinned at her from the driver’s seat and gave her a two-finger salute. “You might want to reconsider what you were going to say,” Griffin suggested with a touch of amusement in his voice as he rounded the front of the vehicle. He tucked his cell phone in his jacket pocket and strode across the road.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight,” she said, her pulse quickening and butterflies taking flight in her stomach at the sight of him in his uniform. Her body reacted the same way every time she saw him. Sometimes she was afraid it was a dream and she’d eventually wake up. She slid her phone in her pocket and dropped her cigarette in the plastic cup of water by the door before running down the ramp. Throwing herself in his arms, she hugged him tight and lifted up on her toes to kiss him.
He leaned back, looking down at her, his blue eyes dancing, his dimple winking at her. “Sorry, babe, you’ve just had a cigarette in that mouth. I’m not kissing it.”
She dropped down with a frown. “You’re serious?”
“Yep, I figure that’ll be incentive enough for you to quit.” He touched his lips to the corner of hers and pulled back with a laugh. “You really are a sweet face,” he said, tracing her lips with his thumb. He brought it to his mouth and licked it. “Chocolate.”
She made a face. “Your ex is driving me to eat. I had two cupcakes as soon as I got home. I won’t be able to fit in my jeans if I keep this up.”
He moved his hands to her butt and gave a gentle squeeze. “Works for me.” Sully beeped the horn. “I better take off. Just wanted to check and make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m glad you did. I’m going to miss you tonight.” It was their first night apart because Griffin had to work late.
His expression grew serious as he stroked her hair. “I’ll miss you too. We’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for.” He looked over when Dorothy’s front door opened. “Have fun at book club. Call me when you get home.” He gave her a hard, quick kiss on the mouth. “No more smoking. I’ll take care of your oral fixation tomorrow. I’m off.”
“You look happy, lovey,” Dorothy said when she reached her side, waving goodbye to Sully and Griffin.
“I am.” She smiled, and then she remembered what had gone on at the manor today. She told Dorothy about it as they walked along Main Street. Rosa met up with them two blocks from Books and Beans.
At the same time Dorothy said, “I hate to say it, lovey, but I was afraid this would happen. You’ve got yourself in a difficult situation. You can’t come between a man and the woman carrying his child.”
Rosa slashed her hand in the air. “Foolish old woman. Don’t listen to her, cara. She’s letting her own decisions cloud her eyes.”
“Rosa, this isn’t the time—” Dorothy began, shooting a sidelong glance at Ava.
“It was your choice not to come back to Harmony Harbor when you found out Maria and Gino were expecting Ava. Your mama did nothing wrong, cara. Dot and Gino had decided to take a break when she went away to nursing school.”
Ava looked from her aunt to Dorothy. “You dated my father? That’s what you were talking about the day I accused you of hating him?”
“Yes, lovey. Gino and I—”
“Dating? They were engaged,” Rosa interjected.
“Do you mind? It’s my story to tell, Rosa.”
“You’re too slow. It doesn’t matter anyway. This isn’t the same. You and Maria were best friends.” Rosa hooked her arm through Ava’s. “This Lexi, she’s hard as nails. So you, you have to be tough too. Mark my words, she has one goal in mind, and that’s to break up you and Griffin. You stand up to her. Show her you mean business too.”
Ava was still trying to deal with the fact that Dorothy had once been engaged to her father so it took a minute for Rosa’s words to sink in. “I promised Griffin I’d stay away from her.”
“I think that’s a good idea, lovey.”
“Eh, you’re both pazze. You’ll see I’m right. And once you do, you better rise to the challenge, cara, or that woman will walk all over you. Tonight, I’ll show you how it’s done. Kitty agreed that we would get you and Griffin together, and now she thinks she can go back on her word? Ha! She has another think coming.”
Dorothy leaned into Ava. “Let’s hope the only murder we’re discussing tonight is the one in the book.”