Page 48 of Best Kind of Trouble
“Of course there’s a back door,” I say. “It’s through the kitchen. But, seriously, I don’t want to freak Nora out.”
“Well,I’mgoing in,” Hannah says, and since I don’t actually want to stand out here in the cold, I follow her. Sophie too.
The second we enter the tea shop, Dottie hurries toward us from her seat at the table closest to the door. She was sitting across from a woman with short, tidy dark hair, red lipstick, and hazel eyes, dressed in a blazer over a black sweater and jeans. Nora. I’ve seen her a couple of times from a distance. She’s also easily recognizable from all the local articles about The Ginger Station. Last night, Hannah sent a fresh batch—research, she called it.
Nora started The Ginger Station with her business partner, José Perez. They’re each half owners; she brews the ginger beer, and he runs the business end of things. The opposite of Liam and me, I can’t help but think.
She stays seated, looking uncomfortable but determined.
“She’s here,” Dottie says in an undertone that everyone in the continental United States probably heard.
“It’s okay,” Nora says in a low, amused voice. “I know I’m here. I don’t think that’s the kind of thing we need to keep to ourselves.”
“Of course not.” Dottie clasps her hands together, smiling sowide it probably hurts. She looks like a child who’s just tried cotton candy for the first time. “It’s just such a joyous occasion to have all of you girls here, together at last.”
We settle in around the table. Dottie refuses to sit back down, saying she wants the “full experience” of the tea shop today because she’ll be away for a while, so I take her seat, across from Nora. Hannah is in the chair next to mine, and Sophie is beside Nora. The chairs are all charmingly mismatched—mine has a bouquet of roses on the upholstery.
Quiet descends on the table. Hannah, of course, is the first to break it. “So, Travis saw Jonah a few weeks ago, and apparently he took up smoking.”
“Good,” Nora says wryly.
“I was hoping he’d get gangrene of the dick,” Hannah continues, “but I’ll settle for karma smacking him with lung cancer.”
Nora smiles. “Mom told me you were…colorful.”
“Hannah’s perfect,” I say tightly. Maybe because “colorful” is the sort of thing Liam would say with a knowing grin.
“I meant it in a good way,” Nora says before focusing on Hannah. “I’m grateful to you.” Then she glances around at the rest of us. “So. You’re probably wondering what my deal is.”
“Oh, we want to know everything about you,” Hannah says. “Seriously, everything. I especially want to know what it was like growing up with Mrs. Applebaum as your mother. Was she strict? Or is she, like, this secret softie? I have visions of her being a secret softie like Eugene. I swear, that man has never met a shade of beige he didn’t like, but his soul is definitely maroon.”
Nora’s smile stretches wider. “Maroon. I like that. I like him too. Mom has a good heart, but she was strict. Had to be. My dad was hardly ever around.”
She runs her finger gently over the rim of her teacupbefore continuing. “I feel like I owe you all an explanation. It’s not easy for me to discuss personal stuff, but given the circumstances…” She shrugs and gives her attention to Sophie. “I need you to know I had no idea that Jonah was engaged. None. And when you texted me saying you were his fiancée, I believed you were someone else. Someone who’d been messing with me.”
“Tell me more,” Hannah says, leaning forward enough that the wood table scoots a fourth of an inch closer to Nora and Sophie.
“Okay.” Nora blows out a breath. “Here goes. I’m not sure if you know this, but I started The Ginger Station with my friend?—”
“José,” Hannah interjects.
Nora’s lips part a moment before she says anything. “Did my mother happen to tell you about him? She’s not his biggest fan.”
“No.” Hannah waves a hand. “We did a deep dive on you.”
Sophie laughs and shakes her head. “That makes it sound like we hired a private investigator. We just read a few articles about the brewery.”
Nora nods. “Okay. Well. José and I used to be…together.” She lifts a hand. “Briefly. We tried it for a few months, decided we were better as friends, and broke up a year and a half ago.”
“And you still run the brewery together?” I ask, my heart speeding up. Because surely, if I needed another message from the universe that it would be utterly insane to think about kissing Liam, this is it.
“Yes.” She tucks her hair behind her ears. “But it’s okay. Really. José’s still my best friend. We just…get each other. There wasn’t any awkwardness.”
“Until he met someone else,” Hannah guesses.
Nora takes a sip of tea. “That obvious, huh?”
“And she was sending you threatening texts?” I guess.
