A Pinch of Salt Read online

“Sorry,” I said as I took a step back.

  I caught the slight blush on the history teacher’s cheeks as she replied, “That’s okay.”

  I nodded, then walked around her into the lounge. I headed to the table, where I sat with the other two male teachers in my school. Rob, who taught Algebra One, and Tyson, who taught Health and Physical Education.

  They were already there, catching up on their weekend, when I sat down and started pulling out the items from my homemade lunch, which was identical to the one I’d made for my daughter that morning.

  “‘Sup, Jackson?” Rob asked as he downed the soda that he’d sworn to his wife he’d give up.

  “I was late today,” I admitted as I opened the baggie that held my peanut butter and Nutella sandwich. “You should have seen the look on Wiggins’ face. It’s not like I make a habit out of it or anything.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about it,” Ty said with a wave of his hand. “Sounds like he’s pissed off about shit at home, at least that’s the word on the streets. It’s not personal; he knows you’re one of the best around.”

  “Why was Mr. Perfect late anyway?” Rob asked with a grin, so I knew he was just messing with me.

  “I stopped off at that catering business on Main, the one across from Prime Beef.”

  “That place is hot,” Ty said. “I always book a table if I have a lady I want to impress. I’m talking about Prime Beef, not the catering place. I’ve never been there.”

  “I have, they have those delicious breakfast pastries,” Rob answered.

  “Anyway, Kayla wants to have a tea party for her birthday, and since I haven’t the first idea how to make that happen, I thought I’d give them a try.”

  “A tea party? What the hell do you do at one of those?” Rob asked.

  “I don’t know, eat tiny sandwiches and drink tea, I guess,” I replied, then looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to our conversation before lowering my voice and adding, “The woman who works there is the hottest woman I’ve ever seen.”

  That sparked their interest, so they both leaned in closer.

  “What does she look like?” Ty asked.

  “‘Bout five-four, five-five, with perfect curves, full lips, and the eyes of an angel.”

  “Hair?” Rob asked, causing Ty and me to give him matching looks. “What, you know I’m a hair man.”

  I shrugged. “It’s dark and long, but hard to really tell because it was up in a bun. Which gave me unadorned access to her perfect face . . . She was nice, sweet even, and when I hugged her . . .”

  “Hugged her?” Rob asked.

  “Damn, Jackson, you work fast,” Ty added with a chuckle.

  “It was an impulse; I didn’t mean to attack her or anything. She said she’d see what they could do to help me with the party, and I automatically hugged her.”

  “And it was?”

  “Perfect,” I admitted. “She smelled sweet, felt even better, and tucked right in and hugged me back.”

  “Wow,” Ty said, and I knew he and Rob were thinking the same thing I was. This was the first time I’d had even an ounce of attraction for a woman since Julie left.

  “Are you going to ask her out?” Rob asked.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. It was complicated, what with me being a single dad who was technically still married. But, I’d left that store feeling something I hadn’t felt in a really long time: excited.

  I looked my friends in the eye as I opened my tapioca pudding and said, “You know what? I think I will.”

  Millie

  “WHAT’S THIS?” DRU ASKED, THE tone of her voice causing me to look up from tarts I was finishing up for tonight’s event.

  It took me a minute to realize what she was talking about, as she waved a piece of paper in the air.

  “Oh, it’s a last-minute tea party for a little girl,” I replied, trying to sound like it was no big deal.

  “No shit, last minute,” my twin exclaimed, one hand on her hip, while she used the other to shake the paper at me. “I don’t have time for this. Literally, don’t have time. Why did you say we’d take this on, Millie? You know we’re jam-packed for the next four days.”

  “I know that, I do, and I don’t expect you to do a thing. I’ll take care of it.”

  “You’ll take care of it.”

  “Yup,” I said, then grew wary when Dru narrowed her eyes at me. My sister never missed a thing.

  “Why, Millie?” she asked as she stalked toward me. “Why, after a year of cooking and baking, like the genius you are, but not crossing over into event planning, management, or budgeting, will you be taking over this event on your own?”

  Shit, I need to get her off the scent . . .

  “Because,” I began as my mind raced. Although I was the oldest by two minutes, my twin always seemed to know what I was going to do before I did, and I didn’t want her to read anything into this tea party. I was only trying to help out a father and his daughter who’d had a rough time. That was it . . . no hidden agenda here. “I know how busy we are, and I also know that when I’m done with the food, you and Tash will still be busy pulling off another successful event. So . . . when the man came in needing help with his daughter’s birthday, and I could see how desperate he was, I figured it wouldn’t kill me to step out of the kitchen and pull off this small event.”

  Dru was watching me closely, so I continued my verbal vomit.

  “Plus, this may gain us new clients and give us a chance to branch out in a new direction. I can handle it, Dru, promise.”

  “But, we’d decided months ago that we weren’t going to do children’s parties.”

  “True,” I said with a nod, wishing I’d hear the sound of a customer entering the building so I could get out of this situation. “But, it’s a tea party, which we’ve done in the past. So, although it’s technically for a child, it’s not exactly a children’s party, at least not in the sense that we’d spoken about. No piñatas, or cartoon characters . . . and, we have supplies in the back already, so, really, it was a no-brainer.”

  “A no-brainer, huh?”

  “Yup.”

  “And, did this Jackson have anything to do with your sudden interest in stepping out of the kitchen?” Dru asked as she looked down at the event sheet, then back up at me.

  I felt the blush rise up from my neck, and watched Dru’s lips turn up as she grinned victoriously.

  Busted.

  “Tell me,” she demanded, so I did.

  “Oh my Gosh, Dru, you wouldn’t believe it. At first, I thought you and Tash had sent him in here to trick me or something,” I admitted, grabbing a towel to wipe my hands as I crossed to her. “Tall, crazy tall, with a runner’s body and brown hair that’s short on the sides, but kind of floppy on top. And he had dimples, and glasses . . . It was like he walked out of the pages of my sixteen-year-old self’s diary.”

  “Wow,” Dru replied, then took in my face and asked, “So, what’s the catch?”

  “Married,” I admitted with a frown. “I mean, he said his wife walked out and left him and their daughter, Kayla, a year ago, but, he was still wearing the ring.”

  “Ouch, that’s terrible. For them, I mean, and for you. I’m sorry the man of your dreams walks in and he’s already taken, but, if it’s been a year, it must be really over, right? Maybe he just forgot to take it off.”

  I knew Dru was trying to see the bright side of things, and wanted me to be happy, but I wasn’t sure that I should go there.

  “I don’t know,” I replied. “It seems like a pretty complicated situation. I’m just going to do my best to give that little girl the best tea party she’s ever seen. She deserves it. I can’t even fathom our mom ever willingly leaving us.”

  “That’s cause it wouldn’t happen,” Dru said with a sad smile. “But, you’re right, it should be about the girl. I’ll take you in the back and show you what we have on hand for a tea party. You should be set, all you’ll need to do is make the food, set up, a
nd clean up, and it should go off without a hitch.”

  “Thanks, Dru. I know it puts us in a tight spot, but I wouldn’t have agreed to it if I didn’t believe I could pull it off.”

  “I know,” my sister said with a smile as she threw an arm around my shoulder. “You’re such a softy.”

  “Am not,” I argued, even though I knew I totally was.

  “Yeah, right. I’ve known you for almost all of your twenty-eight years, so I consider myself an expert of the subject. This Jackson guy was lucky that it was you he ran into and not me or Tash. Maybe it was fate,” Dru suggested with a nudge of her shoulder.

  “Stop.”

  “What? Mom always said she’d make sure we’d find our perfect partners, even if she had to meddle from the other side. Maybe she sent Jackson your way.”

  “You’re ridiculous,” I said, shoving her softly as we walked into the back room.

  Dru just laughed, but her words played over and over again in my head. And, despite my rational brain telling me that getting involved with Jackson would be an unwise decision, my heart welled with something that felt a lot like hope.

  Jackson

  “YOU WANT A SNACK, K?” I asked as my daughter settled at the kitchen table to do her homework.

  We had a strict do your homework first thing after school policy, so our evenings were usually the same. Kayla would walk the two blocks from her school to mine, we’d ride home together, and she’d do her homework while I made dinner. After, she usually caught up with one of her friends while I graded papers or worked on lesson plans, and before bed, we’d watch a couple episodes of whatever show we were binge-watching.

  Currently, we were on The Goldbergs, which we both found hilarious.

  “Sure,” Kayla replied with a half shrug as she started on her math worksheet.

  I smiled at the back of her head, thinking how great it was that we were finally in a place where we were both content, and my daughter was happy.

  Julie’s abandonment had hit us both hard, and Kayla had taken quite a while to recover. I’d spent many nights holding her while she cried herself to sleep. It was hard for me, a thirty-year-old man, to understand why my wife of nine years had left without looking back. It was impossible for our eight-year-old daughter to comprehend.

  She went from having her mom drive her to gymnastics, help her with her homework, and laugh with her over Girl Meets World, to listening to her mother tell her she needed a life of her own, then walk out the door.

  I swear, if I ever saw Julie again, I’d kill her for those words alone.

  My wife and I had never been over the moon in love with each other, but we’d shared a healthy relationship, love for our daughter, and what I’d thought had been an unbreakable support for one another.

  Her leaving had totally blindsided me.

  I was placing a plate of cut-up apples and a spoonful of peanut butter on a plate in front of Kayla when my cell phone started to ring.

  When I looked at the unknown number, my heart clenched like it always did when I wondered if this was the day Julie was going to reach out.

  There’s no way she would actually leave her daughter and never look back, right? I mean, me, I could get, but Kayla? I’d never understand it.

  “Uh, hello,” I managed, becoming embarrassed at the nerves in my tone. I saw Kayla glance up from her sheet, and my heart sank at the look of hope on her face.

  “Hello, is this Jackson?” a light, sweet voice asked, and I let out a sigh of relief.

  It was Millie, from the catering place.

  “It is,” I replied, unable to keep the smile off of my face.

  “Hey, this is Millie, from Three Sisters Catering.”

  “It’s great to hear from you, Millie,” I replied, and dammit, it really was. I hadn’t been this excited to talk to a girl on the phone since high school.

  I could tell she didn’t know how to respond, because I heard a nervous laugh, then she said, “I’m, ah, calling to let you know that we’re all set for Saturday. I’ll plan to arrive at two to set up and be ready to serve from three to four. Are there any allergies or dislikes I need to know about?”

  “Um, no, I don’t think so,” I replied, then added, “Thank you so much. I know it was last minute, and not something you would normally even do. You’re really saving me here. I can’t thank you enough.”

  “It’s no problem,” Millie replied, before pausing and saying, “I’ll contact you if I have any questions, but I think you covered it all on the sheet. I’ll see you Saturday.”

  “I can’t wait,” I said, truthfully.

  “Goodbye, Jackson.”

  “Goodbye. And, thanks again.”

  I pressed the end button, still smiling, then glanced up to see Kayla watching me with an odd expression.

  “Who was that?” she asked, her tone surprisingly surly.

  “That was your good news,” I replied, ignoring her tone and crossing to lean over the table, stopping when my face was inches from hers. “You’re not going to believe it.”

  “What?” Kayla asked, her tone still wary, but her face starting to react to my excitement.

  “That was the catering company that’s going to be here to put on the best tea party ever, for my favorite daughter’s birthday.”

  “Really?” she squealed, all surliness gone.

  “Really, really.”

  Kayla jumped up and rounded the table to jump into my waiting arms.

  “Thanks, Daddy,” she murmured, and my heart filled with joy.

  “Anything for my baby girl,” I replied, bending slightly to drop a kiss on the top of her head.

  Kayla pulled back and grinned up at me.

  “I can’t wait to tell everyone. A sleepover and a tea party? This is going to be the best birthday ever!”

  I chuckled as she practically danced back to her seat.

  “Can I call them?” she asked, her eyes wide and hopeful.

  I just smiled and gave my head a small shake.

  “After homework.”

  “Boo,” Kayla replied, but she was still beaming.

  I went back to my dinner prep, my heart light as I watched my daughter go back to her homework with a smile on her face, and I sent a silent thanks to Millie, the sweet and sexy chef who’d unwittingly saved the day.

  Millie

  I MAY HAVE GONE A little overboard, but once I’d started thinking about different tea party ideas, I couldn’t help but want to make it a birthday this little girl would never forget.

  I’d chosen a delicate tea set with pretty pink rosebuds, lots of pretty pastel decorations, and flowers. Tons of flowers.

  Colorful macaroons, sweet little sandwiches, and tiers of cupcakes, coupled with strawberry punch, lots of fun candies, and cut outs for a photo booth, all teamed together to make a nine-year old’s birthday dream a reality.

  My sisters and I had loved playing dress up as girls, and being in the kitchen had always been my passion, so it hadn’t been hard to tap into my inner child when deciding what to do for Kayla.

  I just hope she likes it.

  I was getting out of my 4Runner and heading to open the back when the front door opened and Jackson came out of the house and jogged toward me.

  I don’t know why, but I found him jogging toward me in loose jeans and bare feet strangely sexy.

  “Hey, hi, how are you?” Jackson asked as he approached, causing me to smile up at him.

  “Great, how are you?” I countered as I opened the back and bent to pull out a container.

  “Let me help,” he said, suddenly right behind me. His breath hit my neck and I barely suppressed a shudder. “I’m great as well. So excited that you’re here . . . er . . . that you could do this party for K.”

  “I’m happy we could fit it in. I had a lot of fun putting it together,” I admitted. “I hope she loves it.”

  He grabbed a couple containers out of the back and gave me a sincere grin.

  “I’m sure she will.”


  I let him lead the way into the sweet little ranch-style house. It had an open floorplan, with the large living room leading into the kitchen and eat-in dining area. The style was comfortable, but contemporary. It definitely had a woman’s touch.

  “You can use anything you’d like. I figured we’d set up the table for the tea party, but that’s about as far as I got.”

  “Don’t worry, I brought everything,” I assured him, then went back out for another load, with Jackson hot on my heels.

  “So, how have you been?” Jackson asked, and I could swear he sounded as nervous as I felt.

  “Great. Busy. We have a total of five events this weekend, including yours, so I spent most of my night, and morning, in the kitchen.”

  “Wow,” he said, catching my eyes with his as he lifted the box full of china. “I hope I didn’t make things more difficult. Sorry about the last-minute request.”

  “Careful,” I warned, then gave him a warm smile. “It’s no problem, really. I usually stay in the kitchen, chained to the stove,” I chuckled softly. “My twin sister, Dru, she’s the event planner and decorating queen, while our younger sister, Tasha, is the brains behind the business. She’s our business manager and accountant. They are really the faces of the company. Scheduling, planning, and executing events. I’m much happier planning the menus and making the food. This is actually the first event that I’ve headed up myself.”

  “Well, thanks, really. I’m sorry to give you more work, but I’m extremely grateful that you agreed to help.”

  Jackson’s smile was so sincere that I felt my heart swell as my stomach did a nervous little dance.

  “It’s my pleasure,” I replied, feeling my cheeks warm as I took out the last few bags and shut the door. “Those must be getting heavy,” I added, indicating the china and hoping to get the attention off of myself and get to work. I hated being the center of attention, and appreciated the fact that my sisters were happy to take the spotlight off of me and allow me to hide in my kitchen.

  We got everything inside and put on the counter, then Jackson said he was going to go check on Kayla, and I got started.

  First, I laid out a pastel-pink table cloth and covered it with a white lace runner, then I set up my serving platters and display racks. I covered the chairs with matching pink covers, then tied a large white bow to the back of each.