The Aftermath

Jen and Alex join us next to the food table. I notice the blanket draped over Alex's arm and shoot her a questioning look.

"I ran to the car for it, to cover you up." She winks at Everett and adds, "But someone else beat me to it."

We share a laugh and then Jen offers another apology with tears in her big gray eyes. "I wanted to tell you, but I was so embarrassed. . . I just couldn't get the words out. I'm so sorry, Lacy!"

"It's really okay," I say, offering her a brief hug so I don't get her wet.

She sniffles and manages to dry up her tears. We then turn and survey the mess. I forget about Everett's offer to stay until he walks to the mostly empty table (everyone took their food and such as they left) and picks up my crock pot.

"What are you doing?" I nearly shriek.

"I'm just going to take this to. . . your car, I assume?"

I frown and try to take the crock pot from him, but he holds on tight.

"This is your party! You can't help clean up!"

"I'm pretty sure the fact that it's my party means that I can do whatever I want," he answers with a teasing smile.

I shake my head. "Still. You should either go home, or sit back and let us take care of this."

"Because clearly, as a gentleman, I should let you ladies do all of this yourselves."

"Exactly."

He pauses for a moment, unsure how to answer, then gives into a loud laugh. "Well it's not going to happen. Sorry Lace. That was a good effort though." Shaking off my grip, he strides over to my car and opens the door before carefully setting the crock pot in the back seat.

I share a look with Alex and Jen and shrug. The best way to keep him from doing more is really to hop to it ourselves, so we quickly begin picking up trash, wiping down the remaining tables, removing decorations, and setting the park back to rights. It only takes maybe 15 minutes with all of us working together.

When we finish, I thank Jen and Alex for all their help before splitting up. They parked on the other side of the parking lot, so Everett and I walk together to our cars.

We reach his car first and stop. "Congratulations Everett," I say, giving him a quick hug. To my surprise, in spite of still-quite-damp state, he holds on and pulls me closer. "Thank you for. . . helping me," I add softly, looking up at him.

"Thank you, Lace. For believing in me, for giving me a chance. I wouldn't be here without you, y'know."

"We definitely made it this far together," I answer, surprised by the softness in his gaze. "We make a pretty great team."

"We definitely do," he agrees. He leans a little closer and I feel my face tilt up towards his almost of its own accord. Just before I close my eyes, I realize what I'm doing.

I jerk out of his arms and give a short, awkward laugh. "Well, I should. . . y'know. Gotta get home and change before work. I'll see you there." I wave, turn, and begin speed-walking to my car.

"See you there," he calls after me. I can't tell whether his tone is amused or confused.

I spend the hour before work showering, quickly changing and fixing my hair, and lying on my bed in a state of emotional turmoil. What just happened? Did I just almost kiss Everett? WHYYY?

To say that I don't find him attractive would be an outright lie and completely stupid. I doubt there's a woman alive who wouldn't find him handsome. He has good manners and respects women and is kind to others. He has a good job and loves what he does. Really, he's a great guy!

But seriously, I have NEVER thought of him that way. He's always just been my head chef and good friend. Why am I suddenly almost kissing him now, when I'm basically in a relationship with another man?

I think back over the last couple hours. I was certainly feeling a little stressed when I got to the park. By the time everyone arrived, I was definitely very anxious about making sure everyone had a good time. My conversation with Ned relaxed me a bit, but I was at loose ends after that and starting to worry again.

When Jen soaked me and everyone started laughing and whispering, I felt very embarrassed, of course. But then Everett defended me like a knight-in-shining-armor and literally gave me the shirt off his back.

Ah. I bet that's what it was. I decide that I probably was just feeling a strong surge of relief and gratitude and honestly, the whole moment certainly had a romantic lean to it. If I read something like that in a romance novel, I would probably be squealing and giggling and re-reading it to soak in all the romantic tension.

I sigh in relief as I realize that my near-kiss with Everett was clearly just a result of the overwhelming emotional rollercoaster the afternoon took me on.

With that settled, I sit up and give Henry a quick call. He had a morning meeting that he couldn't afford to reschedule, so he had to miss the party. We spend a few minutes talking and I fill him in on the details of my embarrassing moment and Everett's heroic rescue. I consider telling him about my near-kiss with Everett, but I'm not sure we're to that point yet. If it happens again, though, I'll definitely have to talk to Henry about it. I wouldn't feel right dating Henry if I kept having such charged moments with another man.

After I hang up, still laughing over Henry's description of his morning escapades, I make a plan. If being around Everett and his manly charms is proving a temptation, clearly I need to avoid being alone with him.

When I arrive at Lovebird Café a few minutes later and find him working in the kitchen, I smile awkwardly and wave. He returns a cheerful wave and an unreserved smile, greeting me the way he does every day. "Hey Boss Lady!"

"Hey Chef," I answer, feeling a little less tense.

"You got a delivery. Looks like it might be those pots we talked about for the soup."

"Oh, awesome."

"I'll come in later to help you get them out of the boxes. Or maybe I'll send one of the boys in, if I get too busy."

"Thanks."

Our very normal, casual conversation makes me feel silly. Why was I freaking out so much? We shared a hug. That's it. Something we've done before, plenty of times. He probably has no idea that I thought he was going to kiss me. I've been making a mountain out of a molehill and tearing myself apart for nothing.

I breathe out in relief and feel my tension draining away as I head to my office. I find the boxes Everett mentioned and begin breaking them open. The new pots are there, as well as a few things Alex requested. She wants to do a rotating dessert special of some kind to go with Everett's rotating specials and needs a few dishes to perfect the recipes she has in mind. We're planning to set aside one of our Saturday mornings for a run-through and taste test.

The rest of the day does smoothly. We don't have quite as many guests as we usually do on a Saturday, but I don't worry too much. Once the article on Everett runs, we'll pick up momentum again.

I make a note to call Mr. Edmundson on Monday about the article and see when he's planning to release it so we can plan accordingly.

When I get off, I meet Henry at my place to watch a movie and eat homemade caramel popcorn. We laugh and talk into the early morning hours, then share a sweet goodnight kiss. He has a family thing Sunday, so we won't see each other again until Monday evening.